Louise Arbour introductory press briefing

["Rikke Frank Joergensen" <rfj@humanrights.dk>]

Hi all, 

Below is the statement made yesterday by the new High Commissioner for
Human Rights at her first press briefing in Geneva.  / Rikke

HC Introductory Statement, Press Briefing, 22 July 2004

	Just under two years ago, the late Sergio Vieira de Mello was before you in this very room to discuss with you his plans as High Commissioner and share his thoughts on the enormity of the task ahead of him.  Following his tragic death a year ago in Baghdad, the Secretary-General asked me to succeed Sergio as High Commissioner.  I am very honoured to follow in his footsteps, and in those of his predecessors.  In many respects I share their vision; in all respects I share their commitment.  I come to this post at a time of immense opportunities as well as challenges and difficulties. And I believe there is no better time to commit your energies than when it really matters.

	Let me explore with you what I see as opportunities.  First and foremost, after 60 years of work, we have built a solid legal and institutional framework of human rights protection and promotion, a framework which is accepted almost universally.  Now we have the opportunity to actually put that framework to work for people, for each individual right holder.  It will come as no surprise to you that I believe in law, and in law enforcement.   I have said repeatedly throughout my legal career that not to enforce the law, and not to respect it, is an affront to those who obey the law and a betrayal of those who rely on the law for their protection.  I believe that this applies to international human rights law.  Almost 60 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights our discussion about rights has moved beyond the declaratory or the aspirational: rather, we are now well engaged in the application and enforcement of legal obligations.  The Torture Conven!
tion, for example, is not a mere invitation to self-restraint.  

	I also see as an opportunity the fact that more than at perhaps any other time, people around the world are looking to institutions like ours to defend principles that they believe in and that they want to see upheld.  Many years of involvement with the enforcement of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms have convinced me that the genius of human rights instruments is that, although they speak mostly of individual rights, they generate a very profound consciousness of the right of others. 

	Now the challenges are numerous.  Perhaps the most obvious and the most invidious is the magnitude of extreme poverty.  This is surely the most widespread denial of human rights and is at the root of many conflicts and abuses.   Freedom from fear and freedom from want should not have to compete with each other to find their fulfillment.

	Paradoxically, in an age of advanced human rights consciousness, we are also witnessing daily and on a massive scale the worst atrocities that human beings can perpetrate on one another - too often with the passive acceptance of others or under the benign gaze or even at the instigation of people in a position of power and influence.  Crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, terrorism, genocide, discrimination in all its forms -- we are no closer to understanding these pathologies and to eradicating them than we are to responding appropriately to massive threats to health posed by HIV/AIDS and other contemporary diseases.
	
	Bold as we need to be in addressing these issues, we must be vigilant not to trigger a rollback in human rights.  In particular, legitimate and robust responses to terrorism must be made to operate within legal constraints.  Moreover the war on terrorism should not obscure all other pressing social problems.  There are very few burning issues today that don't have a human rights component.  There lies the immensity and the complexity of the task ahead of me.  I must say that I take great comfort in the skills and the commitment of my colleagues, who have already provided me with terrific guidance and support, and in particular I want to express my gratitude to Bertie Ramcharan who managed the Office extremely well under very trying circumstances.

	You may ask about my priorities and strategies.  I can only speak at this stage in somewhat general terms.  I intend to focus on the most vulnerable - the very poor, the imprisoned, the disenfranchised, the targets of intolerance and hatred, and I intend to come to their assistance through the most effective legal means at my disposal.
 
	In Canada, as elsewhere of course, judges of the highest court, as I was, are called -- in English -- "justices".  By inclination and by training, justice has always been a part of my makeup - in the formal sense, of course, of being part of the legal system, but also in the more universal sense of equity and right.  For me, human rights are, above all, a question of justice.  

	I will say a few words in French and then I'll be very pleased to take your questions.


Je suis ravie de vous rencontrer aujourd'hui, et j'espère que nous aurons l'occasion de nous retrouver de manière régulière, formelle ou informelle. J'espère aussi pouvoir continuer à compter sur votre soutien, comme vous l'avez fait pour mon prédécesseur, Sergio Vieira de Mello, que j'ai personnellement bien connu et pour lequel j'avais beaucoup d'admiration.

Je suis très honorée que l'on m'ait confié la charge, difficile je l'avoue, de marcher dans ses traces, et je mesure très bien l'ampleur de la tâche qui m'attend ! Mais je crois aussi que, maintenant peut-être plus que jamais, le rôle que peut jouer une institution comme le Haut Commissariat aux droits de l'homme est essentiel. Comme je viens de le mentionner en anglais, vous ne serez pas étonnés d'apprendre que je crois profondément en la valeur de la justice, du respect de la loi, et de son application. Le cadre législatif et institutionnel établi depuis près de soixante ans en matière de droits de l'homme est à mon avis une base suffisamment solide pour assurer à chaque être humain le respect de ses droits fondamentaux et la protection en laquelle il doit pouvoir s'attendre. Mais paradoxalement, alors que la prise de conscience mondiale des droits de l'homme atteint aujourd'hui une ampleur inégalée, nous continuons d'être les témoins, chaque jour, et sur une grande échell!
e, de violations massives, d'atrocités, de cas de torture, de crimes de guerre, de persécutions, de discrimination, autant d'actes inacceptables encouragés ou commis pourtant en toute illégalité, et en toute impunité, et bien souvent par ceux qui possèdent les rênes du pouvoir et de l'influence. 

Dans un tel contexte, il me paraît indispensable, et je vais m'y atteler dès maintenant, de poursuivre la lutte entreprise par mes prédécesseurs contre toute atteinte au respect des principes et droits fondamentaux. Pour moi, les droits de l'homme sont, avant toute autre chose, une question de justice. Une justice qui doit aussi refuser les inégalités, combattre en particulier l'extrême pauvreté, qui est pourtant certainement le déni des droits de l'homme le plus pernicieux, et qui se trouve lui-même à la source de biens des conflits et des abus.  Un défi d'envergure auquel j'entends accorder une importance primordiale.

Je sais que vous espérez peut-être que je vous présente mes priorités et mes stratégies. Vous comprendrez qu'à ce stade je ne peux parler qu'en termes très généraux. Mais je peux déjà vous dire que j'ai l'intention de me concentrer sur le cas des êtres humains les plus vulnérables, les plus pauvres, ceux qui sont la cible de l'intolérance ou de la haine, ceux qui sont privés de liberté ou du droit de décider de leur propre avenir, et que je compte bien tenter de leur venir en aide du mieux possible, en utilisant les moyens légaux les plus efficaces à ma disposition.

Maintenant, je serais très heureuse de répondre à vos questions.