High Commissioner for Human Rights addresses the African Union Summit of Heads of States and Governments

7th ORDINARY SESSION
OF THE AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT OF HEADS OF STATES AND GOVERNMENTS

1-2 July 2006, Banjul, The Gambia




STATEMENT BY THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AT THE PRESIDENTIAL SESSION COMMEMORATING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS


Your Excellencies, President of the Republic of Congo and President of the African Union,
President of the Republic of The Gambia,
Chairperson of the African Union Commission,

Commissioners of the African Union Commission,

Chairperson and Members of the African Commission Human and Peoples’ Rights,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure and honor to deliver the speech of the UN-High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Louise Arbour. In responding to the invitation extended to her by the African Union Commission, Ms Arbour expressed both her pleasure at the invitation, and her deep regret for not being able to be here today. The reason for her absence is the closing of the very first session of Human Rights Council, which started on the 19th June and in which she is required to participate.

I will now read the address of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Excellencies, Mr Secretary-General, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me from the outset to express my appreciation for the special invitation extended to me by His Excellency Alpha Oumar Konaré during my visit to Ethiopia in April this year to share with you the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. I feel indeed honored to be associated with this important event. I would also like to pay tribute to the African Commission, which was inaugurated in 1987 in Addis Ababa, a year after the Charter’s entry into force.

The African Charter is one of Africa’s pioneering instruments and a pivotal contribution to the advancement of international human rights. It is the pillar over which rests the continent’s commitment to upholding all human rights under the rule of law. Crucially, the African Charter is the only legally binding document that recognizes the right to development as a human right.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Too often, Africa is presented globally as the place where human rights violations occur on an unprecedented scale. Too little is said about the progress being made on this continent to advance human rights, democracy, and governance. Since its establishment less than five years ago, the African Union has positioned itself to carry forward the ideals of the African Charter. Today’s event is a testimony of the importance accorded by the African Union to human and peoples’ rights. The rapid adoption and coming into force of the Protocol on the Rights of Women, as well as the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights add to the framework for the protection and promotion of human rights in Africa. These developments have occurred together with the commendable advances made in combating impunity and in protecting all human rights. Mechanisms of transitional justice in several African countries emerging from conflict are now in place to ensure that accountability for past abuses provides some form of redress to victims and may deter future violations.

And now with a 13-strong membership in the Human Rights Council, Africa will have additional opportunities and a reinvigorated forum to enhance and refine our common struggle for the realization of all human rights.

A week ago, I was honored to address the first session of the Human Rights Council. At that venue, I highlighted some of the major challenges and concerns that all regions of the world, including Africa, must confront. Let me expand along that vein.

In Africa, as elsewhere, it is critical to acknowledge the gap between standard setting and implementation in the face of the formidable challenges posed by conflict, violence, discrimination, poverty, and a lack of resources. I had the opportunity to observe and assess such hiatus in the course of my Office’s work and my own frequent visits to Africa. Regrettably, the decisions of the African Commission for Human Rights, which are meant to confront these mighty obstacles and have also given content to a number of economic, social and cultural rights, are scarcely reflected in State jurisprudence and practice. They also remain unpublicized and therefore moot among their targeted beneficiaries and potential advocates. There is a clear and urgent need for Governments to enforce the Commission’s will and move from stated commitments to active protection of rights. Failure to do so will continue to make the enjoyment of human and peoples’ rights illusory to many on the continent.

New Constitutions as in Mauritania, as well as elections in several African countries, including, Liberia, Burundi, and, soon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, attest to Africa’s determination to create a milieu favorable to human and peoples’ rights. But it is also very important that effective institutions are put in place to breathe life into, and give effect to, the peoples’ will and aspirations.

Although vital, peace processes and elections in themselves are insufficient guarantees that rights will be upheld and prosperity achieved. A lack of checks and balances on the executive power on the part of weak or supine parliaments and judicial systems inevitably impedes the enjoyment of rights. Furthermore, public security agencies that have a free hand in abusing rather than protecting civilians add to despair, resentment, and disregard for the law. In turn, this may lead to civil disobedience and even outright rebellion.

In the absence of true accountability and sanction for unlawful conduct, the corrosive scourges of impunity and corruption, irremediably shatter confidence in the rule of law and in justice.

A civil society silenced by repression, exhausted by need, or robbed of resources by the rapacity of the powerful will be hard pressed to find the strength to challenge the status quo.

Critically, we must ask: what effects will this have on the young, who represent more than 50 percent of Africa’s population? Young people despair in the face of their country’s inability to provide peace, protection and justice, or food, shelter, education, basic services, and employment, as well as meaningful change through the ballot. Many have no choice but to leave. They may be forced by conflict and civil strife to flee their communities abandoning their way of life for a precarious existence of idleness and fear as internally displaced persons or refugees. Or they may risk their life at sea in a journey that takes them as migrants to foreign lands where anxieties about culture, identity, and competition for jobs could poison their welcome, and crush their hopes time and again. Whether caused by violence or want, the ultimate effects of their departure are the same: by neglecting the young, a country foregoes its best assets of energy, talent, and ideas.

African women remain particularly vulnerable. Caught between social stereotypes of patriarchal communities, and poverty and armed conflict, they face mighty obstacles that hinder their opportunity to become agents of change and beneficiaries of rights. On the other hand, there is every reason to celebrate the remarkable progress made by the participation of women in public life and in political affairs. The fact that women account for half of the membership of the African Union Commission puts this august body in an enviable leadership position, as did the election of Ellen Johnson-Shirleaf as President of Liberia.

A crucial signal of a State’s genuine commitment to human and peoples’ rights is the access given to international human rights mechanisms, and in particular to my Office and to the representatives of the Special Procedures who are at the forefront of human rights protection. Although advancement of human rights is a commitment that has to come from within a society and its institutions, we can assist national efforts, providing expertise where it is lacking and guidance when requested. Bilateral agreements, such as those we have stipulated with the Government of Uganda, allow us to have a meaningful presence on the ground. While in terms of numbers, the largest deployment of international human rights officers everywhere in the world is in peacekeeping missions, I hope that OHCHR can also engage in the protection of human rights in all countries where the political will is strong and the opportunity for progress is therefore tangible.

In our collective endeavour to protect human and peoples’ rights and empower individuals, civil society should be regarded as a true and trusted partner. The experience of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights with nongovernmental organizations, human rights defenders, and National Human Rights Institutions proves this point. It shows that such partnership is not and should not be considered either as a joint venture or a nuisance inimical to State’s interests, but as an incentive to accountability, and a conduit to the sentiment and needs of the continent’s diverse communities.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Within days of my taking office as High Commissioner for Human Rights in July 2004, I attended the African Union summit in Addis Abeba. Since that time, both your organizations and my Office have made good progress towards our common goal of realizing all human rights for all. I wish you courage and continued inspiration well beyond this joyous event.

Thank You