[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 91 (Monday, June 4, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2961-S2962]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ZEID RA'AD AL HUSSEIN

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to pay tribute to 
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al 
Hussein, who some here also know from his service as Jordan's Permanent 
Representative to the United Nations and as Jordan's Ambassador to the 
United States.
  The High Commissioner has held his post since September 1, 2014, and 
his term will end on August 31, 2018. He has carried out his 
responsibilities with exceptional courage, compassion, commitment, and 
even humor, qualities that are indispensable for any successful U.N. 
High Commissioner. In so doing, he has been the target of relentless 
attacks by government officials who abuse their authority by 
manipulating their countries' electoral processes and security forces 
to arrest, imprison, abuse, and even assassinate their critics, whether 
independent journalists, members of political opposition parties, or 
civil society activists.
  In a speech delivered Tuesday at an international conference marking 
the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, 
adopted on June 25, 2003, in response to the atrocities committed in 
the former Yugoslavia, the High Commissioner warned that human rights 
are under siege in many parts of the world, including Europe.
  He said, ``This anniversary could be the occasion for a polite 
celebration of the achievements of my Office over the past two and a 
half decades--and they are many. But today is not a time for soporific 
complacency. Human rights are sorely under pressure around the world--
no longer a priority: a pariah. The legitimacy of human rights 
principles is attacked. The practice of human rights norms is in 
retreat. Here in Europe, ethno-populist parties are in the ascendant in 
many countries--fueling hatred and scarring their societies with 
deepening divisions.''
  No one should be surprised by this. We see the consequences every 
day, including in countries that are friends and allies of the United 
States. Legitimate dissent is labeled ``terrorism.'' Those who defend 
human rights are themselves maligned and targeted. Dictators are feted, 
and their crimes are ignored. Xenophobia and racism are treated as 
legitimate responses to domestic problems.
  As the High Commissioner noted, it is incumbent on each of us to 
defend human rights and to counter those who promote hatred and 
intolerance. What is the alternative? Despotism. Fascism. Isolationism. 
Forces and ideologies we have resisted and fought against for 
generations. We owe it to past and future generations, as the High 
Commissioner said, ``to stand by our achievements and the advances 
which have been made.'' This is not only a moral imperative for 
upholding the values our country stands for and preserving our 
international reputation, but a pragmatic necessity for protecting our 
interests at home and abroad.
  I want to thank the High Commissioner for his extraordinary efforts 
during the past 4 extremely challenging years. He has been a tireless, 
principled defender of universal human rights,

[[Page S2962]]

and in doing so, he has set a high bar for those who follow in his 
footsteps.
  I ask unanimous consent that the High Commissioner's remarks be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al 
       Hussein on the 25th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration

     Minister Kneissl.
     Excellencies, Colleagues, Friends.
       Twenty five years ago, it was here, in this city of 
     confluence and cultural connection that the Vienna 
     Declaration and Programme of Action was adopted--and with its 
     crucial description of human rights as ``universal, 
     indivisible, interdependent and interrelated'', cut through 
     the artificial division of civil and political rights from 
     rights that are cultural, economic and social.
       The Cold War had ended, and the first words of the preamble 
     marked a great hope for a new era, with interdependent 
     countries engaging in a common approach to the causes of 
     human suffering:
       ``Considering that the promotion and protection of human 
     rights is a matter of priority for the international 
     community.''
       It was here that the world unanimously reaffirmed that 
     every refugee from persecution is entitled to asylum, and 
     called for effective protection for all those who are 
     compelled to become migrants.
       It was here that States urged immediate and strong measures 
     to combat racism, xenophobia and religious hatred, and to 
     ensure participation by the poorest people in decision-
     making.
       It was here in Vienna that States recommended the creation 
     of the mandate which I am honoured to occupy: the UN High 
     Commissioner for Human Rights.
       But today we seem to be headed in another direction.
       Backwards. To a landscape of increasingly strident, zero-
     sum nationalism, where the jealously guarded short-term 
     interests of individual leaders outweigh the search for 
     solutions to our common ills. Backwards, to an era of 
     contempt for the rights of people who have been forced to 
     flee their homes, because the threats they face there are 
     more dangerous even than the perils of their voyage.
       Backwards, to a time of proxy regional and global warfare--
     a time when military operations could deliberately target 
     civilians and civilian sites such as hospitals, and chemical 
     gases were openly used for military purposes.
       Backwards, to an era when racists and xenophobes 
     deliberately enflamed hatred and discrimination among the 
     public, while carefully cloaking themselves in the guise of 
     democracy and the rule of law.
       Backwards, to an era when women were not permitted to 
     control their own choices and their own bodies. An era when 
     criticism was criminalised, and human rights activism brought 
     jail--or worse.
       So this anniversary could be the occasion for a polite 
     celebration of the achievements of my Office over the past 
     two and a half decades--and they are many. But today is not a 
     time for soporific complacency. Human rights are sorely under 
     pressure around the world--no longer a priority: a pariah. 
     The legitimacy of human rights principles is attacked. The 
     practise of human rights norms is in retreat. Here in Europe, 
     ethno-populist parties are in the ascendant in many 
     countries--fuelling hatred and scarring their societies with 
     deepening divisions.
       Where these parties have achieved power, they have sought 
     to undermine the independence of the judiciary and silence 
     many critical voices in the independent media and civil 
     society. They have propagated distorted and false views of 
     migrants and human rights activists. Almost everywhere, 
     across Europe the hatred they direct at migrants has 
     infiltrated the mainstream parties and skewed the political 
     landscape towards greater violence and suffering.
       In this country--which more than most should be aware of 
     the dangers of ethnically divisive rhetoric, given the 
     historical role of Karl Lueger--false and incendiary 
     statements have been recently made which are fundamentally at 
     odds with the Vienna Declaration.
       Minister Kneissl, Excellencies,
       As Viktor Frankl so often wrote, it is compassion, and 
     contribution to the lives of others, which form the anchor of 
     an honourable life. And the way to honour the Vienna 
     Declaration and Programme of Action is to act on it. Human 
     rights are not just words to be nodded at sagely at 
     anniversaries. They are meant, above all, to be put into 
     practice, and anchored especially in the daily experiences of 
     the poorest and most marginalised people--such as those who 
     flee the destruction of their hopes by conflict and 
     deprivation.
       There will be no peace for any country until there is 
     respect, and justice. There will be no sustainable prosperity 
     unless all can benefit. Human equality and dignity are the 
     path towards peace in the world: the path of real patriotism, 
     building societies grounded in harmony, not divisiveness and 
     hate.
       So it is time to stand up for what the Vienna Declaration 
     truly represents.
       We need to use this anniversary to begin to mobilize a much 
     broader community to defend human rights with our fierce, and 
     passionate commitment. We need to make clear the vital, life-
     saving importance of human rights for the daily lives and 
     global future of our fellow human beings.
       Many of us do still have space to voice our concerns. We 
     need to stand by our achievements and the advances which have 
     been made.
       We need to push back against the haters, the destroyers, 
     the isolationists and ethno-nationalists.
       We need to move forward, defiantly, to ensure that those 
     indivisible, universal, interdependent and interrelated 
     rights are able to build on each other to shape a world of 
     well-being and safety.
       There is no time to lose. Let this be a turning point, so 
     that the Vienna Declaration can stand proud--not as a 
     decaying museum piece, but as the flag-bearer for a resurgent 
     movement to build peace and progress.
       Thank you.

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