Righting the World: Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

Excellencies, Friends,
           
The world is lurching from crisis to crisis. The generation that lived through the horror of the Second World War, – and which, in the aftermath, built a framework of laws and institutions to keep the peace -- is leaving the scene. We are witnessing policies and posturing that hark back to an earlier period. Unprincipled land-grabs and the shelling and strafing of defenceless cities. Brutal, nationalist bullies, scapegoating the vulnerable. Strutting demagogues, prepared to whip up violence if it will further their agenda.

And yet we know how to build security, prosperity and peace. It is a task that can be achieved, and frequently is, with very practical steps.

We build trust.

Rule of law institutions, which offer the confidence of impartial justice. Equality: every individual must be clear in the knowledge that regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, opinions, belief, caste, age or sexual orientation, her equal rights are fully acknowledged. Trust can only build up if government is transparent, participative and accountable. Fundamental economic and social rights must be ensured – such as the right to clean water, to education, to adequate health-care. The freedoms of expression, association and belief must prevail, together with strong and independent media, in order that people be fully informed and free to contribute ideas and experiences without fear of attack.

Step by step, these elements of justice, participation, conflict resolution and power-sharing build into confidence and mutual respect. Grievances and disputes become resolvable. This is the most effective way of governing -- because human rights are not sappy notions but sound policy choices, which build strong, economically healthy societies where there is peace.

In places where this architecture is not maintained, or is picked apart, piece by piece, by profiteers, then we face nightmares. An iron fist crushes all criticism. Arbitrary violence and discrimination stands in place of law. Where hate bubbles up and is crushed into hiding, so that it festers and metastases into appalling, inhuman shapes. Conflict, discrimination, poverty, inequality and terrorism are mutually reinforcing man-made disasters that are hammering too many communities and individuals. They are constructed. They are contagious.

The work of undoing this construction of conflict and suffering, and building in its place the processes which lead to human dignity, safety and peace, is the most urgent preoccupation of my Office.
           
Our unique value is our dual role: we monitor – to identify and analyse problems -- and assist, to help those problems change. Through reporting, in-depth assessment and investigations, our field offices identify and prioritise the gaps in law and institutions that cause wrongful suffering to individuals – whether torture, land grabs, the oppression of women or discrimination against people because of ethnicity or caste. Then, based on that fact-finding work, we try to help States change those factors.

We train prison guards and police to question people without torture. We help judges apply the principles of fairness and rights that are upheld by binding international law, and to maintain fair trials and due process guarantees. We strengthen grassroots actors and amplify their voices, including minority and indigenous groups. We help to train military forces, especially when it becomes their duty to protect civilians. We build programs for human rights education. We develop technical cooperation programmes, guidelines and other tools that assist government officials and civil society to build legitimate and accountable democratic institutions and a diverse ecosystem of strong civil society actors and independent media.
           
This is the story of hundreds of quiet successes, some of them small, but all of them significant and most of them deeply appreciated. My Office cannot respond to the many requests for our assistance, because of our miniscule resources. It is a continuing source of surprise and dismay for me to note the extraordinarily tiny budgets that we must rely on – and your help in changing that situation would be a meaningful step for the many people who count on our work.  

My message today is that we can set our planet on a course of greater inclusion; more sustained prosperity; more justice; more dignity; more freedom; more peace. We can build in human rights. We can encourage leaders to embrace the voices of their people, instead of cutting themselves off from their most precious resource. Conflict can be prevented. Peace, security and development can be built. Brick by brick. Equality.  Dignity. Participation. Respect.

Respect for human rights offers States a path towards greater stability, not less. They build confidence and loyalty as well as thriving political and economic institutions. Human rights are not expensive: they are priceless. They are not luxuries, for times of peace: they are the workhorses, the load-bearing bricks and mortar which build resilience, and greater security, within and between nations.

That is the essence of our job. But it takes support: money, political support, efforts of many different kinds. Many of you here tonight stand among our supporters: I thank you. Others are hovering on the edges: I welcome your help.