Remarks by Ms. Flavia Pansieri, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, at Seventh World Human Rights Moot Court Competition

10 December 2015

Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear Students,

Before I begin, let me wish you a very happy Human Rights Day.  Today is indeed a day for celebration as we observe the 67th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the most significant documents ever penned and that which continues to guide us in our human rights work every day. 

And if that isn't enough reason for us to celebrate we have the seventh anniversary of this Moot Court competition, the specific reason why we gather here today.  But, of course, everything we celebrate today is embodied in the man whose extraordinary life we celebrate through this prestigious event – Nelson Mandela. 

It has been a real pleasure to host you here at the Palais des Nations.  Dare I say it has been music to our ears to hear so many bright minds from every region of the world arguing and tackling human rights issues.  At the onset, I would like to thank the University of Pretoria for organising this impressive competition and for agreeing to come back to us here in Geneva for a second year in a row.  I would like to think that this is the beginning of a nice tradition.

It is particularly fitting to host this event on Human Rights Day.  Through your dynamic participation and exchanges over these past days you have become vital partners in helping us commemorate this landmark observance.  This year’s observance kicks off a year-long campaign to mark yet another important birthday - the fiftieth anniversary of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which, together with the Universal Declaration, became the International Bill of Human Rights. 

Carrying the banner "Our Rights, Our Freedoms, Always”,  today’s commemoration serves to remind us of the tireless work carried out by brave individuals worldwide to secure and ensure rights, and of the sobering reality that far too many and far too many places are deprived of their basic rights.  At its core, freedom underpins the International Bill of Human Rights – freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from want. 
Over the past days you have racked your brains, researched on and off line, debated language, wrangled, and, I believe have been inspired by a higher purpose.  You have successfully achieved what you set out to, and along the way reached a new milestone in your lives.  Your success and presence here is also evidence of the success of this outstanding competition.  The Human Rights Moot Court has grown in quality and prestige over the past seven years.   Without a doubt, it has become an increasingly major event on the human rights calendar. 

The question of Bronkolia is, of course, a fictional argument.  But it is also a very critical one which touches on real issues affecting many around the globe today.  Whether it’s combatting discrimination and racism, promoting the rights of migrants and women, or defending the right to practice one’s religion or belief, or addressing the adverse effects of climate change on human rights, these are serious issues which demand all our attention.  They are addressed daily at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and debated at length by the Human Rights Council in this very room, particularly when Special Rapporteurs present their reports and enter into discussions with representatives of the international community.  On this note, I would like to recognize the important work Christof Heyns has done to spotlight crucial and often complex issues which has triggered much needed debate and has led to real change on the ground. 

Human rights violations are not accidents.  Generally, they are the result of deliberate actions which generate political, economic, social and cultural inequalities that create often insurmountable obstacles which limit freedoms and destroy lives.  The majority of violations result from legislative or policy choices – not just in Broncolia – but in real life.

States must be willing to protect the human rights of their people, and people must be able to hold the State responsible. When they agreed to the UN Charter just over 70 years ago, States pledged to achieve “better standards of life in larger freedom”.  They agreed to cooperate “in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for all human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion”. 

Speaking as someone who has worked for several years to advance human rights issues in various settings, I can assure you it is easy to become distracted from the very aim of this work.  We are all guilty at times of becoming desensitized to the pain, the violence and adversity that so many human beings face. 

But even though we may be geographically far from the issues we defend, we must revive our sense of common humanity. This is the message that the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, shared with participants in last year’s Moot Court exactly one year ago today in this room.  We need to re-establish the simple fact that every human being –woman, man or child – from every part of the world, every community, every belief, every background – has exactly the same human rights as everybody else.  Together, we can -- and should – work out more effective ways to set a global agenda and consensus.  To do this we only need dialogue, patience, resilience and a variety of ways and places to spread this message.

In time, you will join the community of those struggling to ensure that human rights are a reality for all, as an NGO activist, a judge, lawyer or prosecutor at the national, regional or international level, a representative of a Member State, a researcher, a National Human Rights Institution or an international civil servant.  Perhaps one day you will find yourself sitting in this very room.  You will face hours and hours of difficult negotiations, hard discussions, early and late meetings; you will work round the clock, and you will have to compromise to get your points advanced or your ideas upheld.

On this Human Rights Day, when we renew our commitment to promoting and protecting human rights for everyone, I am pleased to know we can count on you as enthusiastic messengers to help us do this work, not just today, but each and every day of the year. 

In closing, I wish to express my heart-felt congratulations to you all for your great achievements in this event.  You have indeed demonstrated your skills and passions as human rights defenders. 

I wish you the best of luck in the days to come.  We are not saying good bye, we are just saying let's meet in our everyday work for human rights across the world.

My best wishes to all of you!