New Human Rights Commissioner speaks of Durban Review’s value
By Karen Juanita Carrillo

Non-governmental organizations were invited to attend a 60th year commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights earlier this month. 

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conducted the anniversary celebrations at its headquarters in Paris, France, but tributes to the 1948 creation of the “Declaration of Human Rights” are being recognized by all United Nations’ associated agencies throughout the year. 

The Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization (DPI/NGO) focused its annual conference on the Declaration’s 60th anniversary.

Members of the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL),  who focus on the “energy” of peace and love, attended the commemoration of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights. 

(Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)

During the DPI’s conference of workshops on “Overcoming Discrimination,” “Human Rights and Human Security” and “Human Rights Education and Learning as a Way of Life,” attendees – each of whom received 60th anniversary special edition copies of the Declaration – spoke of the efforts some governments have made to address historic wrongs.  And throughout the UN system organizations have been encouraged to focus on how far countries have come in respecting and promoting human rights.  

One representative who has said that she will use next year’s Durban Review Conference (DRC) to promote the implementation of human rights is the UN’s new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem (Navi) Pillay.

With representatives of Israel, the United States and Canada claiming that the initial 2001 World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) conference was merely a racist forum that blamed Israel, in particular, for the problems in Palestine, the United Nations’ has been plagued with questions of whether they are promoting “anti-Semitism” by even holding the DRC follow-up. Canada has already declared that it will boycott the DRC – and the United States, France, Holland, Israel, and England are threatening to do the same, particularly since Libya is the elected chair of the Durban Review’s preparatory committee. Cuba serves as the committee's rapporteur, and Iran is an executive member.

The DRC is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland from April 20 through 24 in 2009.

The DPI/NGO held its annual conference in Paris, France and focused its workshops on the Declaration’s 60th anniversary. 

(Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)

Pillay, who began her four-year term as Commissioner on September 1, 2008, delivered her inaugural address to the Human Rights Council on September 8.  A South African by birth, Pillay said she listened to the wisdom of Nelson Mandela, who noted that coming to terms with other people's experiences and points of view is often the best way to get justice.

“I do not believe that ‘all or nothing’ is the right approach to affirm one’s principles or to win an argument,” Pillay told Human Rights Council members. “Should differences be allowed to become pretexts for inaction, the hopes and aspirations of the many victims of intolerance would be dashed irreparably. For these reasons, I urge those governments that have expressed an intention not to participate to reconsider their position.”

Pillay said that she would use the Declaration’s anniversary to reflect on its progress over the past six decades and to focus on the challenges that remain.

Noting that the Declaration’s creators envisioned a world where every person would have full civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, Pillay said that meant that people should have access to housing, health care, and education. And everyone should be able to live free from violence and discrimination.  So far such human rights goals have not been met, but implementation of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action, Pillay said, would help many of the world’s nations to understand why making the effort to meet them is so important.