(Hong Kong, March 27, 2009)
The AHRC is happy to announce that this book by one of the worlds best known authorities in the field of human rights is now available in our website by the kind permission of the author.
This book may be seen at: http://www.alrc.net/doc/mainfile.php/documents/550/
Dr. Bertrand Ramcharan who was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2003 to 2004 has a long track record of involvement in the human rights field and this book gives a short introduction to his long and colourful career. He joined the United Nations Human Rights Division in 1973 and served in various capacities and reached the position of Deputy Commissioner of Human Rights before finally taking the position of the High Commissioner. Commenting on the contribution of the United Nations in these years Dr. Ramcharan writes,
How would I assess the past four decades of a United Nations human rights journey? To me, the single most important contribution of the United Nations is to have brought about acceptance by Governments world-wide that they are accountable for upholding international human rights standards. This is not to say that the standards are respected in practice. Far from it. Violations of human rights are rampant in the world. But no Government, as far as I am aware, denies the validity of international human rights. It was not always thus. The former communist countries held that human rights were granted by the State. This is no more. Different groups of countries have, in the past, made special pleadings on grounds of culture or religion. This is still done occasionally, but against the background of the validity of international human rights. All countries now accept, with varying shades of sincerity admittedly, that they must strive to implement human rights at home, that they must work for the establishment or strengthening of national protection systems. The concept of the national protection system, with whose origins and articulation I have been closely associated, is, in my view, strategically the most important concept to guide human rights endeavour in our times.
He writes touchingly about those who influenced him in the field of human rights such as Dr. Theo C. Van Boven, perhaps the most important leader in the human rights field in the 20th century. Though Mr. Van Boven was treated as a controversial figure due to his far sighted vision and courageous reports at one time, he certainly contributed enormously to bring respect to human rights as a fundamental concern of the United Nations as well as human kind. Some others mentioned are Marc Schreiber, the director of the Human Rights Division at the time whose vision also contributed to the shaping of the human rights mission of the United Nations. Dr. Ramcharan also writes of Kamleshwar Das who was his first section chief as a great practitioner and teacher. These personal reminiscences help the reader to understand what happened in an inner circle which initiated much of what is now known as activities of the human rights field.
The chapter on the introduction of the petition process within the United Nations also highlights the quest for the implementation as different to promotion that has concerned those who are involved with human rights in these years. The pioneering country investigation in Chile in 1975 tells of another area of human rights work which is now a familiar part of the human rights landscape. The chapter on the quest for implementation is a very informative chapter on the shift from mere promotion to protection in the human rights field. The chapter on the first thematic investigation into disappearances highlights the debate on this issue and also the background for the development of the International Working Group on Disappearances. The chapters on the first thematic Rapporteur on Arbitrary Executions, the declaration on human rights defenders, the African commission on human rights and peoples rights, the Asian commission?, a historical breakthrough on the working group on indigenous populations, national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights and the second thematic Rapporteur on torture are among many other similar chapters which give a lot of inside information on the developments within the human rights field.
The following conclusion at the end of the book makes several observations which should receive the careful attention of all practitioners in the field of human rights.
How is one to conclude this story of an extraordinary human rights journey at the United Nations? The peasant boy, had secured an education, found love, started at the bottom of the ladder in the United Nations and risen to the position of Under-Secretary-General and High Commissioner for Human Rights. In the journey of four decades he had pressed hard to develop the capacity of the United Nations to protect human rights and had made some contributions to this quest.
The first observation to make is about love: love of parents, love of a spouse, love of a son and love of family. The comfort of love sustained the effort. A face and character inspired a man.
The second observation to make is about teachers: one had had great teachers throughout this journey. One was beckoned throughout to higher ground.
The third observation to make is about friendship. The friendship, support and dedication of close friends had sustained one and given common cause in the quest for protection. My Icelandic friend Jakob Moller will understand me without any more words.
The fourth observation to make is about partnership. The human rights endeavour is about partnership among delegates, international officials, NGO representatives, academics, and human rights leaders and defenders. Their impulses provided the stimulus for many thoughts and initiatives.
The fifth observation to make is about persistence. There were many low points on this journey, especially when sanctimonious governments failed to rise to the challenge of protection. But one never gave up. To despair was to be unprofessional. Idealism must be professionalized. One just kept going.
The sixth observation is about belief. One had inherited a noble cause. One had sat at the feet of the first generation of United Nations human rights leaders, had become part of the second generation of human rights officials, and had had the good fortune of working with the third generation. One was inspired by all three of these generations and one never lost belief.
The seventh observation is about building blocks: one sought to add a new building block to protection whenever the opportunity presented itself. We have as yet only a few building blocks. But we are adding them one at a time. Human rights will prevail.
The final observation is about passion. One had walked the human rights journey at the United Nations with passion. Passion matters in human rights protection! It was a gift from on high to have been allowed to walk this human rights journey at the United Nations and to have been part of the quest for effective protection of human rights world-wide!
