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Mr President, I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of the Governments of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
The many mandates, mechanisms, functions and responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights, viewed as a whole, require an historian’s knowledge of the issues of the day – the worst violations of human rights, the political backdrop to intergovernmental debate, and the hard work done by non-governmental organisations to attract the attention and support of members.
We have already assumed these mandates. As we turn to the rest of the task given to us by the General Assembly – to review and, where necessary, improve and rationalise them - our delegations are conscious that regardless of positions on individual mandates, there are many shared objectives.
Some are obvious. We all want a system that works better, which has clear objectives and outcomes, and which makes the best use of scarce resources. We need a system which genuinely helps to improve the situation of human rights in all countries, and which is a net contributor to the work of the Council. We support President de Alba’s efforts to establish a transparent process of consultation using both formal and informal processes in order to reach good agreement. This process will benefit from the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders, and will be a practical implementation of the spirit of General Assembly resolution 60/251.
The wide range of mechanisms that will be reviewed are testament to the diversity of the CHR's work. They reflect a broad range of issues and priorities. As the system evolved ad hoc, it is important that we focus in on how to make sure that it is well-calibrated to our needs in this new era. At the end of the review, we should have a clear idea of where the areas of overlap and duplication are. As such, the review must be carried out as a whole. We need to take a step back at the end of the process and take a collective decision which we are certain will facilitate our future work.
We must also be mindful, when considering ways to strengthen the effectiveness of the human rights system, of the need to work in collaboration with other parts of the United Nations system. We can learn from the good practices of other bodies, and make sure that our work is complementary to efforts elsewhere. For example, the development of a standing capacity to investigate urgent situations, or perhaps even in-country meetings of groups of Council members. The Office of the High Commissioner is already enhancing its capacity to assist States, and we should invite those States and the High Commissioner to brief us on positive developments as part of our work. On the basis of such tools, we could make recommendations, in cooperation with the host State, on needs for capacity building or how best to assist in promotion and protection of human rights during crises.
Mr President, any historian of the CHR knows that there were differences of opinion on the use of country mandates. It is also clear that time and time again the CHR, and the General Assembly, have reaffirmed by majority decisions the international community's desire to continue to use this valid tool. Throughout the years country-specific mandates have enhanced the delivery of targeted assistance to states in need, through support for technical cooperation, and provided hope to those whose human rights were being violated. We are open to new methods of implementing the GA-mandated responsibility of this Council to examine the worst situations of human rights, and to help those States who are asking for assistance. But we cannot endorse calls to end country mandates wholesale. This review should not be used to go back on earlier agreements. It must instead safeguard the credibility and effectiveness of the new Council. We hope that all stakeholders can have a genuinely constructive dialogue on the way forward.
Australia, Canada and New Zealand look forward to the discussions to come.
