On May 1st the Consulate of Switzerland and the Harvard University Committee on Human Rights Studies welcomed Ambassador Blaise Godet, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva and Vice-President of the New UN Human Rights Council to give a talk on the development of the new UN Human HRC since its establishment in the spring of 2006.


Ambassador Godet agreed with Jacqueline Bhabha, Executive Director of the Harvard University Committee on Human Rights Studies, who argued that the creation of the Council is an attempt to restore the UN’s authority on human rights issues which has been discredited by the ineffectiveness of the UN Human Rights Commission. The Ambassador explained that the Commission’s activity was thwarted because of its subordinate position in the UN hierarchy, its polarisation, its selectivity, and in some cases its failure to implement resolutions. He also highlighted the main differences between the Commission and the new Council: higher institutional status, more frequent meetings, fewer members to be elected every three years, larger scrutiny of the fulfilment of membership responsibilities and greater credibility insured through the membership candidates’ voluntary commitment to protection and promotion of human rights.


Mohammad-Mahmoud Mohamedou, Assistant Director of the Harvard School of Public Health Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, emphasized that the establishment of the HRC as an effective institution is a working process, so it is “too early to tell” to what extent it will accomplish its mission. Both discussants suggested that the Council is better positioned to promote the latest generation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and new rights such as the Right to Development and Rights of Women.


Success stories or failures?
The new Council has already addressed the situation in Darfur and Sudan’s accepted responsibility to protect. A High-Level Mission was dispatched to asses the human rights situation and the needs of the Sudan, which published a report with specific recommendations to all parties involved in March 2007. It still remains to be seen what the response to these recommendations would be.


While HRC’s activity in Sudan is looked upon relatively favorably viewed by human rights proponents, its retrieval from Iran and Uzbekistan after a year of monitoring the situation in the two countries is considered to be a prerequisite for the deterioration of human rights promotion and protection in these countries.


Another initiative that drives optimism about the HRC is its involvement with the promotion of Rights of Women.


A critical moment in the HRC’s future will be the upcoming member elections which will be held on May 17. 13 African, 13 for Asian, 6 for Eastern European, 8 Latin American and 7 Western states will be selected for a three-year mandate. Recent news that Belarus has expressed its interest in participating in the elections related directly to comments from the audience that the HRC could not be a credible proponent of human rights if its members are internationally renown for being human rights violators.


Most questions from the audience highlighted the fact that the creation of this new body will not insure the protection and promotion of Human Rights unless powerful countries such as the U.S. support it. The credibility of the Council member states was also questioned as the rule to have a set number of countries selected from Africa and Asia means that most members will certainly not have an impeccable reputation with respect to human respect to human rights protection. Ambassador Godet retorted that the Council make-up should mirror reality – it should represent both the human rights pioneers and violators, the weak and the powerful states, so that its activities can have an impact on all critical actors in the field.


Evgenia Peeva, Intern, Harvard student

      

This event took place within the scope of the ThinkSwiss Program. More info: www.ThinkSwiss.org