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A great deal has been achieved since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sixty years ago. There is now a common understanding that human rights help achieve development and security. There is also awareness among governments that human rights standards are an important benchmark for their actions towards their own people and those of other states. The political risks for states in violating human rights have become more visible and less easy to ignore.
Yet despite the clear guidance provided by the Universal Declaration, discrimination persists on grounds such as race, gender, religion, political opinion, disability, national or social origin and sexual orientation. There are still gaps between the universally endorsed standards and the practice of states in all regions of the world. Too often we are engaged in a backward-looking process of questioning and defending agreements which have been endorsed by UN member states, even when those agreements have been reached by consensus.
In New Zealand’s view, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration provides an opportunity to return to basics on human rights, specifically, to focus our collective resources on the meaningful implementation of the standards in the Declaration and in subsequent human rights treaties. The Human Rights Council has a central role to play in this regard.
As a country in the Asia-Pacific region, New Zealand seeks to contribute actively and cooperatively to raising awareness of human rights standards in the region. We do this in partnership with regional organisations such as the Pacific Islands Forum and the Asia Pacific Forum. Initiatives include the establishment of human rights machinery, the mainstreaming of human rights in our development programmes, and bilateral programmes conducted by our Human Rights Commission. These efforts focus on developing capability through the provision of technical advice. For example, New Zealand provided support to a recent Commonwealth seminar in Barbados on the Universal Periodic Review, and will also host a Pacific regional UPR conference in February next year. Just last week New Zealand hosted a delegation from Papua New Guinea to exchange ideas on the establishment of an independent human rights institution in Papua New Guinea.
Within New Zealand itself, commemorative initiatives have raised awareness of the core values of the Declaration and have increased understanding of its importance both at home and in our engagement with others. The Government has re-issued its handbook on international human rights. This is a reference guide containing the texts of all core human rights treaties, designed to promote awareness of the scope and application of human rights treaties, and the contribution of human rights as a pillar of the United Nations, alongside security and development.
In addition, an essay competition for students in their final two years of secondary school was held to highlight the relevance of the Declaration today. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission hosted a range of awareness-raising activities and events, as have independent institutions such as the New Zealand Centre for Public Law and the Society of International Law.
Back in 1948, New Zealand played an active part in the drafting of the Universal Declaration, which sets the standard for States in respecting the inherent dignity and equality of all human beings. It is time now to ‘return to basics’ and to focus our collective efforts on the effective and universal implementation of the Declaration. In particular, we must use national, regional and multilateral institutions to reduce the gap between the agreed standards and the everyday reality faced by millions of people worldwide.
