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UNA-Canada Fact Sheets > The UN and Human Rights
In 1993, a UN-sponsored World Conference on Human Rights was held in Vienna, Austria. It represented the first time concrete measures were taken in a consolidated fashion by the international community to promote and protect the rights of women, children, and indigenous people as integral components of human rights. The conference also reaffirmed the right to development as a basic human right. The Vienna Declaration, adopted at the Conference, proclaimed that "democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing." As a direct result of this World Conference, and at the instigation of Canada and other countries, the post of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was created in 1994—a post currently filled by José Ayala Lasso from Ecuador. The Vienna Conference is a recent example of the United Nations efforts to improve human rights. Over the past fifty years, the UN has played a central role in developing legal standards that have led an increasing number of individuals and groups to expect fair treatment from their governments. The UN’s involvement in the advancement of children and women’s rights, and the battle against racial discrimination are a few of many areas worth noting. The United Nations has been an outspoken proponent of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was first approved by the international community in 1989, and came into effect in 1990. Early in 1996, the Convention was only six states short of becoming a truly universal human rights law. The convention on the Rights of the Child is an international treaty which links social and economic rights (including health care, survival, and education) with civil and political rights (including freedom of expression, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse). The treaty asserted children’s right to an identity distinct from their parents or nurturers. It also stated that the community had a responsibility to protect children’s identity and give them a voice in matters concerning them. The UN has also been a leader in the advancement of women’s rights. The Commission on the Status of Women, established in 1946 when the UN first recognized the need to draw international attention to the field of women’s rights, has played an important part in this progress. The Commission seeks to identify and address factors which lead to violence and victimization of women. It also addresses the right to protection, in addition to spelling out the actions to be taken by states and international organizations to protect women’s rights. Over the years, the UN has been at the forefront in the establishment of a firm base in international law for the norms of gender equality. Several conventions recognizing the political rights of women were adopted by the General Assembly, culminating in the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1993). The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, resulting from the Fourth UN-sponsored World Conference on Women (1995), offers a plan of action to further enhance the social, economic, and political empowerment of women. To combat racism, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1963. The declaration affirmed the fundamental equality of all people, regardless of their race, colour or ethnic origin. An International Convention followed two years later. The UN General Assembly later proclaimed 1993-2003 to be the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. Evidence of the UN’s commitment to combat racial discrimination was illustrated by its involvement in the fight to end apartheid in South Africa. As early as 1960, the United Nations called on South Africa to end apartheid (It should be noted that Canada also strongly opposed South Africa’s racist policies. In fact, Canadian-led opposition to apartheid within the Commonwealth caused South Africa to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1961). Over time, UN members took progressively stronger steps to pressure South Africa to end apartheid. The international pressure, which effectively isolated South Africa, resulted in the abandonment of apartheid and the country’s first free, multiracial elections in 1994. International Human Rights Legislation
Between them, these six committees review the human rights situation in approximately sixty countries a year. In addition, the committee members represent an important source of information and expertise in human rights Human rights, for the UN, has come to include subjects such as disappearances, summary and arbitrary executions, torture, and religious intolerance. The mechanisms the United Nations has developed to deal with these issues rely on the international human rights standards. Without such standards, any attempt to enforce human rights would be ineffective, resulting in systematic abuse by many governments. The mechanisms were created to influence governments and other human rights abusers more effectively. Some of these mechanisms include: special representatives who examine and report on conditions in individual countries; the expansion of technical assistance on human rights; expanding the availability of human rights information; increasing awareness of ways in which the UN can help individuals claim their rights; investigating specific human rights complaints brought to the organization by ethnic, political, and religious groups; and increasing the activity by committees monitoring human rights. Indeed, the role and scope of UN action in promoting
and protecting human rights has increased. The UN now acts as a global
conscience, a lawmaker, a monitor, a forum of appeal, a fact finder, a
researcher, a discreet diplomat, an advisor and trainer, a nerve-centre,
and a hotline. The central mandate, however, remains: to ensure that the
"peoples" of the United Nations, in whose name the Charter was
written, have their human dignity fully respected. By monitoring human
rights, the UN has been able to bring public attention to cases of abuse.
Such efforts have had a direct result in increasing international political
and economic pressure on abusive governments to respect the rights of
their citizens. This pressure has, in turn, led numerous governments to
improve their treatment of their people. While many governments continue
to torture and persecute their population, there is evidence that the
situation is improving. The almost universal acceptance of the concept
of human rights (although not always reflected in practice) is encouraging.
While a great deal of work remains, the United Nations and its mechanisms
help ensure progress towards the universal respect of human rights. 1 Basic Facts about the United Nations,
(New York, United Nations, 1995). [BACK] |
