The written statement of Pax Romana for the 62nd Session of UN Commission on Human Rights under Agenda Item 18: Effective Functioning of human rights mechanism.
Human rights is a notion that has been determinedly evolving throughout human history. They have been intricately attached to the laws, customs and religions throughout time. But only after the utter atrocities committed during the World War II the international community changed the view on human rights, recognizing that these rights were to be proclaimed and enforced universally. In the aftermath of the Holocaust the world expressed the need for the protection of a set of inalienable human rights.
The United Nations has been the space and place to develop a new legal and institutional corpus that has reshaped the international relationships. Among the traditional actors of the international community a new and dynamic sector was incorporated in this process, the Non Governmental Organizations. As mentioned by Mr. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his report “In Larger Freedom”, we want to remark that “the protection and promotion of the universal values of the rule of law, human rights and democracy are ends in themselves. They are also essential for a world of justice, opportunity and stability. No security agenda and no drive for development will be successful unless they are based on the sure foundation of respect for human dignity”[1]. For Pax-Romana this was and still is our commitment and our hope.
Pax-Romana welcomes the creation of the United Nations Human Rights Council as a move towards substantive changes within the UN system in the promotion and protection of universally recognized human rights standards, “reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action and recalling the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other human rights instruments” (PP2[2]).
It is our understanding that that all human rights are “universal, indivisible, interrelated, interdependent and mutually reinforcing and that all human rights must be treated in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis”. (PP3)
Even though we recognize and celebrate national and regional diversity, we emphasize that all national states, “regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, have the duty to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms” (PP4).
The role of Non governmental Organisation has been recognized as useful (PP10) as it has been mandated in the UN Charter[3]. Especially we want to acknowledge the role of that non-governmental organizations play, at the national, regional and international level, in the promotion and protection of human rights, and we argue for the institutionalization of mechanisms of participation for the NGOs as a system of check and balances,
We recognize the effort undertaken by the UN Commission on Human Rights so we emphasize the “need to build on its achievements and to redress its shortcomings” (PP7), so we identify principles of “universality, detachment, and non-selectivity in the consideration of human rights issues, with the avoidance of double standards and politicization”(PP8) as indispensable for the work of the Council.
Pax-Romana urges member states to ensure that the HRC's mandate should allow the council to address systematic human rights violations more effectively than the commission; the credibility of the council depends on its capacity to protect human rights; the HRC should not be another body where political interests take an upper hand over human rights concerns. Furthermore we reinforce the idea that the Council must “be responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner”.
We agree with the principles and purposes described in OP5, but we want to remark the importance of the promotion of “the full implementation of human rights obligations undertaken by States and the follow-up of the goals and commitments related to the promotion and protection of human rights emanating from United Nations conferences and summits” (d).
Moreover the Council should “assume the role and responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights relating to the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as decided by the General Assembly in its resolution 48/141” (i), as well as the HRC should coordinate the different human rights initiatives within the UN system and should search for possible mechanisms of communication with the International Criminal Court.
Regarding to the future of the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, we point out importance of having a think thank body of experts for the Human Rights Council who will provide substantial inputs to the Human Rights Council by undertaking studies on human rights issues.
We would like to propose the following considerations:
- In the international arena, during the last fifty years, it has known systematically the emergence of legal corpuses that propose and pledge an increasing number of rights and liberties for every human being. In this process a new international actor has came out, the NGOs that have been reshaping the international law, defying the traditional exclusivism of governments in this field and incorporating in the international agenda always new challenges[4]. Since the Commission on Human Rights has a rich experience in collaborative efforts in working together with NGOs, we strongly recommend that the Council should keep the good practice of the ones from the Commission on Human Rights without interruption.
- Membership:
- We agree with the number and regional mechanism of selection of the 45 members of the Council (Asia: 12, Africa: 11, GRULAC: 8, WEOG:7, Eastern European: 5).
- The states engaged in gross, systematic human rights violations should not be elected.
- We believe that this objective can be secured by:
- ensuring an individual and direct vote of two-thirds of the General Assembly;
- requiring regional groups to put forward more candidates than the number of seats allocated to their region;
- stipulating that an entirely new Council should be elected rather than declaring that current members become the first members of the new Council. (*) [5]
- We believe that this objective can be secured by:
- The states under Security Council sanctions for human rights violations should be categorically excluded. Additionally we recommend the unambiguous recognition of the right of creation and expression of NGOs at a national level as a criterion for selection.
- Consideration of Country-Specific Situations: the ability of the new Council to consider country situations and adopt resolutions must not be limited. In particular, adoption of country-specific resolutions should continue to require a simple majority of Council members in accordance with usual rules. (*)
- Special Procedures: one of the achievements of the Commission on Human Rights is the creation of the Special Procedures mechanism. The Council should be able to maintain and strengthen this mechanism. More time should be allocated for the interactive dialogues with the experts of Special Procedures, and the Council should ensure to make the follow up of the recommendations of their reports.
- Voting process: The voting process in the Council should be by majority.
Written Statement of Pax Romana
Agenda Item 18: Effective Functioning of human rights mechanism
( c ) Adaptation and strengthening of the United Nations Machinery for Human Rights
[1] See A/59/2005: In Larger Freedom: toward development, human rights and security for all. Report of the Secretary General.
[2] PP here refers to the 2nd Co-Chair Text on Human Rights Council, 01 February 2006.
[3] UN Charter. Article 71: The Economic and Social Council may make suitable arrangements for the consultation with non-governmental organizations which are concerned with matters within its competence. Such arrangements may be made with international organization and, where appropriate, with national organizations after consultation with the members of the United Nations concerned.
[4] As it has been recognized through the ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31. It becomes the legal basis for decisions concerning the consultative status of NGOs, and functions as the statute governing the most important points of connection between NGO and United Nations, including the Commission on Human Rights.