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DPI/NGO Briefing
Human Rights Challenges in the 21st Century In observance of Human Rights Day 7 December 2006 Summary The last DPI/NGO briefing of the fall 2006 season on 7 December 2006
looked at human rights challenges facing the global community in the 21st century.
Ms. Belén Sapag, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations;
Mr. Steve Crawshaw, United Nations Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch; and
Mr. Jimmie Briggs, journalist and author of “Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War”,
discussed issues relevant to their areas of expertise, citing examples and offering
suggestions to help protect human rights and their abuses.
Ms. Belén Sapag began by noting the high priority Chile
placed on the issue of ensuring Human Rights, as the country was still searching
for the bodies of missing persons that had disappeared during the 1973 Coup d’Etat.
She stressed the importance of acknowledging the horrors and failures of the past,
as a means to move forward and create a stable democracy. A proper democracy could
lead to overcoming poverty and overcoming violations of human rights, Ms. Sapag
explained. Initiatives taken by Chile’s President to strengthen their democracy
included: efforts to eliminate discrimination and create an environment of
inclusiveness; financing and supporting education for children, with a special
focus on young children from the ages of two to four; improving the public healthcare
system to provide treatment for catastrophic diseases such as cancer and HIV; and
providing proper housing, especially for the very poor. Ms. Sapag ended by emphasizing
the important role NGOs play as sources of information and encouragement for delegates.
She concluded by reciting a poem by Gabriela Mistral entitled “I am not alone!”
Mr. Briggs noted the important role the media
can play in promoting human rights. As a journalist, Mr. Briggs had traveled, and
continues to travel, to various areas of the world to report on the issue of child
soldiers. He cited ways of deterring the recruitment of children in armed conflict,
which included: ensuring access to education; controlling the dissemination
of small arms; and addressing the issue of impunity by improving the implementation
and enforcement of tools that held violators accountable. The re-integration
of children that had been soldiers in armed conflict was very important,
noted Mr. Briggs. Rehabilitation needed to be readily available, culturally
sensitive, and individualized for re-integration to be successful. Currently,
Mr. Briggs is looking at the issue of sexual violence on female soldiers.
Mr. Crawshaw affirmed Mr. Briggs’ comment
that reducing impunity could enhance the protection of human rights. Measures
to address impunity had already been taken, such as the International Criminal
Court, the Balkans Tribunal, and many other bodies that had been formed to hold
violators of human rights accountable. Mr. Crawshaw noted the important
relationship between humanitarian aid organizations and Human Rights Watch,
as a source of information. Human Rights Watch, Mr. Crawshaw explained, was
an organization that documented human rights violations, and then met with
government officials at the United Nations and other governmental bodies around
the world to advocate for changes in policy and practice. He stressed the
importance of ensuring complete accuracy when documenting violations to maintain
the organizations credibility and effectiveness.
During the question-and-answer period, Mr. Crawshaw clarified
that although Human Rights Watch worked with other NGOs to research human rights
violations, that information was not the only source of information considered.
Ms. Sapag clarified President Bachelet’s plan for poverty reduction by further
emphasizing the need to end discrimination, become more inclusive as a society
and promote a working democracy.
A short film about the life of a Nepalese family living in poverty,
told by nine-year old Punam Tamang, entitled “Punam”, was screened before the panel
discussion. The screening was organized in partnership with the New York office of
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The briefing was attended by about 150 representatives of NGOs, UN and Permanent Mission staff.
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