So are we really living in an era of impunity and witnessing a human rights backlash? Conor Lennon of UN News Service posed these and other questions to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who travelled to UN headquarters in New York for High Level Week events.
CL: So, are we seeing a setback in the protection of human rights? One of the main tasks of the UN is to identify and publicise human rights violations, which we hear about almost daily. But my question to you is this: beyond these revelations, what real action can we take?
FT: To your question about rollback, I would say that history is never linear. Every generation must re-defend and strengthen the human rights system on which the UN is founded. This is of the utmost importance. Every day, by monitoring, documenting and reporting human rights violations around the world, we become the voice of those who suffer from these violations. When I visit countries like Syria, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, I see that people have high expectations of the UN system, of the human rights system. They hope that we can respond to their aspirations. Yes, we cannot fulfil all their expectations, but we can make them known on the international stage and raise issues of impunity and accountability. Duterte, the former President of the Philippines – who would have thought he would end up in The Hague? And now he is there. So we have to build on what we still manage to achieve, even in these extremely difficult times.
CL: Let’s talk about giving people the opportunity to be heard. Isn’t that important?
FT: Yes, it is important. To give you an example: in Sri Lanka, I visited one of the mass grave sites in the north, Chemmani. There were hundreds of people waiting for me there who had lost their relatives and wanted to know what had happened to them. This shows that they hoped that the High Commissioner would at least voice their calls for accountability and justice in meetings with the government. It was a tangible manifestation not only of their hopes but also of their aspirations.
CL: Let’s turn to the Human Rights Council. You usually work in Geneva, specifically under this Council. Critics claim that the Council is made up of representatives of countries that flout human rights. Isn’t that a contradiction?
FK: We can talk for a long time about the need to reform the Human Rights Council, and such discussions are really endless. I hope that Member States will realise the importance of being more careful about who they elect to the Council. That said, no State is perfect. Even those that claim full respect for human rights have their grey areas, and that should also be acknowledged.
No State is perfect. Even those that claim full respect for human rights have their grey areas…..
But at the end of the day, the Human Rights Council is a crucial body that allows us to focus on crises around the world, on topics such as human rights, artificial intelligence and climate change, and on the many country situations where the international community needs to respond. It is a platform in which problems can be voiced and solutions sought.
The Council has established eleven fact-finding mechanisms and commissions of enquiry on various situations, from Venezuela to the occupied Palestinian territories, from Nicaragua to Ukraine, the Sudan and elsewhere. So it provides mechanisms related to ensuring accountability for events on the ground.
CL: Let’s take a historical perspective. Over these eight decades – have we generally moved forward or backward in ensuring human rights for all? Let’s look at it from a historical perspective.
FT: We are living in very difficult times, largely because of the financial crisis. But I am deeply inspired to meet with youth and human rights defenders around the world. They are facing difficult circumstances, because they don’t have enough funding right now. Yet their spirit, their energy, their desire for a better world and their willingness to stand up for the rights of those who are being violated remain unchanged. That is what gives me hope.
We [the UN] are the moral and legal foundation that unites humanity, that brings out the best in humanity – human dignity, rights and justice
KL: You also talked about the problem of distraction. I assume you are referring to the many factors that distract us from what is important? What does that really mean and how does it affect the situation?
FT: If you look at contemporary politics, we often don’t see any real discussion of the serious problems the world is facing. Even some of the speeches at the General Assembly are distractions: denying climate change or dehumanising by talking negatively about migrants and refugees. And we need real proposals from the leaders of this Organisation. After all, the UN is first and foremost a Member State, and we have a right to expect solutions to the key challenges of our time. We don’t need sermons, we need real measures to solve real problems.
CL: And lastly, a difficult question for you: what do you think is the greatest achievement of the United Nations?
FC: We [the UN] are the moral and legal foundation that unites humanity, brings out the best in humanity – human dignity, rights and justice.