ANNUAL DPI/NGO CONFERENCE CONCLUDES THREE-DAY SESSION
Press Release
NGO/311
PI/1085
ANNUAL DPI/NGO CONFERENCE CONCLUDES THREE-DAY SESSION
19980916 Translating words into deeds, and moral outrage into concrete action, were the greatest challenges in human rights, Graca Machel, First Lady of South Africa, said this afternoon during the final meeting of the fifty- first annual Department of Public Information (DPI)/NGO Conference.She said it was unconscionable to see human rights violations and fail to act. Greater political will and cooperation were needed to protect children, and to give them a dignified legacy and a better future.
The three-day conference had focused on the process of implementing the standards of human rights articulated by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Danielle Mitterrand, founder of France Libertes and former First Lady of France, said a gap existed between the human rights rhetoric of governments and their behaviour. Many governments routinely violated the human rights of their citizens. While some military regimes were notorious for such actions, there were violations of human rights even in the rich democracies of the West.
Louise Frechette, Deputy Secretary-General, said that although the Organization had not always been adequately equiped to engage civil society, new measures instigated by the Secretary-General would better involve non- governmental organizations in the work of the United Nations. The Organization would be more successful if it was supported by all actors in the international community.
Kensaku Hogen, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, moderated the panel of speakers in the concluding session. There was also a panel discussion on human rights education, moderated by Nina Sibal, Director of the New York Liaison Office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Other participants were Lewis Bernstein, Project Director and Executive Producer, Israeli-Palestinian series on the Children's Television Network;
Anne Nelson, Professor and Director of the International Programme, Columbia University School of Journalism; Marjatta Rasi (Finland); Nasila Rembe, Professor and Director of the Human Rights Resource and Documentation Centre, University of Fort Hare, South Africa; and James Ottaway, Senior Vice- President, Dow Jones and Company and Chairman of the World Press Freedom Committee.
Over 2,600 representatives from 60 countries registered for this year's Conference.
Human Rights Education The first panel was moderated by NINA SIBAL, Director of the New York Liaison Office of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), who said the ultimate objective of human rights education was to build a universal culture of human rights.
NASILA REMBE, Professor and Director of the Human Rights Resource and Documentation Center, University of Fort Hare, South Africa, said the international community had established a framework of human rights which could become an icon on the shelves unless human rights instruments were ratified by States, and unless protection of human rights was made a part of daily practice.
Human rights education was important so that rights, and their corresponding duties and obligations were known and understood by the people, he said. Education was important in changing attitudes; in overcoming barriers between groups and races; in fostering a culture of non-violence; and in dissipating the shadow of revenge that hung over those who felt humiliated or excluded. Human rights education was vital for States in transition towards democracy. Education created space for greater understanding of, and participation in, the democratic process, and for healing and reconciliation.
LEWIS BERNSTEIN, Project Director and Executive Producer of an Israeli- Palestinian series on the Children's Television Network, said children in the United States watched an average of more than 40 hours of television a week. A Palestinian-Israeli version of the television series "Sesame Street", had gone into production soon after the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993, and had aired on Israeli and Palestinian television in April 1998.
Whilst not suggesting that television could lay the foundation for peace, Mr. Bernstein said it could be a powerful and successful tool for modelling tolerant behaviour for children. The Children's Television Network was currently researching the effect of the Israeli-Palestinian Sesame Street on children.
ANNE NELSON, Professor and Director of the International Program, Columbia University School of Journalism, said that recording, documenting and
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publicizing human rights abuses was an essential link in the overall process of implementing human rights standards.
Documenting human rights required a basic knowledge of human rights law consisting of "hard law", such as laws governing the treatment of prisoners in times of war; and "soft law", meaning rules based on norms and values. Journalists covering human rights situations were gradually becoming more sophisticated, she said. That progress was important, as human rights press coverage required a precise methodology and real training in matters of relevance.
Journalists and human rights activists could be buried in paper or distanced from events in the field, she said. It was necessary to stay in touch with the lives of real people. It was important to keep the heart engaged, as well as the mind.
MARJATTA RASI (Finland) said education on human rights, a vital part of the implementation of human rights laws, was included in many international treaties. The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna had emphasised the importance of human rights educational programmes.
In most cases, legislators were more aware of human rights laws than those charged with their implementation or those who stood to benefit from their application, she said. Education should lead to a culture of human rights and tolerance. Human rights education was the responsibility of all individuals, NGOs and governments.
Discussion
Ms. RASI, asked if models used in Finland could be applied elsewhere, said models would differ between small, more homogenous societies like Finland and multiracial societies. The acceptance of difference was a fundamental part of Finland's model and would be important in all effective human rights education programmes.
Asked how to prevent human rights violations in times of conflict, Mr. BERNSTEIN said that as children acquired prejudices at a very young age, educators must attempt to immunize young children against prejudice.
Closing Panel Discussion
KENSAKU HOGEN, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, moderated the panel.
GRACA MACHEL, First Lady of South Africa, said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set a standard of human dignity to which the international
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community could aspire. However, during the last part of the twentieth century, new forms of conflict had given birth to new forms of atrocities. Children, women and innocent civilians were the victims of deliberate slaughter, rape and brutality on every continent. Children had been made the victims of deliberate campaigns of terror in many conflicts. Ninety per cent of victims of current conflicts were civilians -- mostly women and children.
Translating words into deeds was, without question, the greatest challenge in human rights, she said. Four years ago, at the request of the Secretary-General, she had carried out a study on the impact of armed conflict on children. While all but two countries in the world had ratified the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, two million children had been killed in conflicts during the past decade. Many more had been permanently disabled. Over 300,000 children under the age of 18 were being exploited as soldiers. The resulting physical wounds and psychological distress was an insult to the aspirations generated by the Declaration of Human Rights.
Civil society organizations must play a greater role in promoting human rights and equality, she said. While governments should implement human rights laws, civil society organizations must monitor and report human rights abuses. They must be the advocates on behalf of those who were marginalized.
DANIELLE MITTERRAND, founder of France Libertes and former First Lady of France, said much still needed to be done to assure respect of human rights of all people.
There was a gap between the rhetoric and the behaviour of governments, she said. Many governments routinely violated the human rights of their citizens. While some military regimes were notorious for such acts, even in the rich democracies of the West human rights were not respected.
At its founding, the concern of the United Nations was to prevent conflicts between States, she noted. But, now the world had changed, and most conflicts occur within States. The rules that limited international efforts to confront human rights violations within States must be changed to reflect the times.
JAMES OTTAWAY, Senior Vice-President of Dow Jones & Company and Chairman of the World Press Freedom Committee, said that under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone had the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The Declaration guaranteed freedoms as universal birthrights, not the gifts of government. Unfortunately, the words of the Declaration had not been transformed into deeds.
In its annual survey of press freedom, the NGO Freedom House in New York had found that a free press existed in only one-third of the world's
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countries; one-third had a press that was partly free, partly government controlled; and one-third had a press that was completely controlled by the government. A free-flow of information about basic human rights, uncensored reporting of violations of human rights and uncensored criticism of individuals, governments and public policies that limited human rights were essential to winning and maintaining all other human rights, he said. A free press could be the greatest protector of human rights, but its role was too often taken for granted or ignored.
In closing remarks, LOUISE FRECHETTE, Deputy Secretary-General, said the United Nations had not always been adequetely equipped to engage civil society in its activities. But, the "quiet revolution" instigated by the Secretary- General and approved by the General Assembly, included mechanisms to involve civil society in the United Nations.
Those changes stemmed from the recognition that the United Nations would be more successful if it was supported by all actors in the international community.
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