RULE OF LAW CRITICAL COMPONENT IN PROMOTING ENDURING PEACE, SECURITY,

SAYS DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL, AT HEADQUARTERS PANEL

 

Following are Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s remarks at a panel discussion on the Security Council and the rule of law in New York, 1 November:

Welcome to the United Nations.  Let me thank the Permanent Mission of Austria and the Institute for International Law and Justice at New York University for organizing today’s panel discussion.

Let me also commend the Government of Austria for its leadership in advancing the important topic of the rule of law at the United Nations.  As a jurist and a former professor of law, I am particularly appreciative of your efforts.

Promoting the rule of law at both the national and international level goes to the very heart of the United Nations mission.  It drives our work in all areas and at all levels, including in the Security Council.

Over the past two decades, the international community has increasingly recognized that the rule of law is a critical component in promoting enduring peace and security.  Yet there are serious challenges still to be overcome.

When confronted with the responsibility to achieve peace, the Security Council invariably seeks to balance the demand for peace with the need for justice.  This helps to underpin the consensus that without justice, there can be no enduring peace.  But as experience has taught us, it is a consensus that cannot be taken for granted.  That is why our focus on the rule of law calls for early interventions, so as to prevent situations where demands for justice become a subject for negotiations.

For the United Nations, the rule of law refers to a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private -- including the State itself -- are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards. 

The normative foundation of our work in advancing the rule of law is the Charter of the United Nations, together with the four pillars of the modern international legal system:  international human rights law; international humanitarian law; international criminal law; and international refugee law.

We operate on the basis of requests from Member States.  Our work is carried out for the benefit of recipient countries, and in accordance with their own plans, priorities and national strategies.

We know from experience that, if we are to consolidate peace after conflict, or maintain peace in the long term, the population needs to be confident that redress for grievances can be obtained through legitimate structures for the peaceful settlement of disputes and the fair administration of justice.

But we also know that, if imposed from the outside, no rule of law reform or transitional justice initiative can hope to be successful or sustainable.  We need to better support national stakeholders in developing their own reform vision, their own agenda, and their own approaches to transitional justice.

As is plain to see in the reports of the Secretary-General, our rule of law activities are many, and scattered across the system.  Taken together with those of non-United Nations actors, this makes for a crowded field.  That means we must do better in strategic planning and coordination, and plan in partnership with recipient States, so as to prevent duplication and make optimal use of scarce financial resources.  This call was made loud and clear by Member States at the 2005 World Summit.

That is why the Secretary-General has established the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group, which I chair.  The Group brings together the heads of the eight leading United Nations departments and entities engaged in the rule of law.  Let me mention some of the main ones –- some of which you know well, others that may be newer to you.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights deals with transitional justice, national human rights institutions, and a range of justice sector institutions.  The Office of Legal Affairs handles rule of law issues at the international level, such as the promotion and ratification of multilateral treaties.  The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime focuses on criminal justice issues.  The Department of Peacekeeping Operations, through its recently established Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions, works to build up the capacity of post-conflict States in police, justice and legal development, corrections, security sector reform, as well as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.  The United Nations Development Programme conducts capacity-building of rule of law institutions in crisis and post-crisis settings, as well as long-term development settings, so as to ensure a continuum from relief to development.

The Resource Group I chair is supported by a small, substantive Rule of Law Assistance Unit, which reports directly to my office.  The Unit works to ensure that the United Nations assists Member States in the most coordinated, effective and efficient manner possible.  It has been tasked with formulating guidance that sets out the principles and framework for United Nations engagement in rule of law assistance.  It is also developing a system-wide work plan on rule of law activities, which will enable the United Nations family to identify gaps and areas of duplication, as well as areas of synergy.  To carry out these important functions, the Unit itself needs to be placed on a sound and sustainable financial footing.  I once again appeal to Member States to give this due consideration.

Promoting the rule of law will be an essential component of our common endeavour to build a more peaceful and more just world for all.  I am grateful to all of you for your commitment to that mission.  In that spirit, I wish you a most productive discussion.

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For information media • not an official record