On December 10th, the world celebrated the UN World Human Rights Day[1]. The Day marks the anniversary of the adoption by all member states of the UN of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. It has been 60 years since then and many other human rights instruments and mechanisms has been developed to promote the primacy of the human rights and to confront human rights violations

IWRAW Asia Pacific[2] works on one of these – the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – the key human rights instrument that addresses the discriminations and inequalities faced by women which prove a barrier to women’s full access, enjoyment and realization of their human rights. Implementation of the CEDAW Convention is central to the elimination of discrimination against women and for the realisation of equality between men and women. CEDAW’s underlying principles of non-discrimination, substantive equality and State obligation, applying to private and public spheres, have demonstrated to the international community the inherent holistic nature of human rights

We take the opportunity to mark that 185 countries have ratified the CEDAW Convention and 90 countries have now ratified the Optional Protocol to CEDAW, which institutes a complaints mechanism by which women are able to claim their rights under the Convention.

The year 2007 also marks the 25th Anniversary of the work of the CEDAW Committee in reviewing the actions of States Parties toward fulfillment of the Convention and holding states accountable to the legally binding obligations of the Convention. As a treaty monitoring body of the CEDAW Convention, the CEDAW Committee is ensuring the implementation of the Convention and eliminating discrimination against women from the world and developing the norms and jurisprudence on women’s human rights through their Concluding Comments to the States Parties their General Recommendations as well as their decisions on individual cases of women’s rights violations under the Optional Protocol.

On this day we remind State Parties to the United Nations who have not ratified the Convention or the OP to CEDAW to give evidence of the will behind their stated intentions to fulfil their obligations to women by first making themselves bound to the CEDAW Convention, (which now reflects the global norms and standards applicable to women’s human rights) and ratifying the Optional Protocol; and for women activists to continue to engage in this process of evolving core set of universal norms and standards for women’s rights through the CEDAW Convention.

International Womens Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific IWRAW Asia Pacific
80-B Jalan Bangsar
59200 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: (603) 2282 2255; Fax: (603) 2283 2552
E-mail: iwraw-ap@iwraw-ap.org
Website: http://www.iwraw-ap.org/

[1] http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/humanrights/

[2] IWRAW Asia Pacific works to contribute to the progressive interpretation, universalisation, implementation and realisation of women’s human rights through the lens of CEDAW and other international human rights treaties. Through our key strategies we facilitate a process through which the CEDAW Convention is used as a tool for applying international human rights standards at the national level and in a wide range of contexts. (See iwraw-ap.org/ for more details of our programmes)

HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CELEBRATES THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, PROMOTING DECENT WORK

Geneva, 3 December 2007– The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights joins in the celebrations of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities highlighting the fundamental role that the right to decent work can play in empowering persons with disabilities and enabling them to live independent and dignified lives as active members of the community.

To celebrate the occasion, the High Commissioner today launches a series of commitments to improve the working conditions of staff with disabilities.

“The international community adopted new international standards on the rights of persons with disabilities one year ago” the High Commissioner said. “Those standards should apply to the United Nations as much as to States and I commit to promoting decent work in my Office over the coming year as part of this effort”.

The six commitments are: improving working conditions for staff with disabilities and for staff who have children with disabilities; developing and implementing standards on accessibility in the physical environment as well as for OHCHR’s technology; sensitizing staff about disabilities in the workplace; consulting with Disabled Persons Organizations in improving staff conditions; introducing an internship programme; and reviewing the commitments after five years.

The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol in December 2006. Since then, 118 countries have signed the Convention which introduces new international human rights standards to combat discrimination and promote equality of persons with disabilities. The Convention guarantees the right to work

Over 10 per cent of the worlds populations have a disability. However, the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities is generally higher than for others in society, up to three times higher in some countries.

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HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITMENTS TOWARDS EMPLOYMENT OF STAFF WITH DISABILITIES

In December 2006, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. In addition to adopting the Convention and Optional Protocol, the General Assembly, in its resolution 61/106, requested the Secretary-General “to implement progressively standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services of the United Nations system, including major renovations”.

While implementation of this resolution requires coordinated secretariat work, OHCHR, as the guardian of the human rights treaties and the department primarily responsible for human rights in the secretariat, has a particular responsibility to ensure that it respects the terms of the Convention, within UN rules.

Importantly, accessibility is both a principle and a dedicated article of the Convention. Article 9 requires States parties to ensure to persons with disabilities “access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public”. Article 27 of the Convention recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others, including in a “work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities”.

Current estimates suggest that 10 per cent of the world’s population have a disability. In stark contrast to this estimate, OHCHR has considerably lower levels of staff members with disabilities. With the increasing recognition of the human rights of persons with disabilities, and the integration of disability within the UN human rights programme, it is highly probable that growing numbers of persons with disabilities will seek employment at OHCHR. That being the case, it is important that OHCHR ensure that it provides a welcoming environment to all staff members, including staff members with disabilities.

On 3 December, the world will celebrate “International Day of Persons with Disabilities”, the theme of which in 2007 is “Decent Work”. To mark this event, the High Commissioner makes the following commitment to introduce standards to ensure an accessible and welcoming work place for staff with disabilities

Commitment One

The High Commissioner commits, within the scope of her authority as an official of the UN Secretariat, to develop and launch an OHCHR employment “statement of intent” on staff with disabilities before 3 December 2008. That position will address recruitment, career development and work/life issues including the situation of staff who have children with disabilities.

Commitment Two

The High Commissioner commits to develop and implement standards on accessibility in the physical environment as well as for OHCHR technology.

Commitment Three

The High Commissioner commits to develop a sensitization programme for OHCHR staff in relation to disabilities in the workplace.

Commitment Four

The High Commissioner commits to establishing in 2008 an internship programme for interns with disabilities within the framework and rules of the existing OHCHR internship programme.

Commitment Five

The High Commissioner commits to consult with and involve relevant disabled persons’ organizations, within UN rules, in the development of these commitments.

Commitment Six

The High Commissioner commits to evaluate these commitments prior to 3 December 2009.

Louise Arbour High Commissioner for Human Rights 3 December 2007

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Public Statement
Source

21 November 2007

ASEAN: human rights in the Charter and beyond

Amnesty International notes that the Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has been signed by leaders of ASEAN at its 13th Summit now being held in Singapore. Amnesty International welcomes the inclusion of a commitment within the ASEAN Charter to promote, protect and respect human rights and to establish a regional human rights body. However, the organisation is deeply concerned that the process followed thus far to establish an ASEAN Charter has been largely opaque and non-participatory. Despite the existence of a vibrant, active and dedicated civil society in the region which has been at the forefront of efforts to push forward an ASEAN Charter with a strong human rights component, consultation with civil society on the content of the Charter has been severely limited.

The organisation is concerned that any commitments made within the existing Charter to human rights protection will remain empty gestures unless they are followed by concrete action in a timely manner. This would include immediately addressing serious violations of human rights within ASEAN member states, and by setting up an effective human rights body. Such a body should be capable of addressing the human rights violations which are so prevalent a feature in parts of the ASEAN region, and to ensure that what the Charter calls “a people-oriented ASEAN” means in reality a human rights-oriented ASEAN.

Human rights in the ASEAN region

Over the years Amnesty International has documented a wide range of human rights violations- civil and political as well as social economic and cultural – across the ASEAN region, and notes that the region has seen violations that are both national and transnational in nature.

The current crisis in Myanmar, which is in fact a continuation of decades of serious human rights violations, some of which constitute crimes against humanity, is a case in point. ASEAN has so far been unable to bring about a halt to these violations, despite Myanmar being a member state. It is unclear to Amnesty International how the military government of this state was able to — or indeed was allowed to – sign the ASEAN Charter, when that government is clearly already in what the Charter reportedly calls “a serious breach” of its human rights provisions. Amnesty International is concerned that the ASEAN Charter may have lost credibility right from the beginning. Amnesty International is encouraged by reports that some ASEAN leaders share these concerns.

The cross-border movement of individuals across the region has included serious violations of human rights; whether it be the exploitation of victims of human trafficking, refugees and asylum seekers moving in search of protection from persecution, or the movement of migrant workers in search of a livelihood in the more prosperous ASEAN countries where they are often subject to abuse of their human rights including labour rights. While ASEAN has recently declared its intention to address some of these issues, concrete improvements on the ground are yet to be seen. Other violations prevalent across the ASEAN region include torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, extrajudicial executions, widespread violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law within internal armed conflicts, violence against women, restrictions of freedom of expression, assembly and association and disregard for economic, social and cultural rights of marginalised communities. Amnesty International calls on ASEAN to take up the challenge of comprehensively addressing all of these human rights concerns.

ASEAN human rights body

Amnesty International urges ASEAN to adopt a transparent and participatory approach to the setting up of the human rights body. Civil society organisations, including human rights NGOs, trade unions, social movements, women’s organizations, minority groups and members of the public, must have a prominent role in both the shaping of the human rights body’s mandate and its ongoing function. Civil society can contribute substantially to the human rights body’s ability to bring about compliance with international human rights law and standards on both the regional and national levels, as well as provide essential feedback on the work of the human rights body.

Amnesty International calls on ASEAN to establish a reasonable timeframe within which the human rights body will be set up. The organization also calls on ASEAN, when determining the terms and reference of the body, to ensure as a priority that international human rights law and standards provide a benchmark for all action undertaken by the body, in common with other regional human rights monitoring bodies.

The ASEAN human rights body must itself be — or else, if representative of governments, must have the power to appoint – an independent, impartial, competent, well-resourced, professional human rights body, whose membership reflects the region’s diverse peoples and cultures as well as gender parity. Members should be nominated and elected in a transparent process involving civil society at every stage of the proceedings.
As a minimum, the human rights body should:

- Work for and provide advice on the ratification and implementation of human rights and international humanitarian law treaties, including establishing effective training;

- Encourage and support states parties’ timely and adequate reporting to UN human rights treaty-monitoring bodies;

- Urge member states to invite UN Special Procedures to visit and to provide them with full assistance and access;

- Encourage states to implement recommendations of UN treaty bodies and Special Procedures, and provide advice regarding such implementation;

- Encourage the establishment and operation of national human rights institutions in accordance with the UN Principles relating to the status of national institutions (the “Paris Principles”);

- Investigate specific human rights situations, in response to submissions by individuals, organisations or states, or on its own motion;

- Develop tools and materials for human rights education and help member states in providing human rights education and training, both for state officials and for the public as a whole; and

- Work with and provide advice to national and regional human rights defenders, as well as ensuring that states allow them to carry out their work unhindered.

The human rights body must have the authority and be provided with sufficient resources to carry out these tasks in a timely and effective manner.

Finally, Amnesty International strongly recommends that the human rights body’s initial mandate should allow the future development, expansion and elaboration of mechanisms which will be able to prevent human rights violations and provide an effective level of protection, monitoring and promotion of human rights throughout the ASEAN region. Amnesty International urges ASEAN leaders to ensure that the future process of elaboration of the human rights body enables the effective and transparent engagement of civil society groups in order to ensure that people and their human rights are at the heart of this body.