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4 March 2002


Tenth Workshop on Regional Cooperation for the
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region
Beirut, 4 - 6 March 2002


Opening statement by
Mary Robinson,
United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights


Excellencies,
Distinguished representatives,
Ladies and gentlemen,
As I address you today I am aware that the United Nations is celebrating its new member, Switzerland, which will become the 190th member State. This reinforces the universality of the Charter and of international human rights law.
It is a pleasure and an honour to address once again the annual Asia Pacific workshop on regional co-operation for the promotion and protection of human rights. I want to warmly thank the Government of Lebanon and ESCWA for their excellent cooperation in the organization of the workshop. It is especially important for me to be here today after the signing of the Memorandum of Intent between my Office and ESCWA, which has opened the door for the appointment of my two regional representatives here in Beirut along side our representative already based in Bangkok at ESCAP. I see this workshop as the beginning of a fruitful cooperation with these regional economic and social commissions which will add another positive element in the step by step, building blocks approach so familiar to the countries of this vast and diverse region.

I am pleased that my recently appointed Regional Representatives for the ESCAP and ESCWA regions are here with me today. They will work in tandem with my honorary Regional Adviser, Mr. Justice Bhagwati, in advising on implementation of the programme of action.

It might be helpful at the outset if I explain how I see the role of the regional representatives. We are in the process of appointing such representatives in all regions. Their role in the Asia Pacific as in other regions is to enhance OHCHR capacity to be of service and to assist you, the member states. Experience has taught our office, as is the case with other UN agencies that presence in the region will help us in our work. It will enable us to be more efficient and more effective in responding to requests for advice. And it will ensure that we remain conscious of the need to fulfil our commitments to follow up any activities agreed upon under the Teheran Framework. It is for these reasons that I have appointed regional representatives for the ESCAP and ESCWA regions. I am confident that our capacity to serve your needs will be improved and we will be better able to cooperate in concrete steps to promote and protect human rights.

The regional representatives will also work closely with the UN country teams in order to ensure that a human rights perspective becomes part of the work they do, in keeping with their own respective mandates.

As a further preliminary matter I should note that this annual Asia-Pacific workshop has become a key forum for sharing human rights initiatives in the region and for enhancing regional cooperation in the field of human rights.


Human rights challenges in Asia-Pacific & the Teheran Framework

This is a vast and vibrant region – or really six regions in one - with a rich diversity of cultures, languages, history and ways of life. Yet it also shares many common challenges. For the poor the overwhelming reality of their lives is the indignity of being denied almost all their rights – to food, water, health, education, housing, personal security, justice and equality. Globalization and trade liberalization have brought wealth to many, but the gap between rich and poor – rich and poor countries and rich and poor people within countries – is increasing. The fruits of development are not being enjoyed by all and it is often marginalized groups who bear the brunt – women, children, minority and ethnic groups, migrants and migrant workers, indigenous people.

The Teheran Framework and its four pillars reflect a unique consensus. They are a statement by all countries in this region that human rights are a guiding light in tackling many of these challenges. They are a statement that solutions are more likely to be found if Asia-Pacific states work collectively in thought and action. I am here because I share that commitment. I am here because I believe that respect for the rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – all rights without hierarchy or preference – are necessary to achieve effective development and for all people to enjoy the benefits of globalization. As I have said before:

“Poverty eradication without empowerment is unsustainable. Social integration without minority rights is unimaginable. Gender equality without women’s rights is illusory. Full employment without workers’ rights may be no more than a promise of sweatshops, exploitation and slavery. The logic of human rights in development is inescapable.”

The phenomenon of terrorism sets many challenges to the interlinked purposes of the United Nations- international peace and security, human rights, human development and the rule of international law. These challenges are not new, but the terrorist attacks in the United States of 11 September reverberated around the world and shocked humanity.

The world has changed in many ways since 11 September. But what has not changed is that a human rights approach to development is also essential in tackling the root causes of terrorism and conflict. If human rights are respected, if basic education, housing and health care are secure, if there is freedom from personal violence and freedom for men and women to earn their living and raise their families, not only are human rights violations prevented, but conflict, terrorism and war can be prevented. Since 11 September I have also reiterated that it is possible to have a robust and effective action against terrorism within a commitment to upholding domestic and international standards of human rights protection. International human rights law already balances national security and respect for human rights.

I have taken the view that, under existing norms of international criminal law, the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York can be characterised as a crime against humanity - both because of the nature and scale of the attack, and because it was aimed against civilians. At present there is no international court to try international crimes of this nature. But it is important to recall that we have now, in principle, a statute, the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which provides for individual criminal responsibility for international crimes, including for the first time a standing international forum for their prosecution. We must ensure that this comes into force through sufficient ratification and thereby equip ourselves with the means to deal with such horrors as that of 11 September in the future. There are 60 ratifications required for the Statue to come into force. At the end of 2001 there were 139 signatures and 52 States have ratified, so we need eight more. The expectation is that the Statute could come into force in the second half of 2002. The universal ratification of the Statute is an important goal for the world community. Of the 45 States in the Asia Pacific region, just under half have signed the Rome Statute and only three have ratified. We should discuss what could be done to encourage other Asia Pacific states to take the necessary steps to join.

Human relationships are at the heart of development. I therefore encourage you to reaffirm here in Beirut the commitment of Asia-Pacific states to implement the Durban Programme of Action and to integrate its goals into all four pillars of the Framework. Fighting racism and xenophobia should be an integral part of national human rights plans of action, it should be taught in schools to build a long-term culture of human rights, it should be a plank in the strategies of national rights institutions and it is often both a symptom and a cause of poverty.

I sincerely hope that programmes under the four pillars of the Framework will help states to tackle the human rights challenges in this region. They should help to build national capacity in government and civil society. And they should strengthen institutions, such as the justice system, that are vital for countries going through a transition to democracy or which are emerging from conflict and seeking to prevent a return to cycles of violence.

Common foundations – treaties & sub-regional mechanisms

The Asia-Pacific framework was inspired by a desire to build common human rights foundations in the region and to find ways to work together across borders and sub-regions. I would encourage you in two directions.

First, international human rights treaties and standards provide a common road-map to tackle together the challenges I described earlier. I am encouraged that in the last two years 51 human rights treaties have been signed or ratified by 21 different states in this region. I urge you to contribute to the universal ratification of the six main human rights treaties by end 2003, a target which the Secretary -General and I set at the Millennium Summit. Would it not be a powerful human rights message from Asia-Pacific if by next year’s meeting every state here had ratified at least two more core human rights treaties? There is a further human rights Convention I wish to mention. It is the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and their families. This was adopted in 1990. Now only one more ratification is necessary for it to come into force. Will one of the states in this room give life to a convention that protects a group so especially vulnerable in this globalised world? I look forward to a positive response to my challenge.

The obligation of states parties under some of the treaties to prepare reports for a treaty body is time-consuming. But it can also be a rich experience that brings together government and civil society in understanding human rights problems and potential solutions. My Office is ready to provide training and advice to any government that is serious about ratifying human rights treaties and reporting properly to the treaty bodies.

Secondly, I hope that every year you will take another step towards creating your own, more permanent regional or sub-regional human rights arrangement. I am aware of the official dialogue between ASEAN and the civil society “Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism,” on the proposal for an ASEAN human rights commission. I look forward to government and NGO participants here in Beirut briefing us further on recent progress on this and similar initiatives. The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, whose Members are well represented here, is an excellent example of regional networks which can enhance individual capacities and provide the space for an effective sharing of best practices.

10th Workshop - taking stocking

We look back on 10 years of workshops and four years of the Teheran Framework. You have created a unique forum in which states have been able to come together to discuss human rights in their own region, in a way that did not occur in the past. This landmark gathering is a good time to take stock, to assess the impact of our work and to strengthen the Framework. I wish to make suggestions in four areas.

First, step-by-step change takes time, often years. I believe that this Framework should increasingly identify objectives that member states wish to achieve over a longer period with a biennial rolling programme of action to work towards those goals. These annual workshops should be, in effect, review meetings, where states review progress in achieving these goals and approve broad future directions. It is therefore crucial that participants in the workshop be senior officials with the necessary decision-making capacity and that the continued involvement of national institutions and civil society be reinforced as participants in this review process. It may be that the frequency of such review meetings should be examined. In contrast, inter-sessional activities should involve those who have real expertise in the subject, to exchange practical experiences, participate in training and implement projects.

Second, workshops with participants from across the whole Asia-Pacific region have been useful to explore new or difficult concepts. But in the end we must judge the success of activities by whether they lead to progress and change at the national level, creating or strengthening national capacities and infrastructures thus affecting in a concrete way people's lives. With the vastness and diversity of this region I believe that increasingly this Framework should concentrate principally on activities at the sub-regional and national level. Workshops are not ends in themselves, but should always be seen as part of a broader programme or project to achieve real change.

Third, I encourage you to constantly evaluate and strengthen the activities under the Framework. Be guided by the spirit and questions raised by Professor Vitit Muntabhorn in his evaluation of the Teheran Framework. For example, four countries in the region have adopted national human rights plans of action. An evaluation of their experiences would help other states to adopt best practices and avoid the mistakes of those who preceded them.

Fourth, I believe all partners in this process should work together more closely and consistently – governments, non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions, my Office and other UN agencies, UN treaty bodies and thematic experts, private enterprise – and the victims of human rights violations themselves. The heart of the Framework is the commitment and hard work of states. I urge every state here to examine how it can contribute in a tangible way to the subject-matter of the four pillars. It could be to host an activity, to recommend and help shape a project, to make voluntary contributions on which all the activities depend, or to offer the wisdom of your own experiences for the benefit of others.

My Office stands ready to provide the technical co-operation and advise in support of this Framework. I have already mentioned our regional representatives. I hope they will be a new source of ideas advice and best practice for all States.

I look to other UN agencies and global and regional financial institutions to provide technical, financial and logistical support. I have consistently emphasised that human rights are not “owned” by any one agency. The main thrust of the Secretary –General’s reform process is to integrate human rights standards into all agencies especially in the field. My office is a catalyst in that process.

This is the second year in which non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions have participated in a one-day pre-meeting and made their recommendations to the inter-governmental forum. It reflects the relevance and constructive role of civil society. I warmly welcome their presence and note how fitting it is that in this 10th anniversary year the largest number ever of national institutions from the Asia Pacific come together at this Workshop. I reiterate the hope I expressed two years ago that civil society partners will be involved more in future activities under this Framework and eventually will become full participating partners in support of the inter-governmental process.


Excellencies,
Distinguished Representatives,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In concluding, let me reiterate that I attach great importance to this workshop and its ability to achieve tangible results for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asia and Pacific region. I would in particular emphasize the following:

1. The strong commitment of my Office to support the implementation of your deliberations with regard to future activities at the regional, sub-regional and national level to further the process of regional cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights.

2. My encouragement to all participants to consider organizing and/or hosting regional, sub-regional and national initiatives with a greater involvement of national institutions and civil society and to follow up at the national level the implementation of the programme that you will be adopting.

3. My invitation to all of you to identify here in Beirut - if possible -a candidate for hosting the next Asia/Pacific workshop which will take place in the year 2003 and to continue having consultations by the open-ended working group in Geneva so as to follow-up on the concrete proposals emerging from this meeting.

We are here today to increase and coordinate our efforts to help improve substantively the life of the peoples of this region. You can sense my enthusiasm with this approach. I count on you to make this workshop a practical step in the achievement of this objective.



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