STATEMENT BY THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AT THE EUROPEAN REGIONAL COLLOQUY ORGANIZED BY THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Strasbourg, 2 September 1998


Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

A few years ago, I served - for my sins - as General Rapporteur of the Inter-regional preparatory meeting hosted by the Council of Europe for the World Conference on Human Rights. At the time, I noted the support for creating the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, but had no inkling that a few years later I would fill this position and embark on one of the most challenging experiences of my life. At that time I urged that the greatest challenge - the greatest failure - was to address gross violations of human rights. It is a theme I shall revisit today.

We are gathered to mark the 50 years that have elapsed since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to envisage possible future action. We must not forget that 1998 also marks the stock taking review of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. These inter-related events present us with the opportunity to reflect on the international efforts to promote and protect human rights. But more important, these events challenge us, whether in the United Nations, in Regional Organizations such as the Council of Europe, in governments or non-governmental entities, to recommit ourselves to the work still to be done to ensure that human rights truly become a reality in the lives of people everywhere.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has the great merit of being the first worldwide legal instrument to gather together a set of principles embodying the fundamental rights and freedoms of the human being, recognized by the international community and based on the dignity and equality of the human race. Written in the present tense the Declaration has continually given its message new life. Indeed, the European Convention itself was envisaged as a way to translate the Declaration into a binding instrument at the European level. It has extended its reach to all parts of the world and has served as a model for domestic constitutions and laws, regulations and policies, and practices of governance that protect human rights. Its provisions have supplied countless reference points for national courts, parliaments, governments, lawyers and non-governmental organizations, proof that the Universal Declaration speaks to our diverse world. Many of the provisions of the Declaration have become part of customary international law, which is binding on all states whether or not they are signatories to one or more multilateral conventions concerning human rights. Thus what started its existence as a solemn but non-binding proclamation of rights and freedoms has, at least in some respects, acquired through state practice the status of universal law.

We now see with greater clarity that the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration as the birth-right of each human being are also the unifying principles which should inform every strategic action of the United Nations - from sustainable development to peace and security, from humanitarian assistance to democracy and peace.

These tasks were greatly facilitated by the development of a close-knit network of international intergovernmental organizations, especially the UnitedNations, but also its specialized agencies and regional international organizations, which offered the international community a new institutional framework for the development of cooperation among States. But what is new is that the framework provided by the international organizations brings together not just States as the main subjects in this legal order, but also other leading actors in international society which have proved very effective when it comes to codifying the international rules necessary for the recognition and subsequent application of human rights in international law.

The 50th anniversary motto - "all human rights for all" expresses the challenge which we face as we approach a new century. Though the Declaration today is our common proclamation of human rights, it has not yet become our common call to action. We must draw on the inspiration of the individuals who joined together to produce one of the great documents of our human history. To reach its goals, we must work together to advance equally all the rights the Universal Declaration declares.

We have to acknowledge, sadly, that the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not a cause for celebration. We must see in the prevalence of conflicts and widespread human rights violations in the world today and the ensuing enormous human suffering which they cause, a measure of our past failures. Graça Machel, the Secretary-General's expert on the impact of armed conflict on children, reported in 1996 that more than 2 million children had been killed in conflicts in the previous decade -- the overwhelming majority of these in internal conflicts. She alluded to the "desolate moral vacuum" created by modern conflict, a "space devoid of the most basic human values".

The abuses prevalent in modern conflicts are appalling; and they are not just distant problems but tragic realities also for European peoples, most recently in Kosovo. They encompass widespread assaults on the right to life -- massacres, direct and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, killing of prisoners, starvation. Torture, is common as are measures attacking people's freedom of movement -- forcible relocations, mass expulsions, denial of the right to seek asylum or the right to return to one's home. Women and girls are raped by soldiers and are abducted into forced prostitution, and children are recruited to be soldiers. Tens of thousands of people detained in connection with conflicts "disappear", usually killed and buried in secret, leaving their families with the torment of not knowing their fate. Thousands of others are arbitrarily detained, never brought to trial or, if they are, subject to grossly unfair procedures. Civilian homes and property, schools, health centers and crops are deliberately destroyed. Those who try to assist civilians by providing humanitarian aid are attacked. Insofar as such abuses are occurring in Europe they interrogate Europe's integrity and commitment to the values of the Council of Europe.

In an age of global communication, and media coverage, these abuses are known to us all. Even if some conflicts are neglected by our media, we cannot plead ignorance. A few minutes searching on the Internet brings to light detailed information on such abuses in any serious conflicts in the world today. The problem is not lack of information, but a lack of appropriate action. In an era when threats to human security are coming from new and more diverse forms of conflicts, the challenge of conflict prevention goes to the very heart of the shared mission of the United Nations and regional organizations such as the Council of Europe. To meet this challenge, there is a critical need to develop a culture of prevention. Conflict prevention should focus not only on tense ethnic or political disputes, but also on chronic underdevelopment, grinding poverty, mass unemployment, widespread illiteracy and systematic inequalities of income or opportunities.

We must insist on respect for civil and political rights and the building of democratic societies -- so that grievances and disputes can be resolved peacefully, so that a free press and an active civil society can be a check on the corrupt or unlawful exercise of state power, and so that the state's judicial system operates fairly and police or security personnel who abuse their power are brought to justice. But equally, we must insist that due attention be given to economic, social and cultural rights, that adequate health care, education, and housing are seen not as the privileges of a few, but fundamental needs that must be addressed effectively if justice and stability are to be attained. Mass illiteracy and poverty are human rights issues no less than freedom of expression, and the wilful disregard of the former is as likely to sow the seeds of conflict as the denial of the latter.

The drafters of the Universal Declaration perceived the close connection between violations of human rights and national and international peace. Unfortunately, over the past fifty years we have often lost sight of this connection. This is even more tragic when we consider that acting on recognition of this inherent connection could have been pivotal in preventing massive violations of human rights which in recent years we have witnessed here on the Continent of Europe, as elsewhere, and against which we pledged "never again". Early warning and preventive action, aimed at deterring such human rights violations and defusing situations which may lead to humanitarian disasters, is invaluable. The necessary efforts - comprehensive and sustained - on the part of the UN and other inter-governmental actors must not only be carefully planned, they must also be mutually re-enforcing. This implies the need for a common framework for our action.

I was pleased to participate, with Secretary-General Tarschys of the Council of Europe, at the third conference between the United Nations and regional organizations in New York this July under the Chairmanship of the UN Secretary-General on "Cooperation for Conflict Prevention". The meeting examined the potential for greater interaction and cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in the field of conflict prevention. Participants reviewed how the United Nations and regional organizations were responding to this challenge, and identified areas of possible future interaction and collaboration. This implies, on the one hand, looking at "structural prevention", namely, the need to address the economic, social, ethnic and other root causes of conflict, and to promote greater respect for human rights, maintenance of the rule of law and strengthening of democratic institutions. It means, as well, looking at "operational prevention", which encompasses the traditional forms of conflict prevention and "early warning". It was noted that prevention is a continuum that ranges from early warning, through preventive diplomacy, preventive disarmament (particularly of small arms), preventive deployment, and on to peace-building, both before and after conflicts.

The focus should be on how the United Nations and regional organizations, with their strengths and capabilities in the area of conflict prevention, can work together to achieve greater complementarily as mutually reinforcing institutions, making use of their comparative advantages. It is also essential to understand that a key to conflict prevention lies with Member States and their support for early external involvement to defuse disputes and crises.

Beyond rhetoric, we must now develop specific modalities for more effective cooperation in the field of conflict prevention that are both practical and implementable. While recognizing that no single model of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations will cover all eventualities, possible approaches envisage measures for more regular consultation at the working level, including in the context of early warning; more systematic coordination of preventive activities in the field, including joint assessment missions, as appropriate; the development of common indicators for early warning and benchmarks for economic, social and cultural rights; better flows of information; exchange of liaison officers; visits and joint training of staff; building specific links to civil society (including the media and professional groups) to increase awareness of the value of prevention; and similar measures to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

As High Commissioner for Human Rights, and recognizing the catalytic role of my Office, I am particularly keen to strengthen the linkages with regional organizations, I intend to take this opportunity to further develop joint action and common commitments between my Office and the various Departments within the Council of Europe. The relevant activities of both Organizations should be complementary. Among the issues we can address within this common framework are violence against women, advisory services, racism and intolerance, human rights education and awareness, and national human rights institutions.

In the months ahead, we should recommit ourselves to reaching all people with the message of the Universal Declaration: the message that human rights belong to every individual, the message that all human rights, be they civil, cultural, economic, political or social must be equally protected if any is to be ensured. The message that together we all must take responsibility for human rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Covenants and the Conventions on human rights which have been adopted by the United Nations and regional Organizations, in particular the Council of Europe, over the past half century are clear evidence of what can be accomplished when the international community works together for a common purpose. They are both the inspiration and the challenge to us as we face into the next half century.