UN Highlights Regional Human Rights Progress

To celebrate United Nations (UN) Day (24 October) UN organisations throughout the Pacific are highlighting their main aims and achievements. Throughout the week UN organisations, together with government and other partners, are also discussing plans for the next five years of work in the Pacific. The discussion will help to determine the strategic direction of UN development cooperation with the Pacific Islands Countries for 2013-2017. There are 15 UN agencies, funds and programmes working in the Pacific, including the United Nations Human Rights programme (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR).

Matilda Bogner, Regional Representative of OHCHR’s Pacific Office, said:

“UN Human Rights work in the Pacific is aimed at promoting and protecting human rights, particularly of the poorest, most excluded or marginalised. Our focus over the last five year period has been, and will continue to be, on victims of torture and ill treatment, victims of sexual and gender-based violence, people most discriminated against during emergency responses, internally displaced persons, and others who do not enjoy their human rights or have no one else to turn to.”

“During 2008-2012 the UN has worked together with partners to promote and protect human rights in the Pacific and there has been important progress. In particular, governments have signed and ratified more international human rights treaties and all UN member states have now had their human rights situations assessed, at a minimum, through the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This will act as an important baseline from which to assess future progress,” said Ms Bogner.

“It was encouraging to see, during the recent Leaders’ meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, Pacific Island Forum Leaders welcome the successful participation of all UN member state Pacific Island Countries in the first round of the Universal Periodic Review, describing it as a major regional achievement. The Leaders acknowledged the support and assistance to members in their reporting efforts from the Forum Secretariat, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community Regional Rights Resource Team and the UN Human Rights programme. Leaders also noted the development of this cooperation, and the networks created by this activity, represent an important source of human rights expertise for the entire region.”

Following two years of UN Human Rights work with the Vanuatu government and civil society, Vanuatu ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), which entered into force in August 2011. Ms Bogner said: “this was a significant regional achievement, given that Vanuatu, at this stage, is the only Pacific Island Country to have ratified the CAT. Vanuatu, with our support, has begun to implement this convention and we are working hard to encourage and support further ratifications of the CAT within the region. Around the world the implementation of the CAT has helped to prevent torture and ill-treatment, and improve the performance and professionalism of law enforcement officers and the judiciary. It has also helped to increase the community’s confidence in the justice system.”

“The interest in establishing National Human Rights Institutions to protect and promote human rights at the national level has also increased. Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu took initial steps towards the establishment of such human rights bodies. UN Human Rights, together with its regional partners, has consistently advocated for the establishment of National Human Rights Institutions as a key step towards stronger accountability in the area of human rights at the national level,” said Ms Bogner.

UN Human Rights supported the creation of human rights defenders networks in Bougainville, the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Kiribati and Vanuatu. Ms Bogner said these networks focus on areas of torture prevention and sexual and gender-based violence. “It’s encouraging to see that the defenders’ work has led to concrete protection of victims, including the evacuation of individual victims of sorcery-related attacks to safety,” she said.

Other regional highlights included the Government of Papua New Guinea agreeing to the visit of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the Government of Solomon Islands agreeing the visits of the Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women; the Government of the Marshall Islands agreeing to the visit of the Special Rapporteur on toxic waste; and the Government of Kiribati agreeing to the visit of the Independent Expert on clean drinking water and sanitation. These visits are an opportunity for national level actors to voice concerns and bring issues to the attention of the international community.

“We look forward to a similarly encouraging period ahead and to further commitments and progress in the area of human rights,” said Ms Bogner.

Notes:

• OHCHR leads global Human Rights efforts and works to promote and protect the Human Rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
• OHCHR is headed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, who coordinates Human Rights activities throughout the UN System and supervises the Human Rights Council.
• OHCHR Regional Office for the Pacific covers 16 countries: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu
• The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was created through the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council itself. It is a cooperative process which, in 2011, has reviewed the human rights records of every country. Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists.

ENDS

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