Re: [hr-wsis] Re: Mello

[Amali De Silva <amali@amalidesilva.com>]

The existing draft declaration of principles has a sizeable section on human rights / rights of access...... may be the letter should point to that section as well......it highlights the need and importance of their participation at Prep Com3 and the summit.

 

Amali De Silva. V.P. Vancouver Community Network, Canada

Alain Ambrosi <ambrosia@web.ca> wrote:

I also agree on Diana proposal.
CMIC will sign the letter

Alain

-----Message d'origine-----
De : Bill McIver [mailto:mciver@albany.edu]
Envoyé : 30 mai, 2003 15:57
À : hr-wsis@iris.sgdg.org
Objet : [hr-wsis] Re: Mello



Diana,

I agree.

I think it was articulated yesterday that
is the idea to have the office involved
and not De Mello specifically.



WJM

dbronson@ichrdd.ca wrote:

>
>
>Friends
>
>I have attached the transcript for the press conference where Sergio De
>Mello was named to run to run the UN's operations in Iraq and it is clearly
>stated that Bertie Ramcharan will be acting High Commissioner during his
>four-month absence. I suggest we aim in the letter for the involvement
>of the OHCHR, ask for Ramcharan's attendance at prep com 3 and De ! Mello's
>personal involvement at the Summit in December. It strikes me that it
>would be odd for human rights organizations to request he leave the
>desperate situation in Iraq -- where phone lines are not even working --
>to attend a prep com on information technology. We are interested not in
>his personal involvement, but it the involvement and centrality of the UN
>human rights system: the Commission, the treaty bodies, the special
>rapportuers etc.
>
>The relevant quote from Kofi Annan is this
>
>
>No one has more experience in this area than Sergio Vieira de Mello, and I
>think for us to really get organized and become operational and effective
>immediately I needed someone who can hit the ground running and help us set
>up the operation at its early stages, so Sergio will be there for four
>months and will then return to his assignment in Geneva. In the meantime,
>Ber! tie Ramcharan will serve as Acting High Commissioner. I hope ! Sergio will
>have the support of all the Member States, and I am confident he will work
>well with the coalition Authority in Baghdad and with all the other groups
>in Iraq.
>
>
>Along with others, we have decided not to submit to meet the 31 may
>deadline but rather will try and get something better in the coming weeks.
>As many of you know, we have a draft essay on human rights and information
>technology under production.
>
>Best regards to everyone. It is great to see some energy in this caucus.
>
>Diana
>
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> xxxxxxxxxx TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI xxxxxxxxxx
> ANNAN AND
> SPECIAL ! REPRESENTATIVE FOR IRAQ,
> SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO, 27 MAY
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 27 May 2003
>
>
>
>
>
> The Secretary-General: Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen.
>
> Last week the Security Council came together in Resolution 1483 to
> chart the way forward for post-conflict Iraq. The Council has called
> on the United Nations to assist the Iraqi people, in coordination
> with the Authority, in a wide range of areas, including humanitarian
> relief, reconstruction, infrastructure rehabilitation, legal and
> judicial reforms, human rights and return of refugees, and also to
> assist with civilian police. These efforts are going to demand a lot
> from us and from the international community.
>
> I have asked Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello to serve as my Special
> Representative. He will lead the United Nations! effort in Iraq for
> the next four months.
> > You saw him at work in Kosovo and in East Timor, running a complex
> mission there. I don't think he needs an introduction. He has an
> exceptional and unique experience in running these operations and is
> also known as a good team builder and a consensus builder. I think
> he is someone who will hit the ground running.
>
> Obviously, I have to admit it was a rather difficult decision for me
> to name a sitting High Commissioner as my Representative in Iraq,
> even on a temporary basis, particularly as human rights has been on
> top of my own agenda and it is absolutely important to this
> organization. It was not an easy decision, but it also reflects the
> important challenge that we need to take on.
>
> No one has more experience in this area than Sergio Vieira de Mello,
> and I think for us to really get organized and become operational
> and effective immedi! ately I needed someone who can hit the ground
> running and help us set up the operation at its early stages, so
> Sergio will be there for four months and will then return to his
> assignment in Geneva. In the meantime, Bertie Ramcharan will serve
> as Acting High Commissioner. I hope Sergio will have the support of
> all the Member States, and I am confident he will work well with the
> coalition Authority in Baghdad and with all the other groups in
> Iraq.
>
> I will now invite Sergio to say a few words.
>
> Mr. Vieira de Mello: Thank you, Secretary-General, for your kind
> words and for your renewed confidence in me.
>
> The people of Iraq, as we know only too well, have suffered and have
> suffered enough. It is time that we all -? the Iraqis first, the
> coalition Authority and the United Nations ?- come together to
> ensure that this suffering comes t! o an end and that the Iraqi people
> take their destin! y into their own hands, as the Security Council
> resolution calls for, as quickly as possible. We must not fail.
>
> It will not come to you as a surprise, as the Secretary-General just
> indicated, that I consider the development of a culture of human
> rights in Iraq as fundamental to stability and true peace in that
> country. You may have read me in recent weeks, writing to that
> effect in the media. I believe, on the basis of my experience, that
> respect for human rights is the only solid foundation for durable
> peace and for development. I shall place particular importance, as
> agreed with the Secretary-General, on the need to ensure women's
> rights and their full participation in the consultative processes ?-
> not least the political one ?- that lie ahead.
>
> As the Secretary-General said, the decision to appoint me to this
> relatively short-term assignmen! t was not easy for him and for me,
> which is why we kept it to a relatively short duration, in order to
> lay the foundations of the United Nations role in that country. But
> I will leave behind, as he pointed out, a very strong team in Bertie
> Ramcharan and the senior management in my Office, and I will remain
> in very, very close touch with them.
>
> I think I will stop here, and we will take your questions.
>
> Question [UNCA President]: Thank you, Secretary-General, for coming
> here today, and Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, as well.
>
> I would like to abuse my role, if I may, Sir, by asking a question
> about housekeeping before I ask a substantive question about Iraq.
> The housekeeping question has to do with a briefing that the United
> Nations Correspondents Association wanted to have on Friday of last
> week, which we were prevented from having because ! of pressures by
> one of the Member States.
> > Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stands
> solidly in defence of the principle of freedom of the press. I was
> hoping to get an assurance from you, Sir, that in the future you
> would be able to rely on this Article in defending our right to meet
> with whoever we choose. If I could get your answer to that, and then
> I will ask you a question about Iraq.
>
> The Secretary-General: Let me say that we have always respected that
> right. And I think you in this room are very much aware of the
> practice and my own approach towards that issue. While we respect
> your rights, I think as an Organization we also have certain
> principles. I think you have to respect those principles just as
> much as we have to. I think the explanation you got was that the
> event you planned conflicted with the "one China" policy, that you
> had an individual who was co! ming here to discuss with you Taiwan's
> relationship with the World Health Organization and its efforts to
> become an observer. That, quite frankly, you will have to admit, was
> not in line with the United Nations policy. So, this was an
> exceptional and unique situation. In the past, we have not
> interfered, and in the future we will not interfere.
>
> Question: Obviously, this is not the place for a debate on the
> issue, and we will be taking this up in the future. I thank you for
> your answer.
>
> To move on to the issue of Iraq, resolution 1483 (2003) is silent on
> the issue of human rights, silent on the proposals by the occupying
> powers to establish military courts. I was wondering if you are
> distressed or upset in any way by that omission.
>
> More specifically, there have been reports today that the United
> States is now considering esta! blishing a death row for its camp in
> Guantanamo, and! I am wondering what your reaction to that is.
>
> The Secretary-General: Let me say that the resolution does talk
> about promoting human rights, so human rights is covered. But on the
> legal and judicial issue, I think we are going to have lots of work
> to do. That is one of the areas that I am sure my Representative
> will have to tackle with the coalition Authority, and discuss this
> issue on the ground.
>
> Concerning the Guantanamo Bay development, I have not seen the
> details of it, and I would hesitate to comment on it at the moment.
>
> Question: There are critics in the Middle East who are very strongly
> criticizing the United Nations, first, for in their eyes
> legitimizing the results of an illegal war -- which you yourself
> described as illegal -- in resolution 1483 (2003). Secondly, it has
> proved once again that the United Nations is unable to! stop the
> unilateral action of a powerful State if it wishes to do so.
>
> My question concerning the special envoy is, why so short? Why only
> four months? Why not longer?
>
> The Secretary-General: On your first question, let me say that this
> is an issue that the Council debated and considered for a long
> period. There have been divisions, and we cannot overlook that.
> Those divisions and issues -- positions of principle that
> governments and individuals took -- are a matter for the record. I
> do not think that the resolution that the Council adopted last week
> is going to change the history of the recent past. However, the
> Council has given us a solid and a legal basis for our operations in
> Iraq, and I think at this stage that all the Council members are
> focused on what they can do to help Iraq and the Iraqi people -- and
> I think that should be! our focus and our emphasis. I think if we
> pursue ou! r actions on that basis, we will be able to make a
> difference.
>
> On the question of the duration of Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello's
> appointment, obviously, as I said, he has an important assignment in
> Geneva. Yet he was uniquely qualified for this, and I have asked him
> to go and help establish the United Nations presence ?- establish a
> relationship, mount the operation. He will be replaced at the end of
> the four months. I had to use him in a similar vein in Kosovo, as
> some of you may remember, and at that time, I limited it to two
> months. This time it will be four months. Iraq is a much more
> complex operation.
>
> Question: I think the forthcoming interim Government is going to be
> an important one for the Iraqi people. People are wondering how the
> leader of the interim Government, as well as the cabinet members,
> will be decided on or selected! . I hear that the Special
> Representative of the Secretary-General is going to assist in
> establishing the interim Government. Are you going to make
> suggestions, and the Americans will decide who is going to be the
> head, and the cabinet members? Would you explain the role of the
> Special Representative?
>
> Mr. Vieira de Mello: I think I will be in a better position to
> answer your question after I have reached Baghdad and had an
> opportunity to consult, as I said, with a broad spectrum of Iraqi
> leaders and opinion-makers, as it were. I am not privy to the
> intentions of the Authority in terms of establishing this Iraqi
> interim administration ?- transitional administration. I will do my
> best, however, on behalf of the Secretary-General and the Security
> Council to make sure that the interests of the Iraqi people come
> first.
>
> The Secreta! ry-General: And you should also remember that everyone is > agreed ?- and it is in the Council resolution -? that the Iraqis
> should be responsible for their own political future. They are going
> to be very much at the centre of this. We will be there to assist
> and to work with them; we are not going to impose any leaders on
> them.
>
> Question: You are apparently reluctant during this process to
> delineate the role that the United Nations could or should play in
> Iraq. But after the Security Council has spoken, the United Nations
> has ended up with quite a broad and long-ranging mandate. How close
> does the resulting role come to what you think the ideal United
> Nations role should be? Secondly, since Mr. Vieira de Mello's
> appointment is only for four months, are you preparing a successor?
> Who might that be?
>
> The Secretary-General: Good try. No, let me say that the resolution,
> indeed, does give us ! a broad mandate, and each situation is unique.
> When one refers to an ideal United Nations mandate ?- it is
> difficult to describe an ideal United Nations mandate. First of all,
> this is a unique situation. It is the first time we are working on
> the ground with an occupying Power, side-by-side, trying to help the
> population in the territory. Therefore, there are certain things
> that we will have to work out on the ground. We have to define and
> work out our relationship with the coalition Authority or the
> occupying Power, and also our relationship with occupied Iraq. As he
> said, we are going to be in touch -? he will be in touch -? not only
> with the coalition but with a broad range of authorities. Some of
> the activities are very clear. The humanitarian mandate is very
> clear. We have a direct responsibility for it and we are going to
> carry it out as we are doing. >
> In other areas, we have to work in partnershi! p with the coalition
> and, of course, with Iraqi civil society and leaders. And, of
> course, these relationships will have to be worked out on the
> ground; we cannot decide it here before Mr. Vieira de Mello gets in.
> As he indicated earlier, most of it he will have to work out on the
> ground. But as far as the resolution is concerned, I think we can
> work with it. I think it gives us specific areas of responsibility,
> and we are going to carry on with it.
>
> Mr. Vieira de Mello will be replaced in four months, and I will
> announce his successor in due course ?- but not today.
>
> Question: This might be a little unrelated, but it is in the news.

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Amali De Silva AAT(CMABC), BSc(Hons) Econ, PgDip Acc/Fin, MSc Int. Acc/Fin

Tel: 604-736-9012 & Email: amali@amalidesilva.com