“CURRENT CHALLENGES TO HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION”

Thank you Chair and distinguished guests for the invitation to UNDP to address

this year’s Annual Conference on such an important topic, in a day that sadly

follows another terrible attack that struck Brussels heart just yesterday killing

more than 30 people.

The world is changing at an unprecedented pace with multidimensional

challenges that require much more action and integrated responses from all of

us, in solidarity, to prevent and mitigate the violations, abuses and atrocities

that we are witnessing on a daily basis. Of particular concern, in recent years,

we are seeing a new wave of violent extremism and escalating conflicts that has

taken the lives of many innocent people of different faiths, races and

nationalities.

The numbers speak for themselves and allow me to share some that I find quite

impressive and telling of I see as the first and most concerning human rights

protection challenge, that is the rise of violent extremism.

Since the beginning of the 21st century there has been more than a nine-fold

increase in the number of deaths from violent extremism and terrorism, from

3,329 in 2000 to 32,685 in 2014. Five countries - Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan,

Pakistan and Syria - accounted for 78 per cent of the lives lost in 2014.

All these actions were inspired by extremist ideologies that glorify the

supremacy of a particular group, whether based on religion, race, citizenship,

class or conviction, and thus oppose the idea of a more open and inclusive

society.

In 2014, the five countries with the highest levels of terrorist/violent extremist

attacks, generated over 16 million refugees and IDPs. Nearly 1.4 billion people

are estimated to live in fragile contexts, and that number is projected in the

Secretary-General’s Report for the World Humanitarian Summit to grow to 1.9

billion by 2030. UNHCR’s 2015 Global Trends Report states that worldwide

displacement is now at the highest level ever recorded. It said the number of

people forcibly displaced by the end of 2014 had risen to a staggering 59.5

million people, of who half were children.

The unprecedented number of displaced people poses a variety of other human

rights challenges, as pointed by the Deputy High Commissioner in her opening

speech yesterday. Conflicts in Africa, the Arab States and Western Asia as well

as the impact of climate change and natural disasters fuel the waves of refugees

and/or migrants who seek asylum or better livelihood opportunities in

neighboring countries, Europe or the US. We see it every day in the news and

our hearts break with hopelessness.

The massive influx of foreigners spurs fears that are exploited by extreme right-

wing political parties that call for the protection of national borders. There is

also a risk that radicalization among refugees and migrants could rise if their

aspirations for a better life end in poverty or stigmatization. It is therefore

important for both host communities and refugee and migrant populations to

work towards integration.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In UNDP we believe that as development actors our role is to address the root

causes of extremism and these are connected to the enjoyment of basic and

fundamental human rights for all. We must address these causes and not be

only reactive to the symptoms.

Our UN Resident Coordinators and senior leadership of UNDP on the ground are

well aware that shrinking of democratic spaces, curtailing of freedom of speech

and exclusionary practices of political power-sharing, discrimination of women,

indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities or persecution of LGBTI – all have

the potential to fuel grievances that can lead to break down in social cohesion in

communities, escalation of conflict and violent extremism.

We must work together more than even to prevent and mitigate this massive

crisis. The UN reform discussion within the fit for purpose agenda call for the UN

to work together across the board, to promote a more integrated UN system –

peace, development, human rights and humanitarian action – as a means to

promote prevention and to sustain peace.

As we will have the opportunity to listen later today from the Deputy Secretary

General, the HRUF initiative is about ensuring that the UN system wide is more

attuned to early signs of serious and systematic human violation to respond

sooner and prevent crisis escalation. Also, the UN Secretary General in his Plan

of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, explains how violent extremism

become attractive where human rights are being violated, and good governance

is being ignored.

As recognized in the Plan of Action, the response to violent extremism needs to

be twofold, at the same time answering immediate challenges and preventing

further spread of extremism, and addressing root causes as means of long-term

prevention.

Human rights and the rule of law feature in the UNDP Strategic Plan more

prominently than ever. Apart from the specific output (2.3) on NHRIs there is

explicit reaffirmation of rights, HRBA, participation and voice, gender equality as

engagement principles to guide our work as means to address inequality,

exclusion and prevent drivers of conflict.

There is a whole spectrum of existing rule of law and human rights practices

that could be of relevance in this respect. They range from community security,

SSR, restricting proliferation of SALW and border control to capacity

development for special jurisdictions and criminal prosecutions. Also key are

access to justice programmes tailored for refugees and IDPs, youth and other ‘at

risk’ groups, and reform of correctional services to disincentivize radicalization

in prisons to human rights monitoring and protection, access to transitional

justice remedies for victims of VE, and parliamentary and civil society oversight

of overreach on civil liberties by security and justice institutions.

Promoting all human rights and access to justice, combating gender based

violence, fighting impunity, supporting the rule of law and dealing with legacies

of conflict, are at the heart of UNDP work in more than 40 crisis or fragility

affected countries.

In several of these conflict countries, UNDP has been on the forefront of the

response to violent extremism working with the host governments through te

implementation of programmes that address a combination of interventions in

some of the areas mentioned before.

In Sudan Darfur together with the UN Mission UNDP is strengthening the

capacity of correctional services and design and implement programmes for

anti-radicalization of prison population.

In Mindanao we are supporting Access to justice programmes that target “at

risk” population including youth, ex-combatants, previously disenfranchised

and/or displaced groups in conjunction with livelihood opportunities and

providing transitional justice remedies for victims of VE and other human rights

abuses.

In Turkey, Ukraine, Bosnia, Serbia UNDP is strengthening mechanisms of civilian

oversight of justice, human rights and security institutions including

parliamentary committees, NHRI and CSOs in regards to human rights and civil

liberties overreach.

The second human rights challenge I would like to highlight comes from long

systemic practices of inequality, poverty and violation of social, cultural and

economic rights, exclusion of minorities and the most vulnerable from all

participatory processes in decisions that affect their lands, livelihoods and

customs. Land grabbing, illegal mining and practices of extractive industries

with no adherence to basic human rights standards is affecting thousands of

communities, indigenous peoples, women and children that are exposed to the

environmental and health impacts such as mercury poisoning. In many

countries in Asia and the Pacific and in Africa national institutions have been at

the forefront of fighting these practices.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In all these daunting challenges, NHRIs are key actors in regards to prevention

or mitigating escalation of crisis and in post-conflict solutions - They have

unique broad human rights mandates and functions including investigations,

monitoring, reporting at national, regional and international level which are

relevant at all stages of conflict.

The degree to which NHRIs can be engaged in advancing the objectives of

promotion, prevention and protection is highly context specific. But it is certain

that national institutions can provide the UN system with a neutral institutional

space at the national level to support respond to the risks or triggers of serious

violations, before they occur, or to strategies that can address serious violations

that may have already occurred.

As investigative bodies with quasi-judicial powers, NHRIs are well-placed to

ensure better understanding of the local context, to provide warning and

respond to situations that pose a risk for serious human rights violations. The

success of prevention is pegged to the availability of credible, timely and joined-

up information of relevance to human rights analysis on potential or ongoing

serious violations, that can enable early action by all relevant actors, including

the UN.

A good example of this role is the work that has been carried out by the NHRI in

Ukraine and that UNDP was privileged to support through building of human

rights actors among Civil Society Organisations and the National Human Rights

Institution to monitor and document violations in the east of Ukraine and

Crimea for possible further use by national and international justice

mechanisms.

NHRIs are also mandated to promote human rights through education and

training initiatives for government Ministries/departments and human rights

awareness programs for the pubic and social actors. Educational programs can

have highly significant consequences in terms of prevention of serious violations

and escalating tensions.

In Sudan - In 2015, in cooperation with the Commission, grand-scale awareness

raising campaigns were conducted. 6000 women received training related to

violence against women and reproductive health and over 48,000 people were

reached through community radio campaigns.

Furthermore, NHRIs often also have a mandate to advise on draft

policies/legislation, identify deficiencies in existing policies/law, and

recommend reforms in accordance with international human rights standards.

bIn other instances, NHRI engagement in post conflict settings have ensured

that political dialogues, reconciliation and mediation processes are inclusive n

some contexts are allowed to participate in facilitating mediation, reconciliation

and ensuring that political processes are inclusive.

For example, in Indonesia UNDP supported the NHRI Komnas HAM to

incorporate gender perspectives and women’s human rights into ongoing public

inquiry into land and IP issues. UNDP also collaborated with the Ombudsman to

strengthen the effectiveness of the Public Complaints and Grievance Handling

Mechanisms (PCM) and support to the operation of PCM units, which resulted

in a presidential regulation requiring every national and subnational public

service institution to establish public complaints and handling mechanisms

(PCMs).

Protecting NHRIs at risk and building their capacities to address prevention of

conflict, response in conflict contexts and post-conflict situations is among the

key priorities that GANHRI - UNDP-OHCHR- Partnership has identified moving

forward.

With your support, UNDP will continue to advocate and rally member states and

like-minded partners to support this effort through national institutions

ensuring a developmental approach that also tackles the underlining causes at

the epicenter of violence, marginalization and conflict. We need to avoid

reactive or ad hoc responses to its spill overs, that often put at stake the same

freedoms and fundamental rights that members states have pledged to uphold

within their human rights commitments.

Thank you and wishes of success for the continuation of this important

Conference.