Benny Y.P. Siahaan , Geneva Wed, 12/10/2008 10:53 AM Opinion
Today we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This year's anniversary is a very special one since it is the climax of a year-long campaign to celebrate the 60th UDHR launched by the UN Secretary-General exactly a year ago and which has seen a number of activities take place. Today this year-long campaign has come full circle.
However, aside from the fanfare, it is more than timely for us to reflect on where we are now and how much ground has been covered since the adoption of this momentous international Bill of Rights 60 years ago. What have we achieved, what are the challenges and what prospects can we expect?
If we look at the current image of human rights and the praise of the international community for the UDHR, some people may be surprised that actually this great document was passed 60 years ago at the UN General Assembly through a vote. At the time, it had embodied a great new hope for the world after World War II, but in the intervening years it has become the benchmark against which all new human rights instruments have been measured.
The UDHR is often dubbed the mother of all current major human rights treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
First, on the achievements side, there can be no doubt that after 60 years there has been extraordinary achievements in the promotion and protection of human rights at the global level. For example, on standard setting we now have nine core human rights conventions emanating from the UDHR, including the most recent -- the Conventions on Disabilities and on Enforced Disappearance. All States have ratified at least one of these core conventions.
The global human rights promotion and protection machinery is also becoming stronger, as exemplified by the establishment of the Human Rights Council to replace the defunct Commission on Human Rights, the proliferation of special procedures for human rights and the treaty bodies, which closely monitor the situations where violations may occur in every part of the world.
The Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council is the most recent and innovative milestone in this forward progress. Three sessions have already taken place this year which have further strengthened this effort by subjecting all countries' human rights records and policies to the same scrutiny, on an equal footing and without distinction as to their size or importance.
Second, as part of a grand UN reform project, human rights now have an equal standing with development and security issues as one of the three pillars of the UN's work, which is further reinforced by the subsequent elevation of the status of the Human Rights Council to that of a subsidiary body of the General Assembly.
The promotion and protection mechanism at the regional level has also acquired greater prominence and momentum, not least in Asia, where ASEAN governments have committed to the establishment of an ASEAN human rights body. This is the first such mechanism in Asia -- a region which has not until now had a regional human rights mechanism.
In spite of these major achievements coupled with a growing commitment on the part of countries to promote and protect human rights, the UDHR nevertheless continues to face some of today's most difficult and perennial challenges.
First, as we all know, the interaction between national security and human rights can sometimes be problematic in international law. However, never has this tricky issue been more fraught with problems than after the 9/11 incident, particularly in the context of the so-called war on terror.
As events have shown, this precept can sometimes be misused as a pretext to justify military intervention in other countries. Torture, secret detention or extraordinary rendition, which should be proscribed at all times, have nevertheless tended to become increasingly justified by some parties under certain conditions.
Second, the other foremost and long-standing challenge that we face on many human rights issues is the question of whether all human rights are universal. The Vienna Declaration of 1993, after a long and difficult negotiation, came up with the consensus that "all human rights are universal, indivisible, inter-related and mutually reinforcing".
However, this notion, if it seems logical enough intellectually, is nevertheless not so straightforward in its implementation. Indeed, if we look at the UDHR, as Jack Donnelly acknowledged in 2003,"it... tells us little about life in many countries".
Furthermore, if we look closely at many major human rights instruments, they are still marked by a heavy Western bias, including the UDHR. Therefore, if these major instruments are to distance themselves from Western concepts that are rooted in past dominance, it is vital that a dialogue is instituted which is based on an understanding of other cultures.
These efforts to understand other cultures will not, however, mean the end of universal standards. As we are aware, the fluidity of culture, combined with the effects of globalization and cultural interpenetration, greatly enhances the possibility of achieving a consensus among all cultural groups on a body of cross-cultural human rights standards.
Respect for cultural differences must be carried through into the process of interpretation and implementation of various human rights instruments. Unfortunately, however, despite the scope for adopting a culturally sensitive approach to the various major instruments, this window of opportunity has not been fully exploited.
The problem lies in the prevailing Western view that tradition and culture are an impediment to the proper implementation of human rights, rather than a potential strength. In actual fact, the efforts to achieve cultural inclusiveness require a creative and fresh approach. It is perhaps inevitable that dialogue and an understanding of other cultures will require changes to the existing body of human rights norms as well as the willingness to accept a greater diversity of practices.
These will certainly require compromise and flexibility. However, it can be an enriching process which can lead to a broadening of the mind. Let us remind ourselves therefore that, in order for the UDHR's human rights principles to be universal, the approach should be evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
This should not, however, be regarded as a conundrum where respect for cultural difference is tantamount to weakness. The rich diversity of culture and tradition which other cultures offer can be drawn upon to strengthen and broaden both the scope and effectiveness of these instruments. And if we look at history, the Western hemisphere is not the only torch-bearer nor does it have a monopoly on achieving a harmonious social model.
Hence, we need to persevere, and if we do there will always be a way. As Martin Luther King once said, "I have a dream of a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". The United States has just materialized this dream when they elected Barack Obama last month and gave themselves a black President -- something unthinkable in the 1960s, and a tremendous step forward.
If we allow ourselves to be inspired by such an event, we can surely dream of a day when the human rights principles enshrined in the UDHR will become truly universal.
The writer is an Indonesian Geneva-based diplomat. The views expressed herein are strictly
personal.
Today we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This year's anniversary is a very special one since it is the climax of a year-long campaign to celebrate the 60th UDHR launched by the UN Secretary-General exactly a year ago and which has seen a number of activities take place. Today this year-long campaign has come full circle.
However, aside from the fanfare, it is more than timely for us to reflect on where we are now and how much ground has been covered since the adoption of this momentous international Bill of Rights 60 years ago. What have we achieved, what are the challenges and what prospects can we expect?
If we look at the current image of human rights and the praise of the international community for the UDHR, some people may be surprised that actually this great document was passed 60 years ago at the UN General Assembly through a vote. At the time, it had embodied a great new hope for the world after World War II, but in the intervening years it has become the benchmark against which all new human rights instruments have been measured.
The UDHR is often dubbed the mother of all current major human rights treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
First, on the achievements side, there can be no doubt that after 60 years there has been extraordinary achievements in the promotion and protection of human rights at the global level. For example, on standard setting we now have nine core human rights conventions emanating from the UDHR, including the most recent -- the Conventions on Disabilities and on Enforced Disappearance. All States have ratified at least one of these core conventions.
The global human rights promotion and protection machinery is also becoming stronger, as exemplified by the establishment of the Human Rights Council to replace the defunct Commission on Human Rights, the proliferation of special procedures for human rights and the treaty bodies, which closely monitor the situations where violations may occur in every part of the world.
The Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council is the most recent and innovative milestone in this forward progress. Three sessions have already taken place this year which have further strengthened this effort by subjecting all countries' human rights records and policies to the same scrutiny, on an equal footing and without distinction as to their size or importance.
Second, as part of a grand UN reform project, human rights now have an equal standing with development and security issues as one of the three pillars of the UN's work, which is further reinforced by the subsequent elevation of the status of the Human Rights Council to that of a subsidiary body of the General Assembly.
The promotion and protection mechanism at the regional level has also acquired greater prominence and momentum, not least in Asia, where ASEAN governments have committed to the establishment of an ASEAN human rights body. This is the first such mechanism in Asia -- a region which has not until now had a regional human rights mechanism.
In spite of these major achievements coupled with a growing commitment on the part of countries to promote and protect human rights, the UDHR nevertheless continues to face some of today's most difficult and perennial challenges.
First, as we all know, the interaction between national security and human rights can sometimes be problematic in international law. However, never has this tricky issue been more fraught with problems than after the 9/11 incident, particularly in the context of the so-called war on terror.
As events have shown, this precept can sometimes be misused as a pretext to justify military intervention in other countries. Torture, secret detention or extraordinary rendition, which should be proscribed at all times, have nevertheless tended to become increasingly justified by some parties under certain conditions.
Second, the other foremost and long-standing challenge that we face on many human rights issues is the question of whether all human rights are universal. The Vienna Declaration of 1993, after a long and difficult negotiation, came up with the consensus that "all human rights are universal, indivisible, inter-related and mutually reinforcing".
However, this notion, if it seems logical enough intellectually, is nevertheless not so straightforward in its implementation. Indeed, if we look at the UDHR, as Jack Donnelly acknowledged in 2003,"it... tells us little about life in many countries".
Furthermore, if we look closely at many major human rights instruments, they are still marked by a heavy Western bias, including the UDHR. Therefore, if these major instruments are to distance themselves from Western concepts that are rooted in past dominance, it is vital that a dialogue is instituted which is based on an understanding of other cultures.
These efforts to understand other cultures will not, however, mean the end of universal standards. As we are aware, the fluidity of culture, combined with the effects of globalization and cultural interpenetration, greatly enhances the possibility of achieving a consensus among all cultural groups on a body of cross-cultural human rights standards.
Respect for cultural differences must be carried through into the process of interpretation and implementation of various human rights instruments. Unfortunately, however, despite the scope for adopting a culturally sensitive approach to the various major instruments, this window of opportunity has not been fully exploited.
The problem lies in the prevailing Western view that tradition and culture are an impediment to the proper implementation of human rights, rather than a potential strength. In actual fact, the efforts to achieve cultural inclusiveness require a creative and fresh approach. It is perhaps inevitable that dialogue and an understanding of other cultures will require changes to the existing body of human rights norms as well as the willingness to accept a greater diversity of practices.
These will certainly require compromise and flexibility. However, it can be an enriching process which can lead to a broadening of the mind. Let us remind ourselves therefore that, in order for the UDHR's human rights principles to be universal, the approach should be evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
This should not, however, be regarded as a conundrum where respect for cultural difference is tantamount to weakness. The rich diversity of culture and tradition which other cultures offer can be drawn upon to strengthen and broaden both the scope and effectiveness of these instruments. And if we look at history, the Western hemisphere is not the only torch-bearer nor does it have a monopoly on achieving a harmonious social model.
Hence, we need to persevere, and if we do there will always be a way. As Martin Luther King once said, "I have a dream of a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". The United States has just materialized this dream when they elected Barack Obama last month and gave themselves a black President -- something unthinkable in the 1960s, and a tremendous step forward.
If we allow ourselves to be inspired by such an event, we can surely dream of a day when the human rights principles enshrined in the UDHR will become truly universal.
The writer is an Indonesian Geneva-based diplomat. The views expressed herein are strictly
personal.
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