19 December 2005 Rights CRINMAIL 18
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- REFORM OF THE UN: Negotiations on the Human Rights Council [news]
- WORLD TRADE TALKS: Human Rights and World Trade Agreements [publication]
- RIGHTS BASED DEVELOPMENT: From Theory to Practice [publication]
- CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: An Appraisal [conference]
- EARLY CHILDHOOD: Committee on the Rights of the Child adopts new General Comment [publication]
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REFORM OF THE UN: Negotiations on the Human Rights Council [news]
On Monday 28 October, the President of the General Assembly, Jan Eliasson circulated a Compilation Text on the proposed new Human Rights Council. Negotiations began on 30 November and were initially expected to end on 16 December.
However, no consensus has yet been reached, and some countries want negotiations to be prolonged, possibly even with the setting up of a working group. NGOs would prefer negotiations to conclude as soon as possible, but only if the resolution adopted complies with the set of principles set out in previous NGO Communications to Mr Eliasson and negotiators.
Governments have so far had the opportunity to comment on different aspects, such as the preamble to the text, operative sections on the status, mandate and functions, size, membership and composition, rules of procedures, methods of work and transitional arrangements.
A more recent Compilation Text has just been circulated which is more streamlined and reorganised. One key change in the new text is an added paragraph in the preamble acknowledging the important role of NGOs. However some States are still challenging this. Only Iceland, Chile, Lichtenstein and Switzerland think the Council should have equal or better/stronger NGO Participation (see Member States Positions).
By the end of last week, negotiations had mainly focused on the Preamble, and sections on status, mandate and function. Mr Eliasson also held an informal briefing session with the NGO community. More information is available at: http://www.un.org/webcast.
If, as it is predicted, no resolution is reached by the end of this year, States will have to start preparing for a session of the Commission in March, and therefore NGOs will have to start strategising in early January and push for a substantive agenda.
Read the new Compilation Text and other documents
The International Service for Human Rights have been following the negotiations closely and are posting weekly updates on their website
More information is available at the following UN website: http://www.reformtheun.org, which has a page dedicated to the Human Rights Council
See also CRIN's news section on the UN Commission on Human Rights and its reform
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WORLD TRADE TALKS: Human Rights and World Trade Agreements [publication]
On the occasion of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)'s Ministerial Conference, which took place in Hong Kong, from 13-18 December, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has released a publication: Human Rights and World Trade Agreements: using general exception clauses to protect human rights.
The relationship between trade and human rights has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. While trade can be an engine for the economic growth needed to combat poverty and promote development, it can also threaten human rights in some situations.
Recent discussions on the effects of patents on the prices of essential medicines have underlined the right to health dimensions of trade. Nonetheless, there are ways to reconcile trade rules and human rights, and channel economic growth and development towards achieving a life in dignity for all.
This publication explores one of several, namely the use of general exception clauses in world trade agreements as a vehicle to protect human rights. In particular, it sets out to demonstrate how three specific exceptions - allowing States to take measures to protect public morals, human life or health, and public order - could be relevant to human rights.
Chapter I sets out the four steps to interpret these general exception clauses and describes, from a legal point of view, how they could be applied to protect human rights.
Chapter II relies on common sense as well as the WTO's seemingly flexible approach to defining the general exception clauses as means to defend human rights norms as legitimate exceptions to trade rules. More specifically, it argues that recognising international human rights norms in this way would help to dispel some of the perceived drawbacks of trade liberalisation. It would also enable States to comply with both their human rights obligations and their WTO commitments, and would show respect for the decisions of their parliaments and courts.
Finally, chapter III examines how trade dispute proceedings differ from adjudicatory systems under the human rights model. It describes the practical and legal pitfalls of raising human rights concerns before a forum meant to settle international trade disputes, and suggests ways of avoiding them.
For more information, contact:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
More information on the WTO talks here.
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RIGHTS BASED DEVELOPMENT: From Theory to Practice [publication]
A book was recently published on Reinventing Development? Translating Rights-based Approaches from Theory into Practice. It aims to identify what difference a rights-based approach makes in practice, and to contribute to a greater common understanding of what the rights-based approach means.
The book presents the practical experiences of development practitioners who have tried to apply a rights-based approach in their work. Its aim is to increase understanding of the approach by drawing on bottom-up insights, and to identify what difference a rights-based approach makes in practice. What is the 'value added' of a rights-based approach? What difficulties and tensions arise? The case-studies span development, humanitarian relief and conflict resolution.
The Institute of Commonwealth Studies have 1000 free copies of "Reinventing Development?" to give to NGOs and social movements in the South, thanks to funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation and Zed Books. Agencies interested in receiving a copy of the book should contact Mary Sanver at [email protected] and give their full postal address.
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CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: An Appraisal [conference]
Date: 18-19 May 2006
Location: Gent, Geneva
The Belgian Inter-University Attraction Poles (IAP) interdisciplinary research network on children's rights is organising an international conference on children's rights to be held in Belgium next year: "International Interdisciplinary Conference on Children's Rights - An Appraisal of the CRC - Theory Meets Practice".
In 2006, more than fifteen years will have passed since the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child came into force. Since then, many child-related studies in several scientific fields made an attempt to interpret and clarify the meaning and scope of the Convention. Meanwhile, also fieldworkers tried to use the Convention as a tool for securing rights to children.
The conference aims at evaluating the progress and achievements the Convention brought about, and at exploring the challenges ahead in realising children's rights. It will in particular do so by creating an open forum where academics can meet and exchange views with other professionals, dealing with children's rights in a more practical way.
The conference will be a multi-disciplinary event that will incorporate addresses by speakers representing various disciplines and attract a heterogeneous group of participants drawn from around the world. It will take place over two days and will comprise both plenary sessions and workshops. The workshops will be organised in parallel sessions.
For more information, contact:
Marie Delplace
Human Rights Centre, Gent University
Universiteitstraat 4, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
Tel: + 32 9 264 69 56; Fax: + 32 9 264 69 95
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.law.ugent.be
More information here.
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EARLY CHILDHOOD: Committee on the Rights of the Child adopts new General Comment [publication]
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted a new General Comment (number 7) on "Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood", during its session in September 2005.
This General Comment arose out of the Committee's experiences of reviewing States parties' reports, where in many cases very little information has been offered about early childhood.
In 2004, the Committee devoted its Day of General Discussion to this theme, which led to the decision to prepare a General Comment on this important topic, with financial support from the Bernard van Leer Foundation.
General Comment 7 includes sections on the features of early childhood that inform the implementation of rights, on the application of the four general principles to young children, on parental responsibilities and assistance from States parties, on comprehensive policies and programmes for early childhood and on young children in need of special protection.
General Comments are seen by the Committee as important interpretive tools in relation to the Convention, for use by States parties, NGOs and all with responsibilities towards young children.
For more information, contact:
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
8-14 Avenue de la Paix, CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 917 9000; Fax: + 41 22 917 9022
Website: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc
More information here
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