Launch of the OHCHR Report 2013

26 May 2014

Thank you for joining us for this presentation of the OHCHR Report 2013. The Report summarizes the results the Office has achieved over the last year, based on the plans set out in the OHCHR Management Plan 2012-2013.

This Office has been entrusted with a mandate to promote and protect all human rights for all. The OHCHR Report forms part of our accountability framework to ensure that we continue to earn the trust gained to date. To fulfil our broad mandate, we must take a multi-faceted approach. Our achievements are wide-ranging and significant, realised on behalf of rights-holders with the support of Member States.

Today, I am pleased to highlight some of our accomplishments, before opening the floor for questions.

Discrimination

We supported 11 Member States¹ in developing national action plans to eradicate racism and discrimination. For example, in the Republic of Moldova, our support and advocacy since 2008 resulted in the strengthening of anti-discrimination legislation with the adoption of the Law on Ensuring Equality and the Law on the Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities.

In Guatemala, we provided training on human rights litigation, helping to build the capacity of indigenous organizations to bring cases before the justice system. They span the rights to land, territory and natural resources; non-discrimination; access to justice and legal consultation; self-determined development and cultural rights. To date, five cases have received favourable rulings.
In February 2013, the Rabat Plan of Action was launched on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.

Impunity and the rule of law

In Afghanistan, following a report published by the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the President ordered investigations into allegations of torture, and the prosecution of alleged perpetrators as well as the release of detainees and prisoners held in arbitrary detention.

Across all regions, OHCHR provided human rights training and technical assistance to the judiciary, prosecutors, lawyers, police and other security forces, including military forces, to enhance their awareness of and compliance with international human rights standards.

In Tunisia, the Office assumed a leading advocacy role within the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) to entrench human rights in the Constitution, guaranteeing constitutional protection in areas such as elections, justice, human rights and the media. Also in Tunisia the Minister of Interior finalized the Code of Conduct of Human Rights and Law Enforcement in February 2014. OHCHR provided technical assistance in drafting the Code and has trained 7,000 law enforcement officials on relevant human rights norms and standards.

The conditions and treatment of prisoners in detention facilities have improved in several countries as a result of monitoring, advocacy and technical support provided by OHCHR and other partners. In April 2014, 266 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers were released after being held in detention for more than five years in Djibouti. This followed negotiations with the Government, held jointly by my Office, the UN Refugee Agency and civil society actors.

In Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Maldives and Timor-Leste, among others, advocacy, training and awareness-raising by OHCHR helped national authorities, institutions and civil society organizations to strengthen their capacity to ensure respect for human rights during electoral processes.

Poverty and economic, social and cultural rights

OHCHR has contributed to the achievement of notable results in economic, social and cultural rights in approximately 30 countries ² around the world. For example, Ecuador developed a database that maps persistent gaps in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, promoting more coherent and targeted public policies. In the Central Asia region, a regional network of civil society organisations from Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic was established, to work on and promote the right to adequate housing.

The Office also addresses these rights at the global level. OHCHR continued to mainstream economic, social and cultural rights in its engagement with FAO, WHO, UN-Habitat and UN-Water with regard to the rights to adequate housing, food, health, water and sanitation.

Following our engagement, the UN System Task Team on the post-2015 UN Development Agenda recommended the integration of human rights within the measurement framework for the post-2015 development agenda, taking into account OHCHR’s guide on human rights indicators.

OHCHR has actively advocated for the human rights of persons with disabilities, migrants and other groups, in global deliberations on the post-2015 development agenda. For example, the outcome document of the High-level Meeting on Disability and Development is strongly based on the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Office’s work on business and human rights continues to gain momentum with the Council of Europe indicating its support for the Guiding Principles on business and human rights.
Migration

On migration, the Office is working with Member States including the European Union, UN system partners, NGOs, academics and other stakeholders to establish a set of Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders. We also assisted numerous governments, national human rights institutions and civil society to draft and revise relevant legislation in line with international human rights standards. Positive steps have been taken against trafficking in Belarus, the Middle East and North Africa region and Ukraine.

The Office successfully contributed to the inclusion of a human rights perspective in the global debate on migration at the international level, including at the General Assembly’s High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development which was held in New York in October 2013. The human rights of migrants featured prominently in a number of interventions made by Member States, and were emphasized in the eight-point agenda for action that was outlined by the Secretary-General.

A joint report launched by OHCHR with WHO and IOM explores the multifaceted health and human rights challenges faced by migrants, and describes a number of recent development in this area.

Violence and insecurity

We worked towards improving access to justice for victims of violence in more than 12 countries³.

In Togo, legislative elections took place in an essentially peaceful environment, with 66 per cent of registered voters casting a vote. We contributed by promoting participation and by training election monitors.

In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, OHCHR identified protection concerns of the affected communities, particularly those relating to security, relocation, and selection and allocation of temporary and permanent housing solutions.

The OHCHR monitoring team on Syria provided me with vital information needed to brief the Security Council and the Human Rights Council.

We are increasingly consulted by Security Council members seeking technical guidance on matters of relevance to them, among these, issues relating to the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Haiti, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Western Sahara. This regular and strategic interaction with the Security Council reflects the growing recognition by Member States and the UN system that human rights challenges underpin many peace and security-related crises.

Protection of the rights of persons affected by humanitarian crises was also increasingly central to humanitarian policy and decision-making. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee has adopted protection as one of its priorities for 2014-2015, emphasizing that humanitarian action must be undertaken in a manner that prevents and responds to ongoing or potential violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

Human Rights Mechanisms

During the biennium, OHCHR provided advice and capacity-building to enable States to comply with their reporting obligations under international human rights treaties. Following the recent General Assembly resolution, a more streamlined and cost-effective Treaty Body system will become operational in 2015.
The Universal Periodic Review has continued its record of participation by all States, without exception. I am pleased to note that by November, all 42 States due to be reviewed in 2013 had undergone the process.

In addition, my Office supported 51 special procedures mandates, whose holders give a voice to victims and assist governments and civil society in addressing areas of concern.

Management and funding

I am also pleased to inform you that in 2013, for the first time, all OHCHR entities – both field- and headquarters-based – reported through the Performance Monitoring System, using common indicators. This has allowed us to develop a reliable, evidence-based assessment of the degree to which planned targets were achieved office-wide over the biennium. This in turn, has informed decision-making in building the Management Plan for 2014-2017.

The Office continues to improve its operations through its ongoing Functional Review. I am confident that this process will make us more resource-efficient, and will consolidate the culture of results in the organization. We look forward to sharing the results of this Review with you in due course.

You will find in this report detailed financial information. Voluntary contributions in 2013 amounted to $121.2 million, an increase of $10 million compared to 2012. While this is encouraging, our resources remain far from sufficient to match the requests for our assistance. I am disheartened by the fact that the geographical distribution of voluntary funding has remained virtually identical over the past six years, despite our persistent requests for a wider distribution of contributions, substantial or symbolic.

In February this year, we issued the annual appeal for human rights that sets out our budgetary requirements for 2014. A little over a month ago, I launched the OHCHR Management Plan 2014-2017 where we describe our planned activities for the coming four years. And two weeks ago we discussed the Strategic Framework 2016-2017.

I am pleased to see the level of interest these processes generate among Member States. I take that as an encouraging sign of growing commitment and support for our work. As I pass the torch to the next High Commissioner, I can only hope that the passion for human rights that I have been witness to during my tenure will be matched by resources commensurate to the task.

Thank you.

Notes:

1. Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Nigeria and Uruguay.

2. Albania, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Djibouti, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Finland, Guatemala, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Niger, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania and a number of countries in the Central African, Great Lakes and Pacific regions.

3. Afghanistan, Bolivia, Central African Republic (CAR), Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Mali, Nepal, Senegal and Sudan as well as countries in the Great Lakes region and West Africa.