Much of the criticism of UN SG Guterres for his “silence” on human rights is misplaced—he is rather making a good faith effort, alongside High Commissioner Bachelet, to balance the public and private diplomacy aspects of his mandate. Is Secretary-General António Guterres really committed to human rights? That’s a question that has been vexing diplomats, civil society representatives and journalists …
Desde el estabelecimiento de las Naciones Unidas en 1946, la Organización ha reconocido la importancia y el valor central de la prevención y ha declarado su determinación de colocar ese enfoque en el centro de su actuación. De hecho, las primeras palabras de la Carta de las Naciones Unidas dejan evidente que la misión primordial de la ONU es prevenir …
An independent analysis of the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council The High-Level Segment of the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council , held from 24 to 26 February 2020, saw the active participation of more than a 100 world leaders, including, four heads of States, around 90 ministers or vice-ministers, and a number of principals of international organisations. In the statements they delivered to …
Un análisis independiente del Segmento de Alto Nivel del Consejo de Derechos Humanos Entre el 24 y el 26 de febrero de 2020, el Segmento de Alto Nivel de la 43ª Sesión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos contó con la participación activa de más de 100 líderes mundiales, incluyendo 4 Jefes de Estado, cerca de 90 ministros y viceministros, y …
On Monday 24 February, the first day of the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC43), UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched a new ‘Call to action for human rights.’ Rumours of a ‘major announcement’ from the Secretary-General had been circulating since late last year, and were confirmed by Guterres himself in a keynote speech to the General Assembly on 22 January. In it, he identified four key contemporary challenges facing humanity (he called …
El lunes 24 de febrero, el primer día de la 43ª sesión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos (CDH43) , el Secretario General de la ONU, António Guterres, lanzó un nuevo “Llamado a la acción por los derechos humanos” . Rumores de un “anuncio importante” del Secretario General circulaban desde fines del año pasado, y el propio Guterres los confirmó en un discurso de apertura ante la Asamblea General el 22 de enero. En esa ocasión, el Secretario …
UN efforts over the past thirty years to shift its approach to crises and conflicts from reaction to prevention have largely failed for two main reasons, according to a new report by the Universal Rights Group (URG) think tank. First, because it is far easier for world governments to invest political and financial capital in responding to humanitarian disasters (especially …
UN leaders have long understood and contended that, when it comes to crises, conflicts and natural disasters, ‘prevention is better than cure.’ Former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, writing in a 1999 report on the work of the Organisation, made this point particularly powerfully. Yet he also conceded that the UN had consistently failed to match rhetoric about the importance of prevention …
What happened to the UN’s Human Rights up Front initiative? This is a question many human rights advocates have asked since UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took office in 2016. A recent report on the UN’s failings in Myanmar during the atrocities committed against the Rohingya in 2017 has put this question in stark relief. The independent review , conducted by Gert Rosenthal, …
More than two decades have passed since the concept of an ASEAN ‘Socio-Cultural Community’ (ASCC) emerged for the first time. The idea first appeared in proposals for a ‘Community of Caring Societies,’ adopted by ASEAN countries in their ‘Vision 2020’ (adopted in 1997). Six years later, ASEAN proposed to build an ASCC in its ‘Declaration of ASEAN Concord II’ (Bali …
