Source: – HYPERLINK http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/6176C250277012AAC12572F70030248B?opendocument http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/6176C250277012AAC12572F70030248B?opendocument Date: June 11, 2007 HIGH COMMISSIONER HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF SYSTEM OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATORS, CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION AND UNIVERSAL REVIEW OF RIGHTS RECORDS AT HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL xxxxxxxxxx Address by Louise Arbour UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the occasion of the 5th Session of the Human Rights Council 11 June 2007 Geneva Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the Human Rights Council, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am grateful for this opportunity to address you today as the Human Rights Council prepares to celebrate its first anniversary and to complete a crucial phase of its efforts in institution building. I would like to congratulate Ambassador de Alba for his able leadership in the difficult task of building this new body and making it both immediately operational and responsive to human rights challenges. The painstaking work of the six facilitators contributed to guiding and framing a constructive debate on the institution building process which saw the active engagement of all Members. The Council's discussions also benefited from civil society's innovative ideas, participation and thoughtful contributions. I am particularly proud of the work of OHCHR staff who tirelessly and competently assisted the Council in carrying out the many facets and requirements of its mandate. In the course of this week, all this hard work will come to fruition as you embark in a last effort to ensure that solid foundations support an institution meant to last. Excellencies, Let me start by highlighting some of my activities since last March. I undertook two substantial missions, one to Central Asia, and one to the Great Lakes Region of Africa. From April 24 to May 4, I visited Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and met with Government leaders, representatives of United Nations and regional organizations, civil society groups and locally-based representatives of the diplomatic corps. I am particularly encouraged by the support of Governments and civil society for the establishment of an OHCHR regional office in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and I would like to thank the Government for its willingness to host it. The finalization of the necessary legal agreement in this regard is proceeding well. The regional office will work closely with Governments in Central Asia and international, regional, and national organizations, as well as with civil society and the private sector, on human rights issues relevant to the whole region. It will also tailor activities to the needs of each country. I was greatly encouraged by the availability of my interlocutors in Central Asia to tackle difficult issues and persisting human rights problems in a frank and open-minded fashion. My overall assessment is that in all four countries a better balance must be found between the powers of the executive on the one hand, and those of the judiciary and legislature, on the other. The latter are still too weak to provide effective enforcement of human rights. Conditions of detention present great challenges throughout the region where ill-treatment and torture are still reported. Region-wide, democratic participation is hampered by restrictions on freedom of expression and association and on activities of civil society. Effective and independent national human rights institutions are required. The progress made by each Government in embracing international human rights obligations is to be commended. Governments should expand and deepen their engagement also by setting up systems to follow up on the recommendations of the treaty bodies, as well as by ensuring access to Special Procedures mandate holders. Excellencies, Upon my return from Africa, I had the opportunity to brief the Security Council on the situation in the DRC, as well as the Peace-Building Commission on the situation in Burundi. My May 13-25 mission to the Great Lakes Region of Africa also included a visit to Rwanda. I believe that there is significant potential for sustainable peace and development in the region. But the risk of further outbreaks of large-scale violence and return to conflict—with inevitably ensuing human rights abuses—can not be discounted, particularly in the DRC. Grave human rights challenges remain daunting. Discrimination, and a dearth of enjoyment of economic and social rights, affect much of the region. I was alarmed by the scale of sexual violence in the region which is of pandemic proportions in the DRC. Today, the biggest threat to security in the Great Lakes is, in my view, the prevailing culture of impunity. The periodic cycles of extreme violence that these countries have undergone can not be broken unless Governments demonstrate that perpetrators of human rights violations will be held accountable. In the case of Burundi and the DRC, this will require reversing both the current trend and years of past practice. Some newly elected officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi are currently struggling to counter this trend. They will need support and steady commitment to the principle that amnesties cannot be granted for the gravest human rights violations. This is not only a matter of principle and of international law, but also an indispensable pre-requisite for durable peace in the region. In this context, I wish to draw your attention to the report on the right to truth that my Office has recently submitted to the Council. The report outlines that the adoption of various national legislative and administrative measures, as well as the development of jurisprudence, are contributing to a better definition of the scope and nature of the right to truth. The report also highlights the role of victims and their families in judicial proceedings at national and international levels. Efforts that Rwanda has made to cope with the large number of people who took part in the genocide merit particular mention. In addition to seeking the assistance of the international community to create the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Rwanda has put in place the Gacaca court system, an adaptation of traditional justice that aims at delivering a measure of redress to victims and at promoting reconciliation. However, concerns persist regarding due process and haste in processing the hundreds of thousands of accused persons. Officials I met throughout the region, including the Heads of State, acknowledged the human rights challenges they face and that their institutions are in need of assistance in putting an end to violations of human rights. This willingness to engage – and this honesty in accepting uncomfortable realities – should further compel us to strengthen partnerships to combat impunity and establish justice and the rule of law, thus setting solid foundation for human rights, security and development. I was particularly encouraged by the DRC's acceptance of the proposal to launch a human rights mapping exercise, which will be carried out in cooperation with MONUC. The exercise will create an inventory of the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the DRC between March 1993 and June 2003, and it will assess existing capacities within the national justice system to address such violations. The mapping exercise should serve as the core reference document upon which transitional justice options can then be discussed by the people of the DRC, who have suffered unbearable losses during that tragic chapter of their history. Progress on transitional justice was also achieved in Burundi. There, President Nkurunziza confirmed his commitment to establishing an impartial and independent steering committee for the national consultations process, to be composed of one representative each from the Government, civil society and the United Nations. He also affirmed the principle that no amnesties would be granted for grave human rights violations. It is also crucial for the Government to carry out transparent and credible investigations into recent high-profile grave human rights violations in order to increase public confidence in the justice system. Excellencies, I have briefed this Council regularly on my missions and on other OHCHR activities. A comprehensive description of our efforts and progress is to be found in OHCHR Annual Report 2006 which we released on May 25, shortly after my briefing to all regional groups, and distributed to all missions. This report reviews the implementation of our 2006-2007 Strategic Management Plan during the first half of the biennium. It covers, for the first time in a single document, the entirety of the Office's work—including both those elements funded under the United Nations regular budget and those funded from voluntary contributions. As anticipated, 2006 witnessed a significant expansion of OHCHR, with 212 additional staff recruited—158 in the field, most of them national staff, and 51 in Geneva—bringing to 851 the number of OHCHR staff worldwide. In line with priorities spelt out in the SMP, the Office's capacity was strengthened in several key areas. These include country engagement, leadership, partnerships, and support to the United Nations Human Rights bodies. Copies of the Annual Report are available outside this room. Distinguished Members of the Human Rights Council, Cooperative efforts are still required to bring your institution building efforts to completion. Once its operative framework and modalities are firmly in place, this body is expected to devote its undivided attention to the many long-standing and emerging human rights situations that demand action. In such endeavor, the Council should continue to draw from the expertise and resources of the Special Procedures system, which represents a critical component in the protection and promotion of human rights and stands as one of the most important legacies of the Commission on Human Rights. Civil society will also continue to play its vital role in the activities and priorities of the Council. I believe that the most innovative feature of the Council, the Universal Periodic Review, will develop into a leading instrument for the promotion and protection of human rights in a universal, country-specific, and authoritative way. Reaching an agreement on its framework was not an easy task, but the Council is set to achieve that goal. In this effort and with the Council's other endeavors, my colleagues and I will continue to provide enthusiastic support and assistance. I wish you a very productive session. Thank you.