2013-05-22T18:48:59-04:00 Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=navi-pillay Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Navi Pillay Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1686535 2012-07-19T12:10:15-04:00 2012-09-18T05:12:17-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
Fortunately, impressive strides have since been made in the fight against HIV. In the last few years, major scientific advances have occurred and the number of new HIV infections, particularly among children, has been slowly declining, fewer people are dying from AIDS-related causes, nearly half of those people eligible for antiretroviral treatment, including in low- and middle-income countries, are now receiving it, and treatment has become the new engine for prevention. HIV is no longer the certain death sentence it once was.

And yet, the stigma and discrimination faced by HIV-positive people remains high, in every region of the world. Even today, we continue to focus on punitive approaches to HIV such as the criminalization of HIV transmission, non-disclosure and exposure. Entry restrictions against and deportation of HIV-positive non-nationals at borders are still far too common, particularly in the more affluent countries. The most vulnerable communities, the ones that least enjoy their fundamental human rights, also remain disproportionately more vulnerable to HIV infection -- and this is no coincidence.

The face of HIV has always been the face of our failure to protect human rights. One of the key drivers of AIDS has always been, and remains, this failure to ensure human rights protection for marginalised communities, including prisoners, sex workers, drug users, people with disabilities and migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Homophobia, gender discrimination, racial profiling and violence against women have further impeded efforts to effectively manage and contain the spread of HIV.

The theme of this year's International AIDS Conference, which is being held in Washington D.C. later this month (July) is Turning the Tide Together. It is indeed now time to turn the tide. The human rights violations that have characterised the spread of HIV -- and in many cases also the fight against HIV -- must be curbed.

It is time to build on the gains of the past few years to create a sustainable global response to an epidemic that still challenges us. Taking a human rights perspective on the issue is essential.

The starting point is the recognition of all people as equal in the enjoyment of their human rights. Vulnerable populations that are most at risk must not only be included in national responses to HIV, they must also be given the opportunity to participate in making the policies that will affect them.

Human rights norms must accompany public health considerations to ensure that our laws, policies and programmes do not increase vulnerability to HIV or result in further human rights violations. Broad laws and policies in many countries that criminalize non-intentional HIV transmission, exposure and non-disclosure, target specific groups for mandatory HIV testing, and restrict travel of individuals based on HIV status alone are examples of such alarmist and misguided policies.

Advances in the right direction have been made, one of which -- the lifting of travel restrictions -- has enabled the United States to host this important AIDS conference this year, after 22 years. But much remains to be done. Even in States where laws are on the books to protect and promote the human rights of HIV-positive people, the extent to which they are respected and enforced is not clear.

More resources certainly need to be channelled into ensuring access to good quality lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, but also to human rights programmes, including awareness raising, training of healthcare providers and law enforcement officials, access to justice for HIV-positive individuals, fighting stigma and educating young people about safe sex.

Funding the fight against AIDS in this holistic fashion is not only necessary; it is also a human rights legal obligation. The current economic crisis cannot be an excuse for diminishing our investment in the response to AIDS. This would result in a reversal in the gains made so far.

This is not a time for complacency. UNAIDS has as its goal: zero new infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination. At this AIDS conference, a gathering of high-level government officials, civil society, the international community and, importantly, people living with HIV, it is essential to drive home the point that in order to succeed, human rights must inform and motivate our response.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1140713 2011-12-10T14:13:07-05:00 2012-02-09T05:12:02-05:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
Over the past year, in Tunis, Cairo, Madrid, New York and hundreds of other cities and towns across the globe, the voice of ordinary people has been raised, and their demands made clear. They want human beings at the centre of our economic and political systems, a chance for meaningful participation in public affairs, a dignified life and freedom from fear and want.

Remarkably, the spark that lit the fire of the Arab Spring, which would eventually spread to cities across the globe, was the desperate act of a single human being who, repeatedly denied the most basic elements of a life of dignity, set himself alight, and, in doing so, declared that a life without human rights, is not a life at all. But the dry kindling of repression, deprivation, exclusion, and abuse had been piling up for years, in Tunisia, across the region, and beyond.

The actions, omissions, excesses and abdications of the governments of the region were certainly at the centre. And the actions of powerful states outside the region in propping up authoritarian regimes, and pursuing destructive policies of self-interest that fostered repression, impunity, conflict, and economic exploitation also played a key role.

But, at the international level, the assessments provided by financial institutions and development agencies in the lead-up to the Arab Spring are also illuminating: Tunisia, it was said, showed "remarkable progress on equitable growth, fighting poverty, and achieving good social indicators." It was "on track" to achieve the Millenium Development Goals. It was "far ahead in terms of governance, effectiveness, rule of law, control of corruption and regulatory quality." It was "one of the most equitable societies" and "a top reformer." Overall, we were told, "the development model that Tunisia has pursued over the past two decades has served the country well."

Yet, at the same time, UN and civil society human rights monitors were painting a picture of excluded and marginalized communities, imposed indignities, and a denial of economic and social rights. We heard of inequality, discrimination, lack of participation, absence of decent jobs, absence of labour rights, political repression, and denial of free assembly, association, and speech. We found censorship, torture, arbitrary detention, and the lack of an independent judiciary. In sum, we heard of fear and want. Yet, somehow, this side of the equation carried very little sway in our development analysis.

This is not to say that the development analysis was all wrong, or the data inaccurate. The problem was that the analytical lens was often too narrow, and sometimes simply pointing the wrong way. Clearly, it was not fixed squarely on freedom from fear and want -- at least not for the majority.

Instead, it was focused too narrowly on growth, markets, and private investment, with relatively little attention to equality, and virtually none to civil, political, economic and social rights. Even where attention was directed at the Millennium Development Goals, this provided only a very narrow set of economic and social indicators, none of them rights-based, all of them with low quantitative thresholds, none guaranteeing participatory processes, and none accompanied by legal accountability.

Essentially, the analysts did not get the answers wrong, they just never asked many of the most important questions.

And this policy myopia has been repeated in countries north and south, where political leaders seem to have forgotten that health care, education, housing, and the fair administration of justice are not commodities for sale to the few, but rather rights to which all are entitled without discrimination.  Anything we do in the name of economic policy or development should be designed to advance these rights and, at the very least, should do nothing to undermine their realisation.

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on 10 December 1948, the framers warned that "it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law." The Declaration laid out the rights necessary for a life of dignity, free from fear and want -- from health care, education, and housing, to political participation and the fair administration of justice. It said that these rights belong to all people, everywhere, and without discrimination.

Today, on the streets of our cities, people are demanding that governments and international institutions make good on this promise, with their demands streamed live via internet and social media.  Ignoring these demands is no longer an option.

Rather, governments and international institutions should follow their lead by making a dramatic policy shift toward the robust integration of human rights in economic affairs and development cooperation, and by adopting human rights law as the basis for governance at home, and the source of policy coherence across the international system. This is our mandate for the new millennium. This is the Tunis imperative.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.975890 2011-09-22T12:05:23-04:00 2011-11-22T05:12:01-05:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/ mission to "find and hurt a black person." The incident was reportedly caught on video surveillance footage, which chillingly chronicled the different phases of the attack.

To some this incident represents a tragic reminder that in the city where civil rights movement's icon Medgar Evers was assassinated in 1962, racism dies hard. Yet, this case is only one of the many instances of racist violence that are perpetrated every day in all parts of the world. Shamefully, racism, intolerance and discrimination remain among the most pressing issues of our time. Despite decades of advocacy, despite the efforts of many groups and many nations, despite ample evidence of racism's terrible toll -- racism persists. No society is immune, large or small, rich or poor.

On September 22, world leaders will have a high profile opportunity to galvanize the fight against racism as they meet to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

The DDPA was adopted by consensus at the 2001 World Conference against racism. It encompassed a comprehensive framework to address racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as persistent features of our times. Member States agreed to combat xenophobia, discrimination against migrants, indigenous persons, Roma, afro-descendants and discrimination on the basis of descent.

States reviewed the path set forth by the DDPA in 2009 and reinvigorated and expanded their pledges in a document that strengthened the anti-racism agenda. At that time, they reaffirmed the need to place the discussion within the principled and balanced area to which such discussion belongs, that is, within the context of international human rights law.

In many countries, the framework and process set forth by the DDPA have been instrumental in improving conditions for many vulnerable groups. But implementation of commitments is still erratic and far from satisfactory.

Globalization, it must be acknowledged, is said to have heightened the challenge of ensuring mutual respect for and by people of diverse backgrounds in increasingly multicultural societies.

We see intolerance emerging in new forms such as human trafficking, whose victims tend to be women and children of low socio-economic status. Refugees, asylum-seekers, migrant workers and undocumented immigrants are increasingly being stigmatized if not criminalized. Xenophobia is on the rise.

At its worst and when used to serve the purposes of supremacist political agendas, the manipulation of perceptions of diversity has stoked protracted armed conflicts, as well as the sudden flaring up of violent communal strife.

As a former judge and President of the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, I have learned first-hand how communities can be annihilated by hatred. But I have also come across magnificent acts of bravery. One episode is deeply etched in my memory. It occurred in north-western Rwanda when Hutu gunmen attacked a school and ordered students to separate into groups of ethnic Hutu or Tutsi. The students refused to identify their ethnicity in order not to betray their schoolmates. Seventeen girls were killed as a result of their courageous stand.

And I keep asking: How can we be worthy of these children? I believe that we must all work together to achieve an environment of respect for equality, justice and non-discrimination.

These imperatives were high on my mind when I went to Yad Vashem in the course of my visit to Israel last February. That visit offered a powerful reminder that racial hatred, crimes against humanity and genocide must never be tolerated, and that the Holocaust can never be forgotten. The DDPA contains such an appeal. It exhorted all of us to use the memory of the Holocaust as a transformative force and to put our collective appraisal and the legacy of the past to the service of a racism-free future for all.

A month later I visited Goree Island in Senegal, the infamous "door of no return" from which countless Africans were sent in chains to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade. As I moved around the island where thousands of human beings were traded as commodities, it struck me that we can never really compensate the victims of racist crimes that scar the conscience of humanity.

The United Nations has dedicated this year to the people of African descent, but we can never render full justice to the millions of victims of prejudice and intolerance and to their descendants who still endure the legacy of discrimination. What we can do is at least ensure that their ordeal is a call for action to address the suffering of others today and in the future.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.838689 2011-03-22T11:10:43-04:00 2011-05-25T18:40:24-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
As I moved around the island where thousands of human beings were traded as commodities, I was particularly appreciative that the United Nations General Assembly had made 2011 the International Year for People of African Descent. At the center of this initiative is the promotion of the economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of African descendants, as well as their participation and integration in all aspects of society.

An early opportunity to reinvigorate advocacy is the annual commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination which falls on March 21. This date was chosen because it marks the massacre that occurred in 1960 when 69 demonstrators were shot and killed during a non-violent protest against apartheid in Sharpeville, South Africa. The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is an annual reminder that we must act more decisively to combat racism, discrimination and intolerance. The increasing number of incidences in various parts of the world proves that enhanced commitments to full and effective implementation of international human rights law to counter these scourges are urgently needed.

Unlike previous commemorations, this year's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has a special focus on people of African descent to highlight persistent exclusion and marginalization that continue to affect them. Many of these people are the progeny of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade, one of the greatest stains on human conscience.

The statistics bear out the enormity of this crime against humanity. Although estimates vary due to a lack of accurate documentation, it is thought that around 14 million Africans were transported to the Americas as slaves, and an additional 14 million were sent to the East.

In the Americas alone, the number of Afro-descendants exceeds 200 million and many of them live in dire circumstances. They are often among those who are affected the most by poverty, unemployment and precarious living conditions. This is not a mere accident of fate. We must recognize that at the root of this deplorable reality is structural discrimination that had its origins in places like Goree Island.

Indeed, the legacy of the slave trade persists in many of today's practices. We see reflections of discrimination against African descendants in racial profiling, overrepresentation in prison populations and poor access to quality education, justice and health services. All these obstacles, created by prejudice, intolerance and inequality, deny millions of people their universal human rights.

As recently as April 2009, at the Durban review conference against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance 182 States agreed that a renewed commitment was imperative to counter these scourges. It is high time to heed these pledges.

While UN commemorations offer opportunities to discuss and tackle the many challenges that people of African descent continue to face due to racism and racial discrimination, they also provide high profile platforms to showcase and celebrate their myriad contributions in all areas of human endeavor. In the arts and sciences, the law and politics, people of African descent have etched their mark in history, shaped nations and advanced the highest ideals of freedom, progress, resilience, industry, and self-reliance.

Yet, in too many cases, history books, school curricula, and oral traditions do not accurately reflect the wealth and span of African descendants' heritage, work and achievements. These willful or negligent gaps must be filled with the narratives of pain, strife and success that uniquely belonged to people of African descent and that they continue to experience.

I hope that 2011 will generate profound discussions regarding the challenges facing people of African descent and provide a multiplicity of fora where innovative proposals and solutions to face up to these challenges can be found.

I call on every person of good will to ensure that States and communities around the world respect international human rights law. Let us make it our goal on this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for each of us to express solidarity with people of African descent and generate long overdue remedies that can address their plight and aspirations, their rights and entitlement to a life in dignity and prosperity. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.834798 2011-03-14T10:07:59-04:00 2011-05-25T18:40:24-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
It is an occasion to salute the women of the Middle East and North Africa, along with women all over the world who are taking great risks to stand up and fight for dignity, justice and human rights for themselves and for their compatriots.

In Egypt and Tunisia, women were on Twitter, on Facebook, and on the streets. Women from all walks of life were marching alongside men, pushing boundaries and breaking gender stereotypes, just as eager for change, for human rights and for democracy.

The work, however, is far from over. In these moments of historic transition in Egypt and Tunisia, it is important to ensure that women's rights are not set aside as something to be dealt with after the 'crucial' reforms are won. Women's rights should be at the top of the list of new priorities.

While women have played an important role in the call for change, concerns have already been raised that constitutional reviews and the development of reforms are undertaken without their full participation. In fact, there are worrying signs about the content of some proposed reforms in Egypt being downright discriminatory. The women and men in the Middle East and North Africa must ensure this is not the case.

Education benefited women in Tunisia and Egypt, enhancing their human rights, including their participation in the political and economic life of their countries. Yet, like other members of society, women suffered the impact of repression, corruption and lack of social justice.

Many women in Tunisia and Egypt endured torture, were arbitrary detained, and silenced. Their privacy was invaded and their family life violated. They were the first to suffer from job cuts and continue to constitute the highest number of unemployed. Salary discrepancies between men and women in the private sector have been striking. Representation in public life remained limited. In addition, discriminatory laws and policies based on gender stereotypes continued to negatively impact their work.

Women in the Middle East and North Africa today expect their state to work for the benefit of all - not only a few. They expect it to uphold their dignity and worth, and to adopt laws, policies, and strategies that translate these words into tangible results. They expect transparent and inclusive processes that allow their voices to be heard and their views to be taken seriously. They expect public and inclusive debates and a responsible and accountable government that delivers on human rights and social justice. In other words, participation, accountability and justice, and equity are their non-negotiable demands.

All over the world, major disparities remain between female and male access to education, employment and salaries. While women are the world's main food producers and their working hours are longer than those of men, women earn only 10 percent of the world's income and own less than one percent of property worldwide. Women comprise nearly two-thirds of the world's 759 million illiterate adults. Even in regions with high rates of female literacy, women's wages continue to be lower than those of men, even for work of equal value. While equal access to education is a key factor to enhance women's empowerment and gender equality in employment, it is clearly not enough unless de facto and de jure discrimination are addressed at a broader level.

Only when women participate fully in policy-making and institution-building will their perspective be truly integrated. The concept of democracy is only truly realized when political decision-making is shared by women and men, and women's full participation in institutional re-building is guaranteed.

Societies in which women are excluded, formally or informally, from public life, cannot be described as truly democratic, as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has warned time and again. Women must be able to shape the future of their countries by being involved in institutional reforms from the beginning. Women's full participation is essential not only for their empowerment, but for the advancement of society as a whole.

The euphoria in Egypt and in Tunisia was shared by men and women around the world. These are historic events, and hopefully the heralds of great and lasting change. Let us now work together to ensure that the momentum does not fade away with the euphoria.
Let us ensure that women's rights are at the foundation of these new beginnings, and let us be vigilant against any retrogression.

Let us stand in solidarity with women in every corner of the world who are working for positive change in their families, their communities and in their countries.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.816233 2011-01-31T12:25:10-05:00 2011-05-25T18:30:24-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
Last Thursday was a day of remembrance for those millions of Jewish men, women and children, as well as thousands of other victims, including Roma, Slavs, disabled people, homosexuals, Jehovah's witnesses, communists and other political dissidents whose lives were brutally cut short by the ideology of hatred of the Nazis and their allies.

The Holocaust should serve as a reminder of the dangers of marginalization of particular groups in society. It should remind us that hateful words have the ability to translate into hateful actions. The threat of genocide still remains. It is the ultimate and most terrible expression of intolerance, xenophobia and racism.

This day is an annual reminder that we must act more decisively at the first signs that a climate conducive to genocide is starting to develop. We must be vigilant against emerging trends towards the vilification of communities and preempt, through law, policy and education, the prejudice that can in its worst forms lead to genocide.

And we must not underestimate the importance of bringing to justice, through individual criminal responsibility, perpetrators of these crimes. The recent international ad hoc tribunals, established to deal with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, as well as the International Criminal Court, owe a debt to the precedents set by the Nuremberg trials, and several subsequent tribunals, which resulted in successful prosecutions. In this connection, I reiterate my call to States to ratify the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is similarly built on a clear commitment to put an end to impunity.

Let us remember what happened in Europe in the 1930s and 40s, reflect on why it happened, and take it upon ourselves to remain vigilant and to stop discrimination in its tracks before its insidious seeds develop into heinous crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. While we can never compensate for the Holocaust, or do justice to its millions of victims and their descendants, we can at least ensure that by remembering their suffering, and acting on what we have learned, we can mitigate the suffering of others today and in the future.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.812450 2011-01-21T17:31:14-05:00 2011-05-25T18:25:24-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
Human rights lie right at the heart of the extraordinary developments which culminated in the departure of former President Ben Ali. We all hope this will be the beginning of a new Tunisia, where people are free to go about their lives without fear of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture or other forms of abuse.

A Tunisia where the press is free and where people can express their opinions without fear. A Tunisia where the government governs for the economic and social benefit of the people, rather than simply to retain power and enrich some of its members and their families.

A Tunisia where individuals can stand for election without fear of reprisals, where people can freely choose their representatives, and where all Tunisians can be confident their ballots are safe.

I believe, given the strong base of educated, resourceful Tunisians living inside the country, as well as the many who have been living in exile overseas, that this new, longed-for Tunisia can become a reality. However, it is by no means a certainty. The situation is still evolving and remains extremely fragile, as yesterday's new protests and ministerial resignations illustrated very clearly.

Human rights abuses were at the heart of Tunisia's problems. Therefore human rights must be right at the forefront of the solutions to those problems. The Tunisian people have today a tremendous opportunity to carve out a better future, based on laws that are fully in line with international standards, and are scrupulously observed by the authorities. In future, those who abuse power in Tunisia - ranging from the President of the Republic to the Judge in the Court and the security officer on the street - must be held accountable.

All of this is now possible, but it will not be easy. It is a matter of great sadness that so many lives had to be lost to bring about this opportunity. My office has received information concerning more than 100 deaths over the last five weeks, as a result of live fire, as well as protest suicides and the deadly prison riots at the weekend. I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to all those who lost family members and friends during the recent violence and brutal repression, as well as those who have suffered from abuses over the previous years and decades.

As High Commissioner for Human Rights, I have been asking myself what my office, and what the international community in general, can do to help the people of Tunisia to take advantage of the opportunity that now exists. While it is still very early days, it is important that the seeds of change are sown wisely and sown now, before former entrenched interests start to reassert themselves, or new threats emerge. We must act quickly, so that when a free and fair election takes place in the near future, the next government is in a position to move forward from Day One.

On Monday, January 17, I met with a group of seven NGOs working on Tunisia and listened to their concerns and proposals. I would like to salute the vital work of both national and international NGOs in Tunisia over the years. My colleagues have also been listening to opinions and taking advice from a number of other key human rights players inside Tunisia. Their contributions will be essential over the coming months.

On Wednesday, January 19, I spoke by phone with the new Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Radhouane Nouicer. I expressed my support to the people of Tunisia and discussed my intention to send a team of highly experienced staff to Tunisia to carry out an assessment of priorities on the human rights front. Mr Nouicer very much welcomed this mission in principle, and we will be working out the details of the mission with the interim government and other interested parties over the next couple of days.

This team should be on the ground by next week. They will meet with the interim authorities, human rights organizations and other key actors. They will go with an open mind, not with a pre-set agenda, but I will expect them - in addition to gathering information about the current and past human rights situation - to come back with a set of concrete proposals for action.

I welcome the fact that the interim government has already announced a number of important measures, including the release of all political detainees, and permission for all political parties to operate freely, and the establishment of freedom of the press. I also welcome the government's announcement that it will address the underlying causes of the unrest by enacting policies to ameliorate economic hardship. Among its other tasks, the OHCHR team will examine whether or not these commitments are being pursued, and we are prepared to make recommendations to help them reach fruition.

I also welcome the fact that the interim government has announced the setting up of three Commissions: two Commissions of Inquiry into human rights abuses and corruption, as well as a Commission on political reform. All three are headed by people known for their engagement in human rights. This is an important step, and the government must now ensure that these commissions enjoy total independence, have an appropriate budget, are able to access all relevant sources, and can publish the results of their investigations. It is also important that these and subsequent reform processes are transparent and inclusive. There must be no window-dressing when it comes to accountability.

There are a range of other issues that will need to be examined over the coming weeks and months, including accountability mechanisms for human rights abuses over the past decades, as well as for what happened over the past weeks. There are a number of possible ways to approach this issue of transitional justice. It is important that the international community does what it can to support the clear desire of the Tunisian people to see that justice is done.

It is equally important that, in the meantime, people do not take the law into their own hands. Issues relating to justice and fair trials need to be strengthened, not undermined by further acts of violence.

There will also need to be a thorough review of Tunisia's laws, as well as its security systems and institutions. I also believe a reform of the judiciary should be prioritized so that it can perform its crucial role in a truly independent fashion.

In the meantime, it is essential that the interim authorities act with scrupulous regard to international standards governing the imposition of a state of emergency. Importantly, the authorities cannot suspend basic rights - notably the right to life, the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment - or fundamental principles of fair trial and freedom from arbitrary detention.

I will continue to closely watch the situation in Tunisia, and do all I can to ensure that the human rights aspirations of the Tunisian people are finally achieved, and their sacrifices are not in vain.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.788556 2010-11-26T09:46:07-05:00 2011-05-25T18:15:22-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
Such figures, important though they are as a reminder of the shocking prevalence of the problem, risk numbing us to the damage each and every act of violence does to a girl or a woman. Numbers mask the personal pain of the individual.

Sixty percent of a population of ten million women means six million individual private tragedies, physical and psychological scars, dysfunctional families, traumatized children. Six million, sixty million, six hundred million. The numbers are of pandemic proportions -- so large that, perversely, they distract us from the plight of the woman next door.

In recent decades, thanks to the ceaseless and courageous struggles of many committed individuals and organizations, there has been significant progress in ensuring women's enjoyment of their human rights in many countries, as well as progress in the international legal and policy response to violence against women. Nevertheless, physical, psychological and other forms of abuse of women continue on a huge scale, much of it hidden, ignored or silenced.

Despite our surveys and our annual expressions of shock during the 16 Days Against Violence Against Women, have too many of us become inured to the problem? Are we unconsciously shrugging it off as 'normal' -- regrettable certainly, but a fact of life?

Does it have to take a particularly graphic piece of news -- a girl stoned to death, a mass rape, a string of honour killings -- to get our attention? Briefly. For a day or two. If so, what can we do to shake ourselves out of this apathy, this acceptance, this assumption that other people are taking care of this issue, so we don't need to act ourselves? Doesn't that make us accomplices to what is, in fact, a human rights violation committed day after day on a massive scale with impunity?

Well, for one thing, when we hear the woman next door screaming, we can intervene, instead of turning to the wall and saying "It's their business, let them sort it out." We can treat it like other crimes. Each and every one of us can make it clear it is not acceptable to leave it unpunished. When the perpetrator is a friend, or a neighbour or a family member, we can stop turning a blind eye and pretending we are not aware of what is going on. When a little boy hits his sister, we can make it unequivocally clear that violence against girls is not acceptable on any account, ever.

Violence against women is being addressed by an increasing range of actors across various sectors of society -- with, of course, huge differentials between nations. But even where the struggle has engaged a wide variety of people, it is not enough. Each and every one of us has it in us to become a human rights defender, acting to prevent or diminish discrimination. Continuing discrimination against women is most painfully revealed by acts of violence against them.

The international legal and policy framework for eliminating discrimination against women is well-developed, but there is a wide gulf between the standards set, and actual practice at the national and local level. States have the primary responsibility to protect their women, and in most cases are clearly not doing enough.

We need more recruits, men as well as women, to turn the internationally accepted standards into reality, to hammer away at social, cultural and state acceptance of violence and discrimination until those huge numbers drop, and violence against women is seen like, and treated like, a human rights violation with far-reaching consequences on both individuals and societies.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.681922 2010-08-13T17:55:56-04:00 2011-05-25T17:20:22-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
Saving the lives of the many women like Bushba is the aim of one of the eight Millennium Development Goals which the world's leaders endorsed 10 years ago. The leaders will meet again this September to assess progress in reaching these Goals, which were conceived to reduce poverty, hunger and disease and to promote gender equality, health, education, environmental sustainability and global partnerships by 2015. Full implementation of these MDGs is literally vital, as is tackling violations of human rights from which poverty and exclusion almost invariably stem. The lives of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people are at stake.

According to current World Bank estimates, more than 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty. The recent food, economic and financial crises will push an additional 64 million people into extreme poverty by the end of this year. Over 1 billion people suffer from malnutrition. In sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, poverty remains stubbornly high; the number of persons living below US$1 a day went up by 92 million in sub-Saharan Africa and by 8 million in Western Asia between 1990 and 2005.

In many countries, hundreds of pregnant rural women like Bushba die unnecessarily because of a lack of accessible medical care. Maternal health is a human rights concern. Indeed, implicit in the MDGs is the concern that all people should be able to meet their basic human rights, including the right to food, to shelter, to education, to obtain remedies when their rights are violated, and to fully participate in public life. The interrelation between freedom from want and freedom from fear is made explicit by the UN Charter and by international human rights law. It must also be regarded as a central tenet of the world leaders' discussions on the MDGs.

Such discussions are awaited with a mix of great expectations and even greater apprehension. This is because concrete and positive change still eludes millions. Promises have been made and have been broken, condemning multitudes to a life of poverty, neglect and abuse. We cannot afford to keep disappointing the hopes of those who live at the margins of their own societies -- let alone the global community. Their disenfranchisement may carry a higher cost than investing resources and political will in their empowerment.

And empowerment cannot be achieved if development policies are pursued in a human rights vacuum. Yet, for too long, governments have considered human rights and development to be two very separate issues, each to be tackled independently and according to a different order of priority. Economic development has been the overriding concern, exacerbating the gap between the rich and the poor. But in combination with human rights, economic growth strategies can be a powerful tool to help us realize the UN Charter's vision of a more equal, secure and just world in larger freedom.

Human rights principles such as equality, participation, accountability and the rule of law are instrumental for development to take firm root and be both equitable and sustainable. Freedom and participation, and all other civil and political rights, bolster the common wealth of societies. In turn, social and economic rights are critical to empower an informed polity to count and be counted, as well as to devise effective development policies. And gender equality is the biggest development multiplier, known to work everywhere.

I am convinced that Bushba and many of the estimated 500,000 women who die unnecessarily every year during pregnancy and childbirth would live and even prosper if, in addition to medical care, they were given the chance to educate themselves, to access information and to participate in the decisions about their pregnancies and how to deliver their children.

Development cannot be a project imposed on people but must be a common journey led by the people themselves.

This is why a human rights approach to development is essential: it puts people in control of their own lives, as it puts women in control of their own bodies and fate. When leaders meet in New York this September to decide upon the future of the Bushbas of this world, I will invite them to join me in an effort to make human rights the basis for development. It's too late for Bushba, but for many people who can still be saved, time is running out. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.585051 2010-05-21T12:51:44-04:00 2011-05-25T16:35:20-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
In the same post, I mentioned a Malawian gay couple that was being prosecuted after getting engaged to marry.

I hoped then that justice would prevail but alas, Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were this week convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison with hard labor.

Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people goes back a long way across the world. What is shocking is that while a number of countries, including African countries, are taking steps to dismantle such discrimination, others like Malawi are heading in the opposite direction.

The conviction and reported mistreatment of the Malawian gay couple sets an alarming precedent in the region for the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, as well as groups that support them.

If governments across the world were to follow Malawi's example, we would have rampant violations of privacy and millions of people in consensual relationships criminalized.

Some people have the audacity to justify discrimination against gay people on grounds of culture or claimed "public support". Freedom from discrimination cannot be a matter of when, where or how one was born; it is matter of fundamental human rights.

Laws that criminalize people on the basis of their sexual orientation are inherently discriminatory. They violate international human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and People's Rights.

Persecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is not only an affront to civil liberties, but it serves to drive them underground, which can have a disastrous effect on the fight against HIV/AIDS. I see no legal, moral or practical justification for any such discrimination.

I appeal to the Malawian authorities to not only repeal the conviction of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, but also do away with laws that discriminate against gay people.

I hope that next time I write about this subject, it will be to celebrate a human rights victory in this area.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.482695 2010-03-02T14:25:02-05:00 2011-05-25T15:40:24-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
While migrants often lose their lives accidentally when traveling in over-crowded boats, or trying to cross remote land borders, I know of no other country where so many unarmed migrants and asylum seekers appear to have been deliberately killed in this way by government forces.

The Egyptian government must immediately order its security forces to stop using lethal force against unarmed migrants trying to enter Israel via the Sinai Desert. There must be an urgent independent inquiry into the killing of so many individuals by State security forces, and the wounding and disappearance of dozens more, on the Egyptian side of the Sinai border with Israel, since July 2007.

It is a deplorable state of affairs, and the sheer number of victims suggests that at least some Egyptian security officials have been operating a shoot-to-kill policy. It is unlikely that so many killings would occur otherwise. Sixty killings can hardly be an accident.

The latest victim was killed at the weekend -- the ninth reported fatal shooting of a foreign migrant in the Sinai during the first two months of 2010. The great majority of the people killed since Egypt and Israel agreed to toughen border controls in Sinai in the summer of 2007 are reported to have been from Sub-Saharan Africa -- in particular from Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia.

At least 33 were reported killed in the Sinai between July 2007 and October 2008. After a six-month period when there were no reported shootings, at least 19 more would-be migrants or refugees are believed to have been shot dead between May and December 2009.

The victims are said to include several women and at least one child.

The fact that these shootings stopped for six months, and then resumed, strongly suggests that the killings follow a pattern that does not appear to be random.

Security forces are only permitted to use lethal force when it is strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.

The fact that this is a very sensitive border, and a restricted military zone, is no excuse.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.433020 2010-01-22T11:45:49-05:00 2011-05-25T15:15:20-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
I welcome the recent statements by the President and other senior members of the Government suggesting that the Government might intervene to stop the private member's bill from becoming law.

The so-called "Anti-Homosexuality Bill," tabled by one member of Parliament but believed to be supported by a number of others, prohibits any form of sexual relations between people of the same sex, as well as the promotion or recognition of homosexual relations as a healthy or acceptable lifestyle in public institutions.

The bill proposes draconian punishments for people alleged to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered - namely life imprisonment or, in some cases, the death penalty.

It is extraordinary to find legislation like this being proposed more than 60 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - as well as many subsequent international laws and standards - made it clear this type of discrimination is unacceptable.

The draft bill also includes a provision that could lead to a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone who fails to report within 24 hours the identities of any lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered individual they know - including members of their own family - or who overtly supports the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered people.

This bill is blatantly discriminatory and clearly breaches international human rights standards. If passed, it will have a tremendously negative impact on the enjoyment of a range of fundamental human rights by homosexuals, lesbians and transgendered individuals, as well as on parents, teachers, landlords, human rights defenders, medical professionals and HIV workers.

I would like to remind the Ugandan Government of the country's obligations under international human rights law. Uganda is a party to the core human rights treaties and has generally had a good track record of cooperation with the various international human rights mechanisms. This bill threatens to seriously damage the country's reputation in the international arena. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights also contains strong language against discrimination.

I am encouraged by the fact that a number of Ugandan civil society organizations are actively opposing the bill, and by the recent statement by President Museveni, reported in the Ugandan press, which appeared to suggest the Government would intervene to prevent the draft bill from becoming law.

This is the only responsible course of action for a government to take in such circumstances and I urge the Government, once it has dealt with the current bill, to begin the process of repealing existing Ugandan laws that criminalize homosexuality, albeit with less severe punishments.

To criminalize people on the basis of colour or gender is now unthinkable in most countries. The same should apply to an individual's sexual orientation.

Yet today in Malawi for instance, a gay couple engaged to be married are being prosecuted and have been denied bail by the court.

International human rights standards strongly suggest that the State should not dictate the nature of private consensual relations between adults.

]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.400825 2009-12-22T15:15:19-05:00 2011-05-25T15:00:22-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
Others migrants are killed by landmines, die of exposure in remote mountain areas, or are raped, forced into bonded labour or prostitution, in both developed and developing countries. In some countries, migrant communities have been forcibly rounded up by the authorities, or have had to flee for their lives as they are attacked by mobs, and seen their homes and businesses ransacked.

Despite the heavy toll, remarkably little attention is devoted to all these deaths and the chronic human rights violations against so many extremely vulnerable men, women and children.

The commonest reaction to this horrific reality seems to be a collective shrug: The deaths are sad of course, but it is the indivdual's own fault for trying to enter other countries uninvited. The unmistakable conclusion is that many of us - politicians, state authorities, media and the general public - view migrants, especially poor migrants, as second-class human beings, who are somehow not entitled to the same rights as the rest of us.

It is likely that this year's International Migrants' Day will elicit token expressions of concern before we return to business as usual: keeping migrants out, blaming those in our countries already for some of our social or economic problems - while at the same time readily exploiting them as cheap labour. The trend of criminalization of irregular migration and the use of detention to discourage more people from coming are also likely to continue or get worse.

Such policies often violate the human rights of migrants and contribute to anti-migrant sentiments and xenophobia. Immigrants arriving irregularly in a new country are often detained as a routine procedure and at times without proper judicial safeguards. In addition, irregular migrants intercepted at sea, and others seized by law enforcement officials during raids, are increasingly facing violence, arbitrary detention and premature expulsion. Such actions rarely take into account the mixed character of migration flows, and often lack necessary measures to protect the most vulnerable amongst irregular migrants, such as unaccompanied children, asylum-seekers and victims of trafficking.

Migrants who reach their final destination often face severe discrimination in the fields of housing, education, health, work or social security. Laws discriminating - or allowing for discriminatory practices - against non-nationals, along with programmes and policies that fail to address specific needs and vulnerabilities of migrants, often result in them being unable to access basic services or only able to do so at levels that do not meet international human rights standards.

International human rights law recognizes this heightened vulnerability of migrants, but here too the 'collective shrug' is having a noticeably negative impact.

The International Convention for the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, which offers the most comprehensive framework for the protection of the human rights of migrants, will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its adoption in 2010. Unfortunately, few States will be attending the party, as it is one of the least respected human rights conventions, taking more than 12 years to gather the 20 State ratifications it needed to come into force (in July 2003), and picking up only a further 22 ratifications since then. Of these, 17 are African States, 15 are from Latin America and the Caribbean, six from Asia, three from Eastern Europe and only one (Turkey) from the 'Western group' of nations, which includes Western Europe, North America and Australasia.

I would urge those countries which have not yet ratified the Migrant Workers Convention, to consider doing so without further delay. While States have a right to place limitations on migration, and to institute systems to manage it, this does not mean they can treat migrants as second-class human beings, who deserve less protection than the rest of us.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.394696 2009-12-16T15:41:18-05:00 2011-05-25T15:00:22-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
The 72 states which have ratified the Optional Protocol since 15 December 1989 are under an obligation not to execute anybody who has been sentenced to death, to take all necessary steps to definitively abolish the death penalty, and to report on what they have done to this effect. In addition, they must not extradite individuals to a country where they would face the death penalty, nor can they reintroduce it in their own. Ratification of the optional protocol, as well as similar regional instruments in Europe and in the Americas, thus draws a firm line under the use of the death penalty.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all those States that have abolished the death penalty.

I am opposed to the death penalty in all cases. I hold this position for a number of reasons: these include the fundamental nature of the right to life; the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people by mistake; the absence of proof that the death penalty serves as a deterrent; and what is, to my mind, the inappropriately vengeful character of the sentence.

While the death penalty remains legal under international law in limited circumstances, there is, as the Optional Protocol notes, a strong suggestion in international law that the total abolition of the death penalty is desirable.

Ratifying the optional protocol is a key step for states moving towards abolition. In the 20 years since it was adopted, the number of formally abolitionist states has almost tripled, and where there was once a majority of states that wanted to keep the death penalty, they are now in the minority. In all, around 140 states are believed to have now abolished the death penalty either formally, or in practice.

Abolishing the death penalty is a difficult process for many societies, and ratification of the Optional Protocol can often only come about after a period of national debate. Until they reach that point, I urge those States still employing the death penalty to place a formal moratorium on its use, with the aim of ultimately ratifying the Optional Protocol and abolishing the punishment altogether everywhere.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.385728 2009-12-09T12:18:11-05:00 2011-05-25T14:55:21-04:00

Navi Pillay http://www.huffingtonpost.com/navi-pillay/
Discrimination can take many forms: covert or blatant, public or private. It may appear as institutionalized racism, or ethnic strife, or manifest itself in episodes of intolerance and rejection that escape scrutiny. Its victims are individuals or groups that are most vulnerable to attacks -- all those that, due to their race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, status, disabilities, and sexual orientation are perceived as different.

Discrimination is often multilayered. Groups that are marginalized on the basis of their origin or status encounter further exclusion and a curtailment of their rights when they attempt to have the access that international law entitles them to housing, food, health care and education.

Persons with disabilities make up the world's largest and most disadvantaged minority. For example, 98% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school. Indigenous peoples represent 5% of the world's population, but 15% of its poorest people. Women account for two-thirds of the world's working hours and produce half of the world's food. Yet, due to discrimination and stereotypical gender roles, they earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property.

History has proved time and again that when discrimination, inequality and intolerance are allowed to take root, they may shatter the very foundations of societies and damage them for generations. Left unchecked, they may spill across borders and poison relations among nations.

History has also proved that these abhorrent practices have no beneficial aspects whatsoever. Discrimination undermines the social and economic cohesion of societies. It saps their resources. It squanders talent. It marginalizes productive individuals and groups, and depresses their creativity and initiative.

We must counter the bigotry and narrow interests that engender discrimination, and we have done so. The vision of human rights advocates, their sheer determination and energy have paid off by raising awareness among the public and by producing a number of human rights treaties that give effect to anti-discrimination and equality provisions. These treaties create a protective web of obligations that States must fulfill. They restore the dignity previously denied to millions of women, men and children.

Building on this body of norms, in 2001 the World Conference against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in Durban, and its review conference in Geneva last April, were convened to address some of the most insidious aspects of discrimination. The latter wrapped up with wide agreement in which 182 States undertook to prevent, prohibit and address all manifestations of racism and intolerance. It re-energized the determination and purpose expressed in Durban to erase the age-old shame of racism and provided a platform for a new beginning in fighting discrimination writ large.

It is undeniable that progress has been remarkable, but we should not pause. Discrimination does not go away by itself. It must be challenged at every turn. We must move forward and move quickly.

We must never lose sight of the fact that the enjoyment of human rights enriches us all. Conversely, when human dignity is undercut or denied by human rights violations, then such abuses affect all of us. This is particularly true in our increasingly multi-ethnic and multicultural societies. It is particularly urgent to counter discrimination in times of crisis, such as the current economic downturn, which have a disproportionate impact on the livelihoods of the most vulnerable and already marginalized groups of society, as competition over dwindling resources exposes minorities to suspicions and attacks.

On December 10, 1948, the world adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It states unequivocally that all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights. More than sixty years later, these words resonate with unaltered poignancy. Let us make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' principles of equality, freedom and dignity for all a reality everywhere. Universal tolerance and respect for diversity is our goal.
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