High-level Side Event to the Security Council Open Debate on Peace Operations and Human Rights

Excellencies,
Distinguished panellists,
Guests,

I would like to thank the Human Rights and Conflict Prevention Caucus for providing the opportunity for us to discuss the role of human rights in peace operations today, particularly in transition contexts.

Yesterday, at the Security Council’s open debate on human rights and UN peace operations, the High Commissioner explained how human rights components are contributing to achieving the overall mandates and objectives of each mission in which they have been integrated.  The open debate underlined the interests of Member States to key issues such as performance, including in terms of improving pre-deployment measures for peacekeepers, the implementation of the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy (HRDDP), or, in particular, the role of human rights components in supporting national authorities to address COVID-19 implications on the rights of their populations.

UN peace operations are one of the Organization’s most powerful and creative tools to protect and promote human rights. The issue of transitions is of utmost importance, in this regard, as the Council is increasingly requesting transitions and exit strategies in contexts where underlying root causes of conflicts or instability and human rights grievances may not have yet been resolved. This includes impunity for past human rights violations, transitional justice, enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms, or ensuring equal access to basic services. Equally important are our efforts to promote respect for the principles of non-discrimination and equal rights for all, including gender equality, and to ensure meaningful inclusion and participation of all groups in society, especially the most marginalized.

In this respect, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is also committed to supporting the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative (“A4P”) and fully supports the implementation of its Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations.

In order to contribute to this, and further deepen the understanding of the role of human rights in peace and security, OHCHR is carrying out a study on the contribution of human rights components to the overall implementation of Security Council mandates for UN peace operations with the participation of the Department of Peace Operations (DPO), the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and other UN Secretariat entities. Our Office expects that the study’s findings, due later this year, will demonstrate how the work of human rights components improves the effectiveness and performance of peace operations in consolidating peace beyond the “traditional” human rights tasks such as monitoring, investigation, reporting, and advocacy.

In this regard, the Secretary-General’s Call to Action for Human Rights reflects his deep conviction that human rights underpin everything that the UN does. Its “rights in times of crisis” priority identifies the prevention of serious human rights violations as a key objective. By drawing on the respective expertise of different peace operation components, we hope that the Call to Action can further strengthen their collective effort to implement mandates in increasingly complex environments, and its ambition to develop an “Agenda for Protection” will be an important element to achieve this objective. Ultimately, protection of all human rights during all forms of crises serves to bind together the UN system around a common approach to crisis, from prevention to recovery.

This bring me to my key message today. Human rights are at the core of effective peacebuilding, and therefore an important benchmark to inform the transition and drawdown of peace operations. Sustained UN human rights engagement in a country following the closure of a peace operation is often necessary in order to support consolidating and sustaining peace by continuing to address root causes of the conflict in order to prevent relapse. OHCHR is uniquely positioned to accompany transitions from UN peace operations to development configurations, as UN policy allows for the High Commissioner’s broad mandate to focus on the most serious violations linked to the root causes of conflict and political instability, and for the Office to continue to provide support on outstanding human rights issues seamlessly following the closure of the mission.

To illustrate this important function, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) is an good example, where we provided capacity development, training, and material support to the Independent National Commission on Human Rights of Liberia whose functioning as a human rights observer formed a key benchmark for the termination of the mandate for UNMIL. OHCHR continues to provide support to the Commission, the Government of Liberia, and Liberian civil society through a country office established upon the closure of UNMIL.

Elsewhere, in the Sudan, over the last two years we have been coordinating with all relevant stakeholders for the UNAMID transition, including the High Commissioner’s conclusion in 2019 of an Agreement with the Government of Sudan for the opening of an OHCHR Sudan Country Office. At the same time, in recognition that the country’s political transition is the key to unblocking systemic human rights issues, human rights and protection feature prominently in the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), thus OHCHR and UNITAMS will establish an integrated office.

It is important to bear in mind that not all UN mission transitions have been as seamless as that of UNMIL, and putting the pieces in place for the Sudan transition has been challenging as well. It is important for member states and UN entities alike to jointly create space and capacity for the UN to sustain human rights engagement in a country following the closure of a mission. The support of host governments, members of the Security Council, donors, and regional groups are all required in order for OHCHR to continue its activities to address outstanding human rights challenges following the closure of a peace operation.

Thank you for providing us the space to discuss human rights in UN peace operations in transitions today. I look forward to the discussion.