IN UNESCO'S 21ST CENTURY TALKS, MARY ROBINSON, PIERRE SAN+, MIREILLE DELMAS-MARTY STRESS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CANNOT GO UNPUNISHED
Press Release
HR/4419
SAG/40
IN UNESCO'S 21ST CENTURY TALKS, MARY ROBINSON, PIERRE SANÉ, MIREILLE DELMAS-MARTY STRESS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CANNOT GO UNPUNISHED
19990611PARIS, 9 June (UNESCO) -- Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Pierre Sané, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, and international lawyer Mireille Delmas-Marty debated the future of human rights on 8 June at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in the eighth of the series of "21st Century Talks", organized by UNESCO's Office of Analysis and Forecasting and held in the presence of UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor.
In his opening speech, Mr. Mayor expressed the hope that the twenty- first century be the century of human rights, "a daily reality, the Alpha and Omega of peace, development and democracy". Noting and condemning the side-stepping of, confiscation and repeated violation of human rights, notably the poverty which affects at least one fifth of the world's population, and the violence and discrimination in all forms which undermine the fundamental rights of millions of people, he stressed that in the twenty-first century, "the international community must give itself the social and political means to apply the principles it has pledged to promote, and learn to keep its promises on human rights which must be universal and indivisible".
"Human rights education is an absolute priority", he said, adding that "educating tomorrow's citizens means giving democracy a future and giving sharing a chance. Trained and responsible citizens are the best defence of democracy" (...) "Learning to live together" as a fundamental pillar of education will be the best guarantee of human rights in the 21st century. Mr. Mayor said that UNESCO is at the forefront of the construction of human rights in the fields of education, development and the environment as well as in the future of the human species. "But the best guarantee of human rights in the twenty-first century will be to assure the transition from a culture of war, violence, domination and exclusion, to a culture of peace, dialogue, mutual respect and non-violence", he declared.
For Mr. Mayor, the time has now come to invest in the protection of human dignity. A universal standard for justice as well as universal measures and structures are called for. "The project of an International Criminal Court to judge the most serious crimes with international impact must be realized. The United Nations, under the control of the Security Council, must be able to intervene, if necessary, where all other forms of arbitration and negotiation have failed, where there are massive and uncontrolled human rights' violations, and where the state no longer exists and has been replaced by the law of force, in order to restore security and freedom, and to establish conditions for lasting peace and development.
Mrs. Robinson said the twenty-first century could become the century of human rights. But she added that two visions oppose each other: one pessimistic, the other idealistic. "The choice between these two visions rests in our own hands. Yes, there are challenges and a long road ahead. But if the will exists, all the challenges -- both present and future -- can be met."
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights deplored the wide gap separating the theory of human rights and the practice. "How to turn words into actions? The challenge we face is to give practical effect to the thousands of promises governments have made." For human rights to become reality, Mary Robinson outlined four principal avenues for action: prevention, monitoring, enforcement and development. "Prevention involves supporting national human rights structures and giving individuals the feeling of being the masters of their own destiny. Monitoring aims at ensuring compliance with international agreements. Enforcement concerns respect of law: international crimes against humanity must not go unpunished. Finally, for development, we must pay attention to economic, social and cultural rights and cancel the debts of the poorest nations, being as generous as possible."
After highlighting the cooperation in the area of human rights education between the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights and UNESCO, Mrs. Robinson insisted on the participation of all and on the need to improve institutional links with civil society. "It is up to each of us to act", she concluded.
Pierre Sané said: "Our task is to change the world and change it now." Speaking in French, he argued that "we should not talk about droits de l'homme [human rights] but instead about droits humains [which include men and women].
The Secretary-General of Amnesty International noted that the twenty- first century will be a century of paradoxes "where the best and the worst co-exist". While he argued for action on a daily basis, he identified three challenges that must be met at the start of the twenty-first century: "The first challenge is that the defenders of human rights must be able to carry out their work without threat of deportation, detention or interdiction. Massive human rights violations must be stopped. The second challenge concerns impunity. International judicial authorities must play their role to the full in this area. It is particularly urgent that States ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It has only been ratified by two States to date (Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago) while 60 States must ratify it for it to come into force.
"The third challenge", he went on, "deals with the role of non-governmental actors. Respecting human rights is propitious for business. Are multinational companies going to exercise their responsibilities? They must develop codes of conduct according to universal principles. But a code of conduct is only the first step. Companies must encourage States to implement legislation which conforms with universal principles."
What impact will globalization, which is also the globalization of law, have on human rights? For Mireille Delmas-Marty, the issue of the universality of human rights is ever more pressing at a time of economic globalization. "Human rights must remain our compass, pointing the way ahead. The declaration of these rights is an ideal, an aim for all peoples and nations, for all men and for all parts of society."
"The Universal Declaration includes two essential paradigms: indivisibility, which means the equal recognition of fundamental rights, and effectiveness", she added. "The principle of the indivisibility of rights must be persistently reaffirmed. As for effectiveness, reality is more complex, it depends on a large variety of instruments." After identifying the insufficiencies -- the slow application of international conventions, inadequate judicial checks applicable to all conventions, the urgent need to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court -- Mireille Delmas-Marty stated that "there is strong resistance in the name of economic development which is delaying the implementation of civil and political rights but it is a global process and all rights must be considered with equal urgency. Ensuring indivisibility is the condition for human rights to be really recognized as a common ideal."
On top of the need to recognize this ideal, Ms. Delmas-Marty added that it was necessary to set benchmarks: "There is a double prohibition, the ban on State violation of certain rights and the ban on people transgressing certain values because breaking them negates the very things which give meaning to humanity. (...) Crime against humanity is a benchmark common to all cultures. The mission of human rights is also to preserve future humanity, the future generations for which humanity is not an empty word."
The next "21st Century Talks" will take place at UNESCO headquarters on 29 June. Manuel Castells, Professor of Sociology, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and Director of the Centre of European Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, and Joël de Rosnay, Director of Strategy at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie at La Villette (in Paris), will discuss the theme "Information, networks, identities: the new powers in the 21st century?" * *** *