Fostering respect for human rights is one of Switzerland’s foreign policy objectives, as provided for in our Federal Constitution. In Switzerland, promoting and protecting human rights is essential to direct democracy because it forms the basis for the freedom and security of every individual. At the international level, respect for human rights contributes to peace and global security, to the prevention of conflicts and violent extremism, and to sustainable development and prosperity. This conviction guides the efforts of Switzerland in helping turn the theory of human rights protection into a reality for every man, woman and child in today’s world.
Challenges and opportunities for human rights implementation in 2016
The international legal human rights framework and the architecture for supporting human rights implementation have been steadily expanding over the recent decades. The Human Rights Council has made a major contribution to this progress. Its mechanisms, such as the Universal Periodic Review or the Special Procedures, enjoy wide legitimacy, while the Council has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to respond to urgent human rights situations. Moreover, significant progress has been achieved in the promoting the understanding that human rights are a fundamental factor for achieving long-term sustainable development, peace and security, as confirmed by the recently adopted Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
In 2016 and at the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Human Rights Council, we have to ask ourselves: how have these instruments impacted on individuals’ rights around the globe? Certainly, we must concede, less than we had hoped for – as the current suffering of many children, many of them even younger than the Council itself, demonstrate.
Why is this so?
Because implementation of human rights remains insufficient, mainly owing to the fact that the perpetrators of violations are not held to account. Progress in information technology offers previously unknown possibilities for disseminating knowledge about human rights to the holders of those rights, and for reporting on alleged violations. There are many people in the world, however, who are unable to benefit from these rights, particularly those who live in fragile countries where the State is no longer capable of performing its fundamental responsibilities or who are compelled to live under the yoke of an authoritarian government.
Sometimes, it seems that even the principle of the universality of human rights is being questioned, while accusation and counter-accusation about the selective application of international norms, and of their instrumentalisation for other ends, too often hijack discussions. On-going armed conflicts, that have become incubators of violent extremism, are just one of the recent developments that have created an unprecedented challenge for the protection of human rights. They also pose new challenges to the capacity of the United Nations architecture, in particular the Human Rights Council, to respond adequately.
At the same time, the increasing role and specific leverage of civil society and the private sector in contributing to the better enjoyment of human rights has become widely recognized: it is now up to States and the international human rights architecture to adequately integrate these stakeholders into their efforts.
In the end, progress with the improved implementation of human rights in our societies can be only measured, as the preamble of the Swiss federal Constitution states, “by the well-being of its weakest members”, be that women, children or members of minority groups.
Our commitment: universality, coherence and inclusion
The complex and sometimes hostile global environment in which we strive to promote and protect human rights should not compel us to fatalism, nor to idealism, but should trigger in us a determination to identify new opportunities for action. This is what Switzerland wishes to recommit to with the adoption of a Human Rights Strategy 2016-2019, applicable to the activities of its foreign service. No matter what action Switzerland takes, human rights are an integral part of its policies. The human rights strategy is intended to help us systematise and take this commitment even further-by defining and setting the principles of what is to be Switzerland’s specific contribution to strengthening respect for human rights at the global level. The strategy is based on the values and opportunities particular to Switzerland such as dialogue, consensus-building, the protection of minorities, solidarity, humanitarian tradition, good offices and mediation.
The strategy takes effective implementation of human rights as its core principle and benchmark of analysis and action, while relentlessly promoting their universality, (strategic objective #1). In its efforts, Switzerland will continue to confront any attempts to downplay human rights obligations, making them subservient to political considerations such as national security, the fight against terrorism or cultural or traditional specificities. Moreover, Switzerland wants to ensure that the human rights architecture is coherent, adequate and relevant to today’s world, and can rely on strong human rights institutions with effective monitoring mechanisms (strategic objective #2). This architecture must be responsive to violations and the needs of victims, hold the perpetrators of human rights violations accountable, and adequately prevent the occurrence of further violations.
It would be presumptuous to think that progress can be achieved by Switzerland alone, without effective coalitions with other States and with non-States partners. Therefore, Switzerland is committed to reinforce the participation and inclusion of all relevant actors in human rights matters (strategic objective #3). We are clear that no effective progress in the field of human rights can be achieved if our discussions and actions disregard the inputs, roles and responsibilities of States from all regions, of the civil society and of the private sector. Switzerland is committed to engage in dialogue with all parties, and will endeavour to identify, wherever possible, approaches that unite rather than divide.
Implementation starts now
The principles and objectives set out in our strategy are at the core of Swiss efforts in context of the 10th Anniversary of the Human Rights Council. The anniversary offers an opportunity to take stock and to think ahead on how to push forward the implementation of human rights at national, regional and international levels. Switzerland wishes to promote and contribute to a process of reflection and discussion on how the Council can build on its strengths and reinforce its role in the international architecture. I am pleased and grateful that eminent representatives from States, the civil society and the private sector have already joined this discussion, showing that they share our objective of a stronger and more impactful Human Rights Council. Key findings of those initial discussions – which will be expanded and widened to include all interested parties throughout 2016 and beyond – together with further proposals by the Universal Rights Group, will be presented as Vision 2021, so as to feed in the discussions for the five years to come until the General Assembly will proceed to the next review of the Human Rights Council.
The forthcoming third edition of the Glion Human Rights Dialogue, organised by Switzerland together with Norway and Universal Rights Group, will be another opportunity to move forward in identifying practical solutions to improve the implementation of international human rights obligations and commitments. At the occasion of the commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Council on 13th June 2016, Switzerland intends to launch a high-level political Appeal for the strengthening of human rights as a key tool for conflict prevention. Human rights violations can be an early warning indicator of potential instability or the escalation of a conflict. We believe that communication and operational channels between the Human Rights Council and the Security Council have to be actively encouraged. I hope that many countries will support this initiative.
The objective of these efforts is not very different to the goal of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, when he addressed the last session of the Commission on Human Rights 10 years ago. Mr Annan used that address to say that: “the era of declaration is now giving way, as it should, to an era of implementation.” Ten years on, the Human Rights Council’s 10th anniversary offers an opportunity to reflect on the degree to which we have responded to that rallying call, an opportunity to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the current international architecture, and a moment to identify better ways of working and more effective actions in pursuit of the full enjoyment of human rights by all.
H.E. Didier Burkhalter is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland
Image: “Palais des Nations, Geneva” by United Nations photo, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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