Mr. President,
Mr. President of the General Assembly,
Madam High Commissioner,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to Switzerland for the 22nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. On behalf of the Swiss government, I am honoured to receive you here in Geneva.
This year we are celebrating the twentieth anniversary of a step which was then, and still is, one of fundamental importance for human rights. The adoption in 1993 of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA) gave new impetus to the promotion and protection of human rights following years of stagnation and polarised discussions during the Cold War. In the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the international community succeeded in refocusing world attention on the individual human being - the rights of human beings, on which there is so much agreement but which seem so difficult to impose. Today, Switzerland resolutely reaffirms its attachment to the principles set out in the VDPA.
We, the community of States, committed ourselves in Vienna to protecting and promoting human rights, acknowledging that human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. The VDPA also led the way to the creation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights which has given these rights an institutional home. Switzerland is proud to be the Host State of this important UN institution, which contributes to making Geneva the world capital of human rights. The Swiss government will continue to give its full support to this key institution, which works relentlessly to promote and protect human rights throughout the world.
Furthermore, the VDPA has been the source of visible and lasting progress. For example, it has opened up the way to numerous normative developments and the progressive mainstreaming of human rights in global policies, including development and security policies. It is important to follow-up this mainstreaming, especially in the post-2015 process. Human rights must be one of the basic elements of future development objectives because sustainable development is not possible without respect for human rights and good governance.
The Human Rights Council was created in the logic of the VDPA. It has strengthened the institutional status of human rights within the UN architecture. The Human Rights Council has greater legitimacy than the previous Commission on Human Rights. More attention is given to the election of new Council members because to be elected they are required to make pledges and commitments regarding the promotion and protection of human rights at both the national and international levels. The international community has found a satisfactory balance between the imperatives of efficiency and universality.
Switzerland has been a defender of the Universal Periodic Review from the outset, and therefore welcomes the fact that all States participated in their review during the first cycle of the UPR. It is the shared responsibility of all States to ensure that the principles underpinning the UPR - universality, equality of treatment, and cooperation based on dialogue - be maintained and honoured during the second cycle, reflecting the collective commitment of the members of the United Nations to undergo this review process before their peers.
Although cases arise that pose considerable problems, finger-pointing and criticism is not a constructive approach. We should build bridges and find solutions together.
The UPR is the concrete implementation of the obligation to respect all human rights addressed in the VDPA. It is crucial to implement the recommendations which are accepted during the UPR. Human rights must not only be universally recognised but also universally implemented. I assure you that Switzerland takes its commitments seriously and will spare no effort to implement the accepted recommendations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In spite of progress achieved at the institutional and normative levels since the adoption of the VDPA, it must be acknowledged that human rights are still being widely flouted in contexts which concern us all.
After two years of bloody fighting, Syria has become a human rights and humanitarian disaster. In its report of 5 February, the Independent Commission of Inquiry of the Human Rights Council once more reports serious international crimes committed by the different parties to the conflict.
Switzerland condemns in the strongest terms these gross violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law; we call the parties to the conflict to stop the violence. The Commission also notes the absence of credible investigations by the Syrian authorities to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes. It recommends to the Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court. This recommendation echoes both the repeated calls for referral to the ICC by the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Procedures created by the Council, as well as the letter of 14 January 2013 addressed by Switzerland to the Security Council. This letter, sent on behalf of 57 States, recommends the same procedure to the Security Council. Our initiative is a strong message aimed to prevent future human rights violations. The fight against impunity is crucial to the creation of a sustainable peace, in Syria and elsewhere.
The mandate of the Commission of Inquiry ends in March. Switzerland invites you to support an extension of this mandate and to make sure that violations of international law are documented.
In order to stop the escalation of violence, Switzerland supports a political solution, negotiated in a spirit of dialogue, which responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. The only document likely to combine these efforts was adopted on 30 June 2012 in Geneva. It is the Agreement of the Action Group for Syria which outlines the principles leading to a political transition. Switzerland supports the efforts of Mr Brahimi and other actors, and is ready, upon request, to organise another meeting in Switzerland.
Switzerland calls on the international community to redouble its efforts to overcome this terrible conflict and to restore sustainable peace based on national reconciliation.
In Mali too, the human rights situation is critical. Military operations have been under way in the north of Mali for the last month. In the current phase, Switzerland considers it necessary to provide the International Support Mission to Mali rapidly with human rights observers on the ground. It is essential to prevent violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. At the end of January, Switzerland committed itself to supporting the civilian component of the international force in achieving this goal.
Switzerland calls on all parties to the conflict to comply with their international obligations. Moreover, it is important that all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, no matter who committed them, be subject to impartial investigations and that they do not go unpunished. In this sense, Switzerland welcomes the efforts undertaken by the Mali authorities at the national and international levels. Protecting the civilian population against all acts of violence is not only an obligation but also the only way to prevent the future cohabitation of the different communities in Mali from being undermined.
Although the military operations have gained the upper hand in the past month, it is only through a political dialogue that this conflict can be resolved in a sustainable way. The aim of this dialogue is to ensure the restoration of peace and to prepare for reconciliation between the communities. Switzerland has been engaged in mediation efforts to find a political solution; we remain ready to offer our support to this political dialogue.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Among the challenges we have to address to ensure effective protection of human rights, I would like to highlight the following three areas of action to which Switzerland gives priority:
First, the freedom of expression, association and assembly: Important aspects of these freedoms concern peaceful protests which had a major influence on recent historical developments, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. A society can only develop and move forward if the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly and the right of association are fully guaranteed. Real stability and lasting development are only possible in societies whose individual members can exercise their fundamental rights without running the risk of being prosecuted, threatened or attacked.
Likewise, the situation of human rights defenders and journalists in many countries is of concern. Switzerland calls on States to allow the freedom of expression and action of civil society. We condemn situations where States ban or repress the expression and action of civil society in the form of peaceful protest. During the current session, Costa Rica, Turkey and Switzerland will present a new resolution on this subject that primarily proposes measures for enabling the good management of peaceful demonstrations and those for responding to tense situations in an appropriate manner. Switzerland calls for broad support for this resolution.
A second priority for Switzerland is respect for human rights by companies. In 2011, the Human Rights Council endorsed the “Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights”.
These principles reflect an international consensus on the respective roles of States and companies in the protection and respect for human rights, on ways to avoid complicity and ensure access to redress in cases of violation. Respect and defense of human rights also contribute to reducing the risks of political and economic instability, in particular through the creation of a favourable context for investments and economic development.
States, companies and civil society share an interest and a responsibility to ensure respect for human rights. An economy can only be sustainable if it is based on these rights. For this reason, Switzerland supports the implementation of these Principles and calls on companies to assume their responsibilities.
Third, the death penalty is a key priority of Switzerland’s human rights policy. The death penalty is incompatible with respect for human rights. Last year, Switzerland and its neighbouring countries made a joint call for the abolition of the death penalty. During this session, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and Liechtenstein will make a joint statement on the same topic.
It is encouraging to see that the movement towards abolition is gaining ground and influence on all continents. In the last twenty years, over fifty countries have abolished the death penalty. Over 130 States have now abolished the death penalty or established a moratorium. It is promising that the support for the General Assembly resolution on this topic continues to grow.
The struggle against the death penalty will continue as long as this inhuman punishment exists. Switzerland calls upon all States to work together towards a world without death penalty.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the VDPA - this significant milestone in the international effort to promote human rights. However, these basic rights continue to be flouted.
There is a gap between the public commitment to human rights and the reality. We, the community of States, have the obligation to close this gap. We have the obligation to respect human rights in our own countries and to ask for the respect of human rights everywhere and for everybody.
In light of this situation, it is not the time for new objectives and new topics. This anniversary should be seen as an opportunity for each State to reflect on ways to improve the implementation of its commitments. What new measures and methods are available to us in this information age? What opportunities present themselves through globalisation? What role can economic actors and civil society play in the implementation of human rights? Twenty years after Vienna, we, individually and the international community as a whole, should start to reflect on these crucial questions.
We, the States making up the international community, are bound by our commitments in the VDPA. We are therefore obliged to not to only reiterate the importance of human rights but to respect them and promote them in our own actions. Let us keep this promise and apply it in our everyday action! This will allow us to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the VDPA in all sincerity.
Finally, I would like to thank most sincerely the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Navi Pillay, and all those who are working closely with her for their commitment to human rights. Their work is highly appreciated and indispensable both here in Geneva and in the field everywhere in the world.
I would also like to say a special word of thanks to the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kyung-wha Kang, who for so many years has worked with great determination in the execution of her functions. Our best wishes to you for the future.
Finally, I encourage the civil society representatives to continue their relentless work for the promotion of human rights. The fight against the death penalty, torture and for more freedom and justice has to be pursued together.
Thank you for your attention. I wish you a constructive session.