Statement by Ms. Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Briefing to Member States on the Launching of the Strategic Management Plan 2010-2011, Geneva, 8 February 2010

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to present the Strategic Management Plan of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for 2010-2011. This is our third SMP, but my first as High Commissioner. As in previous occasions, the SMP articulates OHCHR's priorities and vision, as well as the expected accomplishments and strategies for the biennium.

The Plan is grounded in the principles enshrined in international human rights law, as well as in the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and other pertinent UN bodies.

The SMP brings together the various strands of OHCHR's work in pursuit of a common vision. It aims at bolstering consistency and office-wide coordination as we implement the section of the Secretary-General's Strategic Framework devoted to human rights.

I deeply appreciate the productive discussions with Member States , as well as written comments received from some of them, that stemmed from our preliminary presentation of OHCHR's draft thematic strategies now detailed in the SMP. This exchange of views helped us in sharpening and clarifying our strategies as we finalized the text of the SMP. I would like to reiterate my commitment to keeping you abreast of developments as we implement the Plan.

The current biennium will be the last covered by the 2005 High Commissioner's Plan of Action, presented at the request of the Secretary-General. At a time of growth, the first Strategic Management Plan for 2006-2007 emphasized strengthening OHCHR's internal capacity, while the second 2008-2009 SMP refined the definition of the results we intended to achieve at the national, regional and global level.

Our third SMP is meant to take my Office a step further in advancing and improving our strat egic direction and organizational effectiveness. Monitoring results, to assess our impact and therefore to enhance our effectiveness, is one of the elements of the Plan.

Building on past experience and lessons learned, the new Plan also factors in changes in the human rights environment. Indeed, as in the past, the thematic priorities and the Office's global expected accomplishments continue to represent the backbone of the SMP for 2010-2011.

In the next biennium, OHCHR will sharpen its focus around six thematic priorities:

•  Discrimination, in particular discrimination on the grounds of race, sex and religion and against other marginalized people;

•  Impunity, accountability, the rule of law and democratic societies;

•  Economic, social and cultural rights, inequalities and poverty, including in the context of economic, food and climate crises;

•  Migration;

•  Armed conflict and insecurity; and

•  International human rights mechanism and law.

No doubt, in the discussion following this presentation we will have time to elaborate further on the six thematic priorities and the roadmap that they trace for  2010-2011. At this juncture, let me simply point out that, for the first time, the SMP presents thematic strategies for each of the priorities identified. This is a new key feature, which we believe will bring significant change in our ability to show results in critical areas.

Indeed, OHCHR promotes the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights, including the right to development. T he six thematic strategies reflect such an approach. They should be considered as inter-related and mutually reinforcing all human rights. We do not rank rights. We promote them globally with equal emphasis and dedication. Consequently, at different levels, all thematic strategies address civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights in their interplay.

For example, think of the issue of poverty. On the surface, this theme seems to pertain mainly to the realm of economic, social and cultural rights. In reality, the poor are also likely to experience a curtailment of their civil, political and social rights, more acute forms of discrimination and exclusion from the public arena, as well as a denial of participation in the political life of their communities. In sum, we apply a comprehensive approach which helps us shed a sharp light on the reverberation that the abuse of a set of rights has on all other rights. And this is the approach that inspires us and will guide OHCHR in pursuing our priorities.

Let me take this opportunity to underscore that, although not a thematic issue per se, OHCHR has opted to include the strengthening of the international mechanisms and law as one of its priorities for the next biennium. This is a reflection of the important place the work of these mechanisms has in the programme of my Office. Furthermore, the recommendations of the international human rights mechanisms constitute the foundations of all of my Office's thematic strategies.

Excellencies,

As previously mentioned, together with the thematic priorities, the Office's office-wide expected accomplishments constitute the backbone of the SMP. OHCHR's global Expected Accomplishments describe the “types of changes” that my Office is committed to foster. These changes stem from our mandate, comparative advantage and experience. They relate to improvements in national protection systems, including increased compliance of national legislation, policies and programmes with international human rights standards, and better access to justice and social services. They also pertain to improvements in international protection systems. To this end, they envisage the engagement of States, rights holders, national institutions and civil society organizations with UN human rights mechanisms and bodies, as well as ways to enhance coherence among these mechanisms. Finally these changes also aim at increasing the responsiveness of other international constituencies, as well as ensuring a more thorough integration of human rights principles and issues, including the right to development, into UN system policies and programmes .

The SMP for 2010-2011 presents two new Expected Accomplishments in addition to the nine contained in previous Plans . The first pertains to r ight holders' participation, especially discriminated groups, in the development and monitoring of public policies, as well as their use of national protection systems. The second concerns the progressive development and strengthening of international and regional human rights law and institutions.

This set of eleven Office-wide Expected Accomplishments has been used for the first time in defining the thematic strategies and the field presences' programmes. This is a fundamental new feature of the SMP for 2010-2011. Using the same framework of results and focusing on the same priorities at the national, regional and global levels, will allow OHCHR to consolidate its monitoring framework. The full system will be in place by the end of 2010 and will allow for evidence-based reporting by the end of the next biennium.

Another innovation pertains to a set of global management outputs and its corresponding monitoring framework. These management outputs address the challenges identified by the Office through a self-assessment of its organizational effectiveness, as well as through the recent OIOS evaluation of OHCHR's programme of work. By defining concrete management outputs and a monitoring framework, OHCHR aims at being able to measure and report on progress and to guide future management decisions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The publication that you have in front of you consists of three parts. Part One  presents OHCHR's strategic direction. It looks at the changes and challenges in the global context that may affect OHCHR's work, as well as at key achievements and lessons learned from previous SMPs. Based on those factors, the text outlines OHCHR's thematic strategies and global management outputs.

Part Two introduces OHCHR's programme of work for the biennium. This includes OHCHR activities in support of human rights institutions and mechanisms, its programmes on h uman rights mainstreaming, on the right to development, OHCHR research and analysis; and its advisory services and technical cooperation. This section also discusses the work of OHCHR field presences. It describes how the Office's Executive Direction and Management will support all OHCHR activities.

Lastly, Part Three of the SMP presents the Office's total budget and funding requirements for the biennium. This biennium marks the completion of the commitment made by the 2005 World Summit to double OHCHR's share of the UN regular budget within five years. The Office's share of the regular budget has indeed grown, but so have the tasks assigned to the Office. As further increases under the regular budget are considered unlikely in the coming years, the Office will continue to rely significantly on voluntary contributions to implement its programme of work.

Total resource requirements for 2010-2011 have been set in the SMP at US$407.4 million—an increase of approximately US$94.7 million over the 2008‑2009 budget. With regular budget funding expected to provide some US$141.5 million, the Office will rely on voluntary contributions to provide the remaining US$265.9 million.

This represents a challenge for my Office and for many of our donors as many States are dealing with the effects of the global financial and economic crises. However , it is my hope that t he current context is seen as an opportunity for a fresh look into human rights and their ability to foster positive and durable change. An increase in the number of Member States contributing to the Office, as well as a higher level of un-earmarked funding, will reinforce OHCHR's independence and effectiveness of action .

In concluding, let me emphasize once again that my staff and I are committed to the principles of transparency, non-selectivity and impartiality in undertaking all the activities outlined in the SMP. We are also committed to further sharpening our added value as we join forces with other stakeholders to ensure that this programme will further advance the enjoyment of all human rights by all.

I look forward to our continuing cooperation.

Thank you.