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Statements Commission on Human Rights
Statement by the Mr. Pierre Sané, Assistant Director-General, Social and Human Sciences of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
18 March 2003
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At the 59th Session of the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
18.03.2003
Madam Chairperson,
Mr High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Distinguished Observers,
Dear NGO’s, Dear Friends,
I bring to you the greetings of the Director General of UNESCO and his wishes of full success for this session of this Commission.
The mission of UNESCO is ‘…to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations’. In other words UNESCO is a human rights organization.
Indeed, from the outset, UNESCO has contributed to the promotion and protection of all human rights. The Organization was actively involved in the elaboration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has provided the foundation for the progressive development of international human rights law. UNESCO also assisted in the drafting of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. UNESCO works more particularly to advance those rights which fall within its mandate: the right to education, the right to participate in cultural life, the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information, the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications etc.
Madam Chairperson,
The efforts of the international community, of Governments and social actors to ensure all human rights for all, including almost sixty years of work of this Commission, have brought tangible results, especially in the standard-setting field. However, we should admit that the state of implementation of human rights is still far from being satisfactory. Moreover, I would characterize the situation of human rights in the world today as alarming. During the last ten years we have witnessed terrible crimes against humanity, such as genocide and ethnic cleansing. Recourse to terrorism has become a growing phenomenon. Poverty and extreme poverty affect about half of the world population. This means that close to three billion people cannot satisfy their basic needs and implement their fundamental human rights.
It is shocking that in a world that has never been richer hundreds of millions of people are starving, do not have safe water, are deprived of access to education, and cannot in fact protect their human dignity. It is scandalous that in a globalized world, in which the flow of goods and money are free, the people from the majority world cannot move freely. It is inadmissible that globalization, instead of bringing people closer, creates new divides due to unequal sharing of its benefits. For many, globalization has become, and not without reason, a synonym for poverty and exclusion. We can see growing alienation between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’, as well as between the representatives of different cultures, resulting in strong xenophobic attitudes. Even the fight against terrorism, which normally should consolidate unity in the face of a global threat, has led to the rise of intolerance based on new and resurgent enemy images, negative stereotypes and abuses of human rights. Violence in the world is growing. Armed conflicts in various regions are leading every day to numerous losses of human life and to gross and massive violations of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Madam Chairperson,
There is a new urgency at the global level to protect all human rights for all. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is the very foundation of stability, security and peace and of the legitimacy of the United Nations. At the same time, peace is a prerequisite for the full enjoyment of human rights. The main purpose of the United Nations is to save humanity from the scourge of war, which must always be a last resort. And if the use of force is to be authorized by UN Security Council then Human Rights and humanitarian law must be observed and enforced.
Madam Chairperson,
In the face of all these challenges, human rights, more than ever, should be promoted and protected. For this reason, UNESCO wholeheartedly supports the reform of the United Nations system launched by the Secretary-General. Human rights were rightfully proclaimed a central tenet of this reform.
In its endeavor to reaffirm its human rights mandate and to increase its contribution to the promotion and protection of all human rights for all, UNESCO is elaborating an overall human rights strategy. Inspired by the United Nations Reform Program and the Millennium Development Goals, this strategy aims at mainstreaming a human rights perspective in all fields of competence of the Organization – education, sciences, culture and communication. It further identifies areas of research and action where UNESCO’s contribution could be the most valuable.
The Strategy is based on the recognition of the principle of indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights – civil, cultural, economic, political and social. By encouraging and supporting quality research at regional, national and local levels, UNESCO intends to further elucidate the content of economic, social and in particular cultural rights, and to identify obstacles and challenges to their implementation. The efforts in this field should include the dissemination of factual information and results of comparative analysis, and the elaboration of concrete recommendations for action, with a view to increasing justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights violations, which are too often neglected. Research activities should provide decision-makers as well as non-governmental organizations and civil society as a whole with the appropriate tools to fight for human rights. Research should also help to determine emerging challenges to human rights.
Nevertheless, UNESCO is persuaded that prevention is the best way to avoid future human rights tragedies. With this in mind, the Organization has developed several specific standard-setting instruments. The Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights of 1997 aims at setting out ethical and legal standards to assist the progress of genetic research and its application and to strike a balance between freedom of scientific research and the protection of human dignity and human freedom against the potentially negative impact of biomedical research. The same could be said about the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of 2001 which is aimed at the prevention of human rights violations provoked by the denial of the right to be different. The Declaration also clearly articulates, in conformity with the principle of the universality of human rights, that “No one may invoke cultural diversity to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor to limit their scope.”
Madam Chairperson,
Knowledge of international human rights standards and the procedures for their implementation is a precondition for the promotion and protection of human rights. It is also hardly possible without forging behavior patterns based on the determination to defend one’s own rights as well as the rights of others. For this reason, education on human rights and for human rights is the core element in the advance of human rights and one of the main responsibilities of UNESCO. May I recall that UNESCO, the day after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, not only acknowledged the importance of this instrument for all the activities of the Organization, but also committed itself to make its provisions widely known. UNESCO has played an important role in developing human rights education and has been a pioneer in promoting recognition that education for human rights is itself a human right. The Organization has published a significant number of educational and information materials on human rights, organized three international congresses with a view to develop human rights education and has established networks such as UNESCO Chairs and Associated Schools, which are assisting in these endeavors.
UNESCO is also playing an active role in the implementation of the Plan of Action of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) and, in close cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has organized five regional conferences in order to encourage the adoption and implementation of national plans for human rights education. Education for human rights will continue to be a priority within UNESCO’s human rights strategy. We intend to use more effectively innovative communication technologies, facilitate the exchange of ‘good practices’, and assist in raising the quality of human rights education through the training of educators, the improvement of teaching methodologies and preparation of education materials.
Madam Chairperson,
In order to strengthen the links between research, policy-making and implementation of political decisions, UNESCO intends to organize an Annual World Human Rights Forum. The Forum will bring together representatives of national and local authorities, national human rights institutions, human rights research and training centers, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, in other words, all those working in the field of human rights. It will be a unique opportunity to have a free and extensive exchange of opinions amongst various actors in their common endeavour to address pressing human rights challenges. In initiating this Forum, we in UNESCO hope that it will contribute to a policy dialogue on human rights and will help to consolidate the global human rights movement. We count on the active participation of the various bodies, programs and agencies of the United Nations system, as well as on all our intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
Madam Chairperson,
In all its efforts and activities in the field of human rights, UNESCO considers cooperation and coordination with its partners of utmost importance. First of all, we would like to strengthen the interaction within the United Nations system. I am glad to inform you that, on 5 February 2003, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between UNESCO and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This Memorandum lays down the modalities of cooperation and identifies various fields where such cooperation could be the most fruitful, including the elaboration of strategies concerning the right to education, human rights education, human rights and bioethics, cultural rights and the protection of cultural diversity, human rights of women, freedom of expression and access to information. Issues related to freedom of expression and access to information will be thoroughly examined during the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society taking place in Geneva in December 2003. Moreover, the Director-General and the High Commissioner have discussed how UNESCO and the Office of the High Commissioner can act together in order to protect victims of human rights violations.
Madam Chairperson,
Advancement in the protection of women’s rights and the elimination of inequalities between women and men are among the strategic objectives of UNESCO. Guided by strong and consistent commitment to promoting gender equality and human rights of women, we are working to enhance women’s access to and participation in all spheres of life and to eliminate all forms of discrimination, particularly in the access to education and to decision-making positions. A specific strategy on the human rights of women, gender equality and development is under preparation. It should ensure the relevance of our work to the implementation of the goals of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals for gender equality and the empowerment of women. Within the ambit of the social and human sciences, we intend to elaborate a research agenda that would permit UNESCO to strengthen its contribution to the development of gender-mainstreaming policies and programs, both within the Organization and in Member States.
Madam Chairperson,
The struggle against racism, discrimination and xenophobia in all their forms and manifestations is at the core of UNESCO action since its very creation. UNESCO is working actively to ensure a meaningful follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference against Racism in Durban in 2001. A special Section on the fight against discrimination and racism was established in the Secretariat and entrusted with the coordination of all activities in this regard. It is working in close partnership with its counterpart in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. A joint workshop to prepare a manual to combat racism and foster tolerance was held at the UNESCO Headquarters a month ago. A strategy aimed at intensifying the fight against racism and discrimination and redressing the injustices of the past in line with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action is under preparation.
Madam Chairperson,
In concluding my address, I would like to reassure the members of the Commission on Human Rights and the representatives of States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations present in this room, that UNESCO has placed the promotion and protection of human rights, the advancement of the rights of women, the fight against racism and the abolition of poverty firmly on its agenda of the years to come. The protection of human rights was at the core of the setting up of the United Nations. More than ever today, that core must be protected, strengthened and advanced everywhere.
Thank you for your attention
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
18.03.2003
Madam Chairperson,
Mr High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Distinguished Observers,
Dear NGO’s, Dear Friends,
I bring to you the greetings of the Director General of UNESCO and his wishes of full success for this session of this Commission.
The mission of UNESCO is ‘…to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations’. In other words UNESCO is a human rights organization.
Indeed, from the outset, UNESCO has contributed to the promotion and protection of all human rights. The Organization was actively involved in the elaboration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has provided the foundation for the progressive development of international human rights law. UNESCO also assisted in the drafting of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. UNESCO works more particularly to advance those rights which fall within its mandate: the right to education, the right to participate in cultural life, the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information, the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications etc.
Madam Chairperson,
The efforts of the international community, of Governments and social actors to ensure all human rights for all, including almost sixty years of work of this Commission, have brought tangible results, especially in the standard-setting field. However, we should admit that the state of implementation of human rights is still far from being satisfactory. Moreover, I would characterize the situation of human rights in the world today as alarming. During the last ten years we have witnessed terrible crimes against humanity, such as genocide and ethnic cleansing. Recourse to terrorism has become a growing phenomenon. Poverty and extreme poverty affect about half of the world population. This means that close to three billion people cannot satisfy their basic needs and implement their fundamental human rights.
It is shocking that in a world that has never been richer hundreds of millions of people are starving, do not have safe water, are deprived of access to education, and cannot in fact protect their human dignity. It is scandalous that in a globalized world, in which the flow of goods and money are free, the people from the majority world cannot move freely. It is inadmissible that globalization, instead of bringing people closer, creates new divides due to unequal sharing of its benefits. For many, globalization has become, and not without reason, a synonym for poverty and exclusion. We can see growing alienation between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’, as well as between the representatives of different cultures, resulting in strong xenophobic attitudes. Even the fight against terrorism, which normally should consolidate unity in the face of a global threat, has led to the rise of intolerance based on new and resurgent enemy images, negative stereotypes and abuses of human rights. Violence in the world is growing. Armed conflicts in various regions are leading every day to numerous losses of human life and to gross and massive violations of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Madam Chairperson,
There is a new urgency at the global level to protect all human rights for all. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is the very foundation of stability, security and peace and of the legitimacy of the United Nations. At the same time, peace is a prerequisite for the full enjoyment of human rights. The main purpose of the United Nations is to save humanity from the scourge of war, which must always be a last resort. And if the use of force is to be authorized by UN Security Council then Human Rights and humanitarian law must be observed and enforced.
Madam Chairperson,
In the face of all these challenges, human rights, more than ever, should be promoted and protected. For this reason, UNESCO wholeheartedly supports the reform of the United Nations system launched by the Secretary-General. Human rights were rightfully proclaimed a central tenet of this reform.
In its endeavor to reaffirm its human rights mandate and to increase its contribution to the promotion and protection of all human rights for all, UNESCO is elaborating an overall human rights strategy. Inspired by the United Nations Reform Program and the Millennium Development Goals, this strategy aims at mainstreaming a human rights perspective in all fields of competence of the Organization – education, sciences, culture and communication. It further identifies areas of research and action where UNESCO’s contribution could be the most valuable.
The Strategy is based on the recognition of the principle of indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights – civil, cultural, economic, political and social. By encouraging and supporting quality research at regional, national and local levels, UNESCO intends to further elucidate the content of economic, social and in particular cultural rights, and to identify obstacles and challenges to their implementation. The efforts in this field should include the dissemination of factual information and results of comparative analysis, and the elaboration of concrete recommendations for action, with a view to increasing justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights violations, which are too often neglected. Research activities should provide decision-makers as well as non-governmental organizations and civil society as a whole with the appropriate tools to fight for human rights. Research should also help to determine emerging challenges to human rights.
Nevertheless, UNESCO is persuaded that prevention is the best way to avoid future human rights tragedies. With this in mind, the Organization has developed several specific standard-setting instruments. The Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights of 1997 aims at setting out ethical and legal standards to assist the progress of genetic research and its application and to strike a balance between freedom of scientific research and the protection of human dignity and human freedom against the potentially negative impact of biomedical research. The same could be said about the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of 2001 which is aimed at the prevention of human rights violations provoked by the denial of the right to be different. The Declaration also clearly articulates, in conformity with the principle of the universality of human rights, that “No one may invoke cultural diversity to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor to limit their scope.”
Madam Chairperson,
Knowledge of international human rights standards and the procedures for their implementation is a precondition for the promotion and protection of human rights. It is also hardly possible without forging behavior patterns based on the determination to defend one’s own rights as well as the rights of others. For this reason, education on human rights and for human rights is the core element in the advance of human rights and one of the main responsibilities of UNESCO. May I recall that UNESCO, the day after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, not only acknowledged the importance of this instrument for all the activities of the Organization, but also committed itself to make its provisions widely known. UNESCO has played an important role in developing human rights education and has been a pioneer in promoting recognition that education for human rights is itself a human right. The Organization has published a significant number of educational and information materials on human rights, organized three international congresses with a view to develop human rights education and has established networks such as UNESCO Chairs and Associated Schools, which are assisting in these endeavors.
UNESCO is also playing an active role in the implementation of the Plan of Action of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) and, in close cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has organized five regional conferences in order to encourage the adoption and implementation of national plans for human rights education. Education for human rights will continue to be a priority within UNESCO’s human rights strategy. We intend to use more effectively innovative communication technologies, facilitate the exchange of ‘good practices’, and assist in raising the quality of human rights education through the training of educators, the improvement of teaching methodologies and preparation of education materials.
Madam Chairperson,
In order to strengthen the links between research, policy-making and implementation of political decisions, UNESCO intends to organize an Annual World Human Rights Forum. The Forum will bring together representatives of national and local authorities, national human rights institutions, human rights research and training centers, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, in other words, all those working in the field of human rights. It will be a unique opportunity to have a free and extensive exchange of opinions amongst various actors in their common endeavour to address pressing human rights challenges. In initiating this Forum, we in UNESCO hope that it will contribute to a policy dialogue on human rights and will help to consolidate the global human rights movement. We count on the active participation of the various bodies, programs and agencies of the United Nations system, as well as on all our intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
Madam Chairperson,
In all its efforts and activities in the field of human rights, UNESCO considers cooperation and coordination with its partners of utmost importance. First of all, we would like to strengthen the interaction within the United Nations system. I am glad to inform you that, on 5 February 2003, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between UNESCO and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This Memorandum lays down the modalities of cooperation and identifies various fields where such cooperation could be the most fruitful, including the elaboration of strategies concerning the right to education, human rights education, human rights and bioethics, cultural rights and the protection of cultural diversity, human rights of women, freedom of expression and access to information. Issues related to freedom of expression and access to information will be thoroughly examined during the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society taking place in Geneva in December 2003. Moreover, the Director-General and the High Commissioner have discussed how UNESCO and the Office of the High Commissioner can act together in order to protect victims of human rights violations.
Madam Chairperson,
Advancement in the protection of women’s rights and the elimination of inequalities between women and men are among the strategic objectives of UNESCO. Guided by strong and consistent commitment to promoting gender equality and human rights of women, we are working to enhance women’s access to and participation in all spheres of life and to eliminate all forms of discrimination, particularly in the access to education and to decision-making positions. A specific strategy on the human rights of women, gender equality and development is under preparation. It should ensure the relevance of our work to the implementation of the goals of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals for gender equality and the empowerment of women. Within the ambit of the social and human sciences, we intend to elaborate a research agenda that would permit UNESCO to strengthen its contribution to the development of gender-mainstreaming policies and programs, both within the Organization and in Member States.
Madam Chairperson,
The struggle against racism, discrimination and xenophobia in all their forms and manifestations is at the core of UNESCO action since its very creation. UNESCO is working actively to ensure a meaningful follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference against Racism in Durban in 2001. A special Section on the fight against discrimination and racism was established in the Secretariat and entrusted with the coordination of all activities in this regard. It is working in close partnership with its counterpart in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. A joint workshop to prepare a manual to combat racism and foster tolerance was held at the UNESCO Headquarters a month ago. A strategy aimed at intensifying the fight against racism and discrimination and redressing the injustices of the past in line with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action is under preparation.
Madam Chairperson,
In concluding my address, I would like to reassure the members of the Commission on Human Rights and the representatives of States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations present in this room, that UNESCO has placed the promotion and protection of human rights, the advancement of the rights of women, the fight against racism and the abolition of poverty firmly on its agenda of the years to come. The protection of human rights was at the core of the setting up of the United Nations. More than ever today, that core must be protected, strengthened and advanced everywhere.
Thank you for your attention