The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today concluded a three-day seminar on achievements and challenges sixty years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Legislators stated that defending human rights starts at home: “Creating a culture of human rights in our countries should be central to our work, as it is the only way for all of society, in developed and developing countries alike, to lead a dignified life”.
They expressed their need to know more about their countries' obligations under international human rights treaties and demanded that governments submit country reports to parliament so that they could make their own contributions before the final text is submitted to the treaty bodies.
Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Idris, a member of the Parliament of Ethiopia and Rapporteur of the seminar, referring to the new United Nations Human Rights Council and its Universal Periodic Review mechanism through which human rights records of all 192 United Nations Member States are assessed, said that parliamentarians should take advantage of the dialogue with human rights stakeholders established by the Human Rights Council, “and use this opportunity to make our voices heard”. Legislators asked the IPU and the OHCHR to help them become more involved in the work of the treaty bodies, the Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodical Review.
Parliamentarians noted that despite the progress on the normative and institutional side, there was much to be done to ensure the implementation of human rights standards, in particular in the area of economic and social rights. Similarly, discrimination against women and racism remain a scourge all over the world. “We need to take much more robust action to ensure gender equality. Women not only have the same rights as men, but gender equality is absolutely necessary for the harmonious development of our societies”.
Participants highlighted that the fight against terrorism had put new strains on respect for human rights: “By placing security above liberty in the fight against terrorism, we have often seen the erosion of basic human rights standards, in particular of the absolute prohibition of torture, and due process”. Such counter-terrorism methods are morally reprehensible and run counter to fundamental human rights standards. They are also counter-productive in fighting terrorism as they produce unsound intelligence and help terrorists expand their support base. “We should therefore rethink the concept of security and tackle the root causes of terrorism, which are related to social and economic deprivation, corruption and human rights violations”, said the parliamentarians.
Participants welcomed the progress made in setting up an international criminal justice system. “Dictators are on notice that one day they may pay for their atrocities. It is crucial for parliaments to ensure that these crimes are prosecuted. To do this they must make sure that the Statute of the International Criminal Court is ratified and adopt legislation incorporating the principle of universal jurisdiction and empowering national authorities to investigate and prosecute, and to extend their cooperation to the Court. “The steps taken by the Parliament of Senegal in the case of former dictator Hissene Habré of Chad are a clear illustration that such action is the way forward to hold alleged perpetrators of gross human rights violations to account”.
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