One of the characteristic
traits of the present international human rights regime is its political
structure whose stakeholders and participants have unequal power and at times
conflicting objectives. This system embodies a complex set of formal
international agreements, mechanisms and institutions supported and indeed
promoted by a vast network of NGO’s advocating human rights worldwide. This
distinctive feature by its definition would render the whole system to result
in the complex and combined consequences each of which could exert profound
influence on all components involved in the processes of standard setting and
implementation.
In the present state of affairs
one may consider two major potential outgrowths deriving from this system:
The international system, or to
be precise, the key players within the policy making institutions and
mechanisms are biased and pursue tendentious positions according to the larger
inequalities of power and wealth in the world. Building on this assumption,
which is potentially inherent in this political structure, the displaying an
ambivalent attitude and behavior based partly on moral complacency towards
various international instruments on human rights, adoption of biased and
selective approach, applying double standards and accordingly promotion of a
system-wide suspicion and mistrust is only natural. And this scenario, if
realized, will undoubtedly target the core of the entire system, which is the
protection, and promotion of all human rights for all in all parts of the
world.
One may argue, according to the
numerous reliably attested evidences, that the current
course of interactions and performance of the entire system is overshadowed and
influenced, to a large extent, by the feature of inequalities of power and
wealth which tend to force the current human rights debate to a north- south
confrontation in the field of human rights. It would be very generous indeed to
dismiss as non-existent this glaring aspect of our overall interactions in this
domain, which happen to enfeeble and undermine the great successes and
achievements of the United Nations in this field. Absent a concerted push to
revert this ill-concealed tendency and making it compatible with the moral and
legal values motivated the authors of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, this phenomenon will cause the strength of the moral consensus on many
aspects reach to a nadir and thus continue to adversely affect in the long run
the prospect of the different institutions and mechanisms of human rights in
the United Nations system.
Against this background, the
different members of the United Nations which harbor a great amount of idealism
in the institution of this system may urge the General Assembly, the Economic
and Social Council, the Commission on Human Rights and the other relevant
actors in this regard to make unremitting efforts to make sure that the actions
in this and other relevant forums do not run counter to the established goals
enshrined in various instruments, as the emergence of this phenomenon is
essentially more related to political will and style and not the content. In
this process the UN bodies may exert more subtlety and refinement in dealing
with different aspects involved in this setting. Hence it behooves us all to do
our utmost to jealously guard the common values and principles such as
fairness, objectivity and impartiality at all levelles
and stages. And this could be a litmus test before the UN bodies in particular
the Commission on Human Rights.
Mr. Chairman
My assessment of the performance
of the present international human rights regime is not founded on cynicism as
I believe the other consequence emanating potentially and inherently from the
political structure of the human rights regime is the promotion of cultural
diversity, pluralism and progressive interaction in the context of still
unfolding globalization process and its complicating impacts and effects. In
this context I wish to bring up again the contention that the political will
and style has a long way to go to transform the UN human rights bodies
including this august Commission from being an organization influenced by the
inequality of power and wealth in its negative sense which tend to enfeeble the
credibility of the United Nations and paralyze the dynamics in protecting and
promoting human rights to being a productive mechanisms that make the cultural
diversity and pluralism a forceful tool in promoting universalism in the
implementation of human rights instruments. My assessment asserts that the
notion of diversity within universality, as we perceive, being flown
potentially from the diversified political structure of our global human right
system is the cornerstone of the idealism of human rights which we all cherish.
Our perception and conception of
the cultural diversity based on the political structure of the system will
introduce and reinvigorate human rights as “the center of a cross cultural
overlapping consensus on basic normative standards in our increasingly
multi-cultural societies that give room for different cultural and religious
interpretations”1. This analytical approach might be viewed by some as yet
another version of the current polemical discourse on cultural relativism via a
Vis universalism and even can be labeled as a fallacy
to justify the alleged violations or an attempt to erode universality of human
rights. These apparent uncertainties, misperceptions and misconceptions require
us to initiate a purposeful and forward-looking dialogue to foster a broader
understanding of nature and scope of the issue of cultural diversity and human
rights.
Building on this understanding,
it is incumbent on all of us to embark on a common learning process for
creating a permissive and embracing atmosphere towards deferent value systems,
cultural heritages and establishing efficient human rights mechanisms, a
process in which prejudices against and stereotyping of certain cultures and
religions cease to play a dominant role at the international level. One
encouraging example in this regard is clearly the sustained initiative of Mrs.
Marry Robinson, the High Commissioner on Human rights in providing a forum in
which scholars from Islamic world and other international arenas had the
opportunity to discuss among themselves different view points on a common
subject; The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Playing an active part in
both the first and the second round of these conferences I must acknowledge the
momentum this initiative generated and the contribution it provided to bringing
the atmosphere of understanding among the different schools of though outlined
in these events. The Commission on Human Rights, in our view, as a functional
body could take further steps to help institutionalizing this momentum in the
framework of the its agenda to further intensify plans and programs aimed to
materialize the prospect of living in diversity within universality.
Mr. Chairman
The international community
concluded its hard work on finding ways and means to coordinate the global
drive to combat different manifestations of Racism, Racial Discrimination and
xenophobia through the World Conference in September 2001 in
It is a matter of great
satisfaction that the Conference acknowledged in unequivocal terms that slavery
and the slave trade including the transatlantic slave trade were appalling
tragedies and indeed crime against humanity and that colonialism has led to
racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.
Indeed the key factor in how the
international community should prevent the ever increasing manifestations of
racism and racial discrimination and recurrence of the abhorrent practices of
the past lie clearly at the call by the international community in Durban on
all actors to build an international order based on inclusion, justice and
equality, human dignity, mutual understanding and promotion of and respect for
cultural diversity and universal human rights, and to reject all doctrines of
exclusion based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance. The World Conference also reminds us that tolerance and
multiculturalism and the equitable participation of all, without any
discrimination, in domestic as well as global decision-making are of great
importance.
Over and above these assertions,
what matters most is that the international community should be alarmed, as
Durban reminds us, by the emergence and continued occurrence of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in their more subtle and
contemporary forms and manifestations, as well as by other ideologies and
practices based on racial or ethnic discrimination or superiority.
Recapping the provisions of the
Mr. Chairman
In this context based on moral
and legal obligations of my government towards human rights I need to bring to
your attention and through you the attention of members of this august body the
most appalling tragedy of the century in which the ferocity of the forces of an
occupying power uprooted an entire nation over decades. Genocide and brutality
against Palestinian people by the Israeli forces which is only the result of a
systematic pattern and systemic policy of violation of human rights based on
racial superiority speak of itself. The atrocities perpetrated by Alqaeda in September 11 against US citizens and the fanatic
and extremist Taliban forces in Afghanistan are by no means comparable to the
crimes committed by Israel over the past decades and particularly by the
current ruling party in launching the aerial and ground aggression against
Palestinian People and yet the influential political circles fell in discrete
silence turning a blind eye on the plight and egregious violation of human
rights of the Palestinian people including women and children within their own
territory.
This has always been true that
the indifference and indecision by the influential parties and mechanisms
including UN bodies and institutions in such conflicts as Israeli-Palestinian
as well as misplaced priority concerns for the rights of criminals and
perpetrators of war crimes by some notorious political circles generated even
far more favorable ground for further aggression by the occupier against the victim.
Is it any wonder Mr. Chairman that The Israeli authorities have always been
united in killing the innocent people, women and children in cold blood,
demolishing the Palestinian houses and confiscating the people’s property,
shelling and bombing the political, civil and social institutions and, in
short, committing genocide? Is it any wonder that the Israeli authorities carry
on these atrocities and depredations with impunity and confident in their
observation that the influential parties and those who can make a difference
are more concerned about the rights of the occupying power than they are about
human rights of Palestinian People.
As a country concerned with were
the United Nations is going in its mandated task of protection and promotion of
human rights, we firmly believe that the UN bodies particularly the Commission
on Human Rights shoulder enormous responsibility in condemning the atrocities
and ferocious acts of the occupying forces in Palestine and devise concrete
mechanisms through, among others, the special sessions in an effort to bring a
halt to the grave breaches of the International Humanitarian and Human Rights
law against innocent people in Palestine.
Mr. Chairman
Being a focal point in the
preparatory process of the World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and related intolerance The Commission on Human Rights enjoys a high
position in the implementation of and comprehensive follow up to the Durban
Declaration and Program of Action. The appointment of the imminent persons by
the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and the normative framework
that the Commission should provide for it would go a long way in setting the
course for a definitive substantive solutions in
streamlining and consolidating the current global fight against different
manifestations of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in the world.
As a country with profoundly
Islamic and national humanistic traditions within a vast ant great civilization
based on tolerance, it is only natural to stress the centrality of equality,
equity a promotion of and respect for diversity in making a world free from
racism and superiority based on cultural essentialism. The Commission on Human
rights, in our view, has every reason to provide the international community
with the dynamics in further materializations of the aspirations cherished in
the World Conference last year.