Address by Mary Robinson,The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights OSCE Permanent Council, Vienna, 19 July 2002

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to have this opportunity to meet with you here today in Vienna and I thank you for the invitation. I last met with the OSCE Permanent Council almost exactly four years ago. Many important changes have taken place since then, both in our areas of concern and the ways in which we work together. Nevertheless, our common commitment to the observance of human rights as an essential precondition to stability and progress in Europe remains the same. Let me begin today with my personal tribute to the vital role which the OSCE has played in enhancing security for all people living in Europe and indeed beyond. The Helsinki Final Act and the important commitments which have been made since are a continuing inspiration to the world. They demonstrate the connections which should exist between respect for human rights and democracy, and between conflict prevention, regional security and economic development. When I last appeared before the Permanent Council, I expressed my great appreciation for the OSCE’s original concept of security, which places human rights very much at its core. Human rights were not considered in opposition to security but instead, one of its main elements. In the aftermath of the terrible events of last September 11, as States seek effective ways to deal with the threat of terrorism, OSCE has not wavered in asserting this linkage between human rights and human security.

It has been significant over the last months that the United Nations and regional organisations in Europe and elsewhere have given the same message to their member states. That message has been that there is a duty to confront and defeat terrorism but that the actions taken by States to combat terrorism must be in conformity with international human rights and humanitarian law standards.

This duty was powerfully expressed by Secretary- General, Kofi Annan, in his statement to the Security Council on 18 January this year:

“We should all be clear that there is no trade-off between effective action against terrorism and the protection of human rights. On the contrary, I believe that in the long term we shall find that human rights, along with democracy and social justice, are one of the best prophylactics against terrorism. …[W]hile we certainly need vigilance to prevent acts of terrorism, and firmness in condemning and punishing them, it will be self-defeating if we sacrifice other key priorities -– such as human rights -- in the process”.

A similar message was given by the OSCE Bucharest Ministerial Declaration of 4 December 2001 and by the High Level OSCE Meeting on the Prevention and Combat of Terrorism held under the Portuguese Presidency in Lisbon on 12 June last. If I may, Mr. Chairman, I will refer particularly to your speech at Lisbon, which emphasised that the OSCE can play a major role in prevention of terrorism through its ongoing work on democratisation, the rule of law, good governance and the promotion of human and minority rights. It is in these areas also that, in co-operation with the OSCE, my Office seeks to contribute. The emphasis on prevention is equally one that we strive to promote in the work of the OHCHR.

The Summary Conclusions of the Lisbon meeting emphasised the leading role of the United Nations in combating terrorism and spoke of the strong commitment of OSCE participating states to “ reinforce and develop bilateral and multi lateral co-operation with the United Nations and with other international and regional organisations” in combating all forms of terrorism.

Yesterday you heard from the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer, and no doubt he discussed the new Council of Europe Guidelines that have been drawn up to assist States in combating terrorism, while observing the core principles of the Organisation- human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Guidelines are of potentially wider applicability than Council of Europe member States. Noting the co-operation envisaged at your Lisbon High Level meeting with the Council of Europe on counter-terrorism, I would ask the OSCE to encourage their application by all its member States. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Declaration adopted on 10 July in Berlin called on Parliaments to actively protect and promote human rights during states of emergency. The Declaration provides clear support for the implementation of these Guidelines by all OSCE participating States.

I believe that the reach of the Guidelines can be even wider. I urge other regional organisations in the world to examine them with a view to adopting similar provisions in the context of implementing resolution 1373 of the Security Council, and upholding their regional human rights obligations.

Monitoring anti-terrorism measures

These initiatives on human rights and terrorism are very important. But we must recognise that there is a gap in the international responses on the issue of monitoring the use of anti- terrorism measures. Strong statements in support of the safeguarding of human rights standards in combating terrorism were made at this year’s session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. But unfortunately the Commission was not able to agree on a proposal to establish a specific mechanism (for example a special rapporteur) to monitor the impact of anti-terrorism measures on human rights. As a result, there is currently no international institution with a clear mandate to assess whether measures taken and justified by a State as necessary to combat terrorism are in violation of human rights standards which that State has accepted, or which would require that a derogation be made.

Last November the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Amb. Stoudmann, Secretary-General Schwimmer of the Council of Europe, and myself on behalf of the OHCHR, issued a joint statement on the importance of safeguarding human rights as we strive to eradicate terrorism. Thereafter we have sought to share information and enhance our capacity to monitor the human rights dimensions of actions taken to combat terrorism. More perhaps needs to be done together to ensure that information exchange continues and above all is acted upon. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Berlin Declaration reminds parliaments of their responsibility for the over sight of executive power and the creation of law during states of emergency and other times of conflict or threats to national security. As with the Council of Europe Guidelines I would encourage Parliaments in all countries to examine the Berlin Declaration and seek to apply its principles in scrutinising proposed counter terrorism measures.

UN Human Rights machinery and monitoring

OHCHR has also encouraged the UN human rights procedures, the special rapporteurs and treaty monitoring bodies to be especially alert over issues that fall within their mandates.

In August of last year, the Human Rights Committee, which monitors State compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted its General Comment 29 on Article 4, on derogations and human rights in states of emergency. The Committee marked the boundaries between legitimate balancing of rights and security, and impermissible or excessive limitation of rights. It offers very useful guidance in the current context to supplement the Council of Europe guidelines.

To sum up: hard work over fifty years by States, inter-governmental bodies and non-governmental organizations has developed a sophisticated system comprising human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law with which to curb abuses of power. Now, more than ever, we must ensure that these normative frameworks are implemented and that violations of them are monitored, condemned and addressed. In so doing we are contributing to human security and the elimination of terrorism.

Co operation in the field


Mr. Chairman,

I would also like to take the opportunity today to recognize the OSCE’s important work in the field. Through its many field missions and presences organized from the Secretariat in Vienna, as well as the extensive technical assistance programs of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw, and the special mechanisms, including the High Commissioner on National Minorities, the OSCE has given strength to its declarations through action. This has been of vital importance to all Europeans, and most of all to the victims of human rights violations. In the end, protection cannot be effective unless it is linked with development of national capacity, technical cooperation and other forms of direct assistance. The development of this part of the OSCE’s programme has been one of its greatest achievements of recent years, and it has been the privilege of my Office to work closely with the OSCE on many of these activities.

Four years ago, I signed an agreement on cooperation with Amb. Stoudmann of ODIHR, committing our organizations to exchanging information, developing joint projects, and providing mutual support in a range of areas. Just two months ago, I reaffirmed and expanded this commitment with ODIHR in an exchange of letters with Amb. Stoudmann. By working together with the OSCE as well as the other key regional actors, including the Council of Europe, the European Union and the Stability Pact, we believe we can make an effective contribution.

I would like to mention one area of excellent co-operation, which is with the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities. The HCNM Office contributed a chapter on the experience of this pioneering institution to the recently published UN Guide for Minorities. The HCNM has also participated in the Human Rights Commission Working Group on Minorities and further practical co- operation is planned.

We deeply appreciated the OSCE’s support at the International Conference on Human Rights and Democratization, which we co-organized with the Croatian Government and the European Commission in Dubrovnik last October. One of the main aims of that event was to identify the contribution which can be made by my Office in a region in which the regional organizations play such an important role. I think we have found some useful areas in which our efforts can complement one another.

Regional strategy of OHCHR

As I explained in Dubrovnik, my Office has made the development and implementation of regional strategies a key element in our overall approach to human rights protection and promotion. Regional strategies allow us to maximize our impact while recognizing that our capabilities are limited and that partnerships are essential. In particular, regional approaches allow us to act as catalysts, contributing to the impact of other parts of the UN system and our regional partners who are more able to engage in capacity-building at the national level. A further element of our approach is to emphasise the role of civil society in the development of national capacities.

In line with this strategy, we have deployed regional representatives at the offices of the UN Regional Economic Commissions in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, who work with partners to mainstream human rights in a range of different programs. I have also appointed Regional Advisers for the different regions who provide advice to me on national and regional activities and programmes. For Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, my Regional Adviser is Ambassador Thomas Hammarberg of Sweden, who will be known to many of you.

Because of Europe’s unique position as a region already benefiting from strong regional institutions, including the OSCE, we have taken a calibrated approach to our own role in the region. As I emphasised in my remarks at Dubrovnik last October, the achievement of human rights goals in Europe depends very much on a close, complementary working relationship among the European and UN partners. Our focus is on supporting the efforts of the regional organizations, and not competing, complicating or duplicating their work. Our key areas of work embrace follow up to treaty body recommendations, national human rights institutions, human rights education and national plans of action.

Central Asia

One key issue we are working on with OSCE is the promotion of human rights in the countries of Central Asia. We have conducted missions to four of the five countries over the last six months. I am pleased to report that the Governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan enthusiastically welcomed the OHCHR delegations, and our discussions on human rights needs have been frank and constructive. I am hoping that we can engage in a similar dialogue with Turkmenistan in the near future. The aim of our initiative on Central Asia is to formulate a program to assist in the development, both at the regional and country levels, of capacities to protect and promote human rights. Among the areas we are considering are teacher training for human rights education in the schools; the development of human rights courses for lawyers, judges, police and prosecutors; and complementary activities such as providing human rights publications and supporting human rights education initiatives. We foresee that the program might include a modest presence from OHCHR to oversee implementation, provide advice, and coordinate with other international presences in Central Asia so that we strengthen each other and avoid duplication.

We are very grateful for the support and advice that the OSCE has provided my Office throughout this process. The OSCE field presences in Central Asia have been very active in promoting human rights and democratic reform as crucial elements in the promotion of a holistic concept of human security, and our cooperation with them has been very fruitful. This has been particularly true in Tajikistan, where the OSCE field presence and the UN Tajikistan Office for Peace-Building support each other in implementing common human rights programs and collaborate in dealing with individual cases. I hope that our Office will continue to benefit in Central Asia from this mutually supportive cooperation with the OSCE.

South East Europe

Our cooperation extends to other parts of the region and to other issues. On Monday next 22nd July, in Geneva, I will join with Amb. Stoudmann and Phillip O’Brien, UNICEF, in releasing a joint report on trafficking in human beings in Southeastern Europe. The report covers the situations in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova and Romania. In addition to paying particular attention to trafficking of women and girls for commercial sexual exploitation, it also examines trafficking in children from Albania for the purposes of forced labor. We have worked closely with the OSCE on this shameful area of human rights abuse, especially in the context of the Trafficking Task Force of the Stability Pact.

We also have good co-operation with your important field presences in southeast Europe. In Bosnia Herzegovina the two organisations work closely on promoting international human rights standards through work on rule of law issues such as the protection of national minorities and Roma rights and the implementation of the National Plan of Action on Trafficking. There has also been joint training in UN treaty body reporting requirements.

Last month we were pleased to be invited as observers at an OSCE regional, working-level meeting in Sarajevo which brought together some 50 staff members of the OSCE missions in Macedonia, Kosovo, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. It is worth noting that both of our organizations are moving increasingly toward a thematic approach in southeast Europe and it will be important that we ensure consistency and complementarity in our mutual efforts.

I should also mention our work together in Georgia, where we continue our cooperation by jointly staffing the Human Rights Office in Abkhazia as we have done since 1996. We also regularly consult together on activities in Azerbaijan, where we opened a small office earlier this year, and on the serious human rights situation in Chechnya in the Russian Federation. Another crucial programmatic area on which we exchange information is the development and strengthening of independent national human rights institutions across the region.


Mr. Chairman,

I believe that one of our goals in the time ahead should be to ensure that human rights remain central to international dialogue. In this region we continue to be faced with extraordinary challenges: not only the campaign to counter terrorism, but also the reconstruction of Afghanistan, on the OSCE border, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, peace-building in southeast Europe and many others.

As we face up to these problems in Europe and similar problems elsewhere, I believe we must give fresh consideration to the ways in which we seek to resolve them. At the Commission on Human Rights this year, I was especially concerned at the deeply divisive debates and votes that took place on situations where it was alleged that gross violations of human rights were occurring. In my closing statement to the Commission, I expressed my concern at the increased politicization of issues in the Commission at the expense of true human rights concerns. A number of developing countries argued that there is too much criticism of them and that it is unfair. As I said in my closing address to the Commission, I feel it is my duty as High Commissioner to ask: is it not right that when human rights are at stake, human rights organizations seek to protect the victims?

I should like to ask the OSCE participating states, which represent two of the regional groupings of the Commission on Human Rights, to bring a new commitment to efforts to have a meaningful human rights dialogue in the fora which are dedicated to that purpose, both in the UN and the OSCE. As international organizations with mandates based largely on human rights principles, it is incumbent upon the United Nations and the OSCE to provide a real opportunity for discussion of these issues, so that victims of human rights violations may raise their grievances and see their concerns addressed.

This includes ensuring a role for NGOs to put forward their views and perspectives, which may differ from those of their governments, and which may help Governments and civil society in resolving human rights problems and building national capacities to protect these rights. A human rights dialogue would also benefit from the participation of national human rights institutions in inter-governmental meetings, including those of the OSCE. As we look ahead to the annual OSCE Human Dimension implementation meeting in September, I would like to underline the vital role that the OSCE has to play in promoting such dialogue.

And we should recall that such dialogue should not only encompass the identification of critical human rights situations. It should also include a commitment to provide significant resources for technical cooperation and advisory services to assist countries in building and strengthening their national capacities in the rule of law, the administration of justice, and adherence to human rights norms and standards. Criticism will then be perceived as constructive and forward-looking, not finger-pointing in a judgmental way.

Finally Mr. Chairman, the OSCE must continue to give leadership in proposing ways to address the serious problems that all parts of Europe face including the rising hostility towards immigrants, reflected in recent elections; the worrying rise in incidents of anti-Semitism, and at the same time, the rise in Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment. These concerns were focussed upon at the recent OSCE Lisbon and Berlin meetings. The Declaration and Plan of Action of last year’s World Conference against Racism at Durban, affirmed that human diversity must be recognised as an asset, not a liability; that xenophobia must be rejected in all its forms; and that in a world which hopes to reap the benefits of globalisation, a commitment to multi-cultural societies must be embraced. The OSCE member States have expertise in addressing these issues that can benefit the larger international community. Let me encourage you to consider sharing that expertise.


Mr. Chairman, I am very grateful for this opportunity to have shared some of my thoughts with you today. I am confident that the cooperation between our Office and the OSCE on all of these issues will continue to flourish in the time ahead.

Thank you