[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 19, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E698-E699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN SEEKS MAJOR CHANGES IN HUMAN RIGHTS 
                               COMMISSION

                                 ______
                                 

                               TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 19, 2005

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call my colleagues' 
attention to a courageous speech given on April 7 by my good friend, 
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to Delegates attending 
this year's U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva. In this speech the 
Secretary-General outlined his plans to shut down the hopelessly 
discredited forum and replace it with a smaller Human Rights Council 
that is explicitly intended to exclude human rights violators like the 
Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Cuba.
  During the past few years, many of us in the House of Representatives 
have been outraged that the designated global forum for identifying and 
censuring the world's most egregious violators of basic human rights 
had become a haven for the world's worst tyrannies. Thus it is 
refreshing to see that Secretary-General Annan has recognized that its 
overhaul must be an integral piece of U.N. structural reform. In his 
speech to the Commission in Geneva last week, the Secretary-General 
called on the U.N. to do more to promote and protect fundamental rights 
and freedoms by stating that ``unless we re-make our human rights 
machinery, we may be unable to renew public confidence in the United 
Nations itself.'' He also asserted that ``At the same time, the 
Commission's ability to perform its tasks has been overtaken by new 
needs, and undermined by the politicization of its sessions and the 
selectivity of its work. We have reached a point at which the 
Commission's declining credibility has cast a shadow on the reputation 
of the United Nations system as a whole, and where piecemeal reforms 
will not be enough.''
  As Members of Congress, we have an opportunity to demonstrate U.S. 
leadership by helping the U.N. address today's most critical human 
rights challenges. I commend the Secretary-General's recommendations to 
create a more efficient and accountable human rights body and urge you 
to join me in supporting his efforts. In the coming weeks and months I 
will be working with my colleagues in the International Relations 
Committee, with the Secretary-General and with the Administration to 
ensure that the Secretary-General's bold plans to restructure the 
U.N.'s human rights mechanisms are implemented in a way that supports 
his goals.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the entire text of the Secretary-General's 
historic address be placed in the Record.

  The Secretary-General's Address to the Commission on Human Rights, 
                         Geneva, April 7, 2005

       Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Like you I am deeply conscious of 
     what we have all lost with the passing of Pope John Paul II. 
     His was an irreplaceable voice speaking out for peace, for 
     religious freedom, and for mutual respect and understanding 
     between people of different faiths. Even as we mourn his 
     loss, I hope all of us who are concerned with human rights 
     can pledge ourselves to preserve those aspects of his legacy.
       Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, One year ago today, we 
     stood together in this Commission in silent tribute to the 
     memory of the victims of genocide in Rwanda. We recalled 
     again our collective failure to protect hundreds of thousands 
     of defenseless people. And we resolved to act more decisively 
     to ensure that such a denial of our common humanity is never 
     allowed to happen again.
       Today we have reached another moment when we must prove our 
     commitment.
       First, because of the appalling suffering in Darfur. 
     Valiant efforts have been made to deliver humanitarian 
     assistance. I am glad the Security Council has now agreed, 
     both to impose sanctions on individuals who commit violations 
     of international humanitarian or human rights law, and to ask 
     the International Criminal Court to play its essential role 
     in lifting the veil of impunity and holding to account those 
     accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. And I 
     think we should all be grateful to the troops deployed by the 
     African Union, whose presence--wherever it is felt--is 
     definitely helping to protect the population from further 
     crimes. But in its present form that force is clearly not 
     sufficient to provide security throughout such a vast 
     territory. And meanwhile, there has been hardly any progress 
     towards a political settlement. For all of us, as individuals 
     and as an institution, this situation is a test. For 
     thousands of men, women and children, our response is already 
     too late.
       But today I am also thinking of victims whose plight is not 
     so well known. I have in mind the weak, the poor and the 
     vulnerable. I am thinking of all people who are denied their 
     human rights, or who may yet fall prey to violence and 
     oppression. To all, our responsibility under the Charter is 
     clear: we must do more to promote and protect fundamental 
     rights and freedoms, whenever and wherever they occur.
       Indeed, nobody has a monopoly on human rights virtue. 
     Abuses are found in rich countries as well as poor. Women in 
     a wide range of countries continue to enjoy less than their 
     full rights. Whether committed in the name of religion, 
     ethnicity or state security, violations have a claim on our 
     conscience. Whether carried out in public or in more 
     insidious ways, breaches must compel us to stand up for the 
     right of all human beings to be treated with dignity and 
     respect.
       Human rights are at the core of the package of proposals I 
     have just put before the Member States in my report, ``In 
     Larger Freedom.'' I argue that we will not enjoy development 
     without security, or security without development. But I also 
     stress that we will not enjoy either without universal 
     respect for human rights. Unless all these causes are 
     advanced, none will succeed. And unless we re-make our human 
     rights machinery, we may be unable to renew public confidence 
     in the United Nations itself.
       The cause of human rights has entered a new era. For much 
     of the past 60 years, our focus has been on articulating, 
     codifying and enshrining rights. That effort produced a 
     remarkable framework of laws, standards and mechanisms--the 
     Universal Declaration, the international covenants, and much 
     else. Such work needs to continue in some areas. But the era 
     of declaration is now giving way, as it should, to an era of 
     implementation.
       The recommendations I have put forward reflect this 
     evolution. Most of all, they attempt to build a United 
     Nations that can fulfill the promise of the Charter. Thus I 
     have proposed major changes in the three central pillars of 
     the United Nations human rights system: the treaty bodies, 
     the Office of the High Commissioner and the inter-
     governmental machinery. Let me take them each in turn.
       The seven treaty bodies are the independent guardians of 
     the rights and protections that have been negotiated and 
     accepted over the years. Their dialogue with States 
     emphasizes accountability, and their recommendations provide 
     clear guidance on the steps needed for full compliance. The 
     treaty body system has helped to create national 
     constituencies for the implementation of human rights. But 
     the system must be streamlined and strengthened, so that the 
     treaty bodies can better carry out their mandates. And urgent 
     measures must be taken to enable them to function as a 
     strong, unified system.
       I have also called on the membership to strengthen the 
     Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The role of 
     the Office has expanded greatly. In addition to its long-
     standing advocacy work, today it is also engaged in conflict 
     prevention and crisis response. And where once much of its 
     energies were devoted to servicing the human rights bodies, 
     today it also offers wide-ranging technical assistance.
       Yet the Office remains ill-equipped in some key respects. 
     It cannot, for example, carry out proper early warning, even 
     though human rights violations are often the first indicators 
     of instability. The High Commissioner and her staff continue 
     to work admirably within real constraints. They would be the 
     first to acknowledge shortcomings, and they are best placed 
     to identify ways to overcome them. Accordingly, I have asked 
     the High Commissioner to submit a plan of action by 20 May. I 
     expect a request for additional resources to figure 
     prominently in her recommendations. As central as human 
     rights are in our work, the United Nations allocates just two 
     percent of its regular budget to that programme. We need to 
     scale up to meet the growing challenges that confront us.
       I turn now to the most dramatic of my proposals. As you 
     know, I have recommended that Member States replace the 
     Commission on Human Rights with a smaller Human Rights 
     Council.
       The Commission in its current form has some notable 
     strengths. It can take action on country situations. It can 
     appoint rapporteurs and other experts. And it works closely 
     with civil society groups.
       At the same time, the Commission's ability to perform its 
     tasks has been overtaken by new needs, and undermined by the 
     politicization of its sessions and the selectivity of its 
     work. We have reached a point at which the Commission's 
     declining credibility has cast a shadow on the reputation of 
     the United Nations system as a whole, and where piecemeal 
     reforms will not be enough.
       A Human Rights Council would offer a fresh start. My basic 
     premise is that the main intergovernmental body concerned 
     with human rights should have a status, authority and 
     capability commensurate with the importance of its work. The 
     United Nations already has councils that deal with its two 
     other main purposes, security and development. So creating a 
     full-fledged council for human rights offers conceptual and 
     architectural clarity. But what is most important is for the 
     new body to be able to carry out the tasks required of it.
       I have proposed that the Council be a standing body, able 
     to meet when necessary rather than for only six weeks each 
     year as at present. It should have an explicitly defined 
     function as a chamber of peer review. Its main task would be 
     to evaluate the fulfillment by all states of all their human 
     rights obligations. This would give concrete expression to 
     the principle that human rights are universal and 
     indivisible. Equal attention will have to be given to civil, 
     political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as 
     the right to development. And it should be equipped to give 
     technical assistance to States, and policy advice to states 
     and UN bodies alike.

[[Page E699]]

       Under such a system, every Member State could come up for 
     review on a periodic basis. Any such rotation should not, 
     however, impede the Council from dealing with massive and 
     gross violations that might occur. Indeed, the Council will 
     have to be able to bring urgent crises to the attention of 
     the world community.
       The new Human Rights Council must be a society of the 
     committed. It must be more accountable and more 
     representative. That is why I have suggested that members be 
     elected by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly, and 
     that those elected should have a solid record of commitment 
     to the highest human rights standards. Being elected by a 
     two-thirds majority of the General Assembly should help make 
     members more accountable, and the body as a whole more 
     representative.
       A Council will not overcome all the tensions that accompany 
     our handling of human rights. A degree of tension is inherent 
     in the issues. But the Council would allow for a more 
     comprehensive and objective approach. And ultimately it would 
     produce more effective assistance and protections, and that 
     is the yardstick by which we should be measured. I urge 
     Member States to reach early agreement in principle to 
     establish a Human Rights Council. They can then turn to the 
     details such as its size, composition and mandate; its 
     relationship with other UN bodies; and how to retain the best 
     of the existing mechanisms, such as the special rapporteurs 
     and the close ties with NGOs. Consultations with the High 
     Commissioner would naturally be a very central part of this 
     process, and she stands ready to assist. Let us all do our 
     part to make this happen, and show that the United Nations 
     takes the cause of human rights as seriously as it does those 
     of security and development.
       Ladies and Gentlemen, Human rights are the core of the 
     United Nations' identity. Men and women everywhere expect us 
     to uphold universal ideals. They need us to be their ally and 
     protector. They want to believe we can help unmask bigotry 
     and defend the rights of the weak and voiceless.
       For too long now, we have indulged this view of our own 
     capabilities. But the gap between what we seem to promise, 
     and what we actually deliver, has grown. The answer is not to 
     draw back from an ambitious human rights agenda, but to make 
     the improvements that will enable our machinery to live up to 
     the world's expectations.
       Our constituents will not understand or accept any excuse 
     if we fail to act. So let us show them that we understand 
     what is at stake.
       Thank you very much.

                          ____________________