UN High Commissioner for Human Rights | Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

Posts Tagged ‘UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’

Volker Türk: Environmental human rights defenders are champions for our future

September 30, 2024

Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Global CITIZENS FESTIVAL 2024

New York

Friends, New Yorkers, global citizens.

Human rights defenders are champions for our future – shining a light on repression, on injustice and on solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges.

In return, they are often smeared, intimidated, imprisoned, and worse.

According to data gathered by my Office, last year, 320 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists in 40 countries were killed. Many of them while protecting nature and the environment.

Across the globe, environmental human rights defenders are leading efforts to tackle a climate crisis that is growing ever more ferocious, more terrifying, and more present.

They are standing up for the marginalized, for the natural world, and for the planet.

For the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

They deserve our gratitude and our protection.

My office is proud to support the Leaders Network for Environmental Activists and Defenders (LEAD), a new initiative focused on meaningful and safe participation of defenders in climate and environmental discussions.

But they need your support too. So I urge you to join my office.

Take action to protect civic space and help us to build a more sustainable and more equal future.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/09/environmental-human-rights-defenders-are-champions-our-future-turk

Posted in films, Human Rights Defenders, OHCHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: climate-change, environment, environmental defenders, Global CITIZENS FESTIVAL, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, New York, news, politics, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, video clip, Volker Türk

UN High Commissioner on National Human Rights Institutions

May 16, 2024

On 08 May 2024 the OHCHR published the address by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the 2024 Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions Annual Conference:

…The role that National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) can play in this era of global crises is more crucial than ever. An era of deepening divisions between our human family, where inequalities are widening, where poverty is at levels not witnessed in a generation.

…It implies that everyone can – and must – be a partner in the human rights movement. Including the private sector. This conference will address some of the big questions on the impacts – both negative and positive – that business can have on human rights.

On climate change, how can business avoid and avert harm, and instead innovate and adapt to be part of the solution?

On civic space, particularly in the online world, how can business live up to their responsibilities to enable and nourish freedom of expression and at the same time protect the human rights defenders bravely demanding change? More broadly, how can regulatory and policy measures on human rights work best for business, and how can we guarantee the necessary protection and support for affected individuals and communities?

And of course, ultimately, how can NHRIs leverage their unique mandate to guide and support businesses in addressing these issues?

The private sector is a key piece of the architecture needed to rebuild trust, and to restore faith in the unifying power of human rights. The landmark Edinburgh Declaration provides a robust framework to help NHRIs in these efforts.

And NHRIs are also playing a crucial role in ensuring governments live up to their responsibilities to implement effective remedies for the individuals and communities harmed by business-related activities.

As you well know, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were developed to protect against human rights abuse by business activity. The gold standard to ensure that business is held accountable. That business keeps on enhancing and adapting their practices to put human rights front and centre. And that victims of abuse have access to remedy.

Over the past thirty years, my Office has worked closely with Member States and their NHRIs to better promote and protect all human rights at the national level. A growing interest from countries in not only establishing NHRIs, but ensuring that they are independent, and that they are effective…

To date, 120 NHRIs have been accredited by the Global Alliance in an internationally legitimate process serviced by my Office. Eighty-eight of those have received ‘A’ status for their full compliance with the Paris Principles, the standards which all NHRIs must meet.

At the international level, too, my Office has supported NHRIs and their regional and global networks to engage with the UN human rights mechanisms, including the treaty bodies and the Human Rights Council, its Universal Periodic Review and the Special Procedures…

https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2024/05/high-commissioner-addresses-global-alliance-national-human-rights-institutions

Posted in Human Rights Defenders, OHCHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Business and human rights, climate-change, Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, human rights, India, mechanisms, NHRIs, politics, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations, Volker Türk, Volker Turk

Excerpts from Türk’s global update to the Human Rights Council

March 4, 2024

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council, OHCHR/Pierre Albouy

At the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, Volker Türk – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – made his overview statement on 4 march 2024. Here some highlights:

….Around the world, 55 conflicts are flaring. Widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law are generating devastating impact on millions of civilians. Displacement and humanitarian crises have already reached an unprecedented scale. And all of these conflicts have regional and global impact.

Overlapping emergencies make the spectre of spillover conflict very real. The war in Gaza has explosive impact across the Middle East. Conflicts in other regions – including in the Horn of Africa, Sudan and the Sahel – could also escalate sharply. Increasing militarisation on the Korean Peninsula raises threat levels. The deteriorating security c risis in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which the Council will address on 3 April, is alarming. In the Red Sea, as well as the Black Sea, attacks are creating shock-waves for the global transport of goods, adding to the economic pain inflicted on less developed countries…..

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the prevalence and violence of gangs and organized crime have severe impact on the lives and rights of millions of people, including in Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras and Mexico. Punitive and militarized responses have in some cases led to grave human rights violations, potentially further fuelling violence. Only policies grounded in human rights can provide effective and sustainable solutions. Corruption, impunity, poor governance and the structural root causes of violence – such as discrimination and failure to uphold economic, social and cultural rights – must be tackled, with the full participation of civil society and affected communities. International cooperation needs to be enhanced, to address the illegal arms trade and ensure accountability for transnational crimes…

Fear is fragmenting societies across the world, unleashing fury and hatred. They are also fuelled by a winner-take-all attitude that frames elections as the spoils of conquest.

..Good governance requires constant oversight and accountability, via independent checks and balances to the exercise of power, meaning that it is strongly underpinned by the rule of law, including independent justice systems. Fundamental freedoms – the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association – are also essential.

…

I am profoundly concerned by the prospect of intense disinformation campaigns in the context of elections, fuelled by generative artificial intelligence. There is an acute need for robust regulatory frameworks to ensure responsible use of generative AI, and my Office is doing its utmost to advance them…

Autocracy and military coups are the negation of democracy. Every election – even an imperfect one – constitutes an effort to at least formally acknowledge the universal aspiratio n to democracy However, in a so-called ‘illiberal democracy’ – or, as the Prime Minister of Hungary referred to his country, an ‘illiberal State’ – the formal structure of election is maintained, civic freedoms are restricted, the media’s scrutiny of governance is eroded by installing government control over key media outlets, and independent oversight and justice institutions are deeply undermined, concentrating power in the executive branch.

It is important to recognise that in many cases, this year’s electoral processes will ensure a smooth transfer of power, free of hatred; and that the governance structures that result will broadly achieve their main function of representing the many voices of the people, and advancing their rights.

But in other cases, I have serious concerns about the human rights context in which several elections are taking place.

In the Russian Federation, the authorities have further intensified their repression of dissenting voices prior to this month’s Presidential election. Several candidates have been prevented from running, due to alleged administrative irregularities. The death in prison of opposition leader Alexei Navalny adds to my serious concerns about his persecution. Since the onset of Russia’s war on Ukraine, t housands of politicians, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and people who have simply spoken their minds on social media have faced administrative and criminal charges, and this trend appears to have worsened in recent months, with many cultural figures targeted. Last month, a new bill passed into law that further punishes people convicted of distributing information deemed to be false about Russia’s armed forces, as well as people who seek to implement decisions by international organizations that the Russian Federation “does not take part in”. I urge a swift and comprehensive review of all cases of deprivation of liberty that result from the exercise of fundamental freedoms; as well as an immediate end to the repression of independent voices and the legal professionals who represent them. The future of the country depends on an open space.

Iran’s legislative election three days ago was Iranians’ first opportunity to vote since the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests of 2022 and 2023. It took place in a country that has been deeply divided by the Government’s repression of the rights of women and girls. People who participated in the protests have been persecuted, imprisoned on long sentences and in some cases, put to death. The draft Bill on “Supporting the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab”, if adopted, would impose severe punishments for acts that should not be deemed criminal in any country. In my ongoing engagement with the Iranian authorities, I have urged immediate reforms to uphold the rights of all Iranians, including the right of women to make their own choices, and an immediate moratorium on the death penalty….

In the United States of America, in this electoral year, it is particularly important for authorities at all levels to implement recent recommendations by the UN Human Rights Committee to ensure that suffrage is non-discriminatory, equal and universal. A 2021 Presidential executive order acknowledges that disproportionate and discriminatory policies and other obstacles have restricted the right to vote for people of African descent, and emphasises the need to overturn them. Yet according to the Brennan Center for Justice , at least 14 states have passed laws in 2023 that have the effect of making voting more difficult. In a context of intense political polarisation, it is important to emphasise equal rights, and the equal value of every citizen’s vote…

In Afghanistan, I deplore continuing and systematic violations of human rights, particularly the comprehensive violations of the rights of women and girls, which exclude them from every aspect of public life, including secondary and tertiary education; employment; and movement. Advancing the rights of women and girls must be the highest priority for all who work on and in Afghanistan. The civic freedoms and media freedoms of all Afghans are profoundly curtailed, with many women human rights defenders and journalists suffering arbitrary detentions. The resumption of public executions is horrific. I remain concerned about forced expulsion of Afghans from neighbouring countries, particularly for those who face a risk of persecution, torture or other irreparable harm in Afghanistan.

In the United Arab Emirates, another mass trial is underway based on counter-terrorism legislation that contravenes human rights law. In December, new charges were brought against 84 people, including human rights defenders, journalists and others who were already in prison. Several were nearing the end of their sentence or have been arbitrarily held in detention after completion of their sentence. Their joint prosecution constitutes the second-largest mass trial in the UAE’s history, after the so-called “UAE94” case in 2021, and includes many of the same defendants. I remain concerned about broader patterns of suppression of dissent and the civic space in the country, and I urge the Government to review domestic laws in line with international human rights recommendations.

Dialogue between China and my Office continues in areas such as counterterrorism policies, gender equality, minority protection, civic space, and economic, social and cultural rights. As we move forward, it is important that this dialogue yield concrete results, notably in respect of the policy areas raised during the Universal Periodic Review. I recognise China’s advances in alleviating poverty and advancing development, and I have urged that these advances be accompanied by reforms to align relevant laws and policies with international human rights standards. During the UPR, China announced plans to adopt 30 new measures for human rights protection, including amendments to the Criminal Law, and revisions of the Criminal Procedure Law. My Office looks forward to engaging with China on this; I particularly encourage revision of the vague offence of “picking quarrels and making trouble” in Article 293 of the Criminal Law, and I urge the release of human rights defenders, lawyers and others detained under such legislation. I also call on the Government to implement the recommendations made by my Office and other human rights bodies in relation to laws, policies and practises that violate fundamental rights, including in the Xinjiang and Tibet regions. I am engaging with the Hong Kong authorities on continuing concerns about national security laws…

In many countries, including in Europe and North America, I am concerned by the apparently growing influence of so-called “great replacement” conspiracy theories, based on the false notion that Jews, Muslims, non-white people and migrants seek to “replace” or suppress countries’ cultures and peoples. These delusional and deeply racist ideas have directly influenced many perpetrators of violence. Together with the so called “war on woke,” which is really a war on inclusion, these ideas aim to exclude racial minorities – particularly women from racial minorities – and LGBTQ+ people from full equality. Multiculturalism is not a threat: it is the history of humanity, and deeply beneficial to us all.

Peace, like development, is built and nourished through rights. It is by upholding and advancing the full spectrum of human rights, including the right to development and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, that States can craft solutions that are durable – because they respond to the universal truth of our equality and the inextinguishable desire for freedom and justice.

History is a record of humanity’s capacity to surmount the worst challenges. Among the greatest achievements of humanity over the past 75 years has been the recognition that addressing human rights in every country– all human rights; it is not an à la carte menu – is a matter of international concern.

For the ful text, see:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/03/turks-global-update-human-rights-council

Posted in Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, OHCHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 55th session of the UN Human rights Council, blog, Gaza, Haiti, human rights, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations, Volker Türk, Volker Turk

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urges EU to approve key business and human rights legislation

February 24, 2024

On 13 February 2024, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged EU leaders to approve a ground-breaking agreement on business and human rights, amid reports that support for the measure may now be in question in the European Council.

“The adoption of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive would show historic leadership by the EU at a time when global leadership in support of human rights is needed more than ever,” said Türk.

“For the past four years, work on the Directive has seen unprecedented involvement by many stakeholders, including business and my Office, as well as political commitment from EU institutions and Member States to push it forward. This process has truly raised hopes of ensuring more effective management of human rights risks by large companies.”

“For the Directive to fail now would be a massive blow,” he said.

The EU-wide Directive would require certain large EU and non-EU companies to take reasonable steps to identify and address adverse human rights risks.

“Human rights due diligence is feasible and supports sustainable business processes that deliver long-term value to society at large. And for those reasons it also makes eminent business sense,” said Türk.

Many of the companies that would fall within the Directive’s scope have backed its adoption. It would create a level playing field by harmonizing disparate rules across jurisdictions.

“The agreement on the Directive is reported to be substantially aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other relevant international human rights standards. I am convinced the Directive can make a positive contribution to respect for human rights, and its adoption would send an important message of solidarity to those at risk from business activities,” the UN Human Rights Chief said.

A vote on the Directive is possibly due later this week.

Türk tells students in Geneva: Human rights are the solution

November 22, 2023

On 21 November 2023 Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke at the Université de Genève. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2022/09/15/new-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-volker-turk-the-man-for-an-impossible-job/] Here some extracts:

First: war. One quarter of humanity is living today in places affected by conflict. At the end of last year, the Peace Institute in Oslo, which works closely with my Office, found that the intensity, length and number of conflicts worldwide are at their highest levels since the Cold War: 55 conflicts, lasting on average between 8 and 11 years.

In Ukraine, in Sudan, in Ethiopia, in Myanmar and across the Sahel – to take just a few examples – the level of atrocities and suffering is devastating. The armed conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, after just five weeks, has seen over 11,500 people killed, including more than 4500 children – and I want to emphasise that the Gaza Ministry of Health has not been lable to update those numbers since 15 November. The war has lit a firestorm of hate speech across the Middle East and the entire world. The level of Antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks, in real life and online, is deeply shocking….

Time and again, we look back and see that conflict could have been prevented. In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, for example, my Office has repeatedly issued reports that recommend practical, feasible steps towards de-escalation of tensions and overcoming human rights violations. Injustice; discrimination; oppression; extreme inequalities; a lack of accountability for human rights violations: these are among the factors that will sadly make violence more likely.

Before I took up my mandate as the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, I worked for 30 years in situations of failed prevention. I was working with and for refugees –in places where conflict had erupted, with dramatic impact on civilians; or where long years of discrimination metastasized into ethnic cleansing; or where deprivation had become so overwhelming that people were massively compelled to flee. Now, I feel my utmost priority has to be prevention – and solutions. Because that is what human rights bring. They state clearly what every human being is entitled to – a life that is free from fear and from the deprivation of certain essential resources – and in advancing those rights, they bring solutions to the root causes of preventable suffering…

Harsh restriction of civic space is the Achilles heel – the fatal weakness – of governance. If there is one message that I deliver again and again to Ambassadors and Heads of State or Government, it is this: ensuring that people can speak freely – and critically – and that they can fully and meaningfully participate in decisions will build more effective policy…

These are all measures that help to prevent conflict. They are also among the steps that can de-escalate conflict, by resolving some of its root causes; and they contribute to making a peace that is real and which can endure, with development that is sustainable because it is inclusive.

They are also key guidelines for addressing challenges as crucial and complex as climate change, runaway pollution and the obliteration of biodiversity. Acting to limit the triple planetary crisis, and upholding our right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, are the defining struggles of our generation.

This spiralling damage is a human rights emergency. Worldwide, climate change is pushing millions of people into hunger. It is destroying hopes, opportunities, homes and lives. In the Sahel region, a recent report by my Office outlines the profound impact of climate change-related soil degradation and declining food production on income, health, resource competition, conflict, and displacement – a vicious cycle that now spins deeper with every planting season. Temperatures in the Sahel are rising much faster than the global average; even if the global temperature rise is kept to an unlikely 1.5 degrees, the impact on the people of the Sahel will be permanent and devastating.

Across the Sahel, we can see very clearly how climate change, conflict, poverty, discrimination and lack of accountability feed into each other – creating a vast knot of issues that strangle the lives and rights of people. But this is the case everywhere, as the climate crisis continues to generate profound and increasing threats to human rights. The dignity and the very survival of communities, of nations – and ultimately, all of humanity – is at stake.

So, again, how do we prevent this? Where are the solutions?

Notably, of course, we need global solutions. The governments and people of the Sahel, and many other regions that are experiencing extreme harm, did not contribute significantly to climate change.

In a few days, global climate negotiations will resume in Dubai. It is absolutely essential that they lead to decisive and equitable action to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, and to remedy the impacts that can no longer be prevented. We have to ensure that Governments, businesses and individuals prioritise the interests of humanity over their short-term, narrowly defined self-interest. The fact is, the COP talks have to date fallen far short of what is needed to stop climate change and remedy its worst impacts. The world is dangerously off-track to meet the promises made in the Paris Agreement. Recent discussions on loss and damage are an example of this. The climate justice movement, and many of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, struggled for years for an agreement to establish a new loss and damage fund, finally achieving this objective at COP27. But the recommendations that have been sent to COP28 for operationalization of that fund do not satisfy the demands of those most affected by climate change.

A strong governance framework that is grounded in human rights. Environmental and social safeguards. An inclusive and participatory Board. And a fair funding mechanism. These should be viewed as essentials – not a point of contention, or of trade-offs in negotiation.

Point one: We must protect civic space.

On the climate and environmental issues that affect us all, key decisions continue to be made behind closed doors – and are often influenced by fossil fuel lobbies. Environmental human rights defenders working to protect communities and land from environmental harm are often vilified, attacked and even killed. Their rights to participation, freedom of expression, and access to information and to justice must be secured. We must ensure the free, meaningful and safe participation in all climate discussions of all those most affected by climate change, including women and Indigenous Peoples.

Point two: climate action must advance equality and equity.

Adaptation strategies and all other measures need to prioritize the situation of people most affected by climate change. Funding must go first to the people who need it most.

Point three: We need to ensure access to effective remedy, and accountability, for climate-related harm.

Point four: we need resources for a rapid and just transition that advances human rights, including the right to a healthy environment...

In every country, we also need to see full participation and consultation on environmental laws and measures – notably for those who are most at risk – and protection of people who raise concerns about environmental harm and the policies that produce them. Bashing climate protests; designing laws that unfairly restrict activities that call the public’s attention to climate harms; and allowing attacks on activists to go unpunished: these are tactics that ultimately harm all States and all human beings. We need to fix this urgently. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2023/10/15/climate-human-rights-defenders-increasingly-seen-as-eco-terrorists/]

So: Conflict. Discrimination. Poverty. The suffocation of civic space. The triple planetary crisis. These are five immense challenges that threaten our rights and our world, and they fuel each other. We face the compounding effects of all of them – while also confronting a surge of new human rights challenges, notably in the digital realm, including artificial intelligence and surveillance.

……

Over the past 75 years, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has guided tremendous progress in countries across the world. It has inspired vibrant, creative, powerful activism and solidarity, empowering people to claim their rights and to engage actively in their communities and societies.

How could such a simple text guide such profound transformation? Because “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace.” Greater respect for human rights – all human rights, building on each other – constructs more sustainable development. More enduring peace. A safer future.

This is an extraordinarily powerful truth…

Economies and societies that are inclusive and participative; in which opportunities, resources and services are equitably shared; and where governance is accountable, deliver justice, opportunities and hope…

And it is precisely in our era of rising storms that the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights can help us navigate to safety. Its essential values, which connect all of humanity, were set out to ward off horror and destruction, and they have been tried and tested. They embody the power of unity of purpose and the potential for transformative action – both within societies, and globally.

It is absolutely critical, now – precisely in this time of terrible crisis – that we rekindle the spirit, impulse and vitality that led to the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, so that we can rebuild trust in each other, and move forward, united.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/speeches/2023/11/our-utmost-priority-solutions-turk-tells-students

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OHCHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: civic society, climate talks, fellowship, Geneva, lecture, students, UDHR, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, University of Geneva, Volker Türk, Volker Turk

Journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov severely attacked in Chechnya

July 10, 2023

Rights defenders are sure of Chechen law enforcers’ involvement in attack on Milashina says Roman Kuzhev, СK correspondent

The attack on the journalist Elena Milashina and the advocate Alexander Nemov has to do with Milashina’s publications in which she wrote about human rights violations in Chechnya, human rights defenders have noted.

The “Caucasian Knot” reported that on July 4, Elena Milashina, a journalist of the “Novaya Gazeta” outlet, and Alexander Nemov, an advocate for Zarema Musaeva, were attacked in Chechnya. They were beaten up by masked gunmen when they were on the way from the airport to Grozny, where the verdict in the case of Zarema Musaeva was to be announced. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has promised to “sort things out”; and Akhmed Dudaev, the head of the Chechen Press Ministry, have pointed out that “the style of Western intelligence services” is seen in the attack.

Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the “Civic Assistance” Committee, is sure that the attack had to do with Milashina’s human rights activities. “They were waiting for her there to beat her for her so much writing on human rights issues, conducts inquiries and shows the real Chechnya,” Ms Gannushkina has stated.

According to her version, the attackers are definitely law enforcers. Gannushkina* has also added that the attackers would not be identified and punished. Oyub Titiev, a human rights defender, is also sure that Milashina was the attackers’ target. “Only law enforcers can beat a woman so openly and with such cruelty,” he has stated.

Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, is sure that Milashina would have been attacked at any moment while in Grozny.

A criminal case on the attack on Milashina and Nemov can be initiated under several articles, said Galina Tarasova, a lawyer. According to her story, the case should have been transferred to the central office of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 5, 2023 at 08:07 pm MSK. https://eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/62817

Many other human rights groups reported on this:

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/human-rights-defenders-aleksandr-nemov-and-elena-milashina-attacked-and-severely-beaten-0

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/6/elena_milashina_attack

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/04/journalist-and-human-rights-lawyer-viciously-attacked-chechnya

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/07/russia-un-experts-dismayed-violent-attack-against-journalist-yelena

Posted in Front Line, HRW, human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Alexander Nemov, attack, Chechnya, critical journalists, Elena Milashina, Front Line (NGO), human rights lawyer, Human Rights Watch, Oyub Titiev, Russia, Svetlana Gannushkina, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Short message from the new High Commissioner for Human Rights: Volker Turk

October 18, 2022

On 17 October 2022 Volker Türk begun his mandate as the 8th UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Posted in films, human rights, OHCHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, video clip, Volker Türk, Volker Turk

Uyghur issue at the UN Human Rights Council: will there be even a debate?

October 5, 2022

The controversial issue of the treatment of Uyghurs is continuing to play out at the UN Human Rights Council. A resolution is being considered this week to discuss the report’s findings awhich is being strongly resisted by China who is leaning heavily on smaller states to oppose it. If these efforts are successful, they could deal a severe blow to the legitimacy of the UN Human Rights Council. Groups such as CIVICUS, Human Rights Watch have been following this issue closely and are urging Member States to support a decision to AT LEAST discuss the report in the interests of transparency and accountability. But then the big disappointment: on Thursday 6 October at the Human Rights Council the motion was rejected in a tight vote of 19 states against, 17 in favour and 11 abstentions.

https://genevasolutions.news/global-news/human-rights-council-shuts-down-china-debate-proposal-in-close-vote?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

On 3 October 2022 CIVICUS is urging UN Human Rights Council member States to do the right thing by voting in support of a resolution to debate the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

The resolution follows the release of a major UN report which affirms that the rights of Xinjiang’s Uyghur Muslim population are being violated through an industrial-level programme of mass incarceration, systemic torture and sexual violence. The report attracted intense criticism from the Chinese government before it was released on 31 August 2022, minutes before the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet ended her term. SEE: See: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2022/09/01/finally-the-long-awaited-un-report-on-china/.

The report concludes that the actions of the Chinese government in XUAR including arbitrary detention, cultural persecution and forced labour may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. Recommendations include the taking of prompt steps to release all individuals arbitrarily imprisoned in XUAR, a full legal review of national security and counter-terrorism policies, and an official investigation into allegations of human rights violations in camps and detention facilities.

China’s government has rejected the findings and called into question the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Office of the High Commissioner has asserted that the report is based on a rigorous review of documentary evidence with its credibility assessed in accordance with standard human rights methodology.

A proposed resolution to hold a debate on the report’s findings at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council is being resisted by China which is also said to be pressuring states that make up the 47-member Human Rights Council not to support the resolution.

“The UN report affirms testimonies of victims belonging to the Uyghur community who have endured extreme forms of oppression. Human rights researchers and civil society groups have for years documented abuses and sounded the alarm to the international community about the situation in Xinjiang,” said Mandeep Tiwana, CIVICUS Chief Programmes Officer. “Yet the Chinese state is going to extraordinary lengths to suppress the findings and cover up its actions.”

In June 2020, 50 UN Special Rapporteurs and human rights experts issued a joint statement, that catalogued concerns over the treatment of ethnic minorities in XUAR and Tibet, alleging excessive force against protesters, as well as in Hong Kong, and reports of retaliation against people voicing their concerns publicly over COVID-19 pandemic policies. The experts urged the Human Rights Council to convene a special session on China; consider the creation of a Special Procedures mandate; and appoint a UN Special Envoy or a panel of experts to closely monitor, analyse and report annually on the human rights situation in China.

Sophie Richardson of HRW stated: ‘This week the credibility of the United Nations Human Rights Council is on the line over an extraordinarily modest request: to hold a debate on a recent report from the UN high commissioner for human rights on abuses in the Xinjiang region of China. Member states would not be obliged to take a position on the issues at hand, the government in question, or even seek a particular outcome. But the debate is an opportunity to stand together to ensure the council fulfils its bare minimum mandate.“

https://www.civicus.org/index.php/media-resources/media-releases/6070-global-civil-society-alliance-urges-human-rights-council-members-to-support-debate-on-uyghur-abuses-report

https://www.civicus.org/index.php/media-resources/op-eds/6072-uyghur-violations-a-litmus-test-for-global-governance-and-rules-based-international-order

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/10/03/un-rights-body-should-debate-xinjiang-report

Posted in HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: 51st session of the UN Humann, China, CIVICUS, HRW, Mandeep Tiwana, report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Uyghurs

New High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk – the man for an impossible job?

September 15, 2022

On 23 June 2022 Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group posted a Blog: “Time to ask again: is being the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights an impossible job?”

In February 2018, he published a blog on the early departure of the previous High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. The blog responded to David Petrasek’s article in OpenGlobaRights, entitled ‘Another one bites the dust’ (8 February 2018).

Limon argues that the High Commissioner position is, in fact, several jobs rolled into one. The mandate of the High Commissioner and his/her Office comprises inter alia:

Monitoring and speaking out about human rights violations around the world – ‘preventing the continuation of human rights violations throughout the world,’ (OP4f of GA resolution 48/141 of 7 January 1994).
Acting as the Secretariat to the ‘competent bodies of the United Nations system in the field of human rights and [making] recommendations to them,’ (OP4b of GA res. 48/141).
Providing capacity building, advisory services and technical assistance, at the request of the State concerned, ‘with a view to supporting actions and programs in the field of human rights,’ (OP4d, GA res. 48/141).
Engaging in human rights diplomacy (‘dialogue’) with governments and ‘enhanc[ing] international cooperation,’ in order to promote the implementation of international human rights obligations and commitments, and respect for human rights, (OP4g, OP5h, GA res. 48/141).
Coordinating human rights mainstreaming across the UN system, (OP4i, GA res. 48/141).
Making recommendations and driving efforts to ‘rationalize, adapt, strengthen and streamline the United Nations machinery in the field of human rights with a view to improving its efficiency and effectiveness,’ (OP4j, GA res. 48/141).

It is clear that, when held in the hands of a single human being, these different parts of the High Commissioner’s overall mandate operate in tension and are, perhaps, even mutually incompatible…

Is it possible for one person to wear all these hats at the same time? Can a single person publicly criticise States in one breath, then in the next reach out to them to forge agreement on reform of the UN human rights system or to provide human rights technical assistance?

Petrasek has made no secret of his belief (apparently shared by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres) that Zeid over-prioritised human rights monitoring and public advocacy, to the detriment of almost all other parts of his mandate. Yet for many other civil society representatives in Geneva and for many Western diplomats, this singlemindedness (together with Zeid’s natural eloquence) made the former High Commissioner something of a cult hero and the perfect High Commissioner,

Fast forward four and a half years and Zeid replacement as High Commissioner, the former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, has also fallen on her sword – yet for precisely the opposite reasons as Zeid.

Bachelet was handpicked by Guterres to mark a clear break from Zeid by pursuing a more holistic and balanced approach to the role and mandate of the High Commissioner. In addition to public advocacy Bachelet tried to emphasise human rights diplomacy, international cooperation, support for the international human rights machinery, a focus on emerging thematic human rights concerns (e.g., climate change, the right to a healthy environment, prevention, digital technology), and the on-the-ground delivery of technical assistance and capacity-building support.

See: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2022/06/09/disappointment-with-un-high-commissioners-visit-to-xinjiang-boils-over/ and

Finally the long awaited UN report on China

In truth, the world needs a High Commissioner Zeid and a High Commissioner Bachelet. The question is: is that possible? Maybe other solutions might be considered? Might, perhaps, the High Commissioner focus on public advocacy, and the Deputy High Commissioner on the more cooperation-orientated aspects of the mandate? Maybe different Deputies could be appointed for each of the main ‘baskets’ of the High Commissioner’s overall mandate? Or maybe the parts of the mandate related to the human rights machinery could be ‘spun off’ – for example, into a new position of secretary-general of the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms, and of the Treaty Bodies?

These are difficult and sensitive questions, and yet it is surely important that they be asked and considered now rather than later. Perhaps today, as the Secretary-General ponders the appointment of the next High Commissioner, is an opportune moment to do so?

On September 7, 2022, the UN announced Secretary-General António Guterres’ decision to appoint Volker Türk, an Austrian national, to replace Michelle Bachelet.

Reactions were swift, most of them expressing the need for action, e.g. “The new UN high commissioner for human rights should neither seek nor expect a honeymoon period from UN member states,” said Tirana Hassan, interim executive director of Human Rights Watch on 8 September “What’s needed by the millions of people around the world whose rights are being violated every day is an advocate in their corner who will take on abusive governments large and small without fear and without hesitation.”

Yoni Ish-Hurwitz, Executive Director of Human Rights Likeminded Office was invited by the Universal Human Rights Group on 12 September, 2022, to contribute a Blog `’Who is Volker Türk?’:

Opinions have already begun forming about Volker Türk in the short time since the announcement of his appointment last week as the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. However, in the absence of a public competition, there was little opportunity to learn about Türk. He is also not well-known outside of the UN (and had few followers on twitter until last week). Therefore, in the absence of personal familiarity, it may be useful to focus on his biography, body of work and statements. This would lead to a better understanding of why he was selected for this role. [DISCLAIMER; I happen to know him personally from my days in UNHCR. He has always struck me as an honest and dedicated person with a pronounced interest in the human rights side of refugee work.]

Central to Türk’s biography is his long professional relationship with the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. They worked together at UNHCR when Guterres led the agency as High Commissioner for Refugees. When Guterres became UN Secretary-General, Türk joined him in New York, to serve as Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the Executive Office. Guterres promoted him in January, to the rank of Under-Secretary-General for Policy, also in the Executive Office, perhaps setting him up to take the role of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Having a close confidant as the High Commissioner may be especially important for the Secretary-General at present, considering the significant current political challenges he faces. This is especially the case in the aftermath of the release of the long-awaited report on Xinjiang by the former High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet. She spared Türk the need to continue holding this hot potato. However, China won’t let Türk off the hook, and will likely exert pressure on him, as it has done with Bachelet, to carefully weigh his words and the way he manages his Office’s work on China. In the meantime, Chen Xu, the Permanent Representative of China in Geneva, announced that ‘the Office closed the door of cooperation by releasing the so-called assessment.’ This means that this is one political crisis that will not end with Bachelet’s departure.

One key question is whether the new High Commissioner will prioritise engagement over speaking truth to power. Bachelet was criticised of doing just that following her recent statements on China, until she released her report at the 11^th hour on the job. .. On the face of it, it may appear that Guterres selected a diplomat, rather than an advocate. Türk is a UN career officer through and through, and as such he is in a better position to offer ‘good offices,’ as the UN does, compared to any former Head of State that could have taken the High Commissioner’s post. Among his predecessors were two presidents, two supreme court judges, one foreign minister and one permanent representative to the UN headquarters. However, every day before walking into his new office, the face that Türk will see first is that of his predecessor Sérgio Vieira de Mello, who also spent most of his career in UNHCR. He was commemorated in a bust at the entrance to Palais Wilson, four years after his death in a bombing at UN headquarters in Iraq.

Türk worked in the UN refugee agency for over 30 years, including in the field. Coming from within the UN system is an asset for navigating organisational politics, fostering collaboration with other parts of the UN, enhancing the contribution of OHCHR to all relevant UN fora, and understanding how to engage with Member States to address the situation of the most vulnerable people. His intimate understanding of the UN system is manifested in two major initiatives he stewarded – the Secretary-General’s flagship report, Our Common Agenda, as well as the Secretary-General’s Call to Action for Human Rights. This may not be the place to analyse their successes or shortcomings, but it can be said that they were both well-received. Our Common Agenda offered a vision for mobilising the UN to address global challenges. OHCHR needs a manager with this kind of foresight to grasp the organisation’s structure, programmes and needs. The second initiative, the Call to Action for Human Rights, identified areas for action to advance human rights. As High Commissioner, perhaps Türk will be in a better position to support the implementation of the Call to Action.

This work demonstrates deep engagement on human rights. His legal background, holding a doctorate in international law, will support his role as an advocate. He can substantively articulate concerns and uphold norms based in international human rights law, humanitarian law and refugee law. He certainly appears as an advocate on twitter (@volker_turk). His tweets show his compassion, as he mostly addresses human rights concerns, with people at the centre.

Civil society was concerned about the selection process. Phil Lynch, Executive Director of the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), said: ‘The lack of transparency and meaningful consultation with independent civil society in the selection process meant that the Secretary-General missed a key opportunity to build the legitimacy and authority of the next High Commissioner.’ The appointment of the Secretary-General’s confidant may have reaffirmed worries that the High Commissioner would prioritise diplomacy and engagement over advocacy for human rights. However, Türk appears to have the appropriate biography and a heart in the right place to fulfil both of the High Commissioner’s roles as an advocate and a diplomat. Hopefully he will be attentive to civil society and rights-holders, in line with his advice during his time as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UNHCR: ‘Listen to what refugees are telling us.’

After being appointed at the last minute as the next UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk is not expected to be at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council, held from 12 September to 7 October. When he does, Turk will have to grapple among other challenges with his predecessor’s report on Xinjiang, but for the moment deputy high commissioner Nada Al Nashif is in charge of the UN rights office and will have to answer any questions about China that might come up during the first days of debate..

https://www.universal-rights.org/uncategorized/time-to-ask-again-is-being-the-un-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-an-impossible-job/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/09/08/un-new-rights-chief-should-speak-out-all-victims

https://www.universal-rights.org/by-invitation/who-is-volker-turk/

Posted in human rights, OHCHR, UN | 5 Comments »
Tags: appointment, Austria, Call to Action on human rights (UN), China Change, Marc Limon, Nada Al Nashif, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, UNHCR, United Nations, Volker Turk, Yoni Ish-Hurwitz

Finally the long awaited UN report on China

September 1, 2022

A long-delayed but groundbreaking United Nations report published on August 31, 2022, says the Chinese government has committed abuses that may amount to crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities in the Xinjiang region. The report by the outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, contains victim accounts that substantiate mass arbitrary detention, torture, cultural persecution, forced labor, and other serious human rights violations, and recommends that states, businesses, and the international community take action with a view to ending the abuses, and advancing justice and accountability. See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2022/06/09/disappointment-with-un-high-commissioners-visit-to-xinjiang-boils-over/

“The UN human rights chief for the first time lays bare the Chinese government’s grave abuses and concludes they may amount to crimes against humanity,” said John Fisher, Global Advocacy Deputy Director at Human Rights Watch. “Victims and their families whom the Chinese government has long vilified have at long last seen their persecution recognized, and can now look to the UN and its member states for action to hold those responsible accountable.”

The high commissioner’s report challenges the Chinese government’s blatant disregard for its international human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said. It calls on businesses to meet their responsibilities to respect human rights, and for follow-up by UN member countries and bodies, which could take the form of an investigation to interview victims and survivors, identify those responsible, gather evidence, and recommend strategies for accountability. Similar recent UN Human Rights Council mechanisms have included commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions, and independent international monitoring missions. This could also lead to the identification of all those missing and forcibly disappeared so that they can be reunited with their families.

The report should be formally presented to the Human Rights Council as a matter of priority, Human Rights Watch said, so that states can discuss the report’s findings and take the steps needed to implement its recommendations.

In the report, the high commissioner details widespread abuses, including targeting of cultural and religious practices, family separation, arbitrary arrests and detention, rape, torture, and enforced disappearances, across Xinjiang. The report concludes that “[t]he extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim groups, pursuant to law and policy, in context of restrictions and deprivation more generally of fundamental rights enjoyed individually and collectively, may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”

Detainees interviewed for the report described conditions in so-called “vocational training centres” that would amount to torture or other forms of ill-treatment, including “being beaten with batons, including electric batons while strapped in a so-called “tiger chair”; being subjected to interrogation with water being poured in their faces; prolonged solitary confinement; and being forced to sit motionless on small stools for prolonged periods of time.”

The report noted that Chinese authorities continue to openly criticize victims and their relatives now living abroad for speaking about their experiences in Xinjiang, engaging in acts of intimidation, threats, and reprisals. In the words of one interviewee: “We had to sign a document to remain silent about the camp. Otherwise, we would be kept for longer and there would be punishment for the whole family.”

The report also draws on analyses of Chinese laws, regulations, and policies. The findings are consistent with those of academics, journalists, and human rights organizations, published since 2017 documenting grave international crimes. In the past five years, Human Rights Watch has documented mass arbitrary detention, pervasive surveillance, and crimes against humanity across the region.

The high commissioner has been systematically assessing a growing body of evidence regarding Chinese government human rights violations targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities. Treaty body reviews and reports from UN human rights experts also informed the new report, reinforcing concerns about secret detention and unlawful family separations, among other violations.

In June 2020, 50 UN human rights experts urged the Human Rights Council to establish an independent UN mandate to monitor and report on human rights violations in China, partly in response to Chinese government resistance to UN human rights scrutiny. In June 2022, another group of UN experts reiterated the 2020 statement and again urged Chinese authorities to grant them access to investigate “allegations of significant human rights violations and repression of fundamental freedoms in the country.”

In May, Bachelet visited China, despite being unable to travel or engage with interlocutors freely, and had little direct engagement with affected communities. In an end-of-mission statement delivered on May 28, Bachelet underlined that the visit was not an investigation, which she noted would require “detailed, methodical, discreet work of an investigative nature.” The new report lays a solid foundation for further UN and Human Rights Council action towards accountability in China.

“Never has it been so important for the UN system to stand up to Beijing, and to stand with victims,” Fisher said. “Governments should waste no time establishing an independent investigation and taking all measures necessary to advance accountability and provide Uyghurs and others the justice they are entitled.”

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:

“This 46-page document lays bare the scale and severity of the human rights violations taking place in Xinjiang – which Amnesty International previously concluded amounted to crimes against humanity. There can be little doubt why the Chinese government fought so hard to pressure the UN to conceal it.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/31/china-new-un-report-alleges-crimes-against-humanity

China: Long-delayed UN report must spur accountability for crimes against humanity in Xinjiang

Click to access 22-08-31-final-assesment.pdf

Posted in Amnesty international, HRW, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, OHCHR | 4 Comments »
Tags: Amnesty International, China, crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch, Michelle Batchelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Report, Uyghurs

Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

Posts Tagged ‘UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’

Volker Türk: Environmental human rights defenders are champions for our future

Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

UN High Commissioner on National Human Rights Institutions

Excerpts from Türk’s global update to the Human Rights Council

At the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, Volker Türk – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – made his overview statement on 4 march 2024. Here some highlights:

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urges EU to approve key business and human rights legislation

Türk tells students in Geneva: Human rights are the solution

Journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov severely attacked in Chechnya

Short message from the new High Commissioner for Human Rights: Volker Turk

Uyghur issue at the UN Human Rights Council: will there be even a debate?

New High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk – the man for an impossible job?

Finally the long awaited UN report on China

Email Subscription

Recent Posts