Item 3: Administration of Justice (Rule of law and democracy)

On behalf of:

International ALLIANCE OF WOMEN; International ASSociation for religious freedom; International MOVEMENT AGAINST ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION and racism (imadr); LUTHERAN WORLD FEDERATION; NEW HUMANITY; INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND FREEDOM OF EDUCATION (OIDEL); Soka Gakkai International UN LIAISON OFFICE; WORLD FEDERATION OF METHoDIST AND UNITING CHURCH WOMEN

Madame Chair,

I speak on behalf of 8 organizations who strongly believe that human rights education has a key role to play in promoting good governance and the rule of law, and help ensure that international human rights standards are respected and implemented in every domain of governance in all nations.

During the last session of the Commission on Human Rights, (x) organizations that co-signed this statement came together in support of Costa Rica's initiative to launch a second UN decade for Human Rights Education (HRE) to run from 2005 to 2014. Although the first decade was unanimously proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1994 only a few states have taken concrete steps to initiate national HRE programs. And, though resolutions have been adopted by consensus every year since, the International Community has not been forthcoming in supporting enough the coordination role of the Office of the High Commissioner.

In 2001, halfway through the Decade, and in the light of the High Commissioner's mid-term evaluation report A/55/360, we had felt that it was time that the International Community not only advocate further the principle of human rights education - which is said to be widely acknowledged - but take immediate action to meet the goals set out by the Decade framework.  Though the Decade has acted as a catalyst for some governments and has generated some funding for NGOs, the report stressed the persistent discrepancy between the intentions initially proclaimed and their implementation.  NGOs had recommended that the conclusions of the mid-term report be taken into account by the Commission on Human Rights and, as a result, it was decided that these recommendations be an integral part of the 2001 resolution on the Decade for HRE. As of today, this resolution remains a very comprehensive document and an important stepping-stone for further action on the part of the International Community.

In the wake of the recommendations we submitted to the Commission in 2002 on behalf of 91 supporting NGOs, this year, our efforts were aimed at promoting a concise and pragmatically oriented resolution in order to build on the conclusions and recommendations of the mid-term report and to set a limited number of priorities for the years to come.  The outcome was a little disappointing, as the resolution adopted by the Commission did not retain the idea of a second decade on HRE. However, upon close scrutiny it appears that we may anticipate further positive developments provided efficient lobbying to governments and national human rights institutions is carried out in the coming months. Needless to say, the support of the Sub-Commission is much needed in this regard.

We do hope that the Members of the Sub-Commission give proper consideration to the views of governments, national institutions and NGOs reflected in the report of the OHCHR on the follow-up to the Decade (E/CN.4/2003/101) which was before the Commission in April-March this year as requested in Commission resolution 2002/74 0P. 17.

Let me briefly highlight the main findings of the report:

First of all, the input received by the Office strongly supports the idea of a second decade, considering that HRE is a long term process and that the current decade has been useful to those institutions, governmental and non-governmental, who have used the opportunity to initiate national and regional partnership programs.  Although the overall objectives of the Decade are not being met, it is essential to maintain - I quote from the report "some focus at the international level on human rights education, including funding for related activities" and "to provide Governments which have not given attention to human rights education the opportunity to start programs based on the experiences of other countries and institutions."

Secondly, many actors have stressed the importance of establishing a voluntary fund for HRE as already set out in the Action Plan of the current Decade. Such a fund would be administered by the OHCHR and would be aimed at supporting civil society HRE activities.  The need for establishing a voluntary fund was first stressed in Vienna in 1993. It has been mentioned repeatedly in Commission and GA resolutions as a possibility requiring further study by the International Community, but no progress has been made in this regard.

Thirdly, an important issue of international monitoring mechanisms for HRE activities is still to be addressed. The High Commissioner's report mentions as a suggested course of action "the establishment of an intergovernmental or of a joint governmental/non-governmental committee, including major human rights education actors, to develop both monitoring systems and ongoing assessment of human rights education efforts, as well as the development of a specific normative instrument focusing on human rights education".

Although the potential of existing monitoring mechanisms for advancing human rights education, such as the Special Rapporteur on the right to education and the Treaty Bodies, has been acknowledged and recommendations to include HRE on their agendas have been made, these mechanisms have achieved little results since their attention has not been sufficiently focused on HRE. Surprisingly, it still remains unclear to many governments that the promotion of HRE is an obligation under the existing instruments. This is why we believe that clarification as to the binding nature of the right to human rights education, at this point in time, has become necessary.

Let me now reflect briefly on the role of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education. Though many have suggested that HRE should be an integral part of her mandate, Ms. Katarina Tomasevski has repeatedly stated that there are many other priorities she must address, such as access to primary education, the struggle against illiteracy, and equal opportunity for girls and women, to mention only a few. Certainly, HRE should not be viewed as a separate domain in the implementation of the right to education but as central with regard to the universal nature of this right and its role in conveying a universal message. Yet defining HRE solely in the wake of efforts to promote the right to education may undermine efforts to bring HRE out as a key element of a more comprehensive agenda.

If we are to recognize the cross-sectorial impact of HRE, education and training for all personnel engaged in the administration of justice and law-making procedures should clearly be one of the main objectives of the Decade. Yet, efforts to overcome educational deficits should not only be aimed at improving the transmission of knowledge and know-how in government but also be aimed at promoting empowerment as a precondition for the establishment of good governance and the rule of law. Human rights education has an important role to play with regard to the promotion of transformational models in community development as well as models aimed at promoting greater accountability in government, judicial systems and multinational corporations. I should add that HRE also has a key role to play in post-conflict reconstruction and in the transition from autocratic rule to democratic participation. These objectives, Mme. Chair, are clearly beyond the scope of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education.

To conclude, Mme chair, we believe that the proposal to launch a second decade for HRE is both timely and realistic. With regard to objectives however, we suggest that the International Community focus on the promotion of specific HRE issues and the implementation of measurable targets over periods of two to three years rather than on a comprehensive agenda which, so far, has proven unsuccessful, perhaps because too broad in scope.

Taking into account these views and the views expressed in the High Commissioner's report, we do hope that the members of the Sub-Commission will invite the Commission to recommend that the General Assembly declare a second Decade for HRE to begin in 2005.

I thank you for your attention.