Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action set goals for 21st century.

The World Conference on Human Rights (14-25 June, Vienna) has forged what Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has called "a new vision of global action for human rights into the next century"

In adopting the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action for Human Rights, the Conference had renewed the international community's commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, stated the UN Secretary-General, in a message read out by Conference Secretary-general Ibrahima Fall - also Assistant Secretary-general for Human Rights. The Conference had "taken into consideration, as never before, the UN's concerns to make human rights a priority in its action worldwide", Mr. Boutros-Ghali stated.

The Conference called for specific measures designed to strengthen international human rights instruments and their monitoring mechanisms, and to improve coordination of UN activities for the furtherance of human rights.

It also adopted two special declarations - on Bosnia and Herzegovina and on Angola.

An important achievement of the Conference was the adoption of far-reaching consensual language on the right to development, including the acceptance for the first time that development is an inalienable right.

On one of the most difficult issues, the Conference recommended that the General Assembly at its next session consider, as a matter of priority, the question of the establishment of a High Commissioner for Human Rights for the promotion and protection of all human rights.

The Conference expressed dismay at massive human rights violations, specially in the form of genocide, "ethnic cleansing" and systematic rape of women in war situations, creating mass exodus of refugees and displaced persons. While strongly condemning such abhorrent practices, it reiterated the call that perpetrators be punished and such practices immediately stopped.

The Conference stressed that persons involved in criminal acts associated with ethnic cleansing were individually responsible and should be brought to justice. it affirmed that victims were entitled to appropriate and effective remedies, and called on all States to take immediate measures, individually and collectively, to combat the practice of ethnic cleansing to bring it quickly to an end.

Throughout the Conference, speakers supported creation of an international criminal court to bring those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law to justice as individuals. The Programme of Action calls for the Commission on Human Rights to examine the possibility of better implementing existing human rights instruments at the international and regional level. The International Law Commission was encouraged to continue work on an international criminal court.

Priority objective

In the Vienna Declaration, the Conference affirmed that the promotion and protection of all human rights, a legitimate concern of the international community, must be considered as a priority objective of the UN.

The World Conference was held some 25 years after the International Conference on Human Rights in Teheran had assessed the progress achieved under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and laid the foundation for subsequent work in the field of human rights at the international level.

Nearly 2,100 delegates from 171 States participated in the global meeting, including more than 3,700 representatives of 841 non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Intergovernmental organizations, specialized agencies and UN human rights entities also took part.

During the general debate, the Conference was addressed by 11 Heads of State or Government, one Vice-President, 70 Foreign Ministers, 16 Ministers of Justice, 13 other Ministers and 56 Government representatives. Representatives of 12 specialized agencies, 13 intergovernmental organizations and 13 UN human rights entities also made statements.

Also taking part in the debate were representatives of 119 NGOs, comprising a broad range of groups, including women, indigenous people, children, the disabled and refugees, as well as persons dealing with torture and other rights violations. Statements were also made by representatives of "unrepresented people", homosexuals, lesbians, regional and religious organizations, and specialists in various human rights-related fields.

The Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the observer of the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC) also addressed the Conference.

At the Secretary-General's special invitation, eminent persons in the field of human rights, including former United States President Jimmy Carter, Russian human rights activist Elena Bonner, Nigerian Nobel Prize winner, writer Wole Soyinka, Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan and former President Corazon Aquino of the Philippines also spoke and lobbied for concrete progress at the Conference.

In its final declaration, the Conference expressed appreciation for the NGO contribution to the process of standard-setting in the field of human rights. it emphasized the importance of continued dialogue and cooperation between Governments and NGOs which, it said, should be free to carry out their human rights activities without interference. The Conference also recognized the important role of NGOs in the promotion of all human rights and in humanitarian activities at national, regional and international levels.

A |living mosaic'

At the closing session, Austrian Foreign Minister Alois Mock, Conference President, said the Conference resembled "a living mosaic" and reflected the actual situation of human rights. There were many single pieces in a mosaic which must be polished and refined before they were put into the right place to form a meaningful and coherent whole. The Conference had tried to define long-known human rights principles and although several principles might have been controversial in the past, the Conference had given them universal authority.

He warned, however, that "the fight for human rights is not over". The international community would have to work to give effect to the recommendations and ideas contained in the final document. Participants should take firm action to see that the final document became a living reality. The Conference was a unique gathering, pulling together all the forces which had a role to play in the furtherance of human rights.

In his message to the final session, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali stated: "Responding to the expectations of the |peoples of the United Nations' as set out in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action is a heavy responsibility indeed. This will mean for us in the United Nations a more vigorous approach to human rights."

History will judge

In his closing address, Mr. Fall said the mobilization for and participation in the Conference might well be one of its most significant outcomes. "History will judge us, not by the words on the pages of this Declaration, but by the sincerity of our efforts and the success we achieve" in changing the way people live. "The credibility of the whole United Nations is at stake", he declared.

Mr. Fall said that never before had so many Governments representing so many diverse cultures and peoples given such in-depth attention to human rights. He underlined the direct participation of children, women and indigenous peoples from all over the world. The Conference had strengthened international standards of human rights. The Conference adopted a two-part Vienna Declaration and a six-part, 150-paragraph Programme of Action. The Declaration consisted of 16 preambular paragraphs, and 39 operative paragraphs. The Programme of Action concerned: increased coordination of human rights within the UN system; equality, dignity and tolerance; cooperation, development and strengthening of human rights; human rights education; implementation and monitoring methods; and follow-up to the Conference.

The Vienna Declaration affirms that the universal nature of all human rights was beyond question and maintains that their promotion and protection was "the first responsibility of Governments".

Universal and

indivisible 

It declared all human rights universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis. While the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it held that it was the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights.

It further reaffirmed the right of all peoples to self-determination, recognizing the right of peoples to take any legitimate action, in accordance with the Charter, to realize their inalienable right of self-determination.

However, "this shall not be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples", it said.

The Vienna Declaration also:

* Calls for effective international measures to guarantee and monitor the implementation of human rights standards in respect of people under foreign occupation. Effective legal protection against the violation of their human rights, in accordance with human rights norms and international law, particularly the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, and other applicable norms of humanitarian law.

* States that democracy, development and respect for human rights are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Democracy is based on the freely expressed will of the people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full participation in all aspects of their lives.

* Reaffirms the right to development, established in the Declaration on the Right to Development, as a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human rights. While development facilitated the enjoyment of all human rights, lack of it may not be invoked to justify abridgement of internationally recognized human rights.

* Calls on the international community to make all efforts to help alleviate the external debt burden of developing countries to supplement efforts of their Governments to attain the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights of their people.

* Calls on States to refrain from any unilateral measure not in accordance with international law that created obstacles to trade relations among States and impeded the full realization of human rights. it affirmed that "food should not be used as a tool for political pressure".

* Observes that gender-based violence and all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation, including those resulting from cultural prejudice and international trafficking, were incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and must be eliminated. That could be achieved by legal measures and through national action and international cooperation in economic and social development, education, safe maternity and health care, and social support.

* States that persons belonging to minorities had the right to enjoy their own culture, to practise their own religion and to Use their own language in private and in public and without interference or any form of discrimination.

* Encourages States to accede to international human rights instruments, and to avoid, as far as possible, the resort to reservations. The importance of ensuring the universality, objectivity and non-selectivity of the consideration of human rights issues was reaffirmed.

* Urges Governments, the UN system as well as other mutlitateral organizations to considerably increase the resources allocated to programmes aimed at the establishment and strengthening of: national legislation; national institutions and related infrastructures which upheld the rule of law and democracy; electoral assistance; human rights awareness through training, teaching and education; popular participation and civil society.

* Underlines the importance of objective, responsible and impartial information about human rights and humanitarian issues.

* Encourages the increased involvement of the media, for whom freedom and protection should be guaranteed within the framework of national law.

Racism, xenophobia 

The Conference also addressed a number of contemporary trends and challenges to the realization of human rights of women and men, including those belonging to vulnerable groups. The Principles enshrined the idea that respect for human rights without distinction of any kind is a fundamental rule of international human rights law, the Conference maintained. It was asserted that the speedy and comprehensive elimination of all forms of racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance is a priority task for the international community.

The Programme of Action welcomes the Human Rights Commission's decision to appoint a special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. it also called on Governments to counter intolerance and related violence based on religion or belief, including practices of discrimination against women and the desecration of religious sites.

It calls on the Human Rights Commission to examine ways of promoting the rights of persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. Measures should be taken to facilitate their full participation in all aspects of political, economic, social, religious and cultural life, as well as in their countries' economic development.

States are urged to guarantee the human rights of all migrant workers and their families, and the equal opportunity of disabled persons through the elimination of all restrictive, socially determined barriers, whether they be physical, financial, social or psychological.

Indigenous Year

On 18 June, the Conference commemorated the International Year for the World's indigenous People (1993). Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu, who is the Goodwill Ambassador for the Year, called on the Conference to declare an international decade for those peoples. indigenous people from all regions of the world addressed the Conference during the special observance.

Unique contribution

of indigenous people

The Conference, in its Declaration, recognized the inherent dignity and the unique contribution of indigeous people to the development and plurality of society and strongly reaffirmed the international community's commitment to their economic, social and cultural well-being and their enjoyment of the fruits of sustainable development.

States should, in accordance with international law, take concerted positive steps to ensure respect for the human rights of indigenous people, on the basis of equality and nondiscrimination, and recognize the value and diversity of their distinct identities, cultures and social organization.

The Programme of Action calls for States to ensure the full and free participation of indigenous people in all aspects of society, particularly in matters of concern to them.

It calls on the Working Group on indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to complete the drafting of a declaration on the rights of indigenous people at its eleventh session. The Human Rights Commission was asked to renew and update the mandate of the Working Group following its completion of the draft declaration.

The Action Programme also recommended that the General Assembly proclaim an international Decade of the World's Indigenous People, to begin in January 1994, including action-orientated programmes, to be decided upon in partnerhsip with indigenous people. An appropriate voluntary trust fund should be set up for that purpose. in the framework of such a Decade, the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people in the UN system should be considered.

Combat

child abuse

The Programme of Action also calls for effective measures to combat the exploitation and abuse of children, including such practices as female infanticide, harmful child labour, sale of children and organs, child prostitution, child pornography and other forms of sexual abuse.

It supports, in particular, measures to promote the human rights of the girl child and to protect children in armed conflicts.

It urges universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by 1995 and the universal signing of the World Summit Declaration and Plan of Action, as well as their effective implementation. States Parties are to implement the Convention effectively and to withdraw reservations to the Convention contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention or to international treaty law.

The Vienna Declaration reaffirms that everyone, without distinction of any kind, is entitled to the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution in other countries, as well as the right to return to one's own country.

States have an obligation to create adequate measures at the national level, in particular in the fields of education, health and social support, for the promotion and protection of the rights of persons in vulnerable sectors of their populations and to ensure the participation of those persons who are interested in finding solutions to their own problems.

Equal rights

for women

Another focus of the Programme of Action is the rights of women. it urges the eradication of all forms of discrimination against women, both hidden and overt, as well as the full and equal enjoyment by women of all human rights, which should be a priority for Governments and the UN. The importance of integration and full participation of women as agents and beneficiaries in the development process is underlined by the Programme of Action, which calls for the equal status and human rights of women to be integrated into the mainstream of UN system-wide activity.

The Action Programme further:

* Stresses the importance of the elimination of violence against women in public and private life and of all forms of sexual harassment, the exploitation and trafficking in women, the elimination of gender bias in the administration of justice and the eradication of any conflicts which may arise between the rights of women and the harmful effects of certain traditional practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism.

* Calls on the General Assembly to adopt the draft Declaration on Violence against Women and on States to combat such violence in accordance with its provisions. Universal ratification by the year 2000 of the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is encouraged.

* Terms violations of the human rights of women in situations of armed conflict violations of the fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law. All violations of that kind, including murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy, required a particularly effective response, it states.

* Welcomes the World Conference on Women, to be held in Beijing in 1995, and urges that human rights of women should play an important role in its deliberations, in accordance with the Conference priority themes of equality, development and peace.

* Calls for increased coordination within the UN system and for organizing human rights training for international civil servants assigned to related work.

* Stresses the need to avoid a proliferation of human rights instruments and urges States to limit the extent of any reservations lodged when ratifying such instruments.

* Calls for a "substantial increase" in the resources for the UN human rights programme from within the regular budget and for urgent steps to seek increased extrabudgetary resources.

* Strongly recommends that the Centre for Human Rights should coordinate a comprehensive programme to help States build and strengthen adequate national structures on human rights and the rule of law.

Ethnic cleansing

constitutes genocide

In its declaration on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Conference condemned the ongoing aggression against that country, the heinous practice of "ethnic cleansing", war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly the extermination of its Muslim population. it expressed its belief that ethnic cleansing constituted genocide, in violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The Conference strongly condemned Serbia and Montenegro, the Yugoslav National Army, the Serbian militia and the extremist elements in the Bosnian Croatian militia forces as perpetrators of those crimes.

It urged the international community to assume full responsibility to restore peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders.

The Conference urged the world community, in particular the Security Council, to take forceful and decisive steps for effective measures of peacemaking in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to prevent and punish genocide, reject any acquisition of territory by the use of force, and call upon all occupying forces to withdraw immediately from these territories.

It called on the Council to implement the Vance-Owen peace plan under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and implement immediately an effective cease-fire, accompanied by the neutralization of all heavy weaponry, which would be placed under the control of the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR), as well as the interdiction of all arms supplies to Serbian forces operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Conference also urged that the arms embargo against Bosnia and Herzegovina be lifted to enable it to exercise its right to self-defence, in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter, to reverse the aggression perpetuated by Serbian forces and extremist elements against Bosnian Muslims.

It further urged the extension of immediate humanitarian help to persons in besieged towns and cities, and the speedy implementation of Security Council resolution 808 (1993), which established an international tribunal for the prosecution of per-sons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed since 1991 in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991.

The Conference said the world community should eradicate the consequences of aggression and human rights violations in Bosnia and Herzegovina by way of joint international efforts of reconstruction.

All refugees, deportees and displaced persons should be enabled to return safely to their homes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the restoration of their property. The Conference strongly warned against and rejected any intention to use the safe-haven areas as permanent refugee camps.

The Conference urged the Council to fulfil its responsibilities under the Charter, particularly Article 24, by taking all prompt and effective measures to restore peace and affirm the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and uphold the human rights of its people.

The Declaration was adopted by a roll-call vote of 88 to 1 (Russian Federation). According to the Conference's rules of procedure, the numbers of States abstaining and not participating in the vote were not recorded.

Restore peace

in Angola

In the declaration on Angola, adopted without a vote, the Conference urged the international community, particularly the Security Council, to take forceful and decisive steps to implement immediately an effective cease-fire and restore peace and security in Angola. It called on the Council to implement rapidly its resolutions on the situation in that country. The international community was urged to apply pressure on the National Union for the Total independence of Angola (UNITA) to accept unreservedly the results of the the 29 and 30 September 1992 elections and abide fully by the 31 May 1991 Peace Accords, signed in Bicesse, Portugal, outside of Lisbon.

States were urged to refrain from any action, including the provision of military assistance or other support to UNITA, which could directly or indirectly jeopardize the Accords' implementation.

The Conference urged the international community to extend humanitarian assistance to the refugees and internally displaced persons, and effectively eradicate the consequences of the resumption of war and the resulting human rights violations.

Background:

Preparatory process

On 18 December 1990, the General Assembly decided to convene a World Conference on Human Rights. Governments, UN specialized agencies, international and regional organizations and NGOs were invited to participate and assist in the preparatory process.

A Preparatory Committee was established and opened to all UN States Members and its specialized agencies. The Committee was charged with making proposals to the Assembly on the Conference's agenda, participation and documentation. NGOs, in consultation with the Economic and Social Council, were allowed to participate at preparatory meetings as observers.

The first three sessions of the Preparatory Committee took place in Geneva: 9 to 13 September 1991; 30 March to 10 April 1992; and 14 to 18 September 1992. During those sessions, the Committee adopted the draft rules of procedure for the Conference, but was unable to finalize a draft provisional agenda. The Assembly adopted the Conference agenda on 18 December 1992. At its fourth and final session, also in Geneva, from 19 April to 8 May 1993, the Preparatory Committee adopted the draft final document to be considered by the Conference.

As part of the preparatory process, the Assembly asked Member States to hold regional meetings to exchange views and highlight concerns specific to the region.

African States met at Tunis from 2 to 6 November 1992 and adopted the "Tunis Declaration". The Latin American and Caribbean States held a regional meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica, from 18 to 22 January 1993 and adopted the "San Jose Declaration" on Human Rights. Representatives of Asian States met in Bangkok from 29 March to 2 April and adopted the "Bangkok Declaration".

Vienna: A search for common ground

When Ibrahima Fall stepped up to the podium to address the final plenary session of the World Conference on Human Rights, his face betrayed a smile for the first time in weeks. Dressed in his native Senegalese boubou, the 51-year-old human rights lawyer and former Foreign Minister declared to the exhausted delegates, assembled late on the last night of the Conference: "Here, I think, we can claim success". And then he proceeded to outline the consensus agreement that will go down in history as the "Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action" of the World Conference.

Beyond expectations

While pundits continue to analyse just what progress was made at the first global human rights meeting in 25 years - the previous one was held in 1968 in Teheran - the Vienna Declaration certainly went beyond many expectations, achieving solid consensus language that can be built on for years to come. When the meeting had opened on 14 June at the Austria Centre overlooking the Danube River in Vienna, however, this was far from a sure thing.

In March 1993, when the UN Secretary - General appointed Mr. Fall to head the Conference as Assistant Secretary - General for Human Rights, doubts over the success of the Conference were at their peak. The former African diplomat was the third UN official to be placed in charge of the Conference, and three intergovernmental preparatory meetings had ended in failure, unable to agree even on an agenda.

Aware of these problems, UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali opened the Conference with a call for real progress on key issues. "This is no time to seek cautious compromise or approximate solutions, to be content with soothing declarations or, worse still, to become bogged down in verbal battles", he exhorted the delegates. "On the contrary, we must ascend to a conception of human rights that would make such rights truly universal."

A benchmark

for the future

The central work of the two-week meeting revolved around the drafting of the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action, which would stand as a benchmark for future work in human rights.

Surprisingly, several of the issues that had been predicted to be most problematic were resolved relatively quickly. For example, the clash over the right to development, which many thought might cause a disastrous stalemate between northern and southern Governments, did not materialize.

Controversy did result over prior agreement that the Conference would avoid country-specific discussions of human rights violations. Despite this, the 52-member Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) tabled a resolution calling for an end to the arms embargo to Bosnia-Herzegovina. After extended debate, the resolution was taken to a vote, a rare step at a meeting where a premium was placed on consensus, and adopted by 80 to 1.

Dismantling brackets

Despite these difficulties, the Drafting Committee continued to move along, dismantling one by one the 200-plus brackets marking disputed language in the draft final text. Resolutions on women, children and indigenous people turned out to be remarkably strong. And deep into the final afternoon of negotiations, language was pushed through calling on the General Assembly to consider establishment of a High Commissioner for Human Rights, one of the most hotly debated recommendations of the Conference.

It was not an outright call for a Commissioner with the authority to intervene in sovereign States where rights were being violated, but it opens the way for further negotiations towards that goal.

The Conference also wanted to see the Centre for Human Rights provided with the resources to assume a larger role in the promotion of human rights.

The carefully balanced outcomes of the Conference - the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action - reflect compromise, but they also make it clear that the marginalization of human rights that occurred during the cold war years may now be coming to an end. In a significant shift, the international community agreed to view the promotion and protection of human rights as a "priority objective" of the UN's work.

NGOs press for

human rights for all

Just prior to the World Conference, nearly 1,000 NGOs with expertise in human rights and development held their own forum in Vienna (10-12 June). Entitled "All Human Rights for All", it was organized by the Joint NGO Planning Committee for the World Conference.

More than 2,000 participants divided into five working groups to examine the issues before the Conference and make proposals to guide their future work and, to the extent possible, be integrated into the final document of the Conference itself. Working Group 5 - "Beyond Vienna: Building the Human Rights Movement" - made the recommendations. Many were integrated into the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action two weeks later.

Among the Working Group's proposals:

* A human rights information and education campaign.

* Accountability of major institutions of society for their obligations nationally and internationally, in terms of the principle that parallel to the universality of rights lay the universality of accountability of all institutions.

* A focus on local issues: no hierarchy of rights or organizations; no double standards; and consistency of practice.

* Establish and/or democratize official national human rights bodies, down to the local level.

* Raise the proportion of the UN budget devoted to human rights work to reflect the priority accorded to human rights in the Charter.

* Democratization of the UN system.

* Establishment of an Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, accountable to the General Assembly,

* Establishment of a permanent independent penal court for violations of human rights.