SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS UNITED NATIONS ACTION IN HUMAN RIGHTS FIELD INHERENT PART OF PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY
Press Release
SG/SM/6201
HR/CN/792
SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS UNITED NATIONS ACTION IN HUMAN RIGHTS FIELD INHERENT PART OF PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY
19970410 GENEVA, 9 April (UN Information Service) -- This is the statement delivered today by Secretary-General Kofi Annan before the fifty-third session of the Commission on Human Rights:I should like first of all to express to you my delight at being able to participate in this fifty-third session of the Commission on Human Rights. And may I say that I am not speaking rhetorically. I attach great importance to your work and feel very honoured to be with you today.
The work done over the past 50 years by the Commission on Human Rights merits a very special tribute. I think it is no exaggeration to describe as dramatic the progress made by the Commission in the formulation and implementation of instruments for the protection of human rights.
At the risk of repeating something which is known to everyone present, please allow me to briefly mention the highlights in this progress, at a time when we are preparing to celebrate next year the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
These great achievements, which are the fruit of years of work, began with the adoption of the instruments for the protection of human rights. Among the 60 or so instruments adopted, I should like to single out the six main instruments: the two International Covenants, the conventions against torture and discrimination and the conventions for the protection of the rights of women and the child.
The Commission's work has also led to the establishment of so-called special procedures for fact-finding in particular situations. The reports of the special rapporteurs have been, and continue to be, of crucial importance in this respect.
In addition, the Commission has established technical cooperation programmes for the protection of human rights. It played a leading role in preparations for the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights of 1993. One of
the results of that activity was the adoption by the General Assembly of the resolution establishing the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Commission has achieved much in its first half-century. It has pushed forward with the development and practice of human rights. Its record is admirable.
Non-governmental organizations, many of which are represented here today, have played an important part in this process. To them, too, I pay tribute.
As we review what has been achieved since 1945, we can see how right the drafters of the Charter were to link human rights and the maintenance of peace and security. Today, with 50 years of experience behind us, we can reaffirm the crucial importance of that link. Our experience has also taught us that respect for human rights is crucial to peace-building, and to the broader task of ensuring development.
Gross violations of human rights invariably go hand-in-hand with situations which may threaten peace and security and are likely to degenerate into confrontation. The United Nations work in the field of human rights in these situations should be seen as an inherent part of its work in the field of preventive diplomacy.
The United Nations has not been able to act every time this was called for. As you know, such action requires the consent of the host State, except in the case of operations undertaken under Chapter VII. But where the United Nations has been able to take preventive action, it has brought great benefits to the countries concerned. Those benefits include prevention of loss of life, alleviation of suffering and avoiding the destruction and wastage of vital resources.
The human rights monitoring operations in Cambodia, El Salvador, Haiti, Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which either were a component of larger peace-keeping or peace-building operations, or a completely separate operation, have proved that respect for human rights is a key element in stabilizing societies in post-conflict situations. Without due attention to the challenges posed by the respect to human rights of minorities and individuals, the social fabric of countries facing post-conflict situations cannot be rebuilt, peace cannot take root and reconstruction and rehabilitation cannot proceed.
Truly sustainable development is possible only when the political, economic and social rights of all the people are fully respected. They help to create the social equilibrium which is vital if a society is to evolve in peace.
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The right to development is the measure of the respect of all other human rights. That should be our aim: a situation in which all individuals are enabled to maximize their potential, and to contribute to the evolution of society as a whole.
As part of the reform measures which I am undertaking, I intend to ensure that the work of the Commission on Human Rights is further promoted and supported within the Organization.
Since taking office as Secretary-General, I have been committed to policy and programme coherence within the Organization, including its Funds and Programmes, and to promoting coordination with other components of the system. To assist me in harmonizing decision-making within the Organization, I have created four Executive Committees, in the main areas of Peace and Security, Humanitarian Affairs, Economic and Social Affairs, and Development Operations.
Human rights is a sector in its own right. I have also directed that human rights dimensions should be effectively integrated in the work of the other four Executive Committees, with the full participation of the High Commissioner's Office and the Centre for Human Rights. And I intend to give my full support to the effective exercise by the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the key functions of his Office.
Let me at this point pay tribute to José Ayala-Lasso. He established the Office of the High Commissioner and had the difficult task of implementing its early policies. The functions of this Office -- ensuring coordination of human rights activities within the United Nations system and conducting a dialogue on human rights issues with Member States -- deserve strong and continuing support.
As part of my reform process, I also intend to pursue the effort under way to enhance the functioning of the secretariat of the Centre for Human Rights, so as to strengthen the services it provides to the Commission. This effort will encompass increased transparency and the establishment of a culture of sharing. In line with my overall policy, I am determined wherever possible to transfer to substantive programmes any savings resulting from the reform of the Centre's administration.
As Secretary-General, I am totally committed to the strengthening and development of United Nations human rights machinery. To do so will be to help prepare the Organization as a whole for the challenges of the twenty-first century.
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The ultimate success of that effort remains, of course, in the hands of Member States, by honouring the undertakings they made by ratifying the various human rights instruments negotiated in this very Commission.
The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action set out the solemn commitment of Member States to the priorities of the human rights agenda. Let us move forward to make that commitment a reality.
Please allow me to end this brief address by assuring you of my support and my cooperation for the attainment of the objectives which we have set ourselves. On our collective work today will depend a better future, and therein lies the fundamental importance of our efforts.
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