BRINGING HUMAN RIGHTS TO ALL PEOPLE OF THE WORLD
Expanding the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
“The killing fields of Rwanda, Cambodia and the Balkans stand silent witness to the brutality that passed unchecked by an international system lacking both the will and the vision to act. We can and must do better.”
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a part of the United Nations Secretariat, has a unique mandate from the international community to promote and protect all human rights.
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The thrust of the UN’s approach to human rights, as realized by OHCHR, is outlined in two key strategic documents: OHCHR’s Plan of Action (as called for by the former Secretary-General in his 2005 report In Larger Freedom) and its Strategic Management Plan for 2008-2009. In trying to find the most effective ways to meet today’s pressing human rights challenges, OHCHR uses a variety of strategies around four key areas – leadership, country engagement and partnerships inside and outside the UN system, as well as its unique relationship with the United Nations human rights mechanisms (including the human rights treaty bodies and the Human Rights Council).
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OHCHR has placed great emphasis on strengthening its capacity to carry out its comprehensive mandate. This has resulted in:
- A significant expansion of its presence in the field, with a presence in 47 countries by the end of 2007;
- A strengthening of thematic expertise, including on women’s human rights and gender, the right to development, economic, social and cultural rights, the rule of law and rapid response;
- More visible leadership on human rights issues;
- Enhanced partnerships with UN entities and civil society, including through the creation of a new civil society unit; and
- A strengthening of its policy, planning, monitoring and evaluation capacity, including through the creation of a dedicated section for that purpose.
- OHCHR receives significant funding from the UN regular budget, and the 2005 World Summit made a commitment to a doubling of OHCHR’s share of the UN regular budget within five years. The 2008-2009 budget reflects the Member States commitment to this goal and reinforces that human rights is a key component of the UN’s work.
- Although OHCHR’s share of the regular budget has grown in recent years, the amount it receives covers only approximately one third of its overall funding needs. Voluntary contributions bolster OHCHR’s efforts to strengthen and expand its work worldwide.
- The Human Rights Council, which replaced the Commission on Human Rights, was established by the General Assembly as the key UN intergovernmental body responsible for human rights. The Council has addressed a wide range of substantive human rights issues in its regular sessions, as well as specific human rights situations in five special sessions (as at the end of 2007). One year after its establishment, and in compliance with General Assembly resolution 60/251, the Council agreed on a package of elements that established the procedures, mechanisms and structures that form the basis of its work.
- The establishment of modalities for the universal periodic review mechanism (UPR) was one of the key achievements of the Council’s institution-building package. Through this mechanism, the Council will review on a periodic basis the fulfillment of the human rights obligations of all UN Member States. The UPR is potentially the first universal tool for monitoring the application of the principles expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 60th anniversary of which falls on 10 December 2008.
- The Secretary-General noted the completion of the first phase of the Council’s institution-building work and welcomed the establishment of the modalities for a strong and meaningful UPR. This sends a clear message that no country – big or small – will be immune from scrutiny.
- The Secretary-General also called upon all members to take seriously their responsibilities and to continue to seek out ways to improve the Council’s work in the months and years ahead. He further called upon the Council to live up to its responsibilities as the torchbearer for human rights consistently and to consider all situations of possible human rights violations equally. He further called upon the Council to live up to its responsibilities as the torchbearer for human rights consistently and to consider all situations of possible human rights violations equally.
- The Secretary-General has emphasized the need to work with Member States to give real meaning to the promise of the Responsibility to Protect, a concept enshrined in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document adopted by 191 world leaders. Referred to as “R2P,” the concept underlines the responsibility of States for protecting their own populations when faced with ethnic cleansing, acts of genocide or crimes against humanity, and holds the international community responsible for stepping in if States fail to live up to those obligations. The Secretary-General has pledged to work with Member States and civil society to translate the concept from word to deed.
- In May 2007, the Secretary-General announced his intention to appoint a full-time Special Representative for the Prevention of Genocide with the mandate to collect information on serious violations of human rights that could lead to genocide and to bring potential genocidal situations to the attention of the Security Council. He has also initiated action for the operationalization of the concept of the responsibility to protect outlined in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document.
Reinvigorating the Human Rights Council
Protecting civilians and preventing genocide
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