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2000 - Address by Ms Mary Robinson |
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| United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights | |
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Mr Director-General of UNESCO, dear
Colleague, I am really very touched by the ceremony that has taken place this afternoon. Bearing the hallmarks of Africa, Paris and UNESCO, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize, which I have had the signal honour of receiving today, is of deep significance to me. The fact that this ceremony is taking place at the Headquarters of this noble institution, which has done so much for the promotion and protection of the universal values that we share, moves me very much. I am happy to accept this Prize and I do so with great humility. I should like to add my profound feeling of satisfaction that a link has thus been established between peace-seeking and human rights. Peace is never attributable to the efforts of one individual, but is the result of the combined efforts of a great many people, often over many years. I thus permit myself to accept this Prize on behalf of the defenders of human rights whose work and whose lives are wholly devoted to guaranteeing personal security and justice. This Prize represents a tribute which reflects, beyond me personally, upon all those men and women who have fought to defend human rights, sometimes at the cost of their lives. Among them, I cannot fail to mention: – my colleagues at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and along with them all the men and women who work for the ideals of the United Nations. In this connection, how can we not think of the foremost of them, namely, the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan; – and, of course, the victims from all walks of life, the victims whose voices are unheard. In this Prize, I see also the stamp of an eminent statesman, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, from whose life I draw three lessons: – the high value placed on peace, as a necessary condition of life and the cornerstone of democracy, solidarity and development; – the culture of diversity and tolerance among Ivorians and in regard to foreigners. It is true in this connection that accepting people, assimilating them, encouraging enterprise and preserving people from all forms of discrimination are of vital importance at the beginning of this twenty-first century; – recourse to the positive traditional African values of solidarity, sharing, hospitality and dialogue. These lessons are valid for the world in which we live and for the future. And I hope that this example will be followed today at the Summit in Seville. In this connection, I should like to open a parenthesis and refer to an event of particular importance to me in the context with which we are concerned today. I have in mind a meeting in which I participated with Ms Graça Machel during the United Nations Special Session on Children, with particular reference to armed conflict. The meeting was chaired by children from Burundi, Bosnia, Colombia, Palestine, Israel and Sierra Leone. With typical frankness and realism, they asked very direct and important questions which had an impact on everyone who was lucky enough to attend that meeting. Several people did not fail to observe that their questions went far beyond the official speeches. I cannot help connecting peace, justice and human rights with those children’s faces, and with their enthusiastic appeals to make these ideals a reality. However, before talking about peace, justice and human rights, we have to face the realities of the world in which we are living. Civil or cross-border wars have in too many places resulted in the looting of resources, the degradation of the environment, forced displacements, the propagation of epidemics and the spread of hatred, which becomes in turn a pretext to justify all forms of barbarity. Civilian populations are now the first victims, and what is more the first targets, of ethnic cleansing and ethnic, cultural and religious discrimination, mutilations, rape, slavery and violations of humanitarian law. Massacres and genocide very rightly led to a public outcry resulting in the setting up of the International Criminal Tribunal (for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia) and the International Criminal Court, the advent of which, on 1 July next, is a major event for universal justice and the sign of a new solidarity against impunity. In order to impose peace, we must prevent war. This presupposes the rule of law, respect for human rights and a democratically expressed popular will. Excellencies, Receiving a prize such as this, with its theme of peace and its close links with Africa, has prompted me to reflect and to take stock. I am conscious of the crucial stage we have reached in relation to conflict-prevention and human rights within African and other developing countries today. Despite the evidence of continuing conflicts and the daunting problems faced by States coming out of conflict, there are new indicators of change. The first is the recognition at last of the important role that women play in peace-making and peace-building. When the Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 in October 2000, on “Women, peace and security”, it urged States to “ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in [...] mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict”. The current study being prepared by the Secretary-General, at the request of the Security Council, highlights the crucial role played by women and girls who have engaged in peace negotiation processes and peace-building and reconstruction. In Africa, for example, we can point to the role played by the Mano River Women’s Peace Network, which brings together women from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in helping to start discussions among the leaders of the three countries. In Rwanda, the Women’s Consultative Committee is involved in reconciliation efforts – it comprises 95 organizations, with 60% of members being widows of genocide victims, while the rest are married to suspected killers still in prison. In Afghanistan, you will recall that the Bonn Agreement included an explicit commitment to the involvement of women in political leadership and peace-building and reconstruction efforts. The participation of women ministers in the Interim Authority and of women delegates in the Emergency Loya Jirga has already made a difference. I was very moved to mark International Women’s Day this year in Kabul, and to witness at first hand the commitment, courage and resourcefulness of Afghan women. Another significant step has been the way that African leaders in the New African Partnership for Development (NEPAD) have prioritized conflict resolution, good governance, democracy and human rights. This is now an African-led agenda, based on a clear analysis that African countries must give priority to strengthening their administration of justice and rule of law, tackling corruption and adhering to international human rights standards. They have also committed to an African peer review mechanism. Priority has been given to this vital agenda, but can it be implemented in practice? This was a question I discussed last week in Cameroon, at the opening of a subregional centre for human rights and democracy for the Central Africa Region. Listening to the Secretary-General of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and ministers from countries of Central Africa, it is clear that the political will is there but not the resources. African leaders must cope with the debt burden, tackle HIV/AIDS, and address issues of food security, education, health and economic development. It is difficult to see adequate resources being allocated to issues of governance and training of law enforcement officials unless the international community decides to give particular priority to this agenda and devises the equivalent of a new Marshall plan for its support and implementation. René Cassin and other drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, who saw their work come to fruition here in Paris on 10 December 1948, had a sense of vision. They understood how important it was to establish an international framework of norms and standards which would be universal and indivisible. That framework is now in place with its mechanisms to monitor progress. The focus today must be on the implementation of systems of protection at national level – where human rights are best protected – through a major international programme of financial and technical support for the good governance and conflict-resolution components of NEPAD, and the strengthening of the African peer review mechanism. What we need at this stage is leaders with a new sense of vision, who understand the concept of international solidarity that must underpin NEPAD if it is to work as a true partnership. Such a vision, I believe, could have an impact of extraordinary significance for sustainable development in Africa. Your
Excellencies, The seeds of the future are to be found in Africa in the form of its will to unite, irrespective of frontiers, and its recognition of a reality, namely, that little progress is possible and little collective security, without shared responsibility and joint protection of human rights and democracy. By putting its faith in the resources of humanity, by asserting its will to see in human beings the solution to its afflictions, is not Africa picking up the threads of its traditions, according to which people find the cure to their ills within themselves? Has not Africa made it clear to humanity that the future of all its children will be a common future, mutually enriching, provided that a true spirit of international solidarity and fellowship prevails? Thank you for your attention |
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