The Conclusion of the Human Rights Council

            Friday marked the end of the Human Rights Council, the UN’s three week discussion on human rights that I have been attending. The week was a very busy one but I also saw and learned a lot, it is a little strange that it is already over because it went by so quickly! I apologize in advance, this is going to be a LONG post so hang in there!!!

Monday

            Monday morning, I had a meeting with Fr. Olivier and Evelyn. We reflected on my work thus far and I was able to express my concern about the fact that I had been witnessing what seemed to be a lack of action on the part of the UN. The first two weeks of the Human Rights Council, I witnessed member states discussing human rights issues but saw no one taking any tangible steps to combat these issues. When I expressed this concern, Fr. Olivier explained the sad reality that because of the state of the world right now, especially of the economy, many nations are not in a position to go to war and right these wrongs by force. As a result, the UN is in place in an attempt to resolve these issues peacefully. I definitely see the merit in this but it also saddens me that there are many gross violations of human rights going on around the world and nothing is being done. However, Fr. Olivier told me to be patient and wait until the end of the week because at the conclusion of the Human Rights Council, member states have an opportunity to present resolutions they have drafted and try to make some concrete changes. I began to eagerly anticipate the conclusion of the council meeting to see what actions will be taken as a result of the three-week session.

            Monday afternoon, I attended a side event on reproductive rights. I was not really sure what to expect prior to the event but was impressed by the way in which this controversial issue was discussed. Rather than placing a great amount of emphasis on a woman’s right to abortion, the panelists discussed the importance of educating women on their options and making contraceptives available to every woman if she should choose to use them. Panelists explained that their goal is not to force everyone to make the same choices, because they know many groups differ in opinion on fundamental issues, such as the beginning of life. Instead of attempting to force everyone to hold the same views, panelists focused on access and education, therefore allowing women to make decisions on an individual basis. I enjoyed the way that the panelists were not trying to force everyone to make the same decision, but instead embraced the necessary diversity in opinion and lifestyle as tools that will promote moving forward and ultimately obtaining health for all. Obviously this view is clearly not in line with Catholic teaching but I was very impressed by the way the issue was delicately handled and the panelists did not seem to offend anyone over the course of the side event.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning began with my attending the Human Rights Council. On Tuesday morning, the council was discussing contemporary racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the meeting for me was the constant reference to technology. I was surprised to learn how much the Human Rights Council takes changing technology into account in talking about issues such as racism and discrimination, specifically on the internet. It is clear that developing technology is changing the face of diplomacy and that issues that used to not exist are now brought up by a number of delegates. I was very impressed by the way that the UN seemed to be so in touch with changing society and how eager the body was to take these changes into account.

      Tuesday afternoon was very interesting for me because I was able to attend a side event on Religious Tolerance. As a member of the Dominican Delegation, I was excited to attend an event that was extremely well attended by members of a number of different religious traditions. The event focused on the importance of the right to freedom of religion and belief. Panelists discussed the ongoing process to reinforce a commitment to this right and to promote tolerance, mutual respect, and cultural bonding. Charles Morerod the Bishop of Geneva, who is a Dominican (very cool!), was present to give the Catholic perspective on religious tolerance. One of the points that he focused on was the fact that sometimes the positive aspects of religion are overlooked, specifically the way that religion can be extremely inclusive and welcoming. There was also a representative from the Islamic tradition who spoke about the importance of fighting against religious hatred and the importance of putting school programs in place to educate children at a very young age about tolerance, human rights, openness and rejection of fanaticism. The side event concluded with a discussion of the basic values that we need to live in peaceful co-existence rather than fighting with one another. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the event and was glad to see these topics discussed at the UN!

Wednesday

            Wednesday was a difficult day because a number of the discussions of the day focused on Haiti and the conditions there following the earthquake. It was hard to hear about how terrible the conditions in Haiti remain even two years after the earthquake.

            However, a side event that took place in the afternoon did provide me with some positive news about the situation in Haiti. The side event focused on Haiti After the Earthquake, especially the state of education in the country. The panelists spoke about the importance of trust in the people of Haiti and in their government. The four main goals for rebuilding Haiti include employment, environment, education, and implementing rule of law. One of the most positive things that I heard throughout the course of the panel was the fact that the number of internally displaced persons has decreased significantly since immediately after the earthquake. Additionally, it was very heartening to hear that education is a priority of the current Haitian President. No previous government has placed such a strong emphasis on education and the current president is working to ensure that primary education is free for all students. He is also working to provide additional training for teachers and is setting up a special budget for underprivileged children to allow them the resources to attend school. Such a strong emphasis is being placed on education because those in power are finally able to recognize that the children are the future of the country and are going to play a critical role in continuing the rebuilding of the country. It is obvious that the country and the government is trying to make positive changes so I truly hope that they obtain the resources that will allow them to do so soon.

            My favorite part of the entire side event was hearing from a Haitian native who represented the Haitian youth and was in Haiti when the earthquake took place. She shared an account of her experiences on the day of the earthquake and told the group that once she discovered what was happening, her first thought was that she should run home and get her school bag, uniform and shoes, because her education was so vitally important to her. Luckily, this woman was one of the lucky individuals who’s schooling was not interrupted too severely, the sisters who taught her school held classes in a warehouse shortly after the earthquake so that the students would not get too behind on their schooling. She shared stories about schools being rebuilt and the way that children were given the opportunity to help with reconstructing the country. She indicated that she hopes to help young people like herself in the future and shared the way in which she believes her education has positively affected her. I was extremely impressed after hearing this young woman’s story and thought it was extremely powerful to have a directly affected individual present to share her experiences. Although it was hard to hear how terrible the conditions currently are in Haiti, it was reassuring to hear about so many people who are attempting to make positive changes.

           

Thursday and Friday

            I was looking forward to Thursday and Friday all week because I was extremely eager to witness the conclusion of the Human Rights Council and see what changes took place as a result of the three weeks of meetings.

            Earlier in the week, Fr. Olivier explained the Universal Periodic Review, which is directly related to the resolutions presented at the end of the HRC, to me. The resolutions are not binding but are instead taken into account in the reports each member state makes every four years, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). In these reports, states explain the way that they are applying Human Rights within their borders and upholding their human rights obligations. If, when states make these reports, it is discovered that they have not followed the resolutions presented at the Human Rights council, a note will be made in the rating scales for international loans and foreign aid. This has a big impact on member states and as a result, states usually try to uphold the resolutions that are passed by the HRC.

            When a resolution was presented, the member state proposing it would have a chance to explain it and then any other state wishing to comment on the resolution was able to. Once all of the interested parties spoke, the resolution was either passed by consensus or voted on. After the vote, any country wishing to explain their vote was given the opportunity to.

The Following Resolutions were Adopted by Concensus:

-       Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children: access to effective remedies for trafficked persons and their right to an effective remedy for human rights violations

-       Conscientious objection to military service

-       Arbitrary Detention

-       Human Rights of Migrants

-       The right to a nationalist: women and children

-       Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality

-       Accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women: remedies for women who have been subjected to violence

-       Elimination of discrimination against women

-       The right to education: follow-up to Human Rights Council resolution 8/4

-       The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet

-       Human Rights of internally displaced persons

-       Promotion of the enjoyment of the cultural rights of everyone and respect for cultural diversity

-       National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights

-       Situation of human rights in Eritrea- The passage of this resolution was significant for me because as soon as it passed, an Eritrean woman began cheering and crying and the Chair of the HRC has to tell her to quiet down. This woman's joy over the adoption of a resolution instilled hope in me that the UN is making positive changes in people's lives even though it is not always completely apparent.

-       Situation of human rights in the Republic of Mali

-       Nelson Mandela International Day Panel

-       Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights

-       Technical assistance to Cote d’Ivorie in the field of human rights

The Following Resolutions were voted on and passed:

-       The effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights

-       Situation of human rights in Belarus- This resolution sparked a great deal of discussion because Belarus was not happy with the way it was presented. The delegate stated that the Special Repporteur that investigated Belarus treated the nation unfairly and refused to cooperate with a SR in the future. However, the delegate stated that the nation would be happy to cooperate with other investigative mechanisms that work in a non-selective, objective manner. The nation indicated its concerns about the UN pressuring a sovereign country to comply with a SR and was not pleased with the resolution. However, the resolution was voted on and it passed.

-       United Nations Declaration on the right to peace

-       Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic- There was also a great deal of discussion pertaining to this resolution because some member states (the US and Russia especially) were concerned that the resolution was too one-sided. The resolution condemned acts of terrorism by the government but did not condemn terrorism by other parties. The Russian Federation proposed an amendment to change this and to condemn terrorism in all of its forms, but the amendment was voted down. This was a little surprising to me because rather than focusing on human rights in general (which condemning all terrorism would have done), the resolution seemed to be focused on some other political goals.

After all of the resolutions were voted on, the Human Rights Council has to pass a few procedural matters and then adjourned until September. Overall, I really enjoyed being able to sit in on the entirety of the Human Rights Council. Although at times I was concerned by the seeming lack of concrete action, I have tried to remind myself that the fact that the council is meeting at all is extremely important. A number of different states discussed numerous difficult issues over the past three weeks and did their best to pass resolutions to encourage one another to uphold human rights in their countries. Additionally, I think just bringing many of these issues to light is important. Wrongs cannot be corrected if no one is aware that they are taking place and for this reason, I think that the educational portion of the HRC is almost as important as the resolutions that were adopted. Overall, I think this is an extremely important body and I look forward to seeing what it does in the future.  

Ongoing Project

Throughout the week, I have also been working on the Dominican Database. The Database is coming along and I am currently in the process of emailing all of the Dominicans Around the world to confirm their contact information as well as their specific ministries (school, hospital etc). This has been an interesting exercise because it has given me the opportunity to see how many Dominicans there actually are in the world and I have been shocked! Ultimately, our plan for the database is to identify social justice contacts in each country. Then, if an individual has a question about a social justice issue in a certain country, they can use our database to determine who to talk to. I think this is vitally important because it will allow the Dominican Delegation to be in more direct contact with those who are involved in certain human rights issues and will also allow the Dominicans around the world to have an easy way to get their human rights concerns heard. I am very excited to be a part of this project and look forward to seeing it take shape over the next week!

The Future…

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Council on Indigenous Peoples that I am going to be attending for a week. This is an issue that I do not know much about so I look forward to becoming more educated about it! Over the next week, I will also continue to work on the Database and also finish writing up more reports on what I saw at the Human Rights Council. I only have one week in Geneva so I hope to make the most of it!