U Vijecu Europe održana je svecana ceremonija kojom je obilježena 60. godišnjica Konvencije za zaštitu ljudskih prava i temeljnih sloboda.
Konvencija je otvorena za potpisivanje 4. studenog 1950. godine, a danas predstavlja temeljni instrument zaštite ljudskih prava za 800 milijuna Europljana u 47 država clanica Vijeca Europe.
Tom prigodom, kao poseban gost, Vijecu Europe se obratio glavni tajnik Ujedinjenih naroda Ban Ki-moon.
Ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights
Speech by
Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary General of the United Nations
(Strasbourg, 19 October 2010)
Your Excellency President Ivanov,
Secretary-General Jagland, Your Excellency President Costa,
Distinguished Ministers,
Mrs. Hendricks, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour to join you in celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Let me begin by stating the obvious:
I am not here to speak to you, but with you — to draw strength from our dialogue that stretches through the decades and that has improved lives and enlarged freedom.
The Council of Europe is a key partner of the United Nations in our shared global quest … united behind the principle of all human rights, for all people.
From your founding in 1949 through the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Council has been a steadfast champion … a beacon of democracy in a divided Europe.
In the past twenty years, you have guided new democracies along the path of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Europe's example of peaceful change through ever-closer integration has been a source of global inspiration.
Yet … in too many parts of the world, similar progress remains a distant dream.
One of the cardinal missions of the United Nations is to shine the light of human rights everywhere, including the darkest corners.
We do so as a matter of principle.
As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims: “Recognition of the inherent dignity … and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family … is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
That is our base line. That is our standard. There are no exceptions.
In a complicated and connected world, this mission is essentially simple … and simply essential.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Vienna Declaration, adopted in 1993 at the World Conference on Human Rights, was a landmark event in the post-Cold War era.
East and West, once at odds over human rights and much else, came together behind a far-reaching plan of action.
The Declaration re-affirmed the interdependence of democracy, development and human rights.
It recognized the central importance of NGOs and civil society.
And it called for states to act on a long-held dream: that the United Nations establish a new office, a High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Today, Vienna's legacy is assured.
And yet … almost a generation later, we must recognize a less encouraging fact:
The rights of hundreds of millions of people are still ignored or abused.
New forces are presenting fresh challenges.
Where once the divide was between East and West, today we see a growing North-South divide.
We see evidence of backsliding on civil and political rights … a lack of commitment to the human right to social and economic development.
In many developed countries, there is growing anxiety over migration and economic hard times — anxieties that are used, increasingly, to justify policies of discrimination and exclusion.
And in parts of the developing world, there are accusations of “double standards” … that more powerful countries may preach human rights when it suits them, but ignore them when it does not.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The danger is clear:
Our universal compact on human rights needs to be reinforced.
I see two ways to strengthen it … indeed, to build on it for future generations.
First, by seizing every opportunity to re-affirm the universality and indivisibility of human rights.
Universality is the beating heart of the body of international human rights law as it has developed over the past six decades.
When it comes to human rights, there should be no selectivity.
Human rights are not a menu, from which we can pick and choose.
Yet we see precisely this when bona fide advances are made in overcoming poverty or hunger, at the same time that other freedoms are downplayed … as if they are merely “icing on the cake” and not central to development itself.
And we see it in democratic countries that choose not to ratify certain international conventions … or re-interpret conventions to which they have subscribed.
Of course, there is no human rights paradise on earth.
Here in Europe, ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families has been disappointing.
Twenty years after it was adopted, none of Europe's largest and most wealthy powers have signed or ratified it.
In some of the world's most advanced democracies … among nations that take just pride in their long history of social progressiveness … migrants are being denied basic human rights.
The Council of Europe has spoken out strongly and is taking new initiatives. The United Nations welcomes your convening of tomorrow's meeting to discuss the integration of Roma people in Europe.
Let this be the moment when governments reaffirm their commitment to the highest human rights standards for all.
The universality of human rights is also central to the Universal Periodic Review — the Human Rights Council's mechanism aimed at ensuring that all members of the Council, not just some, would be subject to scrutiny.
One hundred and twelve countries have been reviewed to date.
I look forward to the Council taking further steps towards universality, consistency and credibility.
Ladies and gentlemen,
While our standards are universal and unchanging, our methods should not remain static.
That is why we must strengthen our compact on human rights through an approach rooted in an awareness of culture, time and place.
We must respect cultural diversity – while never compromising our fundamental principles and never tolerating intolerance.
Lasting social change … including respect for human rights and particularly women's rights … cannot be planted from afar. It must take root within societies.
But we must nurture, encourage and support such steps.
After all, the objective is not simply for governments to pass laws, but to ensure that those laws are implemented.
We will go further when we include faith-based organizations in our work … when we work at the grass roots … and when we support people in fighting for their rights.
We must always be ready to adapt to new circumstances, always focusing on concrete improvements to peoples' lives.
Today, awareness is growing about the need to protect the rights of vulnerable groups – people with disabilities … the elderly … those who experience discrimination because of their sexual orientation.
We are developing new ways to protect these people and others – more human rights for more people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Wherever we see human rights violations …wherever we see human rights in retreat … these are the places we must be.
These are occasions when we must speak out.
We are fighting for the rights of women and children in the most pragmatic ways possible. Women and children are at the center of our global health strategy and our development work.
We are creating a new agency, UN Women, to be headed by one of our most dynamic women leaders, the former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.
We are working in firm partnership with national and international courts and tribunals around the world – including the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court.
Without strong judicial action, we can never end serious human rights abuses in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the use of rape as a weapon of war.
If national courts can not deal with such crimes, the international community – and possibly the ICC – must step in.
As I told the ICC Review Conference in May: the arm of justice is long.
Those who commit crimes against humanity have learned to fear it.
Justice is a powerful deterrent in the battle against impunity.
I ask for your strongest possible support in this campaign for accountability.
We are working, as well, on emerging human rights fronts.
The gathering of huge quantities of personal data … the mapping of the human genome ... the availability of medical treatment that prolongs life, but at the cost of human dignity.
As science and technology makes possible these and other such advances, we will need to give them our full ethical and human rights attention.
Let me close, ladies and gentlemen, with an acknowledgement.
None of our gains in advancing human rights … none of our awareness of new human rights frontiers … would be possible without human rights defenders, civil society groups and the media.
These dedicated men and women work, often, at tremendous risk to themselves, their families and their friends.
Around the world, they stand up … speak out … tweet … in the name of justice.
Individual activists are growing in number and influence … bringing abuses to light … exposing wrongdoing … and standing up for the vulnerable.
In the battle for human rights, they are the foot soldiers – and often, the sergeants and generals too.
We must fight for the freedoms of assembly and of expression that make their work possible.
When their voices are stifled or silenced, we are all diminished.
We are all less secure.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The anniversary we celebrate today is important.
The European Convention, and the Court, has made a tremendous difference in peoples' lives.
They have brought human rights to life in tangible, lasting ways.
We are here today to celebrate that progress .. and more, to push that work forward:
For women in conflict … living in daily terror;
For opposition politicians … beaten or imprisoned for speaking their minds or demanding a say in power;
For children in need … asking why they go hungry while their leaders enrich themselves further.
I have met these victims. I have heard their stories.
This is why we at the UN do what we do.
Wherever I go … whoever I speak with … whether they are national leaders or ordinary citizens … I try to deliver this basic message … loud and clear:
Human rights … human rights for all …is not an impossible dream.
It should not even be spoken of as a “dream.”
Together, let us work to make it a universal reality.
The people of the world deserve nothing less.
Thank you.
Priopćenja
