[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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