United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
THIRD UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES,
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 14-20 MAY 2001
(General Segment)
Statement by Mary Robinson, United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights and Secretary-General, World Conference
against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
Chairperson, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
At the start of the twenty-first century, the international
community as a whole is seeking to fashion a world order in which all human
beings would have decent life chances and the opportunity to grow and develop
in freedom and equality and to the fullness of their potential. The United
Nations Charter provides a vision of peace grounded in respect for human rights
and economic and social progress. The principle of equality runs throughout the
Charter. So does the principle of international cooperation for the realization
of the goals of the Charter and of its human rights precepts.
Article 28 of the Charter offers an important concept as we look to the
international order of the future. It states that everyone is entitled to a
social and international order in which the rights and freedoms contained in
the Universal Declaration can be realized.
What the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
give us is a vision of a world in which all countries would be grounded in good
governance, democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Societies
would be shaped and governed so as to help achieve the fundamental rights of
every human being. International cooperation would emphasize this rights-based
approach. Respect for fundamental human rights would be an imperative for all
governments, all organizations, and all organs of society.
If one studies the experience of the United Nations since its establishment
with regard to development cooperation and the quest for decent life chances
for all human beings, one would see as a central concept the principle of
equality of opportunity for development for all human beings regardless of
where they are. Equality of opportunity for development is the core foundation
of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and of
the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development. Equality of
opportunity 'for development was central to the GATT regime, to the various
regimes of trade preferences, and should be a key objective of the World Trade
Organization.
It is these important perspectives that I wish to bring to this Conference
today: that we must pursue strategies of governance that aim to give everyone
decent life chances and that seek to assure realization of fundamental human
rights, economic, social and cultural as well as civil and political; that
equality of opportunity for development must be an imperative principle of
international cooperation; and that, through individual and joint action, the
international community must strive to implement the International Bill of
Human Rights.
The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has
submitted an important statement on poverty and human rights to this
Conference. In its statement, the Committee recalls that the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the two International Covenants on Human Rights
all emphasize the importance of freedom from want.
The Committee underlines that international human rights provide a framework of
norms or rules upon which detailed global, national and community-level poverty
eradication policies can be constructed:
"While poverty raises complex multi-sectoral issues
that are not amenable to simple solutions, the application of the international
human rights normative framework to these issues helps to ensure that essential
elements of anti poverty strategies, such as non-discrimination, equality,
participation and accountability receive the sustained attention they deserve.”
The Committee adds that non-discrimination and equality are
integral elements of the international human rights normative framework.
Sometimes poverty arises when people are unable to access existing resources
because of who they are, what they believe, or where they live. Discrimination
may cause poverty, just as poverty may cause discrimination.
On Monday, 7 May 2001, the Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights organized a path-breaking consultation on the role of
economic, social and cultural rights in the development activities of international
institutions. Based on the ideas advanced at the consultation, I plan to
organize in the near future a workshop to identify, in very precise and
practical terms, how to integrate human rights into poverty reduction
strategies and programmes. I am also seeking to encourage HIPC States to seek
technical advice and assistance regarding the integration of human rights into
their poverty reduction strategies and programmes.
Keeping in mind the considerations I have placed before
you, I would like to emphasize the importance and timeliness of this
Conference. The 49 countries belonging to the Least Developed Country category
represent some of the poorest and most vulnerable of the international
community. Their position is characterized by serious disadvantages: limited
productive capacity, poor access to services and resources, an acute
susceptibility to external economic shocks, man-made and natural disasters. Ten
years after the last LDCs conference and the adoption of the Paris Declaration
and Programme of Action, development performance has remained elusive for a
significant number of LDCs. Indeed, the level of development has actually
declined in some cases, and regrettably, there are more LDCs now than at the
time of the first conference.
As I indicated, a strong culture of human rights, including
democratic systems and respect for the rule of law, is the only sure basis for
peace, security and long-term prosperity. I firmly believe that a rights-based
approach to development holds out the best prospects for improving the lot of
the LDCs in all respects - civil, cultural, economic, political and social.
There has been progress on the normative front. Over the
past decade, there has been a marked increase in the number of ratifications of
core human rights treaties by LDCs. Ratifications of the
two Covenants have increased by more
than 50 per cent, as have ratifications of the Convention against Torture and
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
All but one of the LDCs have signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
But there can be no doubt that formidable challenges face
LDCs in terms of implementing the provisions of these treaties. As well as the
task of translating commitments into reality - which all countries face, there
have been a worryingly large number of conflicts over the past decade with
widespread human rights violations and, in some cases, disastrous effects on
development prospects.
Respect for human rights and the rule of law are necessary
components of any effort to secure peace and to put a country on a path to
sustainable development. What can governments do to achieve this? One approach
which I recommend is the development through an inclusive process involving
both government and civil society of a national plan of action for human
rights. This can be a valuable framework for advancing the ratification of
human rights treaties, reviewing and amending legislation to ensure that human
rights are adequately protected, promoting human rights training of judges,
police officers, lawyers and prison officials, and human rights education in
the broadest sense.
The establishment of credible, independent and impartial
national human rights institutions can also be a significant
confidence-building measure, and should be reinforced by the encouragement of
the role of non-governmental human rights organizations and institutions.
My Office is at the disposal of Governments to help and
advise in all of these areas, through our technical cooperation and advisory
programmes and through the HURIST programme aimed at capacity-building in the
field of human rights which we operate together with UNDP.
Chairperson,
Development is one of the keys to prevention of conflict,
and to elimination of poverty. Development is also human right. One of the most
important texts in the human rights lexicon is the Declaration on the Right to Development.
The right to development, which has been defined as "the right to
participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural and
political development", has been reaffirmed by the international community
on numerous occasions, for example at Vienna in 1993, and again at Copenhagen
in 1995. In the Millennium Declaration, the Heads of State and Government
committed themselves "to making the right to development a reality for
everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want".
This fundamental right envisages development as "a
comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process, which aims at
the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all
individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in
development and in the fair distribution of benefits resulting therefrom".
One tangible step which could be taken at this conference would be to recommit
ourselves to promoting the right to development, to achieving better clarity
and broader consensus on its requirements for implementation, to reducing the
controversy that has surrounded it in international discourse, and to working
for its realization by all peoples.
Chairperson,
Enabling the LDCs to attain their full potential is a
global responsibility. National Governments have the primary duty to pursue the
path of development but the international community also has duties and
obligations to assist the LDCs through international cooperation.
- I call on developed countries to halt the slide in
Official Development Assistance and to be true development partners for the
Least Developed Countries. A concrete step would be to meet the target already
agreed in 1990 of providing at least 0.2 per cent of GNP as ODA to LDCs;
- I call on developed countries to make particular efforts
to assist LDCs in meeting the international development targets agreed at the
Millennium Summit. In this regard, I note that, if UNCTAD's prognosis holds true,
there is little hope for LDCs to reach these targets unless there is
substantial increase in development aid;
- Access to markets is every bit as important for the LDCs
as resource transfers. It is argued by some that "free trade will promote
democracy". But that requires that trade be truly free. The LDCs have
heard many promises over the years but have too often found that, in practice,
access to markets has been denied. I applaud the initiative of the European
Union to open up markets to LDC products under the "everything but
arms" programme. This is a positive step forward.
- I urge that the impact of globalization be taken into account
in assessing the situation of LDCs. Trade liberalization has accelerated the
free movement of goods and services and has brought benefits to the richer
countries. But the benefits have yet to be enjoyed by the least developed
countries. In some respects their condition has worsened. An example is the way
in which globalization has intensified the movement of people across borders as
many seek to escape dire poverty. For them, the choice is often between poverty
at home, or discrimination abroad. A concrete step would be for more countries
to ratify the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of
All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families so that it can enter into
force.
Chairperson,
Human rights - and development - are about people. If the
Programme of Action that emerges here is to provide a realistic framework for
cooperation for the sustainable development of LDCs, it must focus on people,
and on their rights. Building human capacities - be they food, health, education
or shelter are not matters of investment choices, but of rights.
I regret that so little reference is made to human rights
in the draft Programme of Action - and such references as there are still
remain to be agreed. I call on all Governments to recognize the fundamental
place of human rights in this important framework for development for the LDCs
in the coming decade.
I call upon LDCs and their development partners to ensure
that, in implementing the Programme of Action at the country level, the rights
of the people, and particularly of poor and vulnerable groups, are protected
and fully mainstreamed into development policies and programmes.
The achievement of human development in LDCs requires
individuals to enjoy the full ambit of their human rights, personal freedoms,
opportunities and choices. This in turn requires a supportive national
environment based on the rule of law and good governance, as well as the laws,
policies, institutions, infrastructure and services to support the full
integration of the vulnerable groups in the development processes. A human
rights approach to development can serve as the foundation on which the
empowerment of individuals to achieve their full potential can be realized.
Chairperson,
At the heart of this conference is the one vital goal: to
improve the lives and raise the standard of living of the millions who live in
the Least Developed Countries. That means recognizing their right to be free
from hunger, sickness and want and all the ills that accompany dire poverty. I
have made my position very clear - poverty is a denial of human rights. You
have only to consider the amount spent on health in LDCs - an average of $11
per person per year, compared with $100 for other developing countries and
$1,700 for OECD countries - to realize the devastating impact of poverty. The
poor are acutely aware of the indivisibility of human rights.
Let me conclude by quoting the words of the
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan:
"Wherever we lift one soul from a life of poverty, we
are defending human rights. And whenever we fail in this mission, we are
failing human rights".
Thank you.