Statement by Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the 54th Session of the Commission on Human Rights

Geneva, 19 March 1998

I am very pleased to address this Commission for the first time, and to introduce the ?Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights? and my interim report on the ?Five Year Review of the Implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action?. Under the chairmanship of Ambassador Selebi, I believe it is a Commission which can make a difference to our approach to the promotion and protection of human rights.

The six months since I assumed my Office has been a period for gaining experience, for action in defence of human rights, and for reflection on the principles underlying the international community?s promotion and protection of human rights.

Fifty years ago, this Commission completed the draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement to secure the universal and effective recognition and observance of human rights. It is written in the present tense which makes it a living document as relevant today as when it was so carefully crafted.

The Declaration provides the fundamental inspiration for the many developments in the human rights field that have occurred in the fifty years since its adoption. Some of these may not have been anticipated at that time, but all can trace their origins to it. Numerous binding instruments have been ratified by the majority of member states, including the two International Covenants, which, with the Declaration, form the International Bill of Rights. An array of mechanisms has been established, through which the United Nations and the international community monitor the observance of the human rights commitments undertaken by states. We need to value, resource and improve the working of these mechanisms. The Commission on Human Rights has become a body which relies heavily on the contribution of civil society, in the form of a large and vibrant NGO community. And the Right to Development has been recognised as a right which synthesises all others.

The universal reaffirmation of that right to development was a highlight of the World Conference on Human Rights five years ago. At Vienna, the international community also affirmed that respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms without distinction of any kind is a fundamental rule of international human rights law.

But this fiftieth anniversary is not a time for celebration, nor can we afford to be self-congratulatory or complacent when considering the developments since 1948. We cannot pretend that these achievements in the field of human rights have led to a significant decrease in the nature, gravity or number of human rights violations. Twice in this decade, we have witnessed genocide perpetrated against hundreds of thousands of human beings. Rape has been used as a systematic weapon of war, in defiance of human rights instruments and international humanitarian law. Torture, arbitrary executions and disappearances are common. Hundreds of millions of people live in extreme poverty, suffering from malnutrition, disease and lack of hope. Millions of children die from lack of safe water or preventable diseases. We still have widespread discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religious belief or sexual orientation. Countries that pride themselves on their welcoming ways are closing their doors on migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. This is a failure of implementation on a scale which shames us all. The impact of fifty years of human rights mechanisms, of 30 years of multi-billion dollar development programmes, of global rhetoric at numerous world conferences, has been totally and disappointingly disproportionate to the efforts invested.

In spite of this, the message of human rights is a message of hope: a message that things can change; that individuals and the United Nations can have an impact. And the proof of this is here, sitting beside me as chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights. Democracy in South Africa is the strongest message of encouragement we could hope for; things can change and we can help change them.

In these six months, as I listened to representatives of governments, non-governmental organisations, academia and civil society, I have learned that the gap in perceptions of what we mean by human rights needs to be narrowed if our commitment to promote and protect human rights is to become a reality. I believe that the mandate given to me by the General Assembly entrusts me with a particular responsibility to bridge that gap. As High Commissioner, I have a responsibility to adopt and foster a rights based approach across the whole spectrum of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, to promote and protect the realisation of the right to development and to include women?s rights as human rights. My approach must embrace all those who are vulnerable, including indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons. I look forward to working closely, with you, the members of the Commission on Human Rights, to achieve this objective. Under the leadership of the Secretary General, Kofi Annan, the UN as a whole has begun mainstreaming human rights into all its work, and responding in a collegiate way as a team. I hope that this approach will find a reflection in your work. I know that you will bring to your deliberations a firm commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, and that you will address each situation objectively and on its merits. In this spirit, I would hope that all those referred to during the work of the Commission will accept comments in a constructive way. I would hope that states that comment on others accept that no state is without human rights problems and, bearing that in mind, avoid unnecessarily antagonistic statements and resolutions.

Let us recognise, here in the context of the Commission on Human Rights, that the international community has tended to react to human rights violations after the event. I believe that we can, and must, take effective steps to prevent and forestall situations where human rights violations are threatened. The current events in Kosovo are a worrying reminder of this necessity. The Secretary General told us that ?... the next century must be the age of prevention.? This is a profound and urgent challenge to us all.

As High Commissioner I am deeply conscious of the scale of violence perpetrated against women and children worldwide, in the family, in the community and in time of armed conflict. My office will prioritize the efforts we are making to support and work with the rapporteurs, treaty bodies, agencies and programmes, together with the NGOs, who are tackling different facets of this huge problem. I propose to address in particular the worsening problem of trafficking in women and girls, which was brought home to me in Cambodia and Thailand, and which I am aware is an acute problem in other regions such as Central and Eastern Europe.

The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action reminds us that the human rights efforts of the United Nations system contribute to the stability and well-being necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations, and to improved conditions for peace and security as well as social and economic development. It follows that human rights imperatives can and must be injected into every aspect of the Organisation's work. This requires an integrated approach - for example, working with our colleagues in political affairs and peacekeeping because today's human rights violations are the causes of tomorrow's conflicts. We are starting to work closely with the agencies tackling economic development, population activities, health, women and children, education, refugees and displaced persons. This must also include the Bretton Woods institutions, and the technical agencies, whose work can have a major impact on the enjoyment of human rights.

Recently, my office and UNDP signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will commit both organisations to strengthening and expanding our cooperation. I attach the highest priority to technical cooperation and advisory services, and am glad our own effectiveness will be enhanced by this agreement. The rights based approach will enhance the human dimension of UNDP strategies that, among others, focus on eliminating poverty, helping groups that require special protection, and strengthening institutions of governance and democracy. The right to development is all-encompassing, demanding the realisation of all human rights: civil, economic, political and social, and this approach understands the role of human rights as empowering individuals and communities. By protecting these rights, we can help prevent the many conflicts based on poverty, discrimination and exclusion that continue to plague humanity and destroy decades of development efforts.

Another, related, priority of my office is to continue and expand further our work on national capacity building to protect and promote human rights. There is a remarkable growth in the number of Human Rights Commissions and Ombudspersons in all regions reflecting a welcome sense of ownership of human rights problems and a recognition that the addressing of them is all the stronger and more sustainable if it is based on national capacity. International norms and standards then take their true role of ensuring the universality of human rights and requiring compliance with international standards, but knowing that the real difference is being made because of national human rights structures and mechanisms.

First and foremost, the duty to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms rests with governments. In this fiftieth anniversary year, I call on Governments to enhance their efforts to ensure the full realisation of all human rights. I believe there is a need to rekindle the flame that was the symbol of Vienna. The international community must do significantly more to implement the commitments undertaken at the World Conference of Human Rights.

That conference urged the universal ratification of human rights treaties. There has been notable progress, but, three years after the deadline set at Vienna, there are still two Member States which have failed to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It seems unlikely that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women will achieve universal ratification by the year 2000, unless the pace of ratification increases. The situation as regards the International Covenants, the Racism Convention and the Torture Convention is even less satisfactory. I believe that there is a need to reaffirm the commitments undertaken in Vienna, and to consider the possibility of setting a realistic goal - say five years from now - for the universal ratification of these six core instruments. Having said that, I would like to support the Global Campaign on the Migrants Rights Convention being launched this week and all other efforts towards ratifications of international human rights instruments.

The conference also underlined the importance of preserving and strengthening the system of special procedures, special rapporteurs, representatives, experts and working groups of the Commission, in order to enable them to carry out their mandates in all countries throughout the world. It is therefore a matter of grave concern to me that a number of states, including members of this Commission, continue to refuse their full cooperation to special rapporteurs and others mandated by this Commission. I must draw particular attention to the recent refusal by a court in a Member State to recognise that the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers enjoys the protection provided under the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. This action constitutes an attack on the entire system and institution of the United Nations special procedures and mechanisms, and I urge the government concerned to respect its obligations under the Convention.

The Vienna Declaration provisions concerning national action plans have received relatively little implementation. I was therefore very heartened by the leadership shown by the Asia Pacific region at the workshop held in Tehran earlier this month. A regional arrangement for technical co-operation was adopted by the 35 countries which participated, one of the priorities being to draw up national plans for human rights. I urge all States to make serious efforts to draw up such plans. The content, focus and complexity of national human rights plans will, of course, vary from country to country. But the essential point is that they should be developed to give practical effect to the internationally recognized principles that democracy and the effective protection of human rights provide the foundation for lasting national development and social justice. My colleagues and I are ready to work with your governments to develop such plans, which could usefully include benchmarks, established nationally but based on the principles of the Universal Declaration and the provisions of the Covenants and Conventions.

The Universal Declaration identifies teaching and education as key means for the promotion and protection of human rights. The United Nations commitment to human rights education comes from an understanding of the importance of citizens knowing about and being able to exercise rights. Human rights education is a vaccine against intolerance, animosity and conflicts in our communities, and empowers individuals to stand up for their rights and those of others. It is properly a high priority in the work of my Office. Non-governmental organizations have an important role to play in ensuring that people are educated on and supported in exercising their human rights. With this in mind, I welcome the successful outcome to the working group on human rights defenders. I trust that this Commission can endorse the Declaration by consensus and transmit it to the General Assembly for adoption later this year. Hopefully, we will also mark this Human Rights year by the establishment of the International Criminal Court, which would be the last major international institution of this millennium.

My report to this Commission covers in significant detail the various activities which my Office is undertaking to fulfill the mandates entrusted by the international community to me and to the United Nations. But I must draw attention to the fact that the staff allocation and financial resources available continue to be insufficient for this purpose and do not reflect the priority you have given our work. To fulfil the commitments made by member states in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action it is essential that the human rights activities of the United Nations are placed on a proper financial footing, both in terms of the regular budget and voluntary contributions.

We heard the Secretary-General issue a strong moral call for action to end human rights violations, and to protect democracy and human rights as essential to meaningful development. The U.N. is challenged to respond, but so are Governments, NGOs and individuals. I would like to lay out some of those challenges as I see them:

Challenges to Governments

° to end violations against women, children, minorities, and migrants, and to end racial discrimination;
° to ratify international human rights treaties;
° to adopt national plans of human rights action and include human rights in national economic priority setting;
° to ensure human rights education for all;
° to establish national human rights institutions;
° to make progress towards eradicating poverty.

Challenges to NGOs and to individuals

° to reinforce education and information on human rights;
° to develop wide partnerships and a broad approach for action on human rights;
° to alert governments and UN bodies to dangers of violations;
° to make human rights and respect for human dignity a part of daily life. Progress in some of these areas may be easier to measure than in others, but this should not prevent us from trying to mark achievements and signal failures.

Mr. Chairman

We are all the custodians of human rights, but this Commission has a particular task and responsibility. You posed your own challenge: I wish you and the members of the Commission on Human Rights every success in your efforts to make a difference and to ensure the promotion and protection of all human rights for all.