World
Organisation Against Torture
P.O.
Box 21- 8, rue du Vieux Billard
CH
1211
Tel.:
0041/22 809 49 39 / Fax: 0041/22 809 49 29
E-mail:
omct@omct.org / Website: www.omct.org
Geneva, 10 May 2007 - A petition signed by more than 12,000 individuals was
delivered to the President of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (the
Council), Luis Alfonso de Alba, in Geneva yesterday. The signatories include
victims of human rights violations, human rights defenders, human rights
experts, parliamentarians, national human rights commissioners, and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from every region in the world. The
petition (see text below) calls on the Council to maintain and strengthen its
system of independent human rights experts known as the “Special
Procedures.”
The global
petition, sponsored by 17 international and regional NGOs including OMCT, was
formally delivered by the Secretary General of Amnesty International’s Canadian
Section, Alex Neve. Speaking at the event were: Roberto Garretón, former Special
Rapporteur on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Golden Misabiko, human rights
activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Deputy High Commissioner
for Human Rights, Kyung-wha Kang.
A video message was delivered by Sunila Abeysekera, Executive Director,
INFORM, Sri Lanka.
Among the
supporters of the initiative are Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi; Senator Dick Marty
(member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe); Thomas Hammarberg (Commissioner for Human
Rights, Council of Europe), Anders Johnsson
(Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union); Sonia Picado (President, Inter-American
Institute of Human Rights) and several former Special Procedure mandate-holders,
including Diego Garcia Sayan, Sir Nigel Rodley, Peter Leuprecht and Theo van
Boven.
The petition has
been delivered while negotiations are still underway in the Human Rights Council
to review – and potentially reduce the effectiveness of - the system of “Special
Procedures”, the term used to refer to the UN’s independent human rights experts
that monitor human rights situations around the world. The review is due to be
completed by 18 June 2007.
The review of
the Special Procedures has the potential to strengthen the system so that it is
better equipped to support the Council in protecting human rights.[1] However, some member states are supporting proposals
that would weaken the Special Procedures by undermining their ability to work effectively,
independently and without interference from states.
Such proposals
include a draft code of conduct
that contains provisions to regulate the Special Procedures’ activities and
render them less effective. There are also proposals for the election of
mandate-holders by governments which could politicize the process. Currently UN
Special Procedure mandate-holders are independent from governments both
operationally and through their selection process.
The future of those mandates
established to consider situations in particular countries/territories, such as
the Democratic Peoples’
There are 41
Special Procedure mandates. The Special Procedures have long been considered one
of the most effective and critical components of the UN human rights machinery.
They issue hundreds of urgent appeals and communications each year on behalf of
thousands of victims, as well as undertaking on-site visits and reporting
publicly on their findings. Through their country missions and studies, they
have made recommendations for the improvement of human rights at the national
and international levels; they have facilitated a better understanding and
encouraged the development of human rights law. They have offered practical guidance and
advice to governments that want to better promote and protect human
rights.
Their coverage
includes: freedom from torture, arbitrary or extrajudicial executions, racism,
sale of children, violence against women, right to health, to food and to
adequate housing, and protection of groups such as human rights defenders and
migrants.
Signatories to
the petition are concerned that the current review of the Special Procedures
could severely reduce the ability of the UN – in particular the Council – to
protect human rights. It is essential to have an effective system of independent
experts able to monitor and respond rapidly, and without interference, to
allegations of violations occurring anywhere in the
world.
To coincide with the
presentation of the petition, a collection of testimonies has been published
from victims, their family members and human rights defenders detailing the
enormous impact that the Special Procedures have had on their lives. The
testimonies are a reminder to governments that the negotiations taking place in
Background
information
The Special
Procedures were created by the former UN Commission on Human Rights over a
period of 40 years. The first country mandate was the Ad Hoc Working
Group of Experts on Human Rights in southern
Due to their
independence, the Special Procedures have been able to develop their own working
methods which include undertaking country missions, issuing urgent appeals and
communications concerning allegations of violations, studying aspects of their
mandates, and issuing public statements and reports. The Special Procedures have
been undermined by the failure of many states to cooperate adequately with them,
and by the failure of the former Commission to act upon their
recommendations.
The
Petition
The petition is
available at http://www.actforspecialprocedures.org and will remain open until 18 June. It reads as
follows:
“We, the
undersigned, believe that the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human
Rights Council are fundamental to the UN's efforts to promote and protect all
human rights of all people everywhere. We call on UN member states to build on
the achievements of the past in maintaining a strengthened system of Special
Procedures that comprises independent experts who are able to monitor and
respond rapidly to allegations of human rights violations throughout the world
as effectively as possible, without interference.”
Sponsoring
NGOs
Action Canada
for Population and Development, African
Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, Amnesty International, the
Association for the Prevention of Torture, the Centre on Housing Rights and
Evictions (COHRE), the Democracy Coalition Project, Forum Asia, Franciscans
International, Global Justice, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, the International
Commission of Jurists, the International Federation of Action by Christians for
the Abolition of Torture, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH),
the International Service for Human Rights, Penal Reform International, and the
World Organization against Torture (OMCT).