ELSA Delegation Report

Transcription

UN Human Rights Council 21st Session, Geneva
10th- 28th September 2012
October 2012
ELSA The European Law Students‘ Association
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this Report are the sole responsibility of the authors. The Report is not
intended to reflect views of ELSA.
21st UNHRC Session, Geneva
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….
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II. The Delegation………………………………………………………………………………….
5
III. The UN Human Rights Council and the 21st session……………………………………………
10
IV. Opening statements from the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the UN High Commissioner
Navi Pillay.......................................................................................................................................................
11
V. Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights …………………
12
VI. Human Rights in
a. Asia........................................................................................................................................................
b. Brazil......................................................................................................................................................
13
14
c. Guatemala............................................................................................................................................. 15
16
d. India.......................................................................................................................................................
i.
UPR and Kashmir.................................................................................................................
e. Iran.........................................................................................................................................................
f. the Russian Federation.......................................................................................................................
g. Somalia..................................................................................................................................................
h. Syria.......................................................................................................................................................
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23
25
29
VII. Rights of Indigenous peoples
a. Panel Discussion on access to justice for Indigenous peoples………………………….
b. Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples and the expert
Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples……………………………………….
30
32
VIII. Women’s’ Rights
a. Empowering women through economic, cultural and social rights....................................... 34
b. High profile event: Launch of the Technical Guidance on a Human Rights-based
approach to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity............................................................. 35
36
c. Women’s economic, social and cultural rights in the Himalayas...........................................
d. Budgets, Rights, Child and Maternal Health.............................................................................. 38
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IX. Children’s Rights
a. Children in Armed Conflict
i.
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on
Children and Armed Conflict…………………………………………………
ii.
Children in Armed Conflict………………………………………….....................
b. How can the Human Rights Council further improve the protection of the Human
Rights of children deprived of their liberty..................................................................................
39
41
42
c. Child exploitation, abuse and trafficking...................................................................................... 44
X. The Human Right to safe drinking water and sanitation
a. Water and Human Rights…………………………………………………………........... 45
b. Presentation of report and Clustered Dialogue with Catarina de Albuquerque, the
Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation.....................
46
c. Presentation of the publication “On the right track, Good practices in realising the
rights to water and sanitation” by Catarina de Albuquerque and Virginia Roaf...................
48
XI. Stigma and Untouchability: Root Causes and Manifestations of caste-based Human Rights
Violations........................................................................................................................................................
48
XII. Peasants’ Rights: The Urgency of closing gaps in Protection................................................................. 49
XIII. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly................................................................................................................... 50
XIV. Business and Human Rights………………………………................................................................
51
XV. Nelson Mandela International Day……………………………………………………………
53
XVI. Meeting with an independent expert on the Committee on the Rights of the Child……………
55
XVII. Meeting with the Permanent Mission of Spain………………………………………………….
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XVIII. Meeting with the Permanent Mission of Germany…………………………………………...
XIX. Tips and Advice.............................................................................................................................................
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I.
INTRODUCTION
Dear ELSA network,
The 21st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from the 10 th
till 28th September 2012, where intensive plenary sessions, numerous side events, discussions and debates
between experts, permanent missions of governments and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) took
place.
The true ELSA spirit and evidence of its internationality was the impressive European backgrounds of the 11
members of the delegation. Namely our delegates came from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy,
Poland, Norway and Finland and with some originating from Cyprus and Iran while others having a profound
love and connection with Latin American states.
The delegates gained a valuable insight to the work and procedure of the Human Rights Council. They most
importantly acquired a new practical and political perspective as to the global human issues and violations at
large. Matter discussed included the human rights situation in multiple states, the Universal Periodic Reviews,
human rights of certain populations groups such as women, children, indigenous peoples and peasents. The
various side events organised by the permanent missions and different interested NGOs provided a platform
new information broadening everyone’s horizons.
This report encapsulates a small taste of content of the agenda issues covered both in the plenary sessions and
side events, along with the general atmosphere, during the 21st session of the United Nations Council. At the
end of report, a section on “Tips and Advice” is dedicated giving essential and invaluable particle guidance
and information to future delegates. Finally, I want to congratulate all the member of the delegation for their
cooperation and hard work both in Geneva and during the production of this report. Their legal, cultural and
national backgrounds were key factors in the creation of a lively team atmosphere which made this experience
unforgettable.
Kind Regards,
Valentina Dimitriou
Head of Delegation
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II.
THE DELEGATION
Valentina Dimitriou, Head of Delegation – United Kingdom ([email protected])
I am a Greek-Cypriot LLB Law (European) graduate and a current
International Law LLM student at the University of Leicester. As a
founding member and former VP AA of ELSA Leicester, the biggest
and most active local group in the UK at the present time, taking part
in this delegation seemed an opportunity not to be missed. Having
been highly interested in international law since the start of my legal
studies, this opportunity to spend three weeks at the UN Human
Rights Council gave me a new and more practical perspective of the
current international scene and diplomacy. In addition the variety of
legal backgrounds of members of our ELSA delegation was incredible
providing for an exciting outlet of exchange of information regarding
our respective legal systems and education. Participating as an ELSA
delegate was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and it would be highly
recommended to all members of the network.
Annelie Laura Utech – Germany ([email protected])
My name is Annelie and I am a 21 year old law student. After finishing my
LL.B. in Law in Context in Dresden, I am currently studying in Münster with a
focus on international economic law. Looking back, I am very happy and proud
to have had the opportunity of being part of the ELSA delegation at the 21th
session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. It was a unique
experience that I did not want to miss. We had the chance to witness how
theory is being put to practice and learned how international politics, law
making and diplomacy works. Getting to know so many interesting people and
working on important world problems was phenomenal. I would highly
recommend to everybody to experience it for themselves.
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Anette Ødelien – Norway ([email protected])
I’m a Norwegian student in my final year of law school at the University of
Oslo, and I am particularly interested in the field of international law and
international relations. It was a great experience to be an ELSA delegate to
the UNHRC. It was lots of fun to get an insight into how things work in
practice, as compared to only reading about it in books. Also, being part of
the delegation was a good way to meet interesting people – fellow ELSA
delegates as well as others.
Beata Baran – Poland ([email protected])
I am Polish 5th year student at the Jagiellonian University Law School in
Cracow. Human rights and international relations are in the field of my
research interest. Taking part in the ELSA Delegation to the Human Rights
Council was a unique opportunity to see how one of the most important
agenda of the United Nation Organization works. The experiences gained and
the people I met are significant inspiration for my further development in the
area of international human rights defence.
Christian Peterseim – Germany ([email protected])
Being part of the ELSA delegation to the 21st session of the United Nations
Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva proved to be highly interesting and
a rewarding experience for me. Apart from the plenary session which always
was very diplomatic and brilliantly displayed how the HRC functions, the
side-events provided exciting insights in the state of affairs in terms of
human rights compliance around the globe. After less than a week, I felt very
familiar with the issues and different points of view presented, e.g. on Syria,
Bahrain or the Kashmir region. All in all, the weeks I stayed in Geneva were
intellectually invigorating, altering my conception of the political, economic
and social condition of our planet. I would very much like to be part of a
delegation again and would recommend to anyone to take up this opportunity as well.
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Deniz Kivage, ELSA Torino, VP Marketing – Italy ([email protected])
As an Italian law student with Iranian origins, international
law and in particular human rights had always been my object
of interest. I have had the opportunity to study law in
different legal and cultural environments: Italy, Israel,
Guadeloupe, and lastly London, where I spent one intensive
semester specializing in transnational law just right before this
experience in the UN in Geneva. In light of this, I can say
that being a delegate helped me a lot and it was a real eyeopening experience. I dare say that after five years of mainly
theoretical studies on international issues this new closer
standpoint from the insight of the biggest international
organisation in the world, gave a more concrete perspective
of what is about human rights. I know that it was really short
period of time, just a taste; I may say “the tip of the iceberg”. Nevertheless I would recommend to all the
other ELSA members, who are keen and passionate for international law to be a delegate once in their
academic life, because it helps to gain a more objective and realistic idea of what human rights can be at this
high level.
Elli Laine – Finland ([email protected])
My name is Elli Laine and I study law in the University of Helsinki. I am a
member of ELSA Helsinki and jumped at the chance of becoming a
delegate in Geneva. Being interested in international law and human rights
I was very excited to take part in the ELSA Delegation in the Human
Rights Council. Attending plenary meetings and side events showed me
what working in the field of human rights is really like, motivated me and
gave me new points of view. I believe that taking part in the delegation
was an extremely useful and interesting experience that I would
recommend to all ELSA members.
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Ha Le Phan – Germany ([email protected])
I am 23 years old and I started an LLM degree in International Human
Rights Law at the University of Essex in 2012. During my undergraduate
studies in Dresden, Germany, I specialised in international law with a
particular focus on human rights because I found them to be essential for
our social co-existence. The respect for and protection of everybody’s
inherent dignity without any discrimination is the most important basis for a
peaceful society. I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to
observe how this is being realised in practice, on an institutional level.
Moreover, it was a pleasure to act as an ELSA delegate. Having co-founded
the local group in Dresden and I was convinced of our organisation’s values
from the very first moment.
Inés Cañibano del Río – Spain ([email protected] )
I am a 21 years old Spanish student in my fourth year of a double
degree in Law and Business Management. I have been actively
involved in ELSA since I got to know it in 2010. Last year I was
Director for S&C and AA in my local group which allowed me to
meet many interesting people and to improve my soft skills, an
essential feature of the current business world. Currently, I hold the
position of Vice- President for S&C in ELSA Valladolid, a challenge
that will broaden my horizon.
Being part of this delegation has been an honour and a unique
chance. Not only, was I able to put into practical experience what I had learnt before in theory at University
but also to actually understand the complex process held in the UN to advocate and defend human rights.
Furthermore, I have had the chance to speak to incredible specialists working in this field. Last but not least,
being part of a delegation consisted of people from various legal backgrounds I was able to learn and
compare the different legal systems. In short, it was an amazing experience that I would highly recommend to
anyone.
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Julia Muenzenmaier – Germany ([email protected])
I am a German law student in my second year and since my first year
at university I have been quite involved in ELSA. Being the vice
president of STEP at ELSA-Passau I wanted to gain experience in
another field of ELSA that deals with international relations. In
addition, I am quite interested in diplomacy and politics. This is the
reason why I wanted to take part in the 21st Session of the Human
Rights Council ELS and learn more about how international
resolutions are passed. Looking back I am so glad that I had the great
opportunity to take part in the delegation and represent ELSA
International. I have learned a lot during the sessions and now I am
convinced that I want to get more engaged in i
nternational law.
Monika Lingermann – Germany ([email protected])
My name is Monika Lingemann and I am 19 years old. I am a law
student at the University of Passau where I have just finished my first
year. Holding the position of Vice-President for Seminars &
Conferences at ELSA-Passau, I am often tempted to advance into fields
of law I have not yet come into contact with. My curiosity to get a firsthand insight into the nature of international diplomacy and legal
development had driven me to apply for the delegation to the 21st
Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. I am grateful to have
been given this exceptional opportunity to experience the work of the
Human Rights Council in depth and hope that this has not been the last
time I was able to represent ELSA in a UN institution.
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III.
THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL AND THE 21ST SESSION
The Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a fairly new inter-governmental body of the United Nations based
in Geneva, Switzerland, dealing solely with Human Rights. It was established in 2006 as a subsidiary body of
the UN General Assembly and it has replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
The UNHRC has been working towards strengthening the promotion and a protection of human rights
around the globe, while it has the ability to address and make recommendations on situations of human rights
violations. Due the nature of its mandate it works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR). Regular sessions are being held in March, June and September every year with the
possibility of special sessions at the request of one-third of the Member States. The Council is consisted of 47
United Nations Member States, elected by the UN General Assembly for the period of three years, and a
number of observer states, entities, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and interested parties. Since
the 19th of June 2011, the president of the UNHRC is the Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the UN
Office in Geneva, Ambassador Laura Dupuy Lassere. (For more information please visit: www.ohchr.org )
The 21st Session of the UNHRC took place from the 10th till the 28th of September 2012 at the Headquarters
of the institution in Geneva. Room XX with the famous artistic ceiling was the host of the plenary sessions
throughout those three weeks. Different events were organised alongside the plenary sessions by permanent
missions, NGOs and other groups of interest. The Agenda for the plenary session and for the side events was
provided daily.1 The plenary sessions were a platform for Independent Experts, Special Rapporteurs and
Working Groups to present their reports and for states to comment on them. The first week included various
issues of discussion ranging from Children and Armed Conflict, Extreme Poverty, Water and Sanitation to
the Contemporary forms of Slavery. The second week was more focused on the review of the Universal
Periodic Reviews of the states in question. The third, and last, week was focused on the human rights
situation and violations in particular areas and states such as Gaza, Somalia and Sudan. In addition, decisions
upon adopting or not resolutions which the Permanent Mission had been working on and promoting through
the 21st session were made.2
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2
For further details visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session21/Pages/OrderOfDay.aspx.
For further details visit the HRC Extranet.
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IV.
OPENING STATEMENTS BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
AND THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER NAVI PILLAY3
The first day of the 21st session of the Human Rights Council was marked by the presence of the UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who officially opened the session. In his speech he stressed that “we must
use all our tools to shine the light of human rights everywhere” and ‘do more to ensure that the output of this
Council and other United Nations human rights mechanisms shape policy making across the United Nations’.
In addition, he expressed his commitments to “mainstreaming human rights throughout the Organization”.
He appealed on Members states to increase budget allocations for human rights so as the Office has the
necessary resources to continue its vital work. The Secretary General concluded that “by investing in human
rights, you invest in the peaceful, prosperous, sustainable future we want”.
The UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay addressed the Human Rights Council for the first time since the
renewal of her second mandate. She stressed continued and persistent challenges that “preoccupy us: poverty,
impunity, armed conflicts, refugee flows, discrimination, religious intolerance, arbitrary executions and the
impact of the pervasive economic and financial crisis”. She expressed her concern regarding the harsh prison
sentences against human rights activists in Bahrain, the situation of indigenous communities in Colombia, the
attacks on internally displaced persons in Cote d’Ivoire, the situation in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, the recent forced closure of Roma camps in France, and the on-going conflict in Syria. In reference to
the economic crises he stated that it was crucial that “cuts in public spending do not negatively impact the
enjoyment of human rights and the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable”.
3
The oral statements and speeches are available on HRC Extranet.
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V.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSIONER FOR
HUMAN RIGHTS
The UN High Commissioner updated the Human Rights Council on the activities of her Office in its year
report followed by a general debate. The High Commissioner through her brief presentation stressed the
numerous human rights challenges the Office faces: “poverty, impunity, armed conflicts, refugee flows,
discrimination, religious intolerance, arbitrary executions, and the impact of the pervasive economic and
financial crisis”4. She expressed her serious concern for the on-going conflict in Syria and pointed out that the
use of heavy weapons by the Government resulting to numerous civilian casualties and mass civilians
displacements may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ms. Pillay also mentioned the position
on the global penalty had evolved ad even though a vast majority of the UN Member States had in law or in
practice abolished the death penalty, an increase of executions in a few countries was a fact. Concerns were
also raised regarding reprisals against person who had cooperated with the United Nations in the field of
human right and instances of threats and intimidation continued to be documented. Last but not least, the
High Commissioner pointed out that the financial status of the Office was at a critical stage, with the regular
budget not giving adequate resources to support the international human rights mechanisms, nor the
increasing number of mew mandates introduced by the UNHRC every year. The budgetary funds were
stretched to a breaking point as extra-budgetary funds were required to enable those mandates to function.
The full oral statement of the UN High Commissioner can be found via the HRC Extranet at
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/HRCIndex.aspx.
4
<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12490&LangID=E> accessed 28 October 2012
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VI.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN STATES
a. Human Rights in Asia
The World Association of the School as an Instrument of Peace (EIP) organised an event focusing on human
rights in Asia. Convinced of the major role schools can play, EIP works to raise awareness of this within
educational circles, governmental authorities and public opinion. Therefore, EIP advocates full realisation of
the right of education and fights all forms of injustice and inequality, sources of clashes and exclusion. The
main issues discussed were the human rights situation in Vietnam and in Philippines. As it was made
apparent, in both countries there are problems with indigenous peoples who are oppressed and displaced by
the government. The government subducts their high-producing land, destroy their churches, books, language
and schools. In other words, they destroy their whole culture. Although the indigenous people respect the
government, the government does not respect the people and their land. All the indigenous people in
Vietnam and on the Philippines want, is to live in peace with the government and to be considered as citizens
and to be respected.
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b. Human Rights in Brazil
Conectas organized a side event about the situation of
human rights in Brazil in the light of the UPR. Conectas is
a non-governmental and not-for-profit organisation
founded in São Paulo, Brazil, in September 2001. Its
mission is to promote the realisation of human rights and
consolidation of the rule of law in the Global South Africa, Asia and Latin America. The panel of speakers
included a variety of professionals.
Ms Camila Asano from Conectas Human Rights presented
the situation of human rights violation in the prison
system in Brazil. Roberta Amanajas from Para’s Society
for the Defence of Human Rights, held a presentation
about the impact of infrastructure projects on the human
rights of indigenous peoples in Brazil. Finally, Leandro
Franklin Gorsdorf from Platform for Economic, Social,
Cultural and Environmental Human Rights talked about
the impact of mega events on human rights.
It was reported that Brazil is doing well and has
implemented a lot of recommendations relating to the
UPR. This is based on the fact that the whole world is looking to Brazil as some big events, such as the
Olympic Games in 2016 and the FIFA World Cup in 2014, are to take place. The big pressure imposed on
Brazil to be a good host and an example, is the main reason for the human rights improvement. On the other
hand however, there is still much work to be done. These mega events create the need for good infrastructure
and a lot of new buildings. As a result, the government is forcing many people to relocate. Furthermore, the
economic advantages from these projects do not financially benefit the locals. Many workers for these
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projects are foreigners, instead of unemployed inhabitants. Another big problem is the prison situation in
Brazil. Brazil has the third largest number of prisoners in the world. The sanitation, health and food situation
is horrible. Most prisoners cannot afford a lawyer and therefore unfair laws proceedings are an often
phenomenon. Besides torture, disproportional penalties are usual.
All in all, Brazil has made important steps forward in the past years. The duty of the large number of NGOs
in Brazil and the international community is to demand further progress.
c. Human Rights in Petén, Guatemala
The Centre Europe-Tiers Monde (CETIM) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) organised a side
event focusing on the difficult situation of the communities of Petén, Guatemala. Hilda Ventura and Mario
Mucú, representatives of the Maya communities of San Andrés and Petén, shared stories about the extremely
vulnerable situation that these communities are in. Ramón Cadena, director of the ICJ Central America
Programme, verified their stories.
The reason for the difficult situation of the inhabitants of Petén is complex and multifaceted. First of all,
there is a problem with the eviction policy of the State. Petén was originally populated because of the lack of
land in the south and the long lasting armed conflict in the country. The settlers in Petén were mostly poor
members of indigenous groups, who were offered to settle on the condition that they would help tear down
the rainforest. Today, the population is subject to forced evictions which do not meet international standards.
Secondly, the army continuously terrorizes the inhabitants of Petén. The army has a strong presence in the
area due to the attempt to combat drug trafficking. The presence of international companies has led to an
increase of this military presence, and there has been a sharp increase of military posts in a short amount of
time. For the inhabitants of Petén, the increase of military presence implies the return of armed conflict.
Thirdly, there is a double-sided problem related to the land. On the one hand, the Government has passed a
Protected Areas Act and seeks to expand tourism in the area. As a consequence, the inhabitants of Petén now
live there illegally. At the same time, the building of hydroelectric dams has led to more than 35 communities
being left with no place to go. Moreover, an Anglo-French oil company, Perenco, operates in the area.
Perenco recently got their contract extended despite of the fact that an extension was impossible according to
the original contract, and despite the Protected Areas Act. In other words, the inhabitants of Petén are
considered to live there illegally, while an oil company is exploiting the natural resources in the protected area.
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Furthermore, a large percentage of the inhabitants of Petén live in extreme poverty. Their state of poverty is
enhanced when they are evicted and forced to move from their lands, often with little warning and without
possibility of bringing more than they can carry. This leads to a deterioration of their situation, especially
when keeping in mind that many live solely off the land they cultivate. After being forced to move from their
land, many find themselves in places with no educational system, no water or health system.
Due to being poor and because most of the communities consist of indigenous peoples, the people are
subject to vast and extensive discrimination. The problem is also largely a structural one. Practically, there is
no access to justice for Petén’s people. In general, the juridical system of Guatemala is overworked and
inefficient, and the rate of resolution is very low. However, the communities of Petén face more challenges, as
they have to travel far in order to reach a tribunal. Moreover, they often do not have money to initiate legal
proceedings. There is also a problem related to language, as many indigenous peoples do not speak Spanish
which is the principal language in the national legal system.
The structural discrimination leads to extensive impunity, and no one is held responsible for the grave human
rights violations committed in the area. The conflict of interests in Petén is solved by the use of force, and not
by the rule of law. The ones in command are the oil company Perenco, the army and the drug cartels. The
authorities have a scarce presence in the region.
d. Human Rights in India
The Social Service Agency of the
Protestant Church in Germany
organised an event explaining the
living situation in some regions of
India since 1958.
In 1958, the Armed Forces Special
Power Act was approved. It allows
the army to detain and kill people
without a prior trial or justice order.
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This Act grants special powers to the armed forces in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir. According to the law, army officers have
legal immunity for their actions if they were acting under this regulation.
In the side event a documentary with very harsh images were shown. The film revealed the large numbers of
innocent victims of this act. After watching the video the audience kept a minute of silence for the victims
and the repeal of the act was urged. In was made clear that the situation in regions of India has changed since
the parliament’s approval of the act with the use of violence being increased.
i.
Human Rights in India: UPR and Kashmir
This controversial side-event focused on the political and legal situation in the Kashmir region, which is
claimed by both India and Pakistan. Consequently, the presentations made by the panellists, who came from a
range of different backgrounds and professions, contributed in many different ways in portraying the
conditions under which the Kashmirian people have to live in.
Frank Schwalba-Hoth, a former Member of the European Parliament and co-founder of the German
GREEN party, started the panel presentations by giving a short introduction to the Universal Periodic
Review (UPR). Next, he expounded India's situation in terms of recommendations made within the review
process; 169 recommendations for improvement in Human Rights compliance were made by other states. In
his opinion, the number ‘169’ should become a bold key concept in Human Rights awareness. Human rights
should also be given a firm place in economic talks, e.g. with BRIC countries like India, for Western States to
ensure that Human rights come into blossom in these countries. For example, at the next bilateral talks
between the EU and India, the Kashmir issue could be included on the agenda.
After this political and European perspective, Satvinder Juss, a professor from King's College, London,
provided a different insight. The distinguished academic pointed out that India, ‘a country where almost all
human traditions originate’, should, as a modern liberal democracy that views itself as such, behave like one.
The history of the Kashmir region makes resolution of the conflict difficult. Both Pakistan and India desire
the area for strategic, but also politically reasons. The large Muslim population serves India as the proof that it
is a truly multicultural country, while Pakistan wants to consolidate their position in the Muslim world.
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Problems are ubiquitous in all areas of life. To give an example, the judicial system of Kashmir is second only
to the security forces in terms of human rights violations. There are no effective remedies, leading to severe
conflicts with India's obligation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). For
instance, there is impunity for police officers and officials acting to uphold the law – yet actually this impunity
appears to be the very factor that impeaches the upholding of the law. These deficiencies within the legal
system immensely prevent the realisation of human rights in India.
The next panellist, a lecturer from Middlesex University, London, Elvira Dominguez, took up the issue and
elaborated on the notion and the problem of 'conflict' in Kashmir. The Indian government seems to
appreciate that there is a conflict big enough to be able to invoke emergency legislation (ASFPA), but not
sufficiently severe that humanitarian law for war is applicable. Thus the situation remains fragile and
unresolved. Violence continues, hardship and appalling living conditions are the consequence.
The last panellist to give a presentation, a Kashmirian native living in London, adverted to the improvements
made in Kashmir. Yet, he acknowledged that a lot remains to be done. As an example he quoted the Indian
Supreme Court, who, when referring to the Kashmirian emergency legislation, named it a 'lawless law'. One
of the steps he suggested to improve the situation in the region was the ratification of all the important UN
charters of human rights, which are currently not ratified by India. After all, it has now been 15 years since
India signed these documents – the delay in time or the denial of ratification, respectively, render the content
meaningless. Furthermore, he also recognised that ASFPA is one of the main problems leading to injustice
and denial of human rights in the Kashmir.
The presentations took up so much time that in the end, unfortunately, any discussion was hardly possible. As
a last point, it can be said that especially the unjust legal structures in Kashmir prevent the solution of the
conflict and make life very hard for the people in the field.
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e. Human Rights in Iran: Women and teachers condition
Südwind Agentur is a non-profit NGO engaged in international development, focused on the civil society
complexities. By informing the public on aspects and issues that tend to get neglected or suppressed, its
mission is to narrow the gap between North and South.
Iran is one of the most controversial countries on the Human Rights stage, and the scenario that has been
drawn by the side event “Discrimination in Iran” shows a real complex situation in regard to women and
teachers conditions.
The first speaker, Rezvan Moghaddam, was a women rights activist and researcher. She had been arrested in
March 2007 among other 33 women during a peaceful protest against the pressure on the women’s
movement by the Iranian regime and in particular against the judicial proceedings of five women in Iran.
She started her speech by declaring that “I am here today to talk about gender discrimination and woman’s
rights”. Mrs. Moghaddam explained that it’s more than one hundred years that women are fighting for gender
equality in Iran.
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The first field in which women are still discriminated in Iran is the right to education. Today women make up
more than 65% of the university students, but the government instead of supporting this big achievement
enhances lack of jobs and unemployment against women. The target is to turn them away from decent level
of education in all fields.
According to Mrs. Moghaddam other two instruments used by the government are, first, the promotion of an
unequal and repressive law in favour of men, and second, the inactivity against social and economical
deficiencies. As long as the State remains indifferent to these issues, women in the frame of their own families
are charged by this global backwardness, and consequently women’s’ social advancement is postponed.
Starting from the revolution in 1979 not just schools were separated by gender criteria, but even universities
had been renewed according to the Islamic dictates. Today some faculties are reserved for male students.
Recently, another effort to enforce gender segregation has been made by the government, who proclaimed 18
new faculties dedicated expressively for males.
In the new academic year, in 36 Universities all over the country female students have been excluded from 77
faculties. In particular in the University of Arak the following subjects are forbidden to women: Informatics,
Languages, English literature, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Construction Engineering,
Agricultural Engineering and Electronic Engineering. The University of Isfahan has banned these subjects to
women: Economics, Management, Industrial and Governmental Management, Electronic Engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, English translation and Infrastructure studies.
Mrs Moghaddam affirmed that the current Minister of Education, Hamid Reza Haji Babaee declared that it is
the existence of an anthropological difference between men and women that justifies a differentiation in the
way that education is provided for these two categoris. In this view even the textbook should be
differentiated, depending on the reader, male or female.
Social hardships, unemployment, inflation, poverty, drug addiction are still affecting the civil society. At this
regard Mrs. Moghaddam pointed out that the incompetence and the incapacity of the government to overlap
these issues are increasingly ghettoising the women from the society and marginalising them at home.
The panellist concludes that the educational marginalisation has as an effect to disincentive women from
fighting for their rights and for their dignity.
20
The second panellist was Sabri Najafi, an activist of the Iranian Women Movement, and member of the
SNOQ committee of Bolzano.
Mrs. Najafi continued the parable started by the previous speaker enlightening on the condition of the
women in prison. She affirmed that the prison is the only place in the country in which women and men are
treated in the same way.
The State authorities are increasingly arresting women that are involved in campaigns for gender equality. By
means of heavy economic sanctions, seizures, detentions, arrests, tortures, executions the State is aiming to
disturb and intimidate women from claiming equal rules, equal treatment and the implementation of human
rights in Iran.
Despite the declaration of the authorities that nobody in the country is in prison for crime of thoughts, in the
agenda of the State there is the goal of suppressing anyone that is in any manner trying to oppose or to
criticise the system.
Mrs. Najafi introduced to this regard the case of Nasrine Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer that had been
arrested and condemned to 11 years of detention (then reduced to 6 on appeal), 20 years of disqualification
21
from the practice of law, (then reduced to 10 on appeal) and the interdiction to leave the country for 20 years.
Now Mrs. Sotoudeh is imprisoned in solitary confinement in Evin prison.
In these cases usually there are no guarantees of a fair trial and once in the judiciary vortex the law applied is
the law of arbitrariness. The panellist narrated her own story and the conditions in which she and others
detainees were leaving in prison: the prisoners were spied, under constant surveillance, forced to lie or to
confess crimes never committed by the force of physical and psychological tortures. Further on, the living
condition became incredibly hard and unbearable for the people related to detainees, who face the
unbelievably restricted ability to communicate with the person in custody. In such a system the women are
less and less incentivised to fight for their rights. The few achievements of the past one hundred years are the
results of the sacrifice of those brave women who had not bent to the fear.
The third speaker was Sholeh Zamini, a human rights activist and member of the NGO Südwind. She
introduced a campaign to free Iranian teachers in prison. According Mrs. Zamini in Iran teachers are suffering
from heavy forms of repression. Several teachers had been arrested in the last years; currently 39 teachers are
in prison right now, due to the participation to a campaign. Teachers which are recognised engines of the
society are constantly under surveillance, because they are suspected of forming anti-regime movements. In
this context, despite the favourable constitutional provisions, they are not allowed to take part of any kind of
association, group, club or party, not even trade unions. Teachers are not allowed to make union requests, are
not allowed to meet with their union representatives, and all their union claims are interpreted as conspiracies
against the state. The panellist described the living conditions of most of them. Every few month they are
subjected to threats, informal interviews, formal interrogations, searches. In addition even in the case in which
the inquiry has a positive outcome the dossiers are considered to be still open; it is a form of silent
persecution. Mrs. Zamani continued by listing the names of the 39 teachers that had been arrested recently,
and she narrated some of their stories.
The side event ended with one last speaker, Azam Bahrani, who reintroduced the women discrimination case
by telling the stories of women in Iran.
22
f. Human Rights in the Russian Federation
CIVICUS, the World Alliance
for
Citizen
Participation,
organised a side event on
human
rights
in
Russia.
Civicus is an international
alliance consisting of about
450 members including 110
countries,
civil
society
networks and organisations;
trade
unions;
faith-based
networks; professional associations; NGO's, businesses; and social responsibility programs. It works towards
strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world, by focusing on areas where democracy
and citizens' freedom of association are threatened.
The panellists were members from different Russian NGOs fighting for civil society voices in Russia. They
included: Andrey Yurov from the Youth Human Rights Movement and Moscow Helsinki Group, Boris
Pustyntsev from the Citizens Watch and Lila Shibanova from GOLOS Association for the Protection of the
Rights of Voters.
One of the main issues of the discussion was the new legislation that requires all CSOs receiving funds from
outside Russia to be registered as ‘foreign agents’, and to indicate this on any activities they undertake. This
move was identified as a clear attempt to undermine people’s trust in CSOs. It was agreed at the meeting that
there is a need for closer cooperation and usage of all existing UN human rights mechanisms, and for other
governments to challenge Russia about why its current legislation is not in line with international standards
and the obligations Russia has agreed to undertake before the Council. In the words of one participant, “It is
time for international community to look openly and objectively at the alarming situation with human rights
in Russia.”
In detail, the Russian government implemented laws which have huge effects on the civil society. Free
expression of citizens, NGOs and journalism are forbidden. There are huge penalties and fees for criticising
23
the government and politicians of the governmental party. A big civil society movement began after the
election in spring 2012. Activists, especially students, protested against the election manipulation. During the
demonstration the situation escalated even more.
In reaction to the protests, the Russian government passed some laws which penalise demonstrations. For the
same reasons the government also implemented drastically repressive rules for the work of NGOs. Although
these rules in fact contradict the Russian constitution, the bills were passed.
In order to show the
arbitrariness of these laws and the political background, Boris Pustyntsev referred to the example that the
penalty for damaging a car without a political purpose is about 500 $, while with a political purpose more than
500 000 $.
Hence the big ambitions from all panellists were to make the UN react to this human right situation in Russia.
Two methods of approach for the resolution of the current situation in the Federation of Russia were
undertaken by the panellists in expressing their positions.
It was noted that international support is essential. Different countries lobby Russia in international meetings
and demand answers for the reason of the governmental behaviour relating to laws and violence against
political protest. Secondly, they stressed that the domestic NGOs have to mobilise. They need to pressure
and remind the government of the violations at hand. Protests must be constant, coordinated and expanded.
All panellists highlighted that they do not want to derogate their country. They only want to bring Russia to
become one of the leading states protecting human rights in the world and to be proud of their country.
In conclusion CIVICUS is claiming that at a minimum the following conditions are guaranteed: freedom of
association, freedom of expression, the right to operate free from unwarranted state interference, the right to
communicate and cooperate, the right to seek and secure funding, and the state’s duty to protect.
g. Human Rights in Somalia
24
i) Informal consultations on draft resolution on Somalia
In respect of the nearing decisions and conclusions at the end of the third week of the 21 st session of the
Human Rights Council, the Permanent Mission of Senegal and Somalia held an informal consultation on
behalf of the African Group on the draft resolution A_HRC_21_L31 regarding “Assistance to Somalia in the
field of human rights”. The meeting was held by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary as well as
Permanent Representative for Somalia, His Excellency Mr. Yusuf Mohamed Ismail. Among the countries
present at the informal consultation from 24 September were Austria, the United States, Switzerland, Italy
and Egypt to name but a few. The discussion on the draft dated from that very day not only covered
questions of content but also focused on form and wording. For instance it was recommended by one of the
representatives in the room to add a new paragraph to the draft concerning Human Rights presence on the
ground which is to ensure the implementation of the monitoring mandate. Then again, the Swiss
representative pointed
out that the reference
to individual names in
resolutions as used in
the respective draft is
uncommon and should
be replaced by the
mention
of
institutions.
The
meeting arrived at a
peak
when
as
a
reaction to criticism
concerning OP 10 of
the draft resolution His
Excellency Mr. Yusuf Mohamed Ismail made it very clear that this was a paragraph which was not negotiable
indeed confidently standing his ground as representative of a country newly emerging from two decades of
war and terror trying for a successful transition into a peaceful and stable future.
25
ii) Interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in
Somalia (Item 10 – plenary)
The draft resolution was designed as a reaction to the report of the Independent Expert Mr. Shamsul Bari on
the situation of human
rights
in
Somalia
(A/HRC/21/61)
which
was
under
presented
agenda item 10 on 26
September. The report
outlined the status quo of
the
humanitarian
and
human rights situation in
Somalia and described the
development
military,
in
the
political
and
diplomatic areas over the
past year. The two-decades lasting civil war inside Somalia had left the country in a state of ongoing
humanitarian crisis with more than 1 million refugees fleeing the country and almost 1.36 million Somalis
internally displaced. With several consecutive seasonal rain failures adding up to the precarious situation
extreme malnourishment with big parts of the Somali population is causing great concern in the international
community. Mr. Bari describes the overall situation in Somalia as critical and in need to remain high on the
agenda of the international community.
Two key developments in the last year have to be underlined in order to make a full understanding of the
current situation in the African country possible: In early August 2011 Al-Shabaab withdrew from Mogadishu
thereby triggering an immediate improvement in the human rights situation in Somalia. As another
consequence, Mogadishu was then brought under the control of the Transitional Federal Government. The
second important issue is the adoption of the road map for Somalia to end the transition period on 20 August
2012. This among other points involves finalising the constitution-making process up to now culminated in
two Somali national consultative constitutional conferences in December 2011 an in February 2012.
26
Mr. Bari finally drew the attention to the right to life and the right to food as well as to a number of other
topics related specifically to the human rights situation in Somalia such as forced displacement, violence
against women, protection of children, freedom of expression and the media and to the treatment of
prisoners. In his conclusions he proposed the adoption of a human rights road map by the Transitional
Federal Government which would make a clear statement regarding the promotion and protection of human
rights for the country and its people.
Mr. Bari’s report was followed by a statement by His Excellency Mr. Yusuf Mohamed Ismail who brought the
political developments since the submission of the report of the independent expert and the beginning of the
21st session of the Human Rights Council into focus. He notified the plenary of the successful election of a
new Somali Parliament and thus the end of the 12-year transitional period his country has gone through. His
Excellency moreover welcomed Mr. Bari’s recommendation of a human rights road map and calls on the
international community for assistance with the development and implementation.
Statements and questions from the Council Members, Observer States and other Observers as well as NonGovernmental Organisations rounded up the debate on the topic.
iii) Decisions and conclusions: acceptation of the resolution on “Assistance to Somalia in the
field of human rights”
On 27 September the final draft resolution was introduced into the plenary by the Delegation of Senegal and
accepted without a vote. This opportunity was used by several Delegations to express some of their concerns
regarding future developments. Criticism was uttered that measures to prevent the recruitment and use of
child soldiers were not sufficiently implemented yet. Another focus was laid on the harassment, intimidation
and killings of journalists. The issue of whether harmonising Sharia law with international law was possible in
any way was raised as well.
Mr. Bari also took the stage and made some important observatory comments. He said that while the Somalis
up to now only knew a government that existed for its own sake, now was the time to build a government
existing for the sake of the people. He moreover warned that many changes were governed by UN and
unfortunately might not reflect the opinion and beliefs of the people.
27
In conclusion, it can be said that Somalia has reached a turning point in its war-torn history. It remains to be
seen where the changes that have been made in the recent months lead the African country. The
humanitarian and human rights situation has improved though it is still on a devastatingly low level and a
human rights road map as proposed by Mr. Bari in his report might bring some change in this area.
28
h. Human Rights in Syria – Bearing witness: human rights and accountability in Syria
The side event “Bearing witness: human rights and accountability in Syria” was organised by the Permanent
Missions of France, Germany, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Morocco, Qatar,
Tunisia,Turkey , The United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, South
Africa and the Permanent delegation of The European Union. Syrian journalists, activists and bloggers gave
their personal testimonies of the current situation in Syria.
The opening statements were made by Ms. Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, who finished by saying that all wars come to an end at some point, but a sustainable peace will
only be possible if accountability and justice prevail; and Ms. Laura Dupuy Lasserre, President of the United
Nations
Human
Rights Council.
In the role of
moderator
Mr. Riz
was
Khan,
international
television
journalist
and
author, while the
panelists
were:
Mr. Muhanad alHassani,Human,
rights
defender
from Syria, Mr.
Amer
Matar,
Syrian journalist,
Mr. Mohammad
Abdallah, Syrian journalist and blogger in Exile and Ms. Lotte Leicht, director of Human Rights Watch in
Brussels office.
29
The panellists described the serious situation at Syria where crimes against humanity and war crimes are being
committed. They spoke about illustrative cases as the murder of some of their colleagues while on duty
reporting to show to the world what is the real situation in Syria. They also concentrated on the challenges the
journalists face and on how difficult it is for the Commission of Inquiry to gather independent facts. Some of
the panellists said that despite popular belief, this crisis in Syria has nothing to do with different religions but
it is due to the wish of the civil society to change from the current regime.
The event attracted the attendance of a great number of permanent missions and representatives of NGOs.
Many States in their statements pointed out the importance of accountability for the perpetrators of human
rights violations.
VII.
RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
a. Panel Discussion on access to justice for Indigenous peoples.
The Human Rights Council held a panel discussion on the access of indigenous peoples to justice which was
opened by Mona Rishmawi, Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The
moderator was James Anaya, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.
The panellists were Ramy Bulan,
Associate Professor of Law at the
University of Malaya in Malaysia;
Megan Davis, Professor of Law and
Director at the Indigenous Law
Centre of the University of New
South Wales in Australia; Vladimir
Kryazhkov, Professor of Law at the
Moscow State University in Russia;
Casilda De Ovando Gómez Morín,
Director for the Promotion of
Covenants on Justice at the National
Commission for the Development of
30
Indigenous Peoples in Mexico and Abraham Korir Sing’oei, Human Rights Attorney in Kenya.
Mona Rishmawi centred her opening statement in the necessity of a real practical approach of justice to
indigenous communities.
James Anaya explained that when talking about access to justice for indigenous people an external and
internal approach should be taken, eliminating external barriers as discrimination and language but also
internal barriers relating to the difficulties safeguarding traditional and customary systems for example.
The discussion was mainly focused to the special risk of women’s rights, mistrust of the authorities,
implementation of the Indigenous legal protection in national constitutions, creating a structure of specialised
lawyers in the subject, emerging models and mechanisms that embrace cultural diversity.
In the discussion, the European Union said that despite positive developments, indigenous people continued
to be at risk of a wide range of human rights violations. The EU also said that their access to justice could be
improved through greater availability of dedicated legal services which respected cultural sensitivities and
language barriers.
Finally, in the concluding remarks some ideas were outlined. Firstly, Ramy Bulan pointed out the need to
bridge the gap in the understanding of the indigenous concepts of property among the bar and law students.
He stressed that the language problem was real and many communities could not understand the legal
documents. Therefore it was essential that States provided translation. Megan Davis stresses out that besides
there being good policies; the problem is actually in funding cycles and robust evaluation programmes.
Vladimir Kryazhkov supported the idea of the introduction of courses on indigenous law in universities
because this would respect the idea of taking in account culture and the traditional systems by the justice
bodies. Casilda de Ovando Gómez Morín reiterated the gap to cover beyond the issue of interpretation and
said that much more could be done to provide assistance to indigenous peoples in Mexico and Latin America.
Abraham Korir Sing’oei encouraged national governments to value the contribution of indigenous justice
system to stability. He also said that many things could be learnt from past cases. James Anaya advised to
think about mainstream legal systems in a more multicultural way and reminded the need to respect the
essential right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination.
A
more
detailed
report
on
the
matter
can
be
found
in:
http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12537&LangID=E
31
b. Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples and the Expert
Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous peoples living all over the world have to deal with discrimination because of their distinct cultures,
identities and ways of life. The International Community fights for their rights with different instruments. The
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People adopted in September 2007 by the General Assembly after
more than two decades of debate must be noted. The Declaration sets out the individual and collective rights
of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and
other issues.
Celebrating 5 years since
its adoption, the Human
Rights Council held a
clustered
interactive
dialogue with the Special
Rapporteur
on
indigenous
peoples,
James Anaya, and the
Chairperson
of
the
Expert Mechanism on
the rights of indigenous
peoples,
Wilton
Littlechild.
The Special Rapporteur
on the rights of indigenous peoples presented his fifth report to the Human Rights Council, which described
the four areas of work where his action is focused. These are promoting good practices, responding to cases
of alleged human rights violations, country assessments and thematic studies.
Mr. Anaya, while speaking about promoting good practices, stressed the importance of implementing the
Declaration and the effort still needed to make it operate. Regarding to cases of alleged human rights
violation, he explained that he usually communicates his concern to the Governments involved. Thirdly he
32
spoke about his visits to Argentina, the United Sates and El Salvador.
He welcomed the positive
developments made but remarked the ongoing struggles and violations of indigenous people’s rights and the
gap between the law and reality. While clarifying thematic studies, he pointed out the importance of
preventing violence against indigenous women and girls. As he noted, this problem has a clear
interdependency and interconnectedness with the rights of the children. He also called for attention to the
extractive industries where a narrow perspective has been taken centred in principles of consultation and free,
prior and informed consent instead of a holistic approach. Finally he promised to continue doing his utmost
to contribute to practical solutions to solve these problems.
Then the Chairperson of the Expert Mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples declared that the main
point of his project was the study of the role of languages and culture in the promotion and protection of the
rights and identity of indigenous peoples. He indicated as current challenges the assimilationist policies,
insufficient recognition of indigenous peoples themselves as well as their rights to lands, territories and
resources and a lack of support when they wanted to implement initiatives for maintaining their cultures. He
also urged for the need for implementation of the concept of Human Rights in everyday life and selforganization of indigenous peoples and not to let them be viewed just as victims of human right violations.
He stressed the importance of the inclusion of Indigenous peoples in all aspects of The World Conference on
Indigenous Peoples.
Another intervention that should not be forgotten was the one of Dalee Sambo Dorough, Representative of
the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations who asked national governments and private
donors to contribute to the fund in order to assure the participation of indigenous people in the forthcoming
2014 World Conference on Indigenous People.
Information from:
http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpNewsByYear_en)/10A57E5F43EB34ABC1257A7D003E
1860?OpenDocument
VIII. WOMENS’ RIGHTS
33
a. Empowering women through economic, cultural and social rights
This side event was convened by the Permanent Missions of Finland, Morocco, Peru, Portugal, Spain and
Thailand in collaboration with the NGO Committee on the Status of Women and World YWCA. High-level
guests were present such as Laura Dupuy Lasserre the President of the Human Rights Council, Kyung-wha
Kang the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights and Magdalena Sepulveda the the UN Special
Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty. Furthermore participants included Niklas Bruun, Member of the CEDAW
Committee, Ruth Abril Sttoffels, Professor of International Law and International Relations at Cardenal
Herrera CEU University, specialised in gender issues and Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, President of the NGO
Committee on the Status of Women and General Secretary of YWCA.
The implementation of economic, social and cultural rights plays a crucial role in the advancement of
women’s rights and gender equality. They can reduce poverty, make development more sustainable and help
achieving the MDG’s as well as preventing all forms violence against women. Equal access to education and
to work were mentioned as one of the most important issues. In this context, technology can be used as a
liberating mean for women. It was also highlighted that a stronger inter-generational approach would be
needed to ensure a transmission of values.
b. High profile event: Launch of the Technical Guidance on a Human Rights-based approach
to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity
34
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navy Pillay, convened a high level event to launch the technical
guidance on a human rights-based approach to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.5 It was co-sponsored
by the Permanent Missions of Burkina Faso, Colombia and New Zealand, UNFPA, WHO, UNICEF, Action
Canada for Population and Development, Amnesty International, Center for Reproductive Rights,
International Initiative on Maternal Mortality and Human Rights, and the Sexual Rights Initiative. The report
should assist policymakers in improving women’s health and rights by providing guidance on implementing
policies and programmes to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in accordance with human rights
standards.
After an introduction by the High
Commissioner, Proper Vokouma, the
Permanent Representative of Burkina
Faso, reported about the situation in
his country. Burkina Faso was a cosponsor
of
the
resolution
on
preventable maternal mortality and
morbidity and human rights6, which
requested the OHCHR to provide the
technical
guidance.
Afterwards
Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive
Director of the United Nations
Population
Fund,
stated
the
viewpoint of UNFPA. His organisation would support countries with high rates of maternal death and
disability to develop national capacity in four key areas: family planning; emergency obstetric and newborn
care; human resources, particularly midwifery staff, and the prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula.
UNFPA promotes legal reforms to ensure compliance with CEDAW and other human rights treaties and
helps to remove legal and practical barriers preventing young people’s access to quality sexual and
reproductive health information, goods and services. However, Babatunde Osotimehin pointed out that a
Human Rights Council, Technical guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of
policies and programmes to reduce preventable maternal morbidity and mortality, Report of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/21/22, 2 July 2012.
6 Human Rights Council, Resolution 18/2 on preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights, A/HRC/RES/18/2,
12 October 2011.
5
35
human rights-based approach to maternal death requires a higher level of commitment and accountability on
the part of all concerned, but observed that the technical guidance does provide for that.
Alicia Yamin, Director of the Program on the health rights of women and children at the Francois Xavier
Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, asked to take the issue from the
international halls to countries where policies are made. She emphasized the role of national human rights
institution and highlighted the importance of the participation of community members and citizens.
Furthermore she told the audience from her personal experiences during visits in Africa giving individual
examples and concrete case, which was very personal and emotional. A NGO perspective was provided by
Jashodhara Dasgupta from SAHAYOG India. She also put a human face on the abstract issue by presenting
individual cases. The human rights based approach and the technical guidance are highly welcomed in the
civil society.
c. Women’s economic, social and cultural rights in the Himalayas
“A boy can work where he likes, but a girl is a girl” – Hema’s father.
This side event, organised by Birgitte Polonovski (International Council of Women) and Valerie Bichelmeier
(Make Mothers Matter International) was dedicated to women in the Himalayas. A 67-minutes film portrayed
the lives of women of a remote village of the Indian Himalayas, called Digali.
In the film, a local NGO called Avani proposed to install solar panels in order to bring modernity to the
village. In order to finance this modernization, Avani encouraged women to restart the traditional craft of
weaving. The weaving was revived, and changed the lives of the woman as they became more socially and
economically independent.
Hema, the main character of the film, found herself torn between the traditional lifestyle, which includes
working in the fields and providing for her parents, and the opportunity to weave silk for Avani. She chose to
weave. Hema was in the middle of her twenties, and was therefore considered too old to marry. However, she
eventually married a man she had met twice before and moved with him to another remote village. Life in the
new village was economically difficult. Avani made it possible for Hema to start up a weaving centre to teach
the locals, including her husband.
36
The documentary addressed issues like arranged marriage, women’s access to education, illiteracy, the exodus
of men to the cities, women’s lack of options and the shift of power in the social power structures.
The film was presented by Catherine Addor-Confino, filmmaker. Over the past 13 years, Catherine has spent
half of her time in the region, immersing herself in the local culture and slowly building strong relationships
with the women there.
37
d. Budgets, Rights, Child and
Maternal Health
This side event was held by Save the
Children International, an organisation
which is fighting for over 80 years for a
better future of children all over the
world. The main theme was the reasons
for budgeting for children in African
countries and how to implement a
system of it. The speakers were children
rights experts familiar with the situation in Africa. Namely those were Lucinda O’Hanlon – Human Rights
Officer, Women’s Rights and Gender Section; Petronella Mayeya – Deputy Country Director for the Zambia
Child Rights Program; Jolican Kabinga – Accounting Officer for the Lufwanyama District Health Office and
Tara Brace-John – Health Advocacy Advisor, Save the Children UK.
In general, budgeting for children implies a system in which children’s best interests come first; where childfriendly social and economic policies and proper targeting procedures are put in place; where budgetary
allocations are child-informed and compatible with policy commitments, and where budgetary allocation are
adequate and do not decline over time. It is also about ensuring the effective and efficient utilisation of
government budgets so that allocations are translated into concrete child-related outcomes.
But why is it necessary to lobby for budgeting for children? Children make up a large proportion of Africa’s
population, they are powerless which makes them unable to advocate for equity in budget allocation and
service delivery. Good budget practices and the best interests of the child are inseparable. While the financial
costs of creating a more child-friendly society are often small, the social and economic benefits of linking
budgets practices with the best interests of the child are enormous.
The health situation in Africa for children is very bad. Six million children die a year because of a bad health
system. Every minute a woman is dying due to pregnancy complications. In many countries the type of care
which is needed, is known, but people have no access to it, because of discrimination or other factual barriers,
such as covering very long distances to get to a hospital. Save the Children International has implemented
guidance with technical guidelines for budgeting. It is about implementation, accountability and international
cooperation. The main point is that responsibility for budgeting is not only on the Ministry of Health.
38
Different ministries and public authorities have to work together. The document (which document?) should
be used on a national and global level and make budgeting more transparent in general. The budgets of the
Ministries of Health are essentially very low. There is, however, good progress made as well. For example,
many African countries appointed health centre advisors. They are close to the families and working out
allocations which are based on the population for the ministry of health.
All in all, the panellists assessed that there is money and there are medical health care systems in place, but the
connection to the people is missing and the application is wrong. For example money which is not used from
other ministries is sent back to the treasurer, instead of increasing the budget of the Ministry of Health.
Furthermore, they are fighting against corruption or doing trainings to instruct the people that they are able to
interfere. For example, advisory groups involve civil society for the meetings between ministries, government
and advisory staff. The most important part is planning budgets carefully and involving people.
Save the Children resumed by stating that it wants the high commission to implement the guidance on a
worldwide level.
IX.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
a. Children in Armed Conflict
i. Interactive Dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children
and Armed Conflict.
Ms. Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Children and Armed
Conflict, presented the report of her predecessor Radhika Coomaraswamy. In her openning statement she
stressed the importance of the national accountability systems that can be simply complemented by
international justice and never be replaced by it. She noted the importance of the evolution in national legal
systems especially in those countries where national authorities were unable or unwilling to bring alleged
perpetrators to justice. The challenge in conflict on developing countries is not always the lack of will, but
often one of capacity. Ms. Zerrougui urged donors to support conflict-affected countries, providing them
with constant and timely technical assistance.
39
Taking part in the interactive dialogue on children in armed conflict were Spain, Norway, European Union,
Cuba, China, Germany, Switzerland, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Italy,
Qatar, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates on behalf of the Arab Group, Sudan, Ecuador, Morocco, Azerbaijan,
Australia, Algeria, Jordan, Botswana, Thailand, Uruguay, Belgium, United States of America, France, Egypt,
Pakistan, Portugal, Costa Rica, Venezuela, South Africa, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Mexico,
United Nations Children’s Fund, Greece, Austria, Malaysia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Syria.
Delegations
congratulated
Ms.
Leila Zerrougui for
her appointment as
the new SRSG on
Children and Armed
Conflict
and
expressed
their
concern about the
impact
of
armed
conflict on children
and of the violation
of multiple rights to
which
children
employed in conflict
are
subjected
to.
.Many speakers welcomed the International Criminal Court judgment on the Lubanga case, wishing that it
would start a new period.
Ratifying the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of the Child concerning children in armed
conflict was also one of the strongest requests made by the orators. From the dialogue one message: more
work must be done regarding reparation and prevention.
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12498&LangID=E
40
ii.
Children in armed conflict
During the first week of the 21stSession
the NGO Women’s World Summit
Foundation (WWSF) held a side event
on Children in armed conflict. In this
event WWSF presented its NGO and a
campaign to prevent violence against
children and raise awareness in Civil
Society
about
the
importance
of
prevention.
This campaign started last year and it
consists in 19 Days of activism to
increase consciousness about prevention
of abuse and develop activities for the elimination of violence and abuse against children and youth.
The campaign is taking place during the first 19 days of November. The final day is the 19th of November; the
World Day celebrating the prevention of child abuse. This attempt is a multi-issue coalition of diverse
organizations and partners working towards developing activities related to at least one of the 19 listed
themes in the WWSF prevention Kit to raise awareness to problems connected to children in armed conflict.
The 19 topics are for this year are children involved in armed conflict, sexual abuse, bullying, neglect, child
labor, corporal punishment, safe of children, child prostitution, child pornography, child trafficking, child sex
tourism, harmful traditional practices, street children, discrimination based on health conditions, addiction
and substance abuse, abduction, malnutrition, danger of ICTs and the juvenile death penalty.
Attending this event reminded us that every armed conflict is violating the human rights of children from the
right to education to the right of life. The duty of everyone is to fight against these violations.
WWSF calls for participation of all interested parties in this campaign. More information and the prevention
Kit in English, French and Spanish is available online at http://19days.woman.ch.
41
b. How can the Human Rights Council further improve the protection of the Human Rights of
children deprived of their liberty?
The Permanent Mission of Austria organised a side event which focused on the many improvements that can
be made within the field of juvenile justice. A panel discussion took place with prominent experts expressing
their views.
Ms. Nathalie Prouvez, representing the OHCHR, noted that pre-trial detention of children is a serious
problem. Furthermore, she noted that internationally prohibited penalties are still extensively applied to
children: death penalty is still accepted in seven countries, corporal punishment is accepted in 42 countries,
and indeterminate sentences are commonly used. Other relevant problems are violence in detention facilities,
and that children are not detained in separate facilities. Girls require special protection due to their
vulnerability, and this is a fact that the states have to take into account. Adequate monitoring and complaint
mechanisms must also be developed and improved.
42
As a consequence to this, Ms. Prouvez highlighted the need for prevention. She also stated that children do
not belong in prison – imprisonment should be only used as a last resort. Furthermore, no child should be
subject to internationally prohibited penalties. States must establish systems for training of law enforcing
personnel, and lastly, the oversight mechanisms must correspond to the needs of the children.
The second speaker was Ms. Kirsten Sandberg from the CRC committee. Ms. Sandberg first pointed out the
main obstacles in the field of juvenile justice. These are, according to her, (i) the frequent lack of prevention
systems, (ii) the lack of understanding that persons below 18 are still children and therefore should not be
treated as adults in the criminal system, (iii) the lack of respect of children in general, (iv) the lack of
understanding of what violence does to a child, (v) the lack of qualified personnel who are trained in human
rights and who are sensitized to the needs of children, and (vi) the lack of proper complaint mechanisms and
systems for continued evaluation of children’s situation in the justice system.
As a consequence to these obstacles, Ms.
Sandberg
recommended
to
raise
the
minimum age of criminal responsibility,
especially in countries where this limit is set
at a low age.
Simultaneously, children
should be held outside the adult justice
system, and an idea could be to establish
juvenile courts. Pre–trial detention and
imprisonment should only be used as a last
resort, and preferably not at all. The prison
sentences should, if imposed, not be of long duration, and it is imperative that good legal advice is given to
children. It is favourable to use alternative measures of punishment, such as community service and
probation. Furthermore, it is important that the states undertake capacity building for all its law enforcement
personnel. Conditions in prison should be generally improved, and special departments for children should be
built, in particular for girls. It is also important that children have regular contact with their families, which
implies that they should not be incarcerated far away from their families.
The third panellist, Mr. Bernard Boëton from Terre des hommes, highlighted the benefits of community
service. He stated that the cost effects of social work is favourable, because it is more economical and visible
for the society, as opposed to incarcerating people. Community service would therefore work preventively for
43
the rest of the population. Mr. Boëton also pointed out the dangers of privatization of prison structures
which aim to make them economically profitable. Finally, he criticized the common excuse that a given
situation cannot be improved due to lack of funding. It is important to remember that the training of law
enforcement personnel can go a long way, and that such training does not require a large budget.
c. Child exploitation, abuse and trafficking
Terre des Hommes International is a parent organisation that consists of several non-governmental
organisations in different countries. Their mission is to support children without any form of discrimination
and to advocate for the protection of their rights. The Terre des Hommes International organisation’s
particular objective during the past ten years has been to protect children on the move against exploitation,
abuse and trafficking.
An event named “Children on the Move” was organised where the organization projected the film “The Long
Way Out” by Clara Ott. The film followed the lives of six Albanians who the filmmaker had first met in 2002,
when they were children and teenagers. They had just been sent back to their families in Albania after
working in Greece. They were victims of child trafficking. Clara Ott went back to Albania in 2010 to find out
what had happened to them. The film is an impressive documentary about human trafficking and the effects
it has on child victims.
It was evident, that the children on the film were traumatised and suffered from their past. Some of them
were sent to Greece by their families. Poverty in Albania was so severe that the parent did not see any other
options. In the film, child trafficking seemed to be a rather ordinary option.
Human trafficking is a worldwide problem that exists also in the territory of the European Union. In the
documentary international organisations repatriated the children from Greece back to their families. In
Albania a local NGO integrated them in school. The film gave the impression that organisations can make a
difference. However, the role of the state was not discussed which left the spectators wondering as to what
could be done in the national social security policy and education system to avoid human trafficking and
especially child trafficking.
44
X. THE HUMAN RIGHT TO SAFE DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
a. Water and Human Rights
This side event was organized by WaterLex, with the sponsorship of the permanent missions of Costa Rica,
Ecuador, Germany and Spain. The event started with the distribution of then the Publication “Shaping a new
Water Governance” and with an overview of the governmental perspectives from the countries cosponsoring the event given by their ambassadors from the permanent missions.
H.E. Ambassador Manuel Bernardo Dengo, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica said that Costa Rica has
always invested in social development and access to water, however, concerning to the development in
sanitation, it has to face a big challenge.
H.E. Ambassador Luis Gallegos, Permanent Representative of Ecuador explained that this right is something
needed in order to achieve ‘’ the good living’’.
Thomas Fitschen, Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany reminded how Germany
and Spain started in 2011 to create the ‘Blue Group’. which is a group of 11 States promoting the
implementation of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation and supporting the work of the
Special Rapporteur.
H.E. Ambassador Ana Maria Menendez Perez, Permanent Representative of Spain, point out the importance
of this right to Spain as one of the 5 priorities followed by her government. And she raised awareness about
the 11% of global population who has not yet access to water and 2500 million people without basic
conditions of sanitation.
After that followed a panel on the topic:
‘’A Human Rights-based Approach to Water Governance:
Challenges and Opportunities’’ moderated by Dr. Helene Boussard ,Coordinator Research Program,
WaterLex.
The speakers were:
Mr. Guy Hutton - Coordinator for the Post-2015 Monitoring Process, WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring
Programme (JMP) who talked about Human Rights Mainstreaming in Sustainable Development Goals.
45
Outlining that is the first goal of the Millenium program which has been achieved. However, he expressed
also his concern about the way of sizing how the targets are reached. . He also explained some of the next
goals, being the first the equitable access to a basic drinking water service at home for everybody.
Mr. Bahram Ghazi
- Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch, Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (UN/OHCHR) who presented the UNECE/WHO-Europe Protocol on
Water and Health: a legally binding instrument to ensure the realization of the human right to water and
sanitation. He said that the end of inequity should be the aim to achieve. He held that just looking at the
statistics was not enough for combating this problem that needed a holist approach.
And last but not least, Ms Francesca Bernardini - Co-Secretary of the Protocol on Water and Health, United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) She camed with surprising information like that 110
million Europeans do not have access to water. And she also pointed out the existing difference for rural
inhabitants whose access to water is 10% lower to urban population.
The presentations were followed by a series of questions and comments from participants
The main conclusion of the panel could be that efficiency will not be reached without taking human rights
into account.
This page would give you more information about the topic: http://www.waterlex.org
b. Presentation of report and Clustered Dialogue with Catarina de Albuquerque, the Special
Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation
The presentation of Catarina de Albuquerque, the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking
water and sanitation, was clustered with the Interactive Dialogue of the Special Rapporteur on extreme
poverty and human rights, Maria Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona.
46
Catarina de Albuquerque presented her latest report7 which focused on the links between stigma and the
human rights framework as it relates to water and sanitation. She provided a definition of stigma and
highlighted its relevance as underlying motif and root cause for many human rights violations. Her findings
are therefore applicable in relation to the enjoyment of other economic, social and cultural rights. The Special
Rapporteur felt it not to be sufficiently addressed by the principle of non-discrimination. Stigma can rather be
seen as the origin of discrimination. It is the perception of other human beings as “inferior” or “abnormal”
which leads to the seclusion of whole population groups by rendering their needs invisible, pushing them to
the margins of society or criminalizing their actions. Therefore policy strategies would have to tackle stigma as
root cause in order to effectively respond to systematic human rights violations. Every single state was
addressed, including the wealthy ones, since there are stigmatized groups in each country. The Special
Rapporteur showed how stigma can be situated in the human rights framework linking it to human dignity,
the human rights to water and sanitation, non-discrimination, the prohibition of inhumane or degrading
treatment and the right to privacy.
In addition, the Special Rapporteur’s presentation covered her country missions to Namibia, Uruguay and
Senegal. She briefly summarised the observations she made during her visit and delivered her
recommendations to the states. This was followed by an interactive dialogue where the concerned countries
had the opportunity to respond and present their results on the progress made. Furthermore, other
stakeholders such as other states, civil society organization, UN agencies and entities commented or
challenged Catarina de Albuquerque’s views. In the course of the dialogue the European Union recognised
for the first time the human right to water and sanitation as a component of the right to an adequate standard
of living and the United Kingdom specifically recognised the human right to sanitation. Several states also
invited the Special Rapporteur to their countries to undertake fact-finding missions.
Since she only had a five minute slot to briefly answer all the questions raised, Catarina de Albuquerque
disseminated a written statement with further details afterwards.8 There she encouraged other Special
Procedures mandate holders to take joint action against stigma. She also suggested that treaty bodies issue a
(joint) General Comment on stigma and human rights.
Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de
Albuquerque, Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation, A/HRC/21/42, 2 July 2012.
8 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12633&LangID=E (14 Oct 2012)
7
47
c. Presentation of the publication “On the right track, Good practices in realising the rights to
water and sanitation” by Catarina de Albuquerque and Virginia Roaf
During the 21st session of the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to safe
drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, launched her recent book “On the right track, Good
practices in realising the rights to water and sanitation” which she had published with her consultant Virginia
Roaf. The book presentation was organised by the Permanent Mission of Portugal to the United Nations in
Geneva.
This book arose from the Special Rapporteur’s Annual Report of 2011 containing a good practices
compilation.9 Due to the amount of submissions and the abundant material she collected back then, the idea
of creating a more comprehensive document was born. It is now also available on the homepage of the
Special Rapporteur in different languages: English, French and Spanish.10
The book presentation during the Council’s session was dedicated to a broad audience, including states and
civil society organisations. Catarina de Albuquere invited different stakeholders on the panel to discuss the
publication’s value to water and sanitation as well as human rights specialists: Ms. Graça Andresen
Guimarães, the Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations; Jaime Baptista form ERSAR
Portugal, a water provider; Maike Gorsboth from the Ecumenical Water Network and Hannah Neumeyer
from WASH United as representatives of civil society organizations; Mara Bustelo from the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights and a representative of Uruguay as member of the blue group (a
group of states supporting the Special Rapporteur’s mandate).
Following this side event, an informal consultation on the draft resolution on human rights to water and
sanitation was held by the Permanent Mission of Germany and Spain.
XI.
STIGMA AND UNTOUCHABILITY: ROOT CAUSES AND MANIFESTATIONS
OF CASE-BASED HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, Anti-Slyvery International,
Franciscans International, Minority Rights Group International and the Asian Legal resource Centre in
association with the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) organised a side event on caste-based
Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de
Albuquerque, Addendum, Compilation of good practices, A/HRC/18/33/Add.1, 29 June 2011.
10 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/WaterAndSanitation/SRWater/Pages/SRWaterIndex.aspx (14 Oct 2012)
9
48
discrimination. The Dalit community has been working successfully in the past years to address their situation
of exclusion and dehumanisation.
Catarina de Albuquerque, the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and Sanitation
and Gulnara Shahinian, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery provided a keynote speech.
Catarina de Albuquerque made an introduction to the term of stigma and explained the manifestation of
stigma on the basis of the situation of the Dalits in India. Gulnara Shahinian pointed at the caste hierarchy as
root cause of forced and bonded labour in Asia and mentioned the caste-based slavery in Mauritania as an
example.
The short film “End caste discrimination now”11 was screened during the event to put a human face on this
issue. This was followed by the statements of two Dalit rights’ activists from India (Ashif Shaikh) and
Pakistan (Zulfiqar Shah) who shed a light on the reality on the ground. They reported about human
trafficking, the practice of manual scavenging, slavery by landlords and bonded labour. Hannah Johns from
the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights provided a gender specific perspective on this issue, e.g. the
prostitution of young Dalit girls and the discriminating acts Dalit women have to face when fetching water.
Caroline O’Reilly from the International Labour Organization made a final commentary, before opening the
floor for questions from the audience.
XII.
PEASANT’S RIGHTS: THE URGENCY OF CLOSING GAPS IN PROTECTION
FIAN International and Centre Europe Tiers Monde (CETIM) organised a side event on peasant’s rights with
the following panellists: Henry Saragih, General Coordinator of La Via Campesina; Angélica C. Navarro
Llanos, Ambassador of Bolivia to the UN, and Christophe Golay, Assistant to Jean Ziegler, the former
Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Attending state delegates were foremost from Latin America
(Bolivia, Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba), but also from Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Henry Saragih provided an insight into the situation of affected farmers. Ambassador Angélica C. Navarro
Llanos further explained the peasant’s situation in her country. She mentioned violations of economic, social
and cultural rights, farmers being victims of torture, unjust detention and women’s double discrimination.
11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5eyXPAvGfM (14 Oct 2012)
49
Bolivia is a sponsor of the draft resolution on the rights of peasants and initiated an intergovernmental openended working group to continue advancing towards a Peasants Rights Declaration.
Christophe Golay provided the legal perspective. He said that there are currently no specific rights protecting
peasants, which means that there is a legal gap in the protection of this population group. He identified the
rural population as one of the discriminated and vulnerable groups and rural woman as particularly affected.
The rural development is often neglected by the states; healthcare, water supply and sanitation is insufficient;
minimum wages and social protection are not provided for. Current instruments have to be reinforced, but
new legal frameworks for the protection peasants have to be created as well. Christophe Golay recommended
setting up a mandate for a Special Rapporteur for rural population and to adopt a declaration especially for
peasant’s rights.
At the end of the event, Jean Ziegler, Member of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee and former
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, joined the discussion. He highlighted the importance of the
well-being of peasants for the whole society, since 50% of the food is produced by them, even in a highly
technologised world, so we are dependent on farmers for food security purposes.
XIII. FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY
The side event about Freedom of Peaceful Assembly was organised by the Nonviolent Radical Party,
Transnational and Transparty. It is a NGO following Gandhian principles. Its symbol is a portrait of
Mahatma Gandhi constructed from the words “Radical Party” written in over 50 languages. In its campaigns
the NRPTT seeks to raise awareness about human rights and induce national and international institutions to
comply with their laws and principles. The main issues the party is dealing with are the global fight against the
death penalty, the fight against female genital mutilation and enabling international jurisdiction. The panellists
were lawyers, human right defenders and journalists, who discussed recent cases of violation of freedom of
assembly in selected countries, including Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China
and Vietnam.
50
In all countries there are many problems relating to political demonstrations. Many demonstrators were shot
by the police or encountered heavy violence by police forces. Demonstrations are often forbidden or just
allowed in one small place, so that it is not possible to do a march. Demonstrators are arrested or have to pay
very high financial penalties. Also peaceful demonstrations of civilians are threatened with guns by the police.
Freedom of the press is not guaranteed and newspapers that are telling the truth are closed. A lot of
psychological pressure is exerted because there are enormous penalties. And the conditions in prison are
horrible. There are no fair lawsuits as well.
It has to be ensured that people have access to democratic order and legal institutions in order to advance
their political and social contexts.
XIV. BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung organised a very interesting side event named “Trade Agreements and Human
Rights”. It focused mainly on forced labour, due to the distinguished panellist Harry Wu, who, after having
been imprisoned in forced labour camps, emigrated from China to the US and taught at UC Berkeley. A few
years later, he set up the Laogai Research Foundation in Washington DC. His research interest is Chinese
labour camps, also known as ‘laogai’. The other panellists were Beate Andrees, whose area of expertise at the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) includes forced labour, and Thomas Braunschweig, an Austrian
medical doctor. Matthes Buhbe, Director of the Geneva Office of the FriedrichEbert-Stiftung, presided the event.
After a short introduction on forced labour in general by Mr Buhbe, some statistics were presented: 12.5
million people in the world were subject to forced labour in 2005, these numbers growing to over 20 million
people in 2010 (not including the many unreported cases).
Mr Wu started providing a vivid account of forced labour in China and how he himself experienced it 20
years ago. He seemed strongly disappointed by the efforts of the Human Rights Council in terms of forced
labour in China, saying that nothing had changed since his visit to the Palais des Nations a long time ago.
However, on the situation in China he affirmed that he would never go back to his native country. The
‘dictatorial regime’ in China was still in place, as well as the loagai on which he further elaborated.
51
After Mr Wu had testified in front of
the US Senate, he went back to China,
having been encouraged by Senators.
What he witnessed was alarming.
There were still over a thousand
forced labour prison camps, while the
Chinese administration endeavoured
to eliminate the word loagai from the
Chinese language by actively deleting
it from judgments and official reports.
Conversely, Mr Wu argued that ‘laogai’
should be made an internationally recognised word standing for ruthless human rights abuses. It should
become a term like the Russian word ‘gulag’, which to this present day signifies the cruelty of the Russian
communist regime. Yet, in contrast to the gulags in Soviet Russia, the laogai still exist. They continue to be
work camps not only for forced labour, but also for ‘mental reform’: brainwashing. Undesired beliefs are to
be eliminated. This sombre illustration of the situation in Chinese forced labour camps appears deeply
worrying. However, Harry Wu, concluded his account, by posing the question as to why there’s nothing being
done about these issues by the international community. In fact, he suggested that the ‘West’ encourages this
situation by buying goods manufactured in Chinese laogai. For instance, he quoted Wal-Mart’s slogan from
1985 that all products they offered were ‘American made’. Today, they admit that 91% originate from China.
Mr Wu blamed the negligence of states to enforce their trade agreements that explicitly forbid import of
goods manufactured in forced labour camps.
Next, Dr Braunschweig elucidated the same issue, taking Switzerland as an example. It quickly became clear
that forced labour and trade agreements were inter-related and much greater than projected by the ILO.
However, as Ms Andrees stated, it is very difficult for any organisation to obtain accurate numbers, as these
will naturally never be provided by the state concerned. State forced labour, she added, is the most secretive
type of forced labour in existence.
52
At the end of the discussion, one intriguing question was put forward: Is it not in fact the states themselves,
rather than trade agreements, which threaten human rights? In answering the question, the panellists arrived
at the conclusion that the interdependency of states as such and trade agreements lead to states having to
carry responsibility for any of their actions, be it the trade agreements with non-human-rights-compliant
nations, be it the non-enforcement of clauses which prevent the entry of goods produced through forced
labour. Therefore, action has to be taken on the part of the respective governments to make human rights a
reality in this world.
XV.
NELSON MANDELA INTERNATIONAL DAY
On the occasion of the Nelson Mandela International day the 21 September 2012, the Human Rights Council
held a panel discussion. The panel was opened with a short film on the life of Nelson Mandela, and an
address by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. She noted that the panel
discussion aimed at inspiring individuals across the globe to take action to engrain Nelson Mandela’s values of
reconciliation, racial harmony, peace and freedom in the realization of human rights for all.
Ms. Pillay said the life of Nelson Mandela was a true testimony to what could be achieved with strength of
character and personal commitment both in the lives of individuals and of nations. In honouring him, the
world also had to think of all those who had been arbitrarily detained or denied fair trial, and those who
continued
to
suffer
oppression,
discrimination
and
prejudice.
The panellists then went on to talk about Mandela and how he has influenced the world we live in today, and
what
teachings
we
should
remember
and
continue
to
learn
from.
Francis Gurry, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, stated that there were at
least two teachings from the life of Nelson Mandela that were relevant for multilateral work: the profound
and sophisticated ethic of Ubuntu, and the need to deal with opposites; his life was the best guide on how to
deal
with
the
opposition
and
oppression.
Jean-Marie Ehozou, Permanent Representative of the African Union to the United Nations Office at Geneva,
53
said that President Mandela was undoubtedly the most influential political prisoner of the twentieth century,
and one of the most important African reformers. The values of peace, reconciliation and reconstruction that
he
promoted
must
govern
common
action
and
policies
to
protect
human
rights.
Andries Nel, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development of South Africa, noted that the
values of unity and of solidarity were intimately connected with the concept of Ubuntu, often explained as
African humanism. The relevance of those values to violence, conflict resolution, race relations,
reconciliation, gender equality, and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups spoke for themselves
and
showed
what
the
global
economy
should
be.
In the ensuing discussion delegations from several countries and NGOs stressed the universality and enduring
nature of Nelson Mandela’s work which belonged to the whole of humanity and should guide the
international community in building a more just, tolerant and democratic world. The continuing relevance of
the values he had come to represent, namely peace, reconciliation, non-discrimination and equality, were at
the heart of human rights. Speakers further said that many challenges remained in the global struggle to
overcome racism, xenophobia and all forms discrimination and intolerance, and that there was a need to
enforce intentions through concrete actions.
54
XVI. MEETING WITH DR. JORGE CARDONA LLORENS
Some Spanish ELSA delegates had the chance to have lunch with Jorge Cardona Llorens independent expert
on the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Currently, he is Professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the University of
Valencia and will be independent expert on the Committee till February in 2015.
Jorge Cardona had already collaborated with ELSA Spain in its beginnings and was very kind with us.
He explained us the work done in the Committee on the Rights of The Child which monitors the
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its State parties and of the two optional
protocols to the Convention, on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography.
The independent experts produce reports
regarding the current situation in the State
parties, their progress and points to be
improved.
He also had time to listen about our project
ELSA for Children and generously proposed to
help us in whatever could be needed.
Finally he encouraged us to visit the Permanent
Mission and have a meeting wtih Vanessa
Assensio which is Spanish staff member of the
OHCHR and former student in Valencia, who afterwards told us her personal experience of working in the
UN.
In brief, this was a very productive meeting and we must sincerely thank Jorge Cardona who gave us the key
to understand the indoors process in UN.
55
XVII. THE PERMANENT MISSION OF SPAIN, MANUEL ALHAMA ORENES
In the second week, Inés Cañibano with our fellow ELSA delegate from the Committee of Child’s Rights
Sara Sanz, had the pleasure to meet with Manuel Alhama Orenes, advisor from the Permanent Spanish
Mission to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva.
They
discussed
about
the
procedural aspects
of
the
Rights
Human
Council,
the Human Rights
Council’s
Calendar, the role
of
the
Spanish
Permanent Mission, the steps to be followed in order to become a Spanish diplomat and what were some of
the main targets for the Spanish mission during this session.
Manuel Alhama kindly explained our colleagues how the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) works
to defend human rights. OHCHR is part of the Secretariat of the UN, headquartered at Palais Wilson in
Geneva.
To
understand
its
role
is
advisable
to
visit
this
website:
http://www.ohchr.org/SP/AboutUs/Pages/WhoWeAre.aspx
Manuel Alhama studied Law and Politics and was admitted at a diplomatic post by public competitive
examination. Before moving to Geneva he was working in the Spanish Embassy in Haiti. He said he loves his
vibrant job, meeting new people and reading long list of e-mails every day.
The Permanent Mission is in daily communication with the Foreign Office in Madrid, the official
communicates are made through a special machine. However, in order to be quicker, many instructions and
news are exchanged by e-mail. In this session, the Permanent Mission of Spain in collaboration with the
Permanent Mission of Germany where proposing a resolution on Water and Sanitation Right. The Spanish
team was glad with the evolution of the project. Spain was also working in a Joint Statement on gender-based
56
killings seeing it as one of the first steps in order to regulate this problem and give an end to the killings based
on discrimination against women.
This meeting was a very interesting experience that provided an insight perspective of the complex process
developed in The Human Rights Council.
XVIII. MEETING WITH DIPLOMATS OF THE GERMAN PERMANENT MISSION
At the very end of the second week, the ELSA delegation had the opportunity to meet a representative of the
German Diplomatic Mission to the United Nations, Dr. Timo Bauer- Savage. The appointment in the
morning turned out to be very rewarding, as he was able to provide another completely different insight into
the workings of the UN Human Rights Council and the United Nations Organisation in general. To give an
example, Dr Bauer- Savage explained that his work comprises not only representing Germany in the council,
but also the coordination of the 27 member states of the European Union to reach agreement on certain
matters to present a concerted opinion. If agreement is actually reached, the EU is in a position to present the
point of view of all its member states, which gives a strong voice to the only truly supranational organisation
in the world.
However, in the meeting not solely political matters were discussed. In reply to the question if he felt that his
work could move something for the people on the ground, he said that it would take a long time to achieve
something and change the often-bleak human rights situation for people. As an example, he mentioned the
draft on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, on which Germany has taken a lead role.
The idea to positivise such a universal human right was conceived in the early 1990s. There were different
developments towards adopting such a right by the UN General Assembly, yet in 2012 agreement has still not
been reached. The draft the Human Rights Council has by now adopted is merely another proposal that
indicates that a right, as the ones postivised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will remain a hope
for the future.
In addition, Dr Bauer-Savage explained the functioning of the diplomatic services and how one usually
becomes a member of one’s country’s diplomatic service. Finally, some members of the delegation were
interested in how it feels like to work in Diplomacy, especially when involved in UN business. While many
57
people working at the UN are in fact doing this through the hundreds of NGOs with ECOSOC status,
national representatives are exclusively part of their respective diplomatic mission. As Dr Bauer-Savage, a law
graduate of the University of Münster himself, said a popular pathway to joining the foreign services is
through a legal education. This would provide many skills and understanding required for successful work as
a diplomat. Again, I would like to thank Dr Bauer-Savage at this point again; we were very fortunate to have
the opportunity to talk to him for some time.
58
XIX. TIPS AND ADVICE
First of all, if you are interested in international law and meeting great people from all over the world, you
should not hesitate to have a regular look in delegations newsletter and apply to the delegations you are most
attracted to. You should take your time and write a professional and enthusiastic motivation letter which plays
a key role in the selection of the delegates.
Secondly, as soon as you receive the wonderful piece of news confirming that you have been selected as
delegate, you ought to book your fly, train or bus ticket as soon as possible to take advantage of the cheap
prices and availability.
Thirdly, once you have arranged the transportation issue you should reserve your accommodation. Geneva is
an expensive city and during Council sessions there are many NGO delegates that look for an economic place
to stay so you should book as soon as possible before everything is booked. We think that Geneva City
Hostel is a very good option since dormitories are quite comfortable, (maximum of 4 beds), it has a full
equipped kitchen, and charming living rooms where you can chill out with your fellow delegates after sessions
and the most important you will get a card that will allow you to take whatever public transport in Geneva.
After City Hostel, the Youth Hostel is another good option but dormitories are bigger and the kitchen is not
fully equipped. However, it also includes the public transport card that will save you a considerable amount of
money. Thirdly, you could try with Mandat International which offers a free shuttle to and from the UN
every day .Nevertheless, it does not give you the free transport card and it is a bit outside the city so you will
have to spend some extra money to have a walk around Geneva’s Centre after sessions.
When booking accommodation, another point to bear in mind is trying to keep the delegation together so it is
easier to meet after sessions and organise some social evenings.
Once you have arranged these practical issues you should prepared to the session. It is indispensable to have
an overview of the agenda of the session and it is also advisable to read some of the documents you will able
to find on the Human rights Council’s website which is http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/
Visiting Mandat website could be also worthwhile to prepare the sessions. Especially the documentation part:
http://www.mandint.org/es/info-delegate where they also explain how to use extranet, an essential tool in
order to gather information for the report.
59
When arriving at the UN, you should not doubt to
visit Mandat Welcome desk where they will provide
you with useful information. Also take the order of
the Day at the entrance as it will help you to organise
your day and afterwards when writing the report.
In front of Mandat Welcome desk there are some
flyers of side events it would be useful to collect them
for 3 reasons: 1) you can decide which side events are more interesting. 2) they tell you if in these side events
there will be sandwiches or light refreshments which can be a good option to save some money. 3) they are
usful material when writing the report.
During the session, especially before side events and coffee breaks you should try to approach representatives
from Permanent Missions and arrange a meeting with them. A good point to start with, would be an e-mail to
the permanent missions of the ELSA delegates’ countries. These briefings will give you a real insight idea of
the work held in UN. It is important to speak with as many people as you can; from interns to Ambassadors
and exchange business cards. Every person will help you broaden your perspective.
After the sessions, make the most of your time. Share time with your fellow delegates and visit some of the
emblematic places of Geneva as the Cathedral, the old town, Carouge and the botanical garden. A trip
iwiththe yellow boat can be also a relaxing activity and included in the transport card.
Last but not least, eating for a student can be expensive so try to save some money by cooking your meals in
the hostels’ kitchens. Migros and Ldel are affordable supermarkets which are near to the Main station in
Laussane Avenue. For lunch, side events refreshments are the best option. The cafeteria is also another good
option with economical (15 CHF) and delicious dishes. If the weather is nice you can have your meal in the
cafeteria’s terrace or have a picnic in the garden. Social life can also be costly, some good options can be
meeting with other NGO interns who are a little bit more settled in Geneva and know the best places to go
out. Also share some time with your fellow delegates in the hostel living rooms and do not forget to bring and
share your fabulous ELSA spirit.
In short, we recommend future delegates to do their best and have the best time of your life in Geneva.
60

ELSA Delegation Report

Transcription

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