UN RIGHTS OFFICE REFORM PLAN FORESEES GREATER COUNTRY FOCUS,

 

MORE RESPONSIVENESS TO CRISES AND NEEDS

 

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 27 May (UN Information Service) -- Increased country engagement and a firmer leadership role in human rights are some of the recommendations made by the United Nations human rights office as part of a bold reform plan aimed at ensuring better implementation of fundamental freedoms worldwide.

“Our objective must be to help bridge the gap between the lofty rhetoric of human rights in the halls of the United Nations, and its sobering realities on the ground”, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour writes in a “plan of action” to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, transmitted on 26 May to the President of the General Assembly.

The plan, called for by the Secretary-General in his report on United Nations reform “In Larger Freedom”, presents a strategic vision for the future direction of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).  That report recommended the strengthening of OHCHR as part of a renewal of the United Nations human rights programme, a proposal echoed by States and regional groupings.

In the plan of action, the High Commissioner writes that while the human rights programme has made historic progress over the past 60 years, “its political body is today in difficulty, its monitoring role weak, and my Office chronically under-resourced and ill-equipped”.

The plan of action identifies poverty, discrimination, armed conflict, impunity, democratic deficits and institutional weaknesses as targets of special attention.  It recommends an increased OHCHR presence in the field through country and regional offices; enhanced monitoring of human rights situations in countries; more country research and analysis with greater practical value, and faster response to requests for assistance from countries.

Other proposals call on the Office to develop its capacity to deploy rapid response teams in human rights crisis situations, engage with United Nations peace operation units in conflict areas, establish a unit to focus on the Millennium Development Goals and heighten public advocacy on economic, social and cultural rights.

The plan of action further envisages an enhanced human-rights leadership role for the High Commissioner, including through greater interaction with relevant United Nations bodies, the building of closer partnerships with civil society and the publication of an annual thematic human rights report.

For the changes it recommends to come about, however, a considerable increase in resources will be needed, according to the plan of action.  While the advancement of human rights is identified by the UN Charter as one of the principal purposes of the Organization, the human rights programme receives only 1.8 per cent of the United Nations budget, with the bulk of OHCHR’s resources coming from extrabudgetary contributions.  In order to seriously step up its work, the Office will need to double its overall resources over the next five to six years, the plan concludes.

Assessing the proposed measures, the High Commissioner writes:  “In an organization pledged to promote and protect human rights, this is a call to action.  In a world plagued by daily assaults on dignity and freedom, it is a call to conscience”.

While the plan of action focuses on the work of OHCHR, it comes amid debate on the reform of the Commission on Human Rights, which the Secretary-General has proposed be upgraded to a Human Rights Council whose members would review the situation in all countries.  “OHCHR strongly supports the proposal that country scrutiny should be exercised through an effective, fair and transparent system of peer review and that this system should be built on the principle of universal scrutiny”, according to the High Commissioner, who adds that her Office stands ready to contribute to discussions as to how best this might be achieved.

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