Sixth Workshop on Regional Human Rights Arrangements in the Asian and Pacific Region

Opening address by Mary Robinson
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights


Tehran, 28 February 1998

I would like to pay tribute to His Excellency, Dr Kamal Kharrazi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran for his thoughtful and, I would say, encouraging address. I would like also to pay tribute to the efforts of our hosts in preparing this workshop and the work of my colleagues from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In preparing to come to Tehran to participate in this workshop I was struck by the significance of this gathering of the Asia-Pacific Region. We have in this room representatives from Cyprus to Japan; from some of the poorest and some of the wealthiest countries; from states with a few thousand people through to China and India.

As someone who comes myself from a small island near a large continent, I would especially like to welcome the delegations from Fiji and Samoa and their contributions to the rich diversity of this meeting.

Of the 48 governments which voted in favour of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 - 13 came from the Asia-Pacific region. Many more governments - some newly independent - were here in Tehran and at the first world conference on human rights 20 years later and more still participated in Vienna in 1993 - reaffirming on both occasions their commitment to the Universal Declaration and the interdependence and indivisibility of human rights.

Now we mark the 50th Anniversary. I believe this should be a time for reflection and rededication rather than celebration. And it is in that spirit that I approach our work over the coming days.

I am also aware that there is lively debate in the Asia-Pacific region on the continuing relevance of this 50 year old document. I welcome this debate not least because it has drawn me to consider some of the practical wisdom and insight into the human condition found in the writings and sayings of the great thinkers and religious leaders of this region.

For that reason I was very interested in the resolution adopted as the contribution of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration, in particular the passage reiterating the necessity of taking advantage of the Anniversary to "highlight the lofty human values brought in by Islam, long before any positive covenants".

In the principles which follow I would highlight and note my agreement with the idea that, and I quote: "the principle of objectivity, non-selectivity and transparency, in the promotion of Human Rights, is of utmost importance."

This is a guiding principle in the work of my Office. The OIC Resolution is a welcome reminder, that the Universal Declaration, with its roots deep in the traditions of all the regions of the world, remains a living document - it should not be put on a shelf, or in a frame on the wall as something to be admired. Its preamble and 30 articles are there as a contemporary source of wisdom to be applied to the daily challenges of governments, international organisations and civil society.

And I welcome the emphasis HE the Foreign Minister placed on the importance of civil society for all of us.

The debate on advancing human rights is now marked by the interplay between governments - who continue to have a central role - and the various actors in civil society - NGOs, national human rights institutions, academic institutions and others. Our discussions at this meeting will be enhanced by the participation of these groups and I welcome their presence here at the workshop.

Over the past 50 years we have deepened our awareness of the importance of promoting full equality between men and women, of recognizing the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples, and of recognizing also the significance - in our unequal world - of the right to development.

And yet the Universal Declaration retains its relevance and central place.

Allow me to quote a passage which captures perfectly the aims of our workshop. The Declaration is "a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance".

And with these words - and since this is a workshop and not diplomatic conference - I will get down to the details of the task ahead.

I was not surprised to learn that there have been difficulties in establishing a human rights mechanism to cover a region whose vastness is matched only by its diversity.

Those difficulties need not - and should not - prevent progress. There is much to gain through working on a step-by-step process involving the sharing of information, experiences and best practices, and building up national capacities for the protection and promotion of human rights.

Reviewing the reports of your meetings from Manila through to Amman I find strong support for such regional cooperation.

The meeting in Amman last year urged my Office to design and seek your agreement for the implementation of a regional technical cooperation programme. To this end we have prepared a detailed paper to stimulate discussion and a project for a regional programme of technical cooperation which, I hope, will meet with your approval. This document has already benefitted from suggestions from many of the delegations here.

It has three main themes:

The first is to promote National Plans of Action for Human Rights.

The Vienna Declaration called on each State to "consider the desirability of drawing up a national action plan identifying steps whereby the State would improve the promotion and protection of Human Rights".

The essential idea was that a national plan would be developed to give practical effect to the internationally recognized principle that democracy and the effective protection of human rights provide the foundation for lasting national development and social justice.

This idea has not been widely adopted, but I am aware that a number of states are considering the possibility of a national plan for human rights. On December 10 last year, Human Rights Day, I was present in South Africa when that country's national human rights plan was presented. There is an opportunity here for your governments in the Asia-Pacific region to show leadership in developing such action plans which can be encouraged, in part, through an exchange of ideas and experiences with states sharing similar historical, cultural and religious backgrounds. The content and focus of national human rights plans will vary from one country to the other.

Those of you who participated in meetings with the Treaty Bodies are familiar with their insistence that human rights obligations be reflected in all areas of national development.

The Treaty Bodies often criticize governments for a lack of effective coordination between different government departments and authorities. As someone responsible for coordinating human rights activities across the United Nations system, I sympathise with those charged with "coordination" and offer you my full support in building recognition that human rights issues are found in virtually every ministry and government office - from foreign affairs and defense through to health and public works.

A national plan of action on human rights can be a useful policy and coordination tool across the full range of government activities and we are ready to work with your governments to develop such plans. They could usefully include benchmarks, established nationally but based on the principles of the Universal Declaration and the provisions of the Covenants and Conventions.

The second theme is Human Rights Education.

We are here today because of a common desire to work towards the realisation of human rights. But this not something which can be imposed or given from above. The United Nations commitment to human rights education comes from an understanding of the importance of citizens knowing and being able to exercise rights.

Human rights education is a vaccine against intolerance, animosity and conflicts between members of different groups in our communities. It is properly a high priority in the work of my Office. I see human rights education as empowering individuals to stand up for their rights and those of others. I believe in the good sense of our citizens -- and that people who are aware of their human rights are less likely to violate the rights of others.

As many of you know, I have consistently stated my commitment to a balanced approach to promoting and protecting human rights - including the right to development - this is essential in any pursuit of human rights which responds to the real needs of people in all our societies.

And so I would endorse the view of many governments that human rights education must increase general understanding of what is meant by the right to development if we are to ensure that development programmes themselves reflect human rights principles. This is clearly a highly sensitive and relevant issue in the Asia-Pacific region given the economic and social challenges confronting a number of countries.

Human rights education is essentially a national and local responsibility. Governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals have important roles to play in the elaboration and implementation of comprehensive and sustainable programmes at all levels of society.

Some countries of the Asia-Pacific region has already advised my Office of their efforts in the framework of the Decade of Human Rights Education. I welcome this hope this list will grow in the coming months.

On the issue of education, I realise there is much we can learn from your region - your emphasis on the importance of education has been a lesson to the world. The Asia-Pacific region - with its rich diversity of traditions, religions and philosophies - can, I am sure, develop its own approaches and mechanisms for establishing a culture of human rights through education.

In my own work as High Commissioner, I am developing a programme of education on human rights instruments and their implications for all my colleagues in the United Nations system. I see it as an essential component in implementing the Secretary-General's plan, which has been endorsed by the General Assembly, that human rights be integrated throughout the work of the UN.

The third major theme is National Human Rights Institutions .

One of the most important contributions my office can make in national capacity building is to support the establishment of independent, autonomous national human rights institutions with a mandate and appropriate powers to monitor and protect human rights.

National human rights institutions are by their very nature well placed to transform the rhetoric of international instruments into practical reality at the local level.

Because they are national - they can accommodate the challenges posed by local conditions and cultures, respecting ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity in implementing internationally agreed human rights principles.

And a national institution can provide constructive, well informed criticism from within - a source of advice and warning which is often more easily accepted than criticism from outside sources.

The good news, Your Excellency and distinguished delegates, is that National Institutions have become something of a growth industry. My Office is currently involved in the establishment and strengthening of national institutions in over 30 countries including a growing number from the Asia-Pacific region.

Establishing such bodies is not easy, requiring fresh, even creative thinking and new forms of cooperation on the parts of government, NGOs and the wider community. The Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions offers a meeting place for the exchange of information on national institutions and an opportunity to adapt a neighbours solutions to our own challenges. I am pleased to note that the Asia-Pacific Forum is represented at this workshop.

I would ask you to reflect on the three themes outlined here and to recognise that they are tightly interwoven - they complement and reinforce each other and will be far more effective when combined than when taken separately.

The linkages are self evident: national human rights institutions have an important role to play in formulating, implementing and then monitoring national plans of actions as well as in national human rights education programmes. Human rights education is an essential building block for successful national plans and reinforces support for national institutions.

I mentioned earlier my role in the Secretary-General's plan to integrate human rights in all aspects of the United Nations work. My Office alone is not enough - the entire UN system must be involved in the realization of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. It is this wider cooperation and support which I offer as you consider the documents prepared for this meeting.

The framework document of the regional technical cooperation programme before you is the result of lengthy debate within and between governments in the Asia Pacific region. It reflects needs, priorities and principles which you developed during this process of serious consensus-building.

I would hope that this sixth workshop will take the next step and adopt for implementation the programme of technical cooperation my Office has presented. I would also encourage your individual initiatives to contribute to the programme by organizing or financing some of its activities.

Adoption and a commitment to implementation would make this meeting an historic addition to Tehran's place in the human rights debate and would represent an enduring contribution to the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration.

I wish you well in your efforts and wisdom in your deliberations over the coming days.