Opening statement: 2011 Annual Consultations with Heads of Field Presences, 11 April 2011

Colleagues and distinguished guests,

On behalf of the High Commissioner and myself, I am very happy to welcome you to the 2011 Annual Consultations with Heads of Field Presences.  The High Commissioner is currently in NY, and very much regrets that she is not here to welcome you in person.  She had hoped to return by now to be with us at this moment.  But with an invitation from the General Assembly to be a part of a high-level thematic debate on the rule of law and global challenges today, and from the Security Council to address the situation in Cote d’Ivoire on Wednesday, she thought it best to stay a few more days to use these opportunities to inform the member states in NY about the good work that we are all doing in the field and at HQ.  She is here with us in spirit though, and she greatly looks forward to her session with you later in the week.  Our new ASG in NY, Ivan Simonovic, who has already made significant strides in expanding the space for human rights in policy discussions at UN headquarters, will also be here later this week, to meet with you. 

These annual consultations bring together the entire OHCHR family for a week of reflection on how we can work better to deliver better results on the ground.  It is a key event in our yearly calendar, and much preparation has gone into it.  So let me thank Todd, Anders and others in FOTCD who have taken the lead in the preparations.  Let me also thank all of you for travelling long distances to be here.  I hope the arrangements are such as to be stimulating, engaging, informative, and reassuring.  And very special thanks to our distinguished guest speakers.  We are lucky this year.  We could not wish for better, as they are all key partners in advancing our work in the field.  We have with us:

Mr. Carlos Lopes, Executive Director of the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and concurrently Director of UN System Staff College,

Ms. Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Assistant Secretary-General for Peace-building Support,

Ms. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Practice Director, Democratic Governance Group of UNDP, and my co-chair for the UNDG Human Rights Mainstreaming Mechanism,

And Mr. David Haeri, Chief, Peacekeeping Best Practice Section, DPKO

Before giving the floor to our guests, I would like to offer a few remarks.  Let me start by expressing my deep appreciation for the dedication and commitment of all of you and your staff, working to advance human rights, many in very difficult and dangerous circumstances.  Just how dangerous was made painfully clear recently.  The last two weeks have been tragic for the UN and for our Office.  Let’s observe a moment of silence in memory of our colleagues who fell victim to violent attacks and accidents in the line of duty, in Cote d’Ivoire, Afghanistan, and the DRC, and in particular for Joakim Dungel, human rights officer, who was killed, just a few weeks into his work, in Mazar-i-Sharif, during the mob attack on the UN compound…..………Thank you.

As we mourn, we ask ourselves, is it worth it?  Is our work, the UN’s work in the field worth putting our colleagues in situations full of hazard that too often ends up in loss of lives and lasting injuries.  I think we all agree that the answer is still a resounding yes, as reaffirmed by the Secretary-General.  But then, we must do a better job of supporting and protecting those we ask to go in harm’s way.  We must ensure that they are fully prepared, and the support structure is the best we can offer.  And here, you are best placed to propose measures that would be practical and effective.  We must also take all measures within our control and means to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.  In this regard, let me remind all of you that as heads of offices, you have the first-line of responsibility for the safety and security of your staff.  In this, I assure you of the fullest support of the Security and Safety Section (SSS) at HQ.  Thus, I would encourage you to find some time to touch base with Abraham Mathai, Chief of SSS, during this week.  I am sure he will be more than happy to offer you guidance and advice.

And for all of us, the best way to honor our fallen colleagues is to do our work with renewed determination, by pulling our minds together to create more synergy from our diversity, greater sense of shared purpose and common direction.  So let us proceed.

Colleagues and guests,         

It would not be an exaggeration to say that of all entities with the UN system, of all organizations with a global brand name, OHCHR is one of the most unique, and uniquely diverse.  Many comment that the uniqueness lies in the strangeness of our name, OHCHR, and some experts have advised that we change the name, if only unofficially as officially would be too difficult, to something that would have an acronym that is easier to say and remember.  But it is rather appropriate that our name is so uniquely difficult, as indeed our work, in parts and in totality, is difficult and challenging.    

More seriously, I believe our uniqueness comes from the broadness of our mandate, and from the fusion that we must achieve between the normative and the operational in undertaking that mandate.  And in aspiring towards that fusion, we undertake such vastly different kinds of work on a daily basis depending on where each of us sit that at times the concept of “one house” seems vague and theoretical, rather than concrete and real. 

Indeed, five years into this work, I continue to be amazed at the end of each day, each week, how wide the scope is among the different kinds of problems and pressing challenges that need to be addressed, at HQ, and in field offices.  Amidst the pressure of deadlines, urgencies of human rights situations that call for our attention, the diversity can drift into disconnect and even division:  between HQ and the field, between divisions at HQ, between different kinds field presences.  If this indeed is the sense for some of you out there in the field, I assure you that it is not the intention.  But it does mean that we must consistently and constantly endeavor, all of us, but most importantly the HC, myself and senior managers, to reach out to colleagues engaged in the myriad work streams in different places and weave them together in consolidating our shared commitment to human rights, and in the end, to enhancing our impact on the ground, especially for those whose human rights are under threat of have been violated.  As an organization, there are some concrete ways to do this.  Staff mobility, between HQ and the field, and between fields and HQ sections, is key and something that the HC and myself are very keen to promote.  We look at every recruitment case with this factor high on our mind.  With the new recruitment system of Inspira, we hope to expand the reach to our colleagues in peace missions under DFS contracts.            

Furthermore, we have what few other organizations have in keeping us together as one family: the voice of the High Commissioner, expressed in public statements and in meetings with duty-bearers, rights-holders, and partners, framed in terms of international human rights norms.  That voice does not come out of the blue.  For every occasion, every statement, every talking point prepared for meetings, that voice is crafted with great care, and we all contribute in the process.  Her voice is our collective voice, and colleagues in the field that you represent, have as much a say in it as anybody here in Geneva or New York.  

Indeed, the work that you undertake in the field and your input is what gives our collective voice realism and impact.  Our presence in the field went through a huge expansion phase for a few years.  And by all accounts, we have had an impact wherever we’ve set up shop.  Tomorrow morning, you will have a session on the results of a study on the impact of our protection work in the field.  Many of you have contributed to the study, undertaken by Mr. Liam Mahony and Mr. Roger Nash.  The SMT was briefed by Mr. Mahony last week, and had a very good discussion about the findings.  We were all heartened to be told by Mr. Mahony, our “cheerleader” by his own account, that we are doing great work, but also jolted to attention to learn that we are very poor in telling our story to others and to ourselves.  I am sure you will have a very productive session on this matter with Liam and Roger, and the HC and I look forward to reviewing the final report, with many actionable recommendations.

After the expansion, made possible with the GA approval of the doubling of our regular budget resources, accompanied also by the growth in voluntary contributions, just as we were consolidating, taking stock, and trying to systematize, “events” have taken over, and the demand and expectation have hugely risen for us to be more active in field and establish more field presences.  Thus, we are opening a new stand-alone country office in Tunisia, and we are likely to have a new regional office in North Africa very soon.  And while there is pushback to human rights presence in some countries, there is more requests for new and expanded presences.  Our reputation as the house of expertise in rapid response to human rights crises also continues to strengthen, through the High Commissioner’s own initiative of dispatching missions to the ground and through our assistance to commissions of inquiry or fact-finding missions created by the Human Rights Council.  The unfolding upheaval in many countries of North Africa and the Middle East, driven as it is by the human rights aspirations of the people, is likely to lead to our closer engagement on the ground.

These recent developments go to illustrate that our work is driven by “events”, that we are reactive to the developments on the ground and to the mandates given to us by the intergovernmental processes, rather than strategic or proactive.  The criticism is legitimate to a certain extent.  We need to better strategize and prioritize, especially at a time of dwindling resources when the Secretary-General has called on all departments “to do more with less”, starting with a 3% cut in budgets and donor countries are hurting themselves from financial difficulties.  Still, it is only inevitable and right that we should be responsive to the demands on the ground.  Furthermore, let us not be shy in saying that we have contributed, and continue to contribute to the events, to the rights consciousness of the people who stand at the center of the events that are changing the course of history.  I am convinced that our direct and indirect protection work for human rights defenders and victims, our assistance to the norm-setting and monitoring discussions in Geneva and NY, our support for the special rapporteurs who have sounded alarm bells, all have converged and trickled down to forge the basis for the empowerment of the people to rise up and speak out.    

But let us also be humble, and put our work in perspective.  Even with the expansion, our presence in the field, in all of their diverse forms, size, circumstances and mandates, is still the exception than the norm.  In most cases, even where we do have a presence, our role is catalytic, and we need partners in fulfilling our mandate of protecting and promoting all human rights for all.  Our success depends to a large extent in getting and assisting partners to do human rights work. In this regard, it is very important to have our ears and minds wide open to new partners. So, I am very grateful that we have some of the key leaders in our efforts to strengthen our partnerships to propagate and integrate human rights throughout the UN system.

As Director of Executive Director of UNITAR, and more importantly as “volunteer” Director of the UN System Staff College, Carlos Lopes has provided vigorous leadership in expanding and strengthening human rights training for UN leaders in other areas of work, and also for giving OHCHR leaders opportunities to hone their leadership skills.

Judy Cheng-Hopkins, as ASG of the Peace-Building Support Office, has been a strong supporter for the integration of human rights in peacebuilding endeavors.  She also holds the pursue string to the Peacebuilding Fund, and is ready to release it for projects that help to build state institutions.

Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, has been instrumental in securing UNDP buy-in and cooperation for the UNDG/HRM, which she and I co-chair, with the goal of supporting and urging UNCTs and RCs in mainstreaming human rights into their activities on the ground.

David Haeri, is Chief of the DPKO Best Practices Section, which has been a key partner for OHCHR in elaborating important policies for the human rights work in peace missions.

One area that may not be covered by our guest speakers today is the humanitarian sector.  Indeed, this is one area where our response has been largely ad hoc, though effective, as in Haiti and Kyrgyzstan.  This is a topic that has been the focus of much consultation between HQ and various field offices during the past months, with a view to devising a vision of what OHCHR’s role should be in humanitarian emergency situations, and not a moment too soon.  Many of you have been a part of these consultations.  We are increasingly called upon to participate in the UN’s response to humanitarian emergencies, because those who have seen our work are convinced that we bring much added value.  But we ourselves have yet to have a clear picture of how best to deliver.  We count on your further contributions, as we explore and systematize this new challenge to our field work.

With these, let me now turn to our guest speakers. After their presentations, I hope we will have some time for some discussions with the floor….

First, I would like to invite Mr. Carlos Lopes ....