AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index: IOR 41/049/2005 (Public)

News Service No: 175

24 June 2005

UN reform: Freedom to live in dignity

Statement by Amnesty International to the informal interactive hearings of the UN General Assembly with non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector

Amnesty International welcomes the clear acknowledgement in the draft Outcome Document that human rights are a pillar of the UN system with development and security. We endorse that development and security will not be enjoyed unless there is respect for human rights. Respect must be full and apply equally to the rights of women and men.

It is not clear from reading the Draft Outcome Document that human rights form the foundation for many decisions which Heads of State and Government will adopt in September. Eradication of poverty, access to free universal primary education, full enjoyment of human rights for women, and essential elements of democracy, are all grounded in specific articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The September Outcome Document must make clear that human rights are the foundation for many efforts to achieve freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to live in dignity.

The September Summit provides a unique opportunity to do just that and to create an enhanced and strong human rights system for the United Nations. Human rights are important values and principles, but they are also solemn commitments and obligations of governments, embodied in the Universal Declaration and the human rights treaties to which states are a party. We therefore urge all governments in September to:

reaffirm, unambiguously, the human rights commitments they freely made the past sixty years, starting with the Charter of the United Nations;

commit to spare no effort to protect the full enjoyment of all human rights for everyone, without discrimination of any kind;

commit to take measurable steps to fully implement obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all human rights instruments to which states are a party;

commit to a concerted effort to reach universal adherence to the core international human rights treaties and their protocols by 2015;

call on the Secretary-General and all UN decision-making bodies to take concrete steps to mainstream human rights in the policies and decisions of the organization;

commit to end impunity for all violations of human rights and crimes under international law, to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international tribunals, and to call on all states to become a party to the Rome Statute of the ICC; and

support the High Commissioner for Human Rights' Plan of Action and commit to doubling, within five years, the overall budget of her Office.

In his report, the Secretary-General has said: "at this defining moment in history, we must be ambitious."

We therefore welcome his proposal to create a standing Human Rights Council, as reflected in the draft Outcome Document. The Council must build on the great achievements of the Commission on Human Rights yet address its current weaknesses. It must be a bastion for the international protection of all human rights and a catalyst to build human rights implementation capacity nationally.

Amnesty International believes that the Human Rights Council should:

be a principal organ of the United Nations;

review, publicly, human rights situations in all countries in transparent procedures through periodic peer review. That review should be based on objective information provided by the UN's independent Special Procedures, human rights treaty bodies and other reliable sources;

be able to meet at any time to deal promptly with all country situations that need special attention;

preserve the strengths of the Commission on Human Rights including the system of Special Procedures and the NGO consultative status and practices which NGOs now enjoy;

apply electoral rules and practices that ensure that all UN member states can become Council members;

encourage participation of members that demonstrate a commitment to strengthening human rights; and

be created by the General Assembly in an open and transparent process involving NGOs when it elaborates the details of the proposed Council.

The September Summit is a unique opportunity to create an effective body to address today's human rights challenges in a manner that truly reflects the conception of the UN's founders. They envisaged the United Nations as the world organization of peoples as well as states, and declared human rights to be a purpose and principle of the United Nations. We call on your governments to be bold and turn that vision into reality in September. Creating a strong Human Rights Council, as a principal organ of the United Nations, will finally reflect the primacy which the UN Charter accords to human rights. That way, a milestone will be achieved in UN history.

Background

On 14-16 September this year, Heads of State will gather in New York for a high-level plenary meeting of the 60th session of the UN General Assembly to review progress made in implementing the 2000 Millennium Declaration and related development goals, and to consider proposals by the UN Secretary-General in his report "In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all". Included in this report are proposals to strengthen the UN human rights machinery, including by replacing the UN Commission on Human Rights with a standing Human Rights Council. In preparation of the September Summit, informal interactive hearings of the General Assembly take place on 23-24 June with representatives of civil society, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. Amnesty International was invited to deliver a statement under the segment on "Freedom to Live in Dignity".