Post by michelle on Dec 14, 2008 15:06:43 GMT 4
RIGHTS: Politics Still Reign Over Principles at U.N.
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 10 (IPS) - The United Nations Wednesday commemorated the 60th anniversary of the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) against the backdrop of widespread political repression -- most notably in Zimbabwe, Sudan, Burma (Myanmar), Iraq, Afghanistan and in the Israeli-occupied territories of West Bank and Gaza.
But a sharply divided Security Council has remained politically impotent against continued atrocities worldwide, in violation of humanitarian law and international conventions, including the UDHR.
Andrew Hudson, a senior associate with the Human Rights Defenders Programme at Human Rights First, singled out U.N. member states, primarily Security Council members, "who have frequently failed to prevent or address gross violations of the UDHR."
The United Nations, he said, should redouble its efforts to demonstrate that the human rights contained in the UDHR are universal and allow for translation into specific local contexts.
"The new Universal Periodic Review mechanism at the Human Rights Council demonstrates that the UDHR applies universally to all states," he stressed.
The U.N. human rights system should engage in objective, impartial and universal evaluation of the human rights records of all states, Hudson told IPS.
More recently, at a political level, the Security Council has remained deadlocked because of the partisan role of the five veto-wielding permanent members.
The United States, France and Britain have continued to protect Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan while Russia and China continue to shield Zimbabwe, Sudan and Burma (Myanmar) against any strictures or sanctions for human rights violations.
Article 1 of the UDHR, which was adopted by the General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948, states that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."
But in reality human rights abuses are increasingly becoming the norm in most developing nations. And in developed countries, including the United States and Britain, violations are being justified in the name of fighting terrorism.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the UDHR on Wednesday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "We see human trafficking, the exploitation of children, and a host of other ills plaguing millions of people," he added.
The "host of other ills", according to human rights organisations, includes torture, disappearances, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention, surveillance, defamation and administrative and judicial harassment. The victims also include journalists and human rights defenders.
Navi Pillay, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters that tens of millions of people around the world are still unaware that they have rights that they can demand, and that their governments are accountable to them, to a wide-ranging body of rights-based national and international law.
"Despite all our efforts over the past 60 years, this anniversary will pass many people by, and it is essential that we keep up the momentum, thereby enabling more and more people to stand up and claim their rights," she added.
Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the San Francisco-based Oakland Institute, pointed out the failure of nation states and governments in fulfilling their obligation to ensure human rights for all.
For instance, she said, in the United States, where homelessness, hunger and poverty -- particularly among children and seniors -- abound, it is the failure of the government to fulfill its obligation to its people.
"The United Nations could have done more in terms of emphasising the relevance of human rights treaties, insisting on these treaties taking precedence over, say, trade agreements or other social economic policies that might conflict with human rights of people," Mittal told IPS.
Asked where the United Nations has succeeded or failed in helping implement the UDHR, Julie Gromellon of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) told IPS the objective of the founders of the U.N. to add a human dimension to international law through the UDHR has become a reality.
She said international law, and especially the UDHR, has become an important tool to promote respect for and observance of human rights.
The Universal Declaration has also served as a starting point for further standard-setting activities through eight core human rights conventions, whose implementation is monitored by so-called treaty bodies, a more advanced system of supervision.
In this framework, the United Nations has contributed to the recognition of the accountability of all states for compliance with their human rights obligations as laid down in the UDHR, she added.
But important lacunae need to be filled to implement the UDHR. States should be continuously urged by the U.N. to ratify all relevant international human rights treaties and to accept and implement the supervisory procedures.
In particular, they should be urged to ratify the relevant individual complaint procedures, Gromellon added.
She also said the crucial role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should be recognised by the U.N. "They have contributed in a most significant way to the development and enforcement of the international human rights system," she noted.
And such organisations should also be given a consultative status with other organisations, including the international financial institutions and the World Trade Organisation.
Rob Wheeler of the World Alliance for Transforming the U.N. said the United Nations, in failing to ensure that all people's rights are met, is actually violating several articles of its own founding Charter.
"We thus urge the United Nations to organise and hold a U.N. Charter Review Conference, under Article 109 of the Charter, in order to determine what can and must be done to ensure that the charter is upheld and that all people's most basic human rights are indeed provided and met," he said.
Unfortunately, he said, most of the provisions included in the Universal Declaration have still not been met even after 60 years -- 830 million people still do not have enough food to eat, 1.1 billion lack access to clean water, 2.6 billion to basic sanitation, and 2.0 billion to essential drugs.
Hudson of Human Rights First said that the United Nations, especially the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has played a critical role in education, outreach and awareness-raising about the universality of the UDHR.
"However, U.N. member states fail to implement aspects of the UDHR by suggesting that human rights do not acknowledge cultural difference -- a specious argument used to avoid human rights scrutiny," Hudson told IPS.
(END/2008)
Source: www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45063
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALSO RECOMMENDED
Human Rights... For Who? (December 10, 08)
www.stwr.org/the-un-people-politics/human-rights-for-who.html
The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be rightly lauded as a landmark in international attempts to formalize the rights and responsibilities between governments and their citizens. If we ask if the Declaration has proven a success, however, we need only glance at a few statistics; almost three billion people live in poverty on less than US$2.50 a day, and the number of hungry people actually increased this year to nearly one billion people. As the world reaped record levels of harvests in 2008, the most basic right to food is still denied to around 1 in 6 people on the planet. But how did we get to this situation? An answer to this can be simply put: on the international stage, the world's most powerful nations have prioritised those human rights associated with political freedom and peace and security, at the expense of those rights related to economic justice. (...) Rather than a focussing on a narrowly imposed view of human rights, the anniversary of the UN Declaration gives us the opportunity to take stock of global priorities. An agenda that promotes peace, security and democracy has resulted in a form of 'military humanitarianism' and security-based human rights that play into the hands of the most economically powerful. In addition, the promotion of the economic rights of the majority world has been institutionalised in the World Bank and IMF, leading to a highly ideological attempt to secure basic human rights. To respond to these challenges, international governments should equally prioritise all of the rights and responsibilities in the UN Declaration to include those on economic justice, such as the right to adequate living and social protection, fair remuneration, and the right to adequate food and shelter. Such a holistic approach would help government and international bodies to tackle other complex human rights problems such as peace and security, terrorism and gender relations. CLIP
Sixty Years On, 'Inalienable Human Rights' Still out of Reach for Many (Dec 10, 2008)
en.epochtimes.com/n2/canada/human-rights-day-amnesty-8408.html
Human rights supporters across the country took part in a host of activities to commemorate International Human Rights Day on Wednesday, December 10. It was on this day 60 years ago that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was signed. The UDHR holds special significance for Canadians since its first draft was authored by McGill University law professor John Peters Humphrey. Adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris following the horrors of World War II, the UDHR established 30 inalienable rights that every human being should be guaranteed. The declaration was the first global recognition of universal human rights and has formed the basis for many human rights instruments that followed. Available in more than 360 languages, it is the most translated document in the world. However, for many around the world, inalienable human rights are far from being a reality. This was apparent in activities across the country on Wednesday, with human rights advocates taking the opportunity to raise awareness of various ongoing rights abuses in many countries. CLIP
FIRE UP! (Lots of pics!)
www.amnesty.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights-anniversary/fire-up
On 10 December: We celebrated Human Rights Day and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We stood up with people all over the world who want to make human rights a reality for everyone. Every human has rights. That is the essence of our humanity. It places on each of us the duty to stand up, not just for our own rights but also for those of others - and to help turn the vision of the UDHR into a reality. That is the spirit of international solidarity. That is the true meaning of universal, indivisible human rights.On this significant anniversary, people gathered together in hundreds of places all over the globe, to light a candle, fire or flame as part of a mass demonstration. On Human Rights Day, we stood up for human rights and showed our solidarity with people all over the world who are committed to making human rights a reality for everyone. - MUCH more through www.amnesty.org/en
Human Rights Day: No Rose-Colored Glasses, but Cautious Hope (DECEMBER 10, 2008)
genocide.change.org/blog/view/human_rights_day_no_rose-colored_glasses_but_cautious_hope
With a tinge more optimism than I've felt this week, and with much greater eloquence, Susan Morgan at the Huffington Post joins the chorus of calls for new American leadership to end genocide, and to promote human rights more generally: "In Christiane Amanpour's powerful new documentary on genocide, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, Elie Weisel states, 'When there is a crisis, a moral crisis, human rights should become the number one preoccupation for the American administration.' Playing devil's advocate, Amanpour asks, 'What if the Americans say 'Why us? Why is that fair?' He replies, "Because the whole world will say, 'if America doesn't, why should we?'"Weisel speaks the truth. This week, on December 10, the international community recognizes the 60th anniversary of the United Nations' adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For America, the leader of the free world and a beacon of hope to oppressed and impoverished people around the globe, this anniversary is a solemn reminder of the ideals we stand for and the moral responsibilities we have abdicated for far too long." CLIP
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 10 (IPS) - The United Nations Wednesday commemorated the 60th anniversary of the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) against the backdrop of widespread political repression -- most notably in Zimbabwe, Sudan, Burma (Myanmar), Iraq, Afghanistan and in the Israeli-occupied territories of West Bank and Gaza.
But a sharply divided Security Council has remained politically impotent against continued atrocities worldwide, in violation of humanitarian law and international conventions, including the UDHR.
Andrew Hudson, a senior associate with the Human Rights Defenders Programme at Human Rights First, singled out U.N. member states, primarily Security Council members, "who have frequently failed to prevent or address gross violations of the UDHR."
The United Nations, he said, should redouble its efforts to demonstrate that the human rights contained in the UDHR are universal and allow for translation into specific local contexts.
"The new Universal Periodic Review mechanism at the Human Rights Council demonstrates that the UDHR applies universally to all states," he stressed.
The U.N. human rights system should engage in objective, impartial and universal evaluation of the human rights records of all states, Hudson told IPS.
More recently, at a political level, the Security Council has remained deadlocked because of the partisan role of the five veto-wielding permanent members.
The United States, France and Britain have continued to protect Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan while Russia and China continue to shield Zimbabwe, Sudan and Burma (Myanmar) against any strictures or sanctions for human rights violations.
Article 1 of the UDHR, which was adopted by the General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948, states that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."
But in reality human rights abuses are increasingly becoming the norm in most developing nations. And in developed countries, including the United States and Britain, violations are being justified in the name of fighting terrorism.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the UDHR on Wednesday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "We see human trafficking, the exploitation of children, and a host of other ills plaguing millions of people," he added.
The "host of other ills", according to human rights organisations, includes torture, disappearances, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention, surveillance, defamation and administrative and judicial harassment. The victims also include journalists and human rights defenders.
Navi Pillay, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters that tens of millions of people around the world are still unaware that they have rights that they can demand, and that their governments are accountable to them, to a wide-ranging body of rights-based national and international law.
"Despite all our efforts over the past 60 years, this anniversary will pass many people by, and it is essential that we keep up the momentum, thereby enabling more and more people to stand up and claim their rights," she added.
Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the San Francisco-based Oakland Institute, pointed out the failure of nation states and governments in fulfilling their obligation to ensure human rights for all.
For instance, she said, in the United States, where homelessness, hunger and poverty -- particularly among children and seniors -- abound, it is the failure of the government to fulfill its obligation to its people.
"The United Nations could have done more in terms of emphasising the relevance of human rights treaties, insisting on these treaties taking precedence over, say, trade agreements or other social economic policies that might conflict with human rights of people," Mittal told IPS.
Asked where the United Nations has succeeded or failed in helping implement the UDHR, Julie Gromellon of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) told IPS the objective of the founders of the U.N. to add a human dimension to international law through the UDHR has become a reality.
She said international law, and especially the UDHR, has become an important tool to promote respect for and observance of human rights.
The Universal Declaration has also served as a starting point for further standard-setting activities through eight core human rights conventions, whose implementation is monitored by so-called treaty bodies, a more advanced system of supervision.
In this framework, the United Nations has contributed to the recognition of the accountability of all states for compliance with their human rights obligations as laid down in the UDHR, she added.
But important lacunae need to be filled to implement the UDHR. States should be continuously urged by the U.N. to ratify all relevant international human rights treaties and to accept and implement the supervisory procedures.
In particular, they should be urged to ratify the relevant individual complaint procedures, Gromellon added.
She also said the crucial role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should be recognised by the U.N. "They have contributed in a most significant way to the development and enforcement of the international human rights system," she noted.
And such organisations should also be given a consultative status with other organisations, including the international financial institutions and the World Trade Organisation.
Rob Wheeler of the World Alliance for Transforming the U.N. said the United Nations, in failing to ensure that all people's rights are met, is actually violating several articles of its own founding Charter.
"We thus urge the United Nations to organise and hold a U.N. Charter Review Conference, under Article 109 of the Charter, in order to determine what can and must be done to ensure that the charter is upheld and that all people's most basic human rights are indeed provided and met," he said.
Unfortunately, he said, most of the provisions included in the Universal Declaration have still not been met even after 60 years -- 830 million people still do not have enough food to eat, 1.1 billion lack access to clean water, 2.6 billion to basic sanitation, and 2.0 billion to essential drugs.
Hudson of Human Rights First said that the United Nations, especially the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has played a critical role in education, outreach and awareness-raising about the universality of the UDHR.
"However, U.N. member states fail to implement aspects of the UDHR by suggesting that human rights do not acknowledge cultural difference -- a specious argument used to avoid human rights scrutiny," Hudson told IPS.
(END/2008)
Source: www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45063
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALSO RECOMMENDED
Human Rights... For Who? (December 10, 08)
www.stwr.org/the-un-people-politics/human-rights-for-who.html
The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be rightly lauded as a landmark in international attempts to formalize the rights and responsibilities between governments and their citizens. If we ask if the Declaration has proven a success, however, we need only glance at a few statistics; almost three billion people live in poverty on less than US$2.50 a day, and the number of hungry people actually increased this year to nearly one billion people. As the world reaped record levels of harvests in 2008, the most basic right to food is still denied to around 1 in 6 people on the planet. But how did we get to this situation? An answer to this can be simply put: on the international stage, the world's most powerful nations have prioritised those human rights associated with political freedom and peace and security, at the expense of those rights related to economic justice. (...) Rather than a focussing on a narrowly imposed view of human rights, the anniversary of the UN Declaration gives us the opportunity to take stock of global priorities. An agenda that promotes peace, security and democracy has resulted in a form of 'military humanitarianism' and security-based human rights that play into the hands of the most economically powerful. In addition, the promotion of the economic rights of the majority world has been institutionalised in the World Bank and IMF, leading to a highly ideological attempt to secure basic human rights. To respond to these challenges, international governments should equally prioritise all of the rights and responsibilities in the UN Declaration to include those on economic justice, such as the right to adequate living and social protection, fair remuneration, and the right to adequate food and shelter. Such a holistic approach would help government and international bodies to tackle other complex human rights problems such as peace and security, terrorism and gender relations. CLIP
Sixty Years On, 'Inalienable Human Rights' Still out of Reach for Many (Dec 10, 2008)
en.epochtimes.com/n2/canada/human-rights-day-amnesty-8408.html
Human rights supporters across the country took part in a host of activities to commemorate International Human Rights Day on Wednesday, December 10. It was on this day 60 years ago that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was signed. The UDHR holds special significance for Canadians since its first draft was authored by McGill University law professor John Peters Humphrey. Adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris following the horrors of World War II, the UDHR established 30 inalienable rights that every human being should be guaranteed. The declaration was the first global recognition of universal human rights and has formed the basis for many human rights instruments that followed. Available in more than 360 languages, it is the most translated document in the world. However, for many around the world, inalienable human rights are far from being a reality. This was apparent in activities across the country on Wednesday, with human rights advocates taking the opportunity to raise awareness of various ongoing rights abuses in many countries. CLIP
FIRE UP! (Lots of pics!)
www.amnesty.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights-anniversary/fire-up
On 10 December: We celebrated Human Rights Day and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We stood up with people all over the world who want to make human rights a reality for everyone. Every human has rights. That is the essence of our humanity. It places on each of us the duty to stand up, not just for our own rights but also for those of others - and to help turn the vision of the UDHR into a reality. That is the spirit of international solidarity. That is the true meaning of universal, indivisible human rights.On this significant anniversary, people gathered together in hundreds of places all over the globe, to light a candle, fire or flame as part of a mass demonstration. On Human Rights Day, we stood up for human rights and showed our solidarity with people all over the world who are committed to making human rights a reality for everyone. - MUCH more through www.amnesty.org/en
Human Rights Day: No Rose-Colored Glasses, but Cautious Hope (DECEMBER 10, 2008)
genocide.change.org/blog/view/human_rights_day_no_rose-colored_glasses_but_cautious_hope
With a tinge more optimism than I've felt this week, and with much greater eloquence, Susan Morgan at the Huffington Post joins the chorus of calls for new American leadership to end genocide, and to promote human rights more generally: "In Christiane Amanpour's powerful new documentary on genocide, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, Elie Weisel states, 'When there is a crisis, a moral crisis, human rights should become the number one preoccupation for the American administration.' Playing devil's advocate, Amanpour asks, 'What if the Americans say 'Why us? Why is that fair?' He replies, "Because the whole world will say, 'if America doesn't, why should we?'"Weisel speaks the truth. This week, on December 10, the international community recognizes the 60th anniversary of the United Nations' adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For America, the leader of the free world and a beacon of hope to oppressed and impoverished people around the globe, this anniversary is a solemn reminder of the ideals we stand for and the moral responsibilities we have abdicated for far too long." CLIP