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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon... |
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Tuesday, 14 October 2008 09:00 |
Ban calls on Member States to uphold human rights while fighting terrorism
9 octobre 2008 – Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon has underscored that nations are duty-bound to protect
human rights while countering terrorism, in a new report made public today.
“Member States are bound
to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law as the
fundamental basis in the fight against terrorism,” Mr. Ban wrote in a report on the implementation of a General Assembly resolution adopted last December.
In that resolution, the 192-member body confirmed that nations must
guarantee that any steps taken to fight terrorism conforms with their
obligations, specifically regarding international human rights, refugee
and humanitarian law.
The Secretary-General’s report notes that “Member States should
reaffirm their commitment to the total prohibition of torture by
prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in
international law.”
It also calls for people responsible for torture and ill-treatment to
be prosecuted and for barring the use of statement extracted under
torture, whether interrogations take place at home or abroad.
Mr. Ban also appealed for access for monitors to all prisoners in
detention, as well as well as the closure of places of secret
detention.
“Further, Member States should abide by the principle of
non-refoulement and refrain from returning persons to countries where
they may face torture,” he writes.
The publication points out that the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights, human rights treaty bodies and Special Rapporteurs have all
voiced concern over extrajudicial killings and summary executions; the
alleged use of secret detention centres; and irregular transfers of
people suspected of participating in terrorist activities.
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Tuesday, 14 October 2008 08:59 |
Myanmar: UN expert outlines steps for improving human rights
8 octobre 2008 – Improving
the situation of human rights in Myanmar is still a challenging task,
according to the independent United Nations expert on the issue, who
has outlined a series of measures for the South-East Asian as it
proceeds with its “road map to democracy” announced earlier this year.
“Respect for international human rights standards is indispensable in paving the road to democracy,” Tomás Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, writes in a report released today.
“Myanmar is going through a unique moment in its political history,” he
says, noting that the country’s new Constitution was finalized in
February and adopted through a referendum in May. “The next step in the
road map for national reconciliation and democratic transition is the
election in 2010.”
He stresses that if those general elections are prepared and conducted
in an atmosphere in which human rights are fully respected, “the
process will be credible, resulting in progressive achievement of
democratic values.”
Mr. Quintana proposes four core human rights elements to be completed
by the Government before the 2010 elections. The first is to review and
amend those domestic laws which limit fundamental rights – such as
freedom of expression, opinion, peaceful assembly and association – and
contravene the new Constitution and international human rights
standards.
“The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, as well as
the right to freedom of opinion and expression, are fundamental rights
to be respected in the process towards the establishment of a solid and
reliable democracy,” stated the Special Rapporteur.
“However, full enjoyment of those rights remains outstanding in
Myanmar, according to reliable reports on the extension of detentions
and/or new arrests of political activists.”
Mr. Quintana proposes the progressive release of prisoners of
conscience, of which there are more than 2,000 detained in different
facilities around the country.
“Without the free participation of prisoners of conscience, the very
credibility of the general elections of 2010 would be at stake,” he
stressed, adding that prisoner release would also reduce tension and
inspire political participation.
Last month the Myanmar authorities freed several detainees as part of
an amnesty procedure, including the country’s longest-serving political
prisoner, U Win Tin, and six other senior members of the National
League for Democracy (NLD), whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains under
house arrest.
Mr. Quintana had welcomed the move, saying he hoped it “would be the
first in a series of releases of other prisoners of conscience.”
The transition to multi-party democratic and civil government, as
planned by the new Constitution, will require “an intensive process of
incorporating democratic values,” the Special Rapporteur notes.
Among the measures the Government should adopt are repealing
discriminatory legislation, continuing efforts to respond to the
aftermath of the deadly cyclone that struck the country in early May,
and avoiding the recruitment of child soldiers.
He also suggests a number of changes for the country’s judiciary, which
currently “is not independent and is under the direct control of the
Government and the military.” Proposed measures include guaranteeing
due process, exercising full independence and impartiality and setting
up mechanisms to investigate human rights abuses.
Mr. Quintana, who took up his post in May 2007, serves in an
independent and unpaid capacity and reports to the Geneva-based UN
Human Rights Council, as do all Special Rapporteurs.
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UN rights chief urges protection for foreigners |
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Friday, 10 October 2008 11:51 |
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7 October 2008 – The
top United Nations human rights official today condemned the brutal
killing of a Somali family in South Africa, and urged the authorities
to take immediate action to protect foreigners from any further
attacks.
Sahra Omar Farah, her two teenage sons – one of whom was deaf – and her
12-year-old daughter were stabbed and bludgeoned to death last Friday
in a shop run by fellow Somalis in a village in the Eastern Cape,
according to a news release issued by the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Ms. Farah’s body was reported to have been stabbed over 100 times, and
initial signs suggest that both she and her daughter may have been
subjected to sexual assaults.
“I strongly condemn these murders of a defenceless family, apparently simply because they were foreigners,” said High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay.
“Xenophobic attacks unfortunately occur regularly in quite a few
countries, but this is one of the most vicious examples we have heard
of recently, outside of war zones.
“Somalia is currently in a deplorable state, with conflict raging –
especially in Mogadishu, where this family is believed to have come
from – and there is huge displacement and suffering. To find safe haven
in a country like South Africa, only to be brutally murdered a short
while later, is beyond tragic,” she stated.
Last Friday’s incident is the latest in a series of attacks targeted
against foreigners living in South Africa. In May, tensions related to
the large-scale influx of migrants and refugees into the country
erupted into several days of attacks on foreigners that left over 60
people dead and more than 15,000 displaced.
Ms. Pillay noted that Somali traders and shopkeepers have been a
particular target, with another three Somali shopkeepers murdered since
last Friday in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.
“There appears to be a dangerous pattern of targeted attacks on
foreigners, especially, but not exclusively, involving Somalis,” Ms.
Pillay said. While she welcomed the arrest of three suspects in the
attack, the High Commissioner called for concerted and long-term
efforts by authorities to prevent such violence in the future.
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UN conference to focus on Declaration of HR |
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Monday, 25 August 2008 14:23 |
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Around 2000 civil society groups are slated to attend the upcoming
annual United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) conference
on non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which will focus this year on
the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a
senior UN official said today.
Kiyotaka Akasaka, Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public
Information, told a press briefing that the DPI-NGO conference will be
held in Paris from 3 to 5 September, the first time the event is being
staged outside New York since it was inaugurated 61 years ago.
Mr. Akasaka added that he hoped the new venue would provide an
opportunity to reach out to a new constituency of NGOs, particularly
those in developing countries.
The theme of this year’s conference will be “Reaffirming Human
Rights for all – the Universal Declaration at 60”. Mr. Akasaka
described its focus on human rights as “timely and relevant.”
Key participants are expected to include former French health
minister and human rights activist Simone Veil, and Ingrid Betancourt,
who was recently released from six years in captivity in Colombia, and
who will address the conference by video link from UN headquarters. The
conference will take a different format from previous years, with
expert panels and human rights defenders taking part in round-table
discussions.
The chair of the conference, Shamina de Gonzaga, told the briefing
that while there was no pretence that the Universal Declaration has
been fully implemented, conference participants were trying to
recognize the work of NGOs, the UN and Member States in making it a
reality.
To prepare for the conference, DPI has launched a website in
English and French, designed to provide useful information to NGOs
which are participating in the conference.
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S-G appoints next UN human rights chief |
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Monday, 28 July 2008 09:00 |
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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the General Assembly of his
intention to appoint Judge Navanethem Pillay of South Africa as the new
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Ms. Pillay will succeed Louise Arbour of Canada, who completed her five-year term on 30 June.
Since 2003, Ms. Pillay has served as Judge on the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Prior to that, she served – as both Judge and President – on the UN
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which she joined in
1995.
Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said that Judge Pillay’s nomination was made
at the end of “an extensive selection process” which included
consultations with Member States and with the broad-based
non-governmental organization (NGO) community.
“The Secretary-General is committed to ensure that human rights
remain high on the agenda of the Organization. He expects that the new
High Commissioner will preserve the independence of her Office and will
maintain effective working relations with the General Assembly and the
Human Rights Council,” Michele Montas told journalists.
Mr. Ban is “determined to fully support Ms. Pillay in carrying out
her work, including with increased resources, as approved by the
General Assembly,” she added. |
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N. Kidman: Ending viiolence against Women |
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Wednesday, 16 July 2008 12:41 |
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Our Campaign Gains Momentum!
Dear Campaign Supporters,
Your message that ending violence against women must be a top priority for
governments everywhere is being heard loud and clear. As UNIFEM’s Goodwill
Ambassador and spokesperson for the campaign, I participated from
Nashville,
Tennessee, as the Government of Spain gave their full
support at an event in
Madrid’s
Presidential Palace on June 4.
Thanks to advocates in government and civil society, UNIFEM’s Say NO
to Violence against Women campaign continues to gain momentum. On June
23, Foreign Ministers and Prime Ministers from nine new countries, the European
Commission, and others went on record and signed at an event in
Vienna,
Austria.
But we have a challenge to meet. We need at least one million people to join
by 25 November 2008 — International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women.
I’m sending this news on to more friends. Won’t you do the same and forward
to three people today? Together, we can change the heart-stopping
statistic that one in three women will be a victim of violence in her lifetime.
Let’s send the message that violence against women must and can be stopped.
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