COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OPENS FIFTY-FOURTH SESSION
Press Release
HR/CN/816
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OPENS FIFTY-FOURTH SESSION
19980318 Secretary-General Warns That Human Rights Violations Remain 'Widespread Reality'(Reproduced as received.)
GENEVA, 16 March (UN Information Service) -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan, told the opening meeting of the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on Human Rights that human rights violations remained a widespread reality which the world had not been able -- nor in some cases willing -- to stamp out.
The Secretary-General said there was a gap between rhetoric and reality -- between words and action -- that must be addressed if the international community was to achieve the vision contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This session of the Commission, the main human rights body of the United Nations, coincides with the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration. Mr. Annan said this morning that the fiftieth anniversary motto of "all human rights for all" summed up the challenge the world faced today. The Declaration served as the common proclamation of human rights, but unfortunately, it had yet to serve as the common call to action, he added.
The Secretary-General said the next century should be the age of prevention, since the world could no longer claim that a lack of available resources prevented it from action in time. He warned that today's human rights violations were the causes of tomorrow's conflicts, adding that this vicious circle of violations and conflict, leading to new violations, could and should be stopped.
Also taking the floor this morning, Czech President Vaclal Havel stressed the role of the Declaration in the country's history, and especially recently. Because of such concepts of human rights, the non-violent collapse of the totalitarian regime that had dominated the nation had come about, he said.
The morning meeting opened with an address by outgoing Commission Chairman Miroslav Somol of the Czech Republic, who said work was needed to overcome a number of problems facing the human rights organ, including a certain over-politicization of its work and selectivity.
Jacob Selebi of South Africa, the newly elected Chairman of the Commission, said that important developments over the past few years had suggested that the mechanisms of the Commission were not working as they should. Delegates should use the Commission not to advance political agendas and engender confrontation, but to promote a genuine spirit of cooperation towards the realization of all human rights.
Also this morning the Commission adopted its agenda and elected the following Vice-Chairmen: Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury of Bangladesh; Luis Gallegos Chiriboga of Ecuador; and Ross Hynes of Canada. Roman Kuzniar of Poland was elected Rapporteur.
Secretary-General's Statement
Secretary-General KOFI ANNAN said the present session of the Commission would be a memorable one: it coincided not only with the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also with the five-year review of the follow up to the World Conference on Human Rights. Growing support for the Declaration had given its message new life; it had extended its reach far and wide; and it had reaffirmed its universality. The Declaration had served as a model for domestic constitutions and law, regulations and policies, and practices of governance that protect human rights. That wave of support, which had given the Declaration its place in the collective consciousness, was living proof that it spoke to a diverse world. All values should find expression in the language of the people they were intended to serve and protect.
The Declaration served as the common proclamation of human rights, he said. But it had yet to serve as a common call to action. Human rights violations remained a widespread reality which the world had not been able -- nor in some cases willing -- to stamp out. The reasons for the gap between rhetoric and reality were complex, but they must be addressed if the vision contained in the Declaration was to be realized.
He said he saw the role of the United Nations -- and his own as Secretary-General -- as central in expressing, promoting and safeguarding human rights. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration, he had broached the subject of human rights before audiences everywhere, from Tehran to Shanghai. In his addresses to the Organization of African Unity last year, he had a difficult message to deliver, but at the same time a very simple one. After decolonization and a period marked and marred by civil war and military
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rule, the time had come for Africa's third wave: a wave of peace rooted in democracy and human rights.
The success of the third wave, he continued, began with a simple proposition: the will of the people. All across the world, the evils of coups were becoming increasingly recognized. What better proof of that than the return to Freetown a week ago of President Ahmmed Tejan Kabbah, following the removal from power of the illegal military junta. Yet some Africans still viewed the concern of human rights as a rich man's luxury for which Africa is not ready; or even as a conspiracy, imposed by the industrialized West. He found these thoughts demeaning -- demeaning of the yearning for human dignity that resides in every African heart. Human rights, he had told the audience in Harare, were African rights. "They are Asian rights; they are European rights; they are American rights. They belong to no government, they are limited to no continent, for they are fundamental to humankind itself."
The Commission understood that for the victims of human rights violations, human rights actions usually come too late, continued the Secretary-General. He was here today to say that the next century must be the age of prevention. One could no longer claim that a lack of available resources prevented the international community from action in time. Today's human rights violations were the causes of tomorrow's conflicts. This vicious circle of violations and conflict, leading to new violations, can and must be stopped.
He said the international community had yet to absorb fully the implications of the link between democracy, development and human rights. The link, stressed by the World Conference, had been demonstrated by the experiences of all nations. Those experiences demonstrated that sustainable developments was impossible without the full participation of the people; that it was impossible in the absence of full human rights.
In conclusion, the Secretary-General said the United Nations had been built to save succeeding generations from holocaust and war. The Universal Declaration was born our of that experience as a mission statement never to let those horrors happen again.
"We cannot afford indifference individually or collectively", he said. "If we do not speak out, individually and collectively, today and every day when our conscience is challenged by inhumanity and intolerance, we will not have done our duty -- to ourselves, or to succeeding generations."
VACLAV HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had played an important role in the country's history, especially recently. Because of such concepts of human rights, the
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non-violent collapse of the totalitarian regime that had dominated the nation had come about.
A person involved with high politics was often confronted with a special problem -- the conflict between respect for human rights and political or economic interests, he said. As President of the Czech Republic, he had been confronted with this problem several times; after lengthy reflection he had always given precedence to human rights. National leaders who decided that a "little" failure to observe human rights could bring about large profits were mistaken and misguided; sooner or later, if you did such things, you found that a decline of respect for human rights led to economic decline as well.
MIROSLAV SOMOL (Czech Republic), Chairman of the fifty-third session of the Commission, said the present session should be regarded as a milestone, coming as it did during the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The main task of the Commission was to go through its large agenda and discuss the roles of governments, the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in promoting and protecting human rights and also in supporting similar efforts made even by individuals in the standard legal framework.
He said one of the major and almost permanent problems of the Commission was a certain over-politicization of its work. The Commission had to look for the reasons behind that issue and try to minimize it. A better balance between agenda items would ease the tension a bit. It was also essential that debates were carried out in a manner observing basic standards of mutual respect. He appealed to all speakers, be they representatives of Member States, observers or NGOs, to respect limits in order to avoid hurting any nation, race, religion or vulnerable group of people in discussions.
Other issues of concern were those of mutual trust among Member States and transparency, he said. The Commission also continued to face the problem of selectivity and double standards. However, concentrating on the most serious country situations was just the logical result of the availability of time for country deliberations.
There was a need to seriously evaluate the mandates of the different working groups and special rapporteurs, including giving serious consideration to how to avoid overlapping in their work in general, he said.
JACOB SELEBI (South Africa), Chairman of the fifty-fourth session, said it was a great privilege and honour for his country and himself to have been elected Chairman. There was no better way for the Commission to commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights than to express its support for those who devoted themselves to defending the ideals enshrined in that document.
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He said that over the past, the Commission had built an impressive record of achievements in the field of standard-setting and monitoring of human rights. Yet wars, conflict, ethnic strife, abuses and poverty continued to rob men and women of their dignity and worth. There was still much work ahead of the Commission. In order to continue to play an important role in the promotion and protection of human rights, the Commission must be relevant and credible and must take an integrated and cooperative approach. Important developments over the past few years suggested that the mechanisms of the Commission were not working as they should. Some States were clearly not respecting the mechanisms of the Commission, but at the same time, certain of the mechanisms were not earning respect.
There was an opportunity to do something about this, not by making mandates weaker, as some feared, or more meddling, as others wanted, but to make them more effective and enhance their relevance, he said. He proposed a review of all the mechanisms, from the Subcommission to the working groups to the special proceedings.
He concluded with an appeal to all delegates, Member States and observers, not to use the Commission to advance political agendas and engender confrontation, but to promote a genuine spirit of cooperation towards the realization of all human rights.
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