OHCHR | High-level panel discussion on the 70th anniversary of th…th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

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High-level panel discussion on the 70th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and 25th anniversary of the Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action

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37th session of the Human Rights Council

Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

28 February 2018

Distinguished President of the Council,

Ministers,
Excellencies,

This Council's mandate, like my own, is rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
and in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. I view this panel as an occasion to
reaffirm our commitments to these fundamental texts.

I quote, "The advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and
belief, and freedom from fear and want, has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the
common people," the Universal Declaration states.

It is a promise by States to uphold the equality and inherent rights of every human being.
Uniform practise was not a goal. The drafters took care to prove "that the co-existence of
States which have differing economic conceptions and differing regimes is possible, and that
it is not necessary for one conception to triumph over another conception.” The UDHR was not
a projection of partisan politics, or a project for world domination. Indeed, the original push to
draw up the Universal Declaration came from anti-imperialist, anti-racist movements in
countries of the Global South.

Western countries – including the United Kingdom, France and the United States – were
initially reluctant. It was Latin American States, with their experiences of slavery, colonialism
and foreign domination, which pushed for international human rights measures even before
the Second World War. Once discussions were underway, the Philippines stood staunchly for
powerful language prohibiting torture. India and Pakistan strongly backed the rights of
women.China,Costa Rica, Ghana, Jamaica, Lebanon and Liberia championedlanguage on
justice and the dignity and worth of the human person.

These are values drawn from cultures and traditions across the world. The rights to justice,
equality, freedom, dignity – and the imperatives of compassion and fellow-feeling for one
another. These are principles and objectives which are fundamental and invariable –
universal. You do not have to be rich or from a developed country to deserve human dignity.

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You do not have to be born with a specific skin colour or gender.

The universality of all human rights is what binds us all together, with all our differences, in the
core of human values: the conviction that all human life is valuable. It is this universality
which gives the Declaration its deep resonance. No other document in history has been
translated into as many languages, and in every one of them it brings inspiration, hope and
meaning.

The Vienna Declarationtook this fundamental notion of universality a step further, by

acknowledging the inseparability of all human rights. All States recognised that all human
rights are "indivisible, interdependent and interrelated".

Civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, and the right to
developmentbuild on each other and advance together.Even if a person’s right to speak out
and protest is recognised, she is not truly free if she is constrained by lack of education or
inadequate living conditions. And even a wealthy person is not living well if he lives in fear of
arbitrary detention by his government.

Access to social protections and economic opportunities form a powerful antidote to the
spread of violent extremism. Measures to end discrimination and uphold people's freedoms to
speak out accelerate sustainable development. Indeed, the Declaration on the Right to
Development emphasises the right of all individuals and peoples to free, active and
meaningful participation in decisions.
Moreover, it was in Vienna that steps were taken to create the mandate of my Office – "in the
recognition that the promotion and protection of all human rights is a legitimate concern of
the international community".

Mr President,

In seeking to become members of this body, States pledge that they will act without
selectivity – both in regard to the countries which they scrutinise, and the rights they will
uphold. Any selectivity – whether it involves an exclusive focus on particular rights, or political
action on behalf of allies –damages this Council's legitimacy and impact.

The provision of governance which serves rather than silences, and economic systems rooted
in dignity, are the responsibility of every government, in all regions, at every level of
development. They underpin the legitimacy of every government. They are also a recipe for the
creation of resilient, successful societies.

And at the global level, it is extremely clear that respect for international law, including
international human rights law, is essential for peaceful coexistence among States,
particularly smaller and less-developed ones.

Today, factures are deepening across the world, violence and conflict are rising, and a blind
nationalism is pursuing narrowly defined national interests at the expense of the common
good.

It is said that today's human rights violations will become tomorrow's conflicts. May these
anniversaries remind us of the disasters, the catastrophic violence, which may ensue, when
we violate the commitments we made 70 years ago, to the universal values of humanity.

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