tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/un-human-rights-council-21028/articlesUN Human Rights Council – The Conversation2022-12-09T14:43:50Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1956992022-12-09T14:43:50Z2022-12-09T14:43:50ZIran executes first protester as human rights abuses come under international scrutiny<p>Iran’s execution of protester Mohsen Shekari is the first after a huge <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2022/11/25/iran-protests-what-caused-them-who-is-generation-z-will-the-unrest-lead-to-revolution">wave of unrest</a> swept around the country in the autumn of 2022. </p>
<p>Shekari was found guilty by a Iranian Revolutionary Court of “<em>moharebeh</em>” (enmity against God), <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-63900099">news sources reported</a>. Human rights groups say Shekari and other protesters who have been arrested are not being given access to lawyers and have faced sham trials. </p>
<p>At least <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/6271/2022/en/">28 people</a>, including three children, could face execution in connection with nationwide protests. Six others have already been sentenced to death on charges related to the protests. And 15 more face imminent trials on similar charges to Shekari. </p>
<p>Iran regularly carries out executions. In 2020 it carried out the world’s second highest <a href="https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/international/executions-around-the-world">number of executions</a> after China.</p>
<p>Iran was <a href="https://theconversation.com/hijab-law-in-iran-over-the-decades-the-continuing-battle-for-reform-192037">hit by protests</a> over enforced wearing of the hijab after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died following detention by the country’s “morality police” for being dressed “incorrectly”. A wave of protests then swept across the country, including in high schools, as calls escalated for the obligatory hijab to be scrapped. </p>
<p>At least <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/08/1141509858/iran-execution-protests-shekari">475 people</a> are believed to have been killed in security crackdowns around the demonstrations. Around <a href="https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/meeting-summary/2022/11/selon-une-estimation-prudente-le-nombre-de-morts-seleve-ce-jour">14,000 people</a>, including children, have been arrested connected to the protests.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Iranian government has signalled it will abolish its so-called morality police.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-executes-protester-injuring-security-guard-with-knife-tasnim-2022-12-08/">execution</a> of Shekari took place days after the UN human rights council (UNHRC), a UN body with 47 member states, announced plans to launch an independent <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2022/11/human-rights-council-establishes-fact-finding-mission-investigate-alleged-human-rights">fact-finding mission</a> to investigate Iran’s handling of demonstrations and human rights abuses over the past few months.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-are-irans-morality-police-a-scholar-of-the-middle-east-explains-their-history-196023">Who are Iran's morality police? A scholar of the Middle East explains their history</a>
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<p>The resolution was put forward by Germany and Iceland supported by 25 countries, and opposed by China, Pakistan, Cuba, Eritrea, Venezuela and Armenia, while 16 countries abstained.</p>
<p>A UN statement announcing the mission said: “The Human Rights Council strongly deplored the violent crackdown of peaceful protests resulting in the death of hundreds of people, including dozens of children, and a disproportionate number of persons belonging to minorities, and the arrest of thousands in connection with the nation-wide protests following the death in custody of Jina Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022.”</p>
<p>The UN called on the Iranian government to “cooperate fully with the independent international fact-finding mission, to grant unhindered access to the country without any delay, and to provide the members of the fact-finding mission with all information necessary to allow for the proper fulfilment of their mandate”.</p>
<h2>UN visit likely to be prevented</h2>
<p>But there are signs that the Iranian government is likely to stop the UN committee entering the country. Iranian spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs <a href="https://iranpress.com/content/70090/iran-will-not-cooperate-with-politically-motivated-committee-human-rights">Nasser Kanani </a> said: “Iran will not have any cooperation with this politically motivated committee. He added: "The Islamic Republic voluntarily fulfils its responsibility by forming <a href="https://en.mehrnews.com/news/194195/Iran-not-to-cooperate-with-UN-fact-finding-mission">a national committee</a> with the presence of experts, lawyers, and governmental and public representatives.” </p>
<p>This committee has representatives from different groups and the bar associations, the Iranian government claimed. Government figures said that the report of the Iranian government committee will be presented to the public.</p>
<p>To be effective the UN fact-finding mission needs to work with the Iranian government. The fact-finding mission needs to conduct negotiations with the government to gain access to victims, witnesses and sites. </p>
<p>However, this cooperation might be quite difficult to get the government and opposition to agree to. One possibility is to encourage the Iranian government to appoint independent members of civil society, bar associations and members of the media to its national fact-finding committee and get them to work with and to negotiate with the UN mission.</p>
<h2>First special council held</h2>
<p>The UN has signalled its concerns about the behaviour of the Iranian government by holding its first ever special human rights council session on Iran on November 25. This session was on the deteriorating <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/special-sessions/session35/35-special-session">human rights situation in Iran</a> and called for Iran to stop using violence and harassment against peaceful protesters. </p>
<p>Many question why there was no attempt to request a special session after the protests in Iran in November 2019. Those protests began over an unexpected fuel price increase and lasted for a week, and an estimated <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/17/iran-no-justice-bloody-2019-crackdown">304 people were killed</a>. </p>
<p>At least 304 people were believed to be killed then. One reason for this shift in the UN human rights council’s approach might be because of the deepening alliance between Russia and Iran and its impact on the Ukraine war. Another factor could be because the United States was elected to a three-year term on the UNHRC in 2021. </p>
<p>One sign that the Iranian government might be willing to make some concessions to the protesters was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItAVwh6x2ns">the recent announcement</a> that the “morality police”, who walk the streets enforcing hijab law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-irans-morality-police-a-scholar-of-the-middle-east-explains-their-history-196023">may be disbanded</a>. Some are sceptical this will definitely go ahead, but if it did it would be a significant move, signalling that the protesters have had more impact than previous movements. However, the fear of more executions as a tool of control is unabated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195699/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sahar Maranlou does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Iran may refuse entry to UN human rights inspectors following alleged abuses connected to the recent wave of protests.Sahar Maranlou, Lecturer, School of Law, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1461652020-09-23T09:58:14Z2020-09-23T09:58:14ZBelarus: slow international response shows limits of world’s human rights regime<p>After an urgent debate initiated by the European Union, the UN Human Rights Council has condemned human rights violations in Belarus following the country’s disputed election in August. On September 18, the council <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/09/18/belarus-attempts-to-stop-testimony-at-urgent-un-human-rights-debate">passed a resolution</a> instructing the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to enhance its scrutiny of the situation in Belarus. </p>
<p>But international organisations have been depressingly slow to react to the events in Belarus – demonstrating the inherent problems with the effectiveness of the international human rights regime.</p>
<p>Almost every known human right of Belarusians has reportedly been violated by authorities in recent weeks. The key opposition candidates standing against the president, Alexander Lukashenko, were <a href="https://theconversation.com/belarus-election-why-strongman-alexander-lukashenko-faces-unprecedented-resistance-142524">arrested before the poll</a> – and remain in prison. The counting of the ballots themselves was not transparent, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34499387">according to observers,</a> and after the results were announced, <a href="https://theconversation.com/belarus-election-contested-result-sparks-massive-unrest-as-europes-last-dictator-claims-victory-144139">massive peaceful protests</a> were interrupted by brutal violence from state police. Lukashenko’s principle remaining opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/11/europe/belarus-opposition-leader-flees-intl/index.html">fled into exile</a> in Lithuania with her children. </p>
<p>People have reportedly <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/15/belarus-systematic-beatings-torture-protesters">been</a> killed, tortured, raped, arbitrarily detained, and their privacy and freedom of expression violated. The internet was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/11/belarus-president-cuts-off-internet-amid-widespread-protests">blocked in Belarus</a> for several days, and journalists arrested. </p>
<p>There are very few examples of human rights violations of this scale happening in Europe since the collapse of the Iron Curtain. But the reaction of international and European human rights institutions has not been proportionate to the magnitude of the crisis. </p>
<h2>Limited powers</h2>
<p>There are two key reasons which hinder international action after human rights violations. First, authorities which violate human rights need to agree to be supervised by international bodies and invite observers into their country. This rarely happens during human right crises – and even if an organisation is already in the country it can be removed fairly easily. </p>
<p>In 2010, after the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) criticised the results of a previous Belarusian election, its office in the country <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12100765">was shut down</a>. In mid-September, more than a month after the recent election, the OSCE established an <a href="https://www.osce.org/odihr/464001">expert mission</a> to look into the situation with human rights in Belarus. But it’s unlikely that the Belarusian authorities will collaborate. </p>
<p>Second, political realities mean consensus is difficult. The most brutal human rights violations can be prevented by force by the UN Security Council but its five permanent members – Russia, China, France, the US and the UK – must agree on the course of actions. In the case of Belarus, this is practically impossible. The Russian and Chinese authorities are regarded as allies of Lukashenko and they would almost inevitably block any immediate actions to protect human rights in Belarus. The situation in Belarus <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200818-un-security-council-discusses-disputed-belarus-vote-protests">was discussed</a> in the UN security council in late August, but no identifiable actions were taken. </p>
<p>The UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, and other UN officials, including the UN special rapporteur on Belarus, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26261&LangID=E">Anaïs Marin</a>, have expressed their concerns about the situation. But Marin is not currently allowed into Belarus. </p>
<h2>Mixed European response</h2>
<p>Belarus is a European country and, while it is not an EU member, the EU has a legitimate interest in what is happening in the country, which borders EU members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. </p>
<p>The EU has refused to recognise <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/09/eu-don-recognise-lukashenko-legitimate-president-200915114733368.html">the result of the elections</a>, and condemned reports of human rights violations. The EU is trying to impose sanctions against top Belarusian officials responsible for crimes and human rights abuses. But sanctions have so far been blocked by the Cypriot delegation, which is trying to use the situation as <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-foreign-ministers-to-try-to-break-a-deadlock-on-belarus-sanctions/">leverage to impose sanctions it wants on Turkey</a>. </p>
<p>But what of the Council of Europe, the organisation created to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law? Even though Belarus is not a member, collaboration between Belarus and the council has intensified over the past decade, and the council operates an information point in the country. The reaction of the council’s secretary-general, Marija Pejčinović Burić, to the unrest was initially <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/secretary-general-comments-on-the-situation-in-belarus">muted</a>, although in mid-September she did issue a statement that mass intimidation of citizens was “<a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/secretary-general-gravely-concerned-by-human-rights-violations-in-belarus">totally unacceptable and must stop</a>”. On September 21, the council’s commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatović, also issued <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/human-rights-violations-in-belarus-must-stop-immediately">a statement condemning the human rights violations</a>, and said there could be “no peace without justice and proper respect for human rights”. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, which consists of members from all its 47 member states, was more proactive. It plans to discuss a <a href="http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/News/News-View-en.asp?newsid=7992&lang=2">motion</a> to create an investigatory body on the ill-treatment of Belarusian citizens at its next session. If this motion is approved, although it won’t have an immediate impact on the situation, it will send a clear message that those who violate human rights will be identified. The assembly should coordinate its efforts with the OSCE, as joint actions might be more effective.</p>
<p>There are many more actions that international organisations could initiate to support human rights in Belarus. These could include an international tribunal capable of investigating torture, multiple personalised sanctions or investigations of businesses that collaborate and sell military and police equipment to the Belarusian regime. Political will, and a genuine belief in human rights, is necessary for this to become a reality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146165/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why haven’t international and European human rights organisations done more to protect the human rights of Belarusians?Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou, Professor in Human Rights Law, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1361782020-04-22T15:36:45Z2020-04-22T15:36:45ZChina must not shape the future of human rights at the UN<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327916/original/file-20200415-153347-1hmo5j7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4705%2C2887&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In this December 2019 photo, people wearing masks in Hong Kong are seen during a rally to show support for Uighurs and their fight for human rights in China. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While most of the world is occupied trying to manage the spread of the coronavirus, another frightening development is taking place at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. </p>
<p>China, a known <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/china-global-threat-to-human-rights">human rights abuser</a>, is being given the power to influence the investigation of human rights issues around the world.</p>
<p>The non-governmental organization UN Watch recently revealed that <a href="https://unwatch.org/chinaunhrc/">the People’s Republic of China had been selected to join a special panel tasked with selecting the next group of special rapporteurs</a>. This panel is responsible for assigning at least 17 positions over the next year that will oversee a whole slew of important human rights issues.</p>
<p>If China joins the panel, it will immediately have the power to appoint or nix global investigators on freedom of speech, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and health.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327912/original/file-20200415-153298-cnxrzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327912/original/file-20200415-153298-cnxrzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327912/original/file-20200415-153298-cnxrzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327912/original/file-20200415-153298-cnxrzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327912/original/file-20200415-153298-cnxrzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327912/original/file-20200415-153298-cnxrzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327912/original/file-20200415-153298-cnxrzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327912/original/file-20200415-153298-cnxrzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Xi Jinping is seen in a protective mask at the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei Province in March 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)</span></span>
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<p>In 2014, President Xi Jinping began encouraging Chinese officials to move into leadership positions in <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/xi-said-yes-how-china-got-engaged-un">international organizations</a> and standards bodies to ensure that China’s objectives and policies were given full influence. </p>
<p>We can see now this policy is having an impact as China exhorts these multilateral institutions <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/how-china-is-remaking-the-un-in-its-own-image/">to expel Taiwan</a> from membership and adopt Chinese priorities. Now human rights have been added to China’s sphere of influence.</p>
<h2>‘Personal capacity’</h2>
<p>The practice of the UN’s five-member <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SP/Pages/BasicInformationSelectionIndependentExperts.aspx">consultative group</a> is that members serve in a personal capacity. However, <a href="https://www.phayul.com/2020/04/08/43068/">the appointment of Jiang Duan, a senior Chinese mission official in Geneva</a>, was presented to the Asian Group of countries at the UNHRC as a nomination <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/china-appointed-to-influential-un-human-rights-council-panel/">of the People’s Republic of China</a>. This leaves no doubt that Jiang will promote Chinese policies. </p>
<p>Other <a href="https://unwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/CompositionCGNew2020_2021.pdf">panel members</a> are from Chad, Slovenia and Spain, with a member yet to be appointed from Latin American and Caribbean states.</p>
<p>Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, said of the appointment:</p>
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<p>“Allowing China’s oppressive and inhumane regime to choose the world investigators on freedom of speech, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances is like making a pyromaniac the town fire chief.”</p>
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<p>We could not agree more. </p>
<p>The right to health is one of the issues the investigators can look into. But would members face pressure from China to either refrain from investigating the outbreak of the coronavirus or to appoint a Chinese investigator to look into it? </p>
<p>How would an investigation be handled into the <a href="https://www.axios.com/timeline-the-early-days-of-chinas-coronavirus-outbreak-and-cover-up-ee65211a-afb6-4641-97b8-353718a5faab.html">original cover-up</a>, the falsification of the number of cases, the alleged <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/chinese-tycoon-missing-after-criticizing-coronavirus-response/a-52780850">enforced disappearances</a> of critics of the central government’s handling of the crisis and China’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/china-trolling-world-and-avoiding-blame/608332/">disinformation campaign</a> to allege that other countries are instead responsible for the virus outbreak? </p>
<h2>Canadians still detained</h2>
<p>Similarly, it’s conceivable that Jiang may try to head off any efforts of the UNHRC to look into China’s Ministry of State Security’s arbitrary detention and interrogation of the innocent citizens of other countries, <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2019/12/the-cruel-fate-of-michael-kovrig-and-michael-spavor-in-china/">including Canadians</a> Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, a diplomat kidnapped in abrogation of the Vienna Convention.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328451/original/file-20200416-192731-1q5d1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328451/original/file-20200416-192731-1q5d1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328451/original/file-20200416-192731-1q5d1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328451/original/file-20200416-192731-1q5d1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328451/original/file-20200416-192731-1q5d1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328451/original/file-20200416-192731-1q5d1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328451/original/file-20200416-192731-1q5d1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Spavor, director of Paektu Cultural Exchange, is seen in this March 2017 photo in Yanji, China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP Photo</span></span>
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<p>It’s questionable whether the panel would appoint an investigator to review the arbitrary <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/a-spreadsheet-of-those-in-hell-how-china-corralled-uighurs-into-concentration-camps/2020/02/28/4daeca4a-58c8-11ea-ab68-101ecfec2532_story.html">detention of Uighur</a> and Hui Muslims, or China’s mass detention of human rights defenders and lawyers across China beginning in 2015.</p>
<p>And would an investigator assess the suppression of freedom of speech in China through its new <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/system/files/publications/twt/China%E2%80%99s%20bigger%20brother%20Charles%20Parton.pdf">Social Credit System</a> that punishes those in China who speak out about human rights and the Tiananmen massacre? Would the widespread practice in China of expropriating people’s homes without compensation be investigated?</p>
<p>China is well-known for exporting its <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/chinese-tycoon-missing-after-criticizing-coronavirus-response/a-52780850">autocratic surveillance state</a> by selling technologies <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/09/ecuadors-all-seeing-eye-is-made-in-china/">to countries like Ecuador</a> that wish to keep <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/29/18522248/china-surveillance-state-exporting-ecuador-senain-ecu-911-privacy-facial-recognition-tracking">tighter control</a> over their citizens, and to squelch any democratic and human rights organizations. </p>
<p>It’s in China’s economic and strategic interests for such states to prosper, and for their suppression of human rights to be seen as a matter of domestic policy, just as they’re viewed by the Chinese regime. The appointment of human rights investigators who are like-minded is expected to be one of the objectives of Jiang’s participation on the panel.</p>
<h2>Expressed outrage</h2>
<p>Other nations have, in the past, worked together to call out China’s human rights record. For example, in October 2019, 23 countries issued a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/29/asia/china-xinjiang-united-nations-intl-hnk/index.html">joint statement</a> that voiced outrage at China’s persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang and demanded that Beijing comply with its international obligations for freedom of religion.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ominous-metaphors-of-chinas-uighur-concentration-camps-129665">The ominous metaphors of China's Uighur concentration camps</a>
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<p>With Jiang’s appointment, democratic countries with diplomatic missions to the UN in Geneva should join forces to ensure that investigators should not be appointed from countries being investigated.</p>
<p>Furthermore, these countries should work together to support the other four members of the consultative group, with the goal of ensuring that China does not negatively shape the future of human rights at the UN. </p>
<p>As we approach the 75th anniversary of the UN this October, it’s imperative that UNHRC investigators operate freely around the world, including in China.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyle Matthews is affiliated with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret McCuaig-Johnston does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the coming months, China will have the power to appoint or nix global UN investigators on freedom of speech, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and health.Kyle Matthews, Executive Director, The Montréal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, Concordia UniversityMargaret McCuaig-Johnston, Senior Fellow, Institute for Science, Society and Policy, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1295502020-02-20T01:56:58Z2020-02-20T01:56:58ZFor Australia to be respected on human rights, it needs to look deeper into its own record<p>Australia has just entered its final year of its membership on the UN Human Rights Council. This position was <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/un/unhrc-2018-2020/Pages/australias-membership-unhrc-2018-2020.aspx">won</a> on the strength of two key arguments: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Australia would be the first Pacific nation to sit on the body, founded in 2007</p></li>
<li><p>our long-standing commitments to civil and political rights made us a safe set of hands among a membership that includes several dictatorships.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This championing of Australia’s record, however, sits oddly beside our own well-publicised violations of human rights, most visibly on asylum seekers and Indigenous rights. </p>
<p>My new book, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/history/australian-history/human-rights-twentieth-century-australia?format=HB">Human Rights in Twentieth Century Australia</a>, probes this contradiction. One of the questions I grapple with is how a nation that crows of its achievements in certain areas of human rights can so flagrantly breach others.</p>
<p>One answer is that Australia has long used its British heritage of civil and political rights and higher average standard of living to discount more expansive social, economic and cultural rights, particularly when it comes to questions of race and citizenship.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-a-seat-on-the-un-human-rights-council-australia-must-fix-its-record-on-indigenous-rights-86060">With a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, Australia must fix its record on Indigenous rights</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Australia’s patchy human rights history</h2>
<p>It is often forgotten that Australian representatives joined those of seven other nations to draft the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948. </p>
<p><a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/evatt-herbert-vere-bert-10131">Attorney-General Herbert Vere Evatt</a> headed the negotiating team. He argued for a strong document enforceable by an international court, which would defend traditional “negative” rights like freedom of expression, alongside “positive” ones such as the right to work.</p>
<p>Even at this high point of global consensus following the second world war, Australia’s double-handed approach to human rights was apparent. While Evatt likened the UDHR to Australia’s sentimental belief that everyone deserves a “fair go”, he guaranteed the White Australia Policy would not be threatened by such a document. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316312/original/file-20200220-11040-kvdnnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316312/original/file-20200220-11040-kvdnnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316312/original/file-20200220-11040-kvdnnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316312/original/file-20200220-11040-kvdnnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316312/original/file-20200220-11040-kvdnnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316312/original/file-20200220-11040-kvdnnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316312/original/file-20200220-11040-kvdnnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Herbert Vere Evatt (left) and Anthony Eden, the UK foreign secretary, at a UN meeting in 1945 in San Francisco.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">United Nations</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using language that echoes Australia’s asylum policy today, he <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/hansard80/hansardr80/1949-09-07/toc_pdf/19490907_reps_18_204.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22evatt%201940s%201949%2009%22">said</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is no relationship between the Declaration of Human Rights […] and the exercise by a country of its national right […] to determine the composition of its own people.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This argument for the primacy of so-called “domestic jurisdiction” was also extended to the rights of Indigenous peoples by Evatt and other Australian leaders at the time, meaning their rights were considered to be only of national concern. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-human-rights-debate-has-always-been-political-68070">Australia’s human rights debate has always been political</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Communist newspaper Tribune captured this in a cartoon <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/22669168">depicting</a> the worldly Evatt set against an enchained Indigenous man to whom rights had little meaning.</p>
<p>By positioning itself as a responsible “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10357718.2011.607149">middle power</a>” on human rights, while also insisting it be judged by a scorecard of its own choosing, a benchmark was set for future Australian governments.</p>
<p>Human rights have, henceforth, been understood very restrictively in Australia.</p>
<h2>Challenges to Australia’s human rights policies</h2>
<p>Despite such evasions, Indigenous people, refugees and other social movements have long used human rights discussions and debates to further social and political agendas. </p>
<p>Chinese wartime refugees, dubbed a “<a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;orderBy=customrank;page=0;query=%22recalcitrant%20minority%22%20Decade%3A%221940s%22;rec=2;resCount=Default">recalcitrant minority</a>” by Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell, were threatened with deportation in 1949. They petitioned the newly formed Australian Human Rights Commission, <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/195104330?searchTerm=%22in%20the%20name%20of%20humanity%22%20wives&searchLimits=l-decade=194%7C%7C%7Cl-year=1949">protesting</a> “in the name of humanity” for their protection “from the arbitrary and inhuman actions” of the minister. </p>
<p>Indigenous Australians also began petitioning the commission in the 1960s, challenging governmental obfuscations on human rights directly. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/un-slams-australias-human-rights-record-87169">UN slams Australia’s human rights record</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While Australia insisted the country’s Indigenous policy accorded with the UN’s language of equality, a 1970 petition by five Indigenous Australians - delivered in person to the UN offices in New York - declared nothing had changed. </p>
<p>Alleging the ongoing “literal, physical destruction of our people”, the petitioners <a href="https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=247756">demanded</a> Australia be judged </p>
<blockquote>
<p>in light of what it does […] rather than what it says.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316310/original/file-20200220-11011-13t08ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316310/original/file-20200220-11011-13t08ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316310/original/file-20200220-11011-13t08ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316310/original/file-20200220-11011-13t08ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316310/original/file-20200220-11011-13t08ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316310/original/file-20200220-11011-13t08ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316310/original/file-20200220-11011-13t08ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous peoples have been petitioning the Human Rights Commission for greater recognition of their rights since the 1960s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Danny Casey/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>From collective to individual rights</h2>
<p>Starting in the late 1970s, the focus of international human rights shifted. Protecting individuals from suffering and violence replaced the fight for collective economic and social rights that defined the era of decolonisation in the 1950s and ‘60s. </p>
<p>Groups like Amnesty International, which <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1977/ceremony-speech/">won</a> the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977, made political prisoners and basic sufficiency the watchwords of rights activism.</p>
<p>Economic, social and cultural rights were thus downgraded in importance compared to civil and political ones. Such a focus imposed few obligations on Australia, already a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law. </p>
<p>Gareth Evans, attorney-general under the Hawke government, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/human-rights-in-twentiethcentury-australia/implementing-rights/11215B7699F087F0CF64992D555F3CDE">said</a> in 1978 the very idea of economic and social rights was:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>beyond the scope of the topic ‘human rights’ as that term has meaning in this country. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Since the late 2000s, though, the ground has moved quickly. On one hand, Australia’s continued violation of Indigenous rights has garnered more international condemnation. </p>
<p>The failure to deliver on the promise of <a href="https://theconversation.com/constitutional-recognition-for-indigenous-australians-must-involve-structural-change-not-mere-symbolism-131751">constitutional recognition</a> – one of the “pillars” of Australia’s Human Rights Council bid – seems particularly egregious. </p>
<p>The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 has also created reporting and compliance mechanisms unavailable to earlier generations. Under this declaration, the UN has already <a href="http://unsr.jamesanaya.org/docs/countries/2010_report_australia_en.pdf">condemned</a> the so-called “Intervention” in the Northern Territory and the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/news/2016/08/statement-by-the-permanent-forum-on-indigenous-issues-on-the-don-dale-youth-detention-center-nt-australia/">revelations</a> of abuse at the Don Dale detention centre.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/constitutional-recognition-for-indigenous-australians-must-involve-structural-change-not-mere-symbolism-131751">Constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians must involve structural change, not mere symbolism</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Western governments like Australia are also back in the crosshairs on economic rights.</p>
<p>Kumi Naidoo, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, <a href="https://mondediplo.com/2018/12/04rights">acknowledged</a> in December 2018 that Amnesty’s focus on political prisoners meant issues of poverty, inequality, housing, food and sanitation had largely disappeared from activists’ lexicon. </p>
<p>It’s now necessary to view human rights as a “package”, Naidoo said, including renewed focus on economic rights. And importantly, western and non-western nations can - and must - be judged on an equal footing. </p>
<p>Australia has already seen what this future looks like. The UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty, Phillip Alston, <a href="https://undocs.org/A/74/493">recently said</a> in a widely publicised report the so-called “Robo Debt” and Cashless Welfare Card schemes were bringing forth a “digital welfare dystopia”. </p>
<p>Australia should expect more uncomfortable finger pointing in future. If we are to remain a human rights leader at home and abroad, the ranking of some rights as more important than others must come to an end.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129550/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Piccini does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia has long been at the forefront of human rights internationally, while side-stepping questions about its own treatment of Indigenous peoples and refugees.Jon Piccini, Lecturer, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1269392019-12-10T19:03:40Z2019-12-10T19:03:40Z5 human rights issues that defined 2019<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305813/original/file-20191209-90592-1dmieg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C50%2C4807%2C3047&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One of this year’s most refreshing developments was the youth-led action on climate change.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Dan Peled</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we approach the last days of the decade, it’s important to reflect on the fight for human rights, the setbacks and successes over the past year in Australia and around the world.</p>
<p>Our list isn’t ranked, and far from exhaustive – we acknowledge it doesn’t include many human rights struggles worthy of greater attention. But, in flagging some of the issues needing urgent attention, we hope to gather support for the broader movement that strives to achieve justice and secure dignity for more people. </p>
<h2>China holding one million Muslims in ‘political education camps’</h2>
<p>China is arbitrarily detaining an estimated <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-rights-un/u-n-says-it-has-credible-reports-that-china-holds-million-uighurs-in-secret-camps-idUSKBN1KV1SU">one million</a> Muslims in Xinjiang, in what the authorities call “political education camps”. Millions more are subjected to intrusive mass surveillance.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/95bYoPtJYSA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Leaked internal <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html">Chinese Communist Party documents</a> described in chilling detail just how the Chinese authorities keep the Uighurs locked up.</p>
<p>The size of your beard, where you travel and whether you use the back door of the house are all potentially <a href="https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/interactive/2019/05/02/china-how-mass-surveillance-works-xinjiang">indicators of “terrorism”</a> that can send you to the camps with no legal process at all.</p>
<p>The leaked documents are consistent with previous reporting on Xinjiang, but reveal the campaign originated from President Xi Jinping himself. They dispel the Chinese government’s claims these camps are merely “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-16/china-defends-vocational-training-centres/10384096">vocational training centres</a>”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/leaked-documents-on-uighur-detention-camps-in-china-an-expert-explains-the-key-revelations-127221">Leaked documents on Uighur detention camps in China – an expert explains the key revelations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>More than two dozen countries joined two United Nations statements in Geneva and New York urging <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/10/un-unprecedented-joint-call-china-end-xinjiang-abuses">China</a> to end this arbitrary detention of Muslims. </p>
<p>In response, China organised several dozen countries, including notorious rights abusers such as Russia, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to join statements commending China for its counter-terrorism efforts. </p>
<p>Faced with the growing body of evidence of large-scale human rights violations backed by China’s leadership, the question is whether the rest of the world will hold the Chinese government to account in 2020. </p>
<h2>Some women in Saudi Arabia can travel freely</h2>
<p>Following unprecedented global attention on Saudi Arabia’s discriminatory <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/16/boxed/women-and-saudi-arabias-male-guardianship-system">male guardianship system</a>, which restricts women’s rights to travel (among other things), Saudi authorities undertook reform. </p>
<p>At last, Saudi women over 21 years old have the right to travel abroad freely and obtain passports without permission from their male guardian. But this is a shallow victory for Saudi women, who still face myriad rights abuses at home. </p>
<p>Activists remain <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/02/mark-khashoggi-anniversary-freeing-jailed-activists">locked up</a> for peaceful acts of free expression, some alleging they have been <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/06/saudi-arabia-allow-access-detained-women-activists">tortured</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/saudi-women-are-fighting-for-their-freedom-and-their-hard-won-victories-are-growing-121610">Saudi women are fighting for their freedom – and their hard-won victories are growing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Saudi government also hasn’t taken meaningful steps to provide accountability for the murder of journalist <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/02/saudi-arabia-provide-justice-khashoggi-killing">Jamal Khashoggi</a>, or for their alleged war crimes in <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/10/un-human-rights-council-interactive-dialogue-group-international-and-regional">Yemen</a>. </p>
<h2>Australia’s performance on the UN Human Rights Council</h2>
<p>After initially taking a low-key approach to its membership in the UN Human Rights Council, Australia stepped up in its second year. This was to ensure the council renewed the mandate of the special rapporteur on <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/12/un-rights-body-maintains-scrutiny-eritreas-dire-rights-record">Eritrea</a>, where human rights continue to deteriorate. </p>
<p>In September, Australia led a <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/un/unhrc-2018-2020/statements/Documents/42nd-hrc-joint-statement-human-rights-saudi-arabia.pdf">joint statement</a> bringing attention to human rights violations by Saudi Arabia, and the government joined two <a href="https://usun.usmission.gov/joint-statement-delivered-by-uk-rep-to-un-on-xinjiang-at-the-third-committee-dialogue-of-the-committee-for-the-elimination-of-racial-discrimination/">UN statements</a> on Xinjiang. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-a-seat-on-the-un-human-rights-council-australia-must-fix-its-record-on-indigenous-rights-86060">With a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, Australia must fix its record on Indigenous rights</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In 2020, the final year of Australia’s membership term, the government should keep up the pressure on Saudi Arabia and China by pressing for independent international inquiries into longstanding abuses. </p>
<h2>Aged care: a shocking tale of neglect</h2>
<p>“A shocking tale of neglect” was the headline of the Royal Commission’s <a href="https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/Pages/interim-report.aspx">interim report</a> into the Australian aged care system. </p>
<p>Tabled in the federal parliament in October, the report revealed more than 270,000 cases of substandard care in Australian nursing homes in the past five years. It argued for a major overhaul to transform the way Australia supports people as they grow older. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-aged-care-royal-commissions-3-areas-of-immediate-action-are-worthy-but-wont-fix-a-broken-system-126208">The aged care royal commission's 3 areas of immediate action are worthy, but won't fix a broken system</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One of the issues the commission heard testimony on was the routine use of drugs to control the behaviour of older people with dementia, without a medical purpose. </p>
<p>This practice is known as chemical restraint, and the drugs have devastating effects. They increase the risks of falls or strokes, and can render previously energetic people lethargic and, in some cases, unable to speak. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305811/original/file-20191209-90597-9vvpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305811/original/file-20191209-90597-9vvpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305811/original/file-20191209-90597-9vvpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305811/original/file-20191209-90597-9vvpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305811/original/file-20191209-90597-9vvpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305811/original/file-20191209-90597-9vvpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305811/original/file-20191209-90597-9vvpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305811/original/file-20191209-90597-9vvpxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The aged care Royal Commission revealed hundreds of thousands of substandard care in Australian nursing homes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/15/australia-older-people-aged-care-drugged">Human Rights Watch report</a> detailed the practice in 35 aged care facilities in Australia, and its impact on residents and their families. </p>
<p>It called for the government to prohibit chemical restraint and ensure adequate staffing with appropriate training to support people with dementia.</p>
<h2>Water rights under threat in Australia</h2>
<p>Australians saw the haunting image of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/07/hundreds-of-thousands-of-native-fish-dead-in-second-murray-darling-incident">dead and dying fish</a> in Australia’s most important river system, the Murray Darling. </p>
<p>Scientists concluded <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/statements/scs68.pdf">exceptional climatic conditions</a> influence this <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-wrote-the-report-for-the-minister-on-fish-deaths-in-the-lower-darling-heres-why-it-could-happen-again-115063">“serious ecological shock”</a> in a river system that now has very little water to serve the needs of people, agriculture and a fragile environment. </p>
<p>The right to clean drinking water, recognised under <a href="https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/human_right_to_water.shtml">international human rights law</a>, is already under threat for people in some rural and remote communities across New South Wales and Queensland. And it will become more relevant as <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-drought-is-complex-but-the-message-on-climate-change-is-clear-125941">droughts exacerbated by climate change</a> continue to bite Australian cities and towns. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-water-crisis-has-plunged-the-nats-into-a-world-of-pain-but-they-reap-what-they-sow-128238">The water crisis has plunged the Nats into a world of pain. But they reap what they sow</a>
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<p>In the Northern Territory community of Laramba, 250 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs, the level of uranium in the drinking water is more than double the level recommended in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. It <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-19/indigenous-community-launches-law-suit-against-nt-government/11696158">prompted legal action</a> against the territory’s government. </p>
<p>What’s more, for the first time since records were kept, on November 11 <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/the-day-it-forgot-to-rain-on-australia-20191111-p539cy.html">no rain was recorded</a> on continental Australia. </p>
<h2>Youth-led climate justice movements</h2>
<p>One of this year’s most refreshing developments was the youth-led action on climate change. It brought together environment and human rights concerns, inspiring an estimated <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-20/school-strike-for-climate-draws-thousands-to-australian-rallies/11531612">300,000 Australians</a> to join a global strike in September. </p>
<p>For some, it was a way to demonstrate outrage at the federal government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-major-parties-climate-policies-side-by-side-116896">weak position</a> and lack of action to address climate change. </p>
<p>For others, the enormous fires in the precious Amazon forest, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/09/17/rainforest-mafias/how-violence-and-impunity-fuel-deforestation-brazils-amazon">fuelled by violence and impunity</a>, was compelling. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cattle-prods-and-welfare-cuts-mounting-threats-to-extinction-rebellion-show-demands-are-being-heard-but-ignored-124990">Cattle prods and welfare cuts: mounting threats to Extinction Rebellion show demands are being heard, but ignored</a>
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<p>And, of course, many were moved to strike because the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/11/19/young-climate-activists-un-complaint-against-france">brave and passionate voices</a> of Greta Thunberg and other children who are demanding action for the sake of future generations. </p>
<p>We hear them loud and clear – and call on Australia’s leaders to listen and act.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126939/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elaine Pearson is the Australia Director at Human Rights Watch. She is also on the board of the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Chappell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From mass climate change movements to cultural genocide of Uighurs in China, here are some of the headline human rights moments that captured Australia’s attention.Elaine Pearson, Adjunct Lecturer in Law, UNSW SydneyLouise Chappell, Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute; Professor of Law, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1247192019-11-08T14:02:09Z2019-11-08T14:02:09ZWhere Brexit will leave the UK’s human rights diplomacy<p>The UK has played a leading role within the UN’s Human Rights Council (HRC) since its creation in 2006 as the main international body responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights around the world. But when the UK seeks re-election in October 2020 – a requirement for membership of the council – it’s likely to have departed from the European Union and its powers of human rights diplomacy will be on an uncertain new footing. </p>
<p>In recent years, Britain’s human rights diplomacy at the HRC has operated in two channels. On the one hand, the UK has been able to influence human rights directly by its own efforts, acting in its capacity as a sovereign state and through British diplomats. On the other hand, the UK has exercised influence indirectly through its membership of the EU collective process. In theory, this permits the UK to prioritise certain rights on its own, while also influencing a much broader range of human rights through the EU bloc. But by leaving the EU, it will be left to go solo. </p>
<p>This raises questions about which rights the UK will prioritise and which rights will be sidelined diplomatically without the ability to rely on the EU to push them.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13642987.2019.1645130?needAccess=true">recent research</a> with our colleague Rhona Smith examined the possible consequences of Brexit on the UK’s human rights diplomacy. We looked at the UK’s engagement as an EU member state between 2006 and 2018, by examining participation in what are called “interactive dialogues”, where UN-appointed experts are questioned in relation to a designated theme or country. </p>
<p>We found that the UK is less active and considerably more selective than the EU in its participation in these dialogues. </p>
<h2>UK priorities</h2>
<p>We found that in some cases, the UK and the EU are very similar in their involvement in interactive dialogues. For instance, both the UK and the EU are regular participants in discussions with special mandate holders for such countries as the Central Africa Republic, Eritrea and Iran.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300901/original/file-20191108-194675-soqrrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300901/original/file-20191108-194675-soqrrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300901/original/file-20191108-194675-soqrrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300901/original/file-20191108-194675-soqrrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300901/original/file-20191108-194675-soqrrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300901/original/file-20191108-194675-soqrrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300901/original/file-20191108-194675-soqrrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300901/original/file-20191108-194675-soqrrf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>When looking at themes, the UK tends to participate in dialogues on civil and political rights for certain, specified groups. So of the 12 dialogues on violence against women across the 38 session of the HRC that we studied, the UK participated in nine, and five out of a total of seven dialogues on discrimination against women. The UK also has a high participation rate of over 80% with dialogues relating to terrorism and freedom of expression and association, among others.</p>
<h2>Sidelined</h2>
<p>But there are some countries and thematic human rights issues on which the UK’s participation is either non-existent or falls far below participation rates of the EU. We found four countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cuba, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Burundi – where British participation in country dialogues was minimal. </p>
<p>There are also a large number of themes with which the UK rarely engages, including dialogues with groups such as indigenous peoples, the rights of migrants, the sale and exploitation of children and people of African descent. </p>
<p>As the graph below shows, the UK rarely participates in discussions on social, economic and cultural rights, such as the right to health, education and housing. This can be contrasted with the EU where participation rates rarely fell below 90% across the 38 sessions of the council. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300903/original/file-20191108-194628-8aqyid.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300903/original/file-20191108-194628-8aqyid.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300903/original/file-20191108-194628-8aqyid.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300903/original/file-20191108-194628-8aqyid.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300903/original/file-20191108-194628-8aqyid.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300903/original/file-20191108-194628-8aqyid.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300903/original/file-20191108-194628-8aqyid.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300903/original/file-20191108-194628-8aqyid.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<h2>An opportunity</h2>
<p>Should the UK continue to focus on a narrow subset of rights and countries after Brexit, it’s unlikely to be able to contribute to the shape and development of aspects of the international human rights project outside of these areas. Not only will this diminish the UK’s place as a leading promoter and advocate on human rights, it also offers <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2018/05/10/with-china-ascendant-britains-ability-to-shape-human-rights-at-the-un-now-looks-uncertain/">less liberal and progressive countries the opportunity to push back</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/human-rights-are-getting-cut-from-britains-post-brexit-trade-deal-negotiations-125165">Human rights are getting cut from Britain's post-Brexit trade deal negotiations</a>
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<p>One way the UK could prevent a backslide in its status as a human rights leader would be to continue to align with the EU. Despite the fallout from the EU referendum, the UK and EU still agree more than they disagree in respect to international human rights law. </p>
<p>Another route would be for the UK to use Brexit as an opportunity to expand its human rights diplomacy beyond its <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-rights-priority-countries-autumn-2018-ministerial-statement">current list of priorities</a>, which include modern slavery, freedom or religion or belief and freedom of expression. It could also treat Brexit as a chance to invest more in human rights diplomacy. A conscious political decision to be more proactive across all engagement at the UN would not only ensure Britain’s ongoing influence as a human rights champion, but also retain its stature as a global power while its reputation transitions as it leaves the EU.</p>
<p>If attention isn’t paid to both the UK’s role in global diplomacy and human rights issues after Brexit, the consequences for both could be profound.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124719/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study examined what the UK priorities – and sidelines – at the UN Human Rights Council.Sean Molloy, Research Associate, Newcastle Law School, Newcastle UniversityConall Mallory, Lecturer in Law, Newcastle Law School, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1205462019-07-18T13:05:53Z2019-07-18T13:05:53ZChina is building a global coalition of human rights violators to defend its record in Xinjiang – what is its endgame?<p>A letter <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/11/more-than-20-ambassadors-condemn-chinas-treatment-of-uighurs-in-xinjiang">signed in early July by 22 Western countries</a>, including the UK, Australia, Canada and France, raised serious concerns to UN officials about China’s incarceration of Uyghur people in so-called education camps in the country’s Xinjiang region. A few days later, a <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20190712-37-countries-defend-china-over-xinjiang-un-letter">second letter emerged</a>. Signed by <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2019/07/which-countries-are-for-or-against-chinas-xinjiang-policies/">37 governments</a>, including North Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia, it effectively endorsed China’s human rights abuses in the region. </p>
<p>All of the signatories of the second letter have appalling human rights records of their own. Like the Chinese government, they suppress their political opponents and impose severe restrictions on critical media. Many subject their critics to arbitrary arrest, torture, long prison sentences or the death penalty after grossly unfair trials.</p>
<p>The letter highlights China’s latest win in its plan to reshape the international human rights system. For more than a decade, as documented in a <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/International%20Law/r1012_sceatsbreslin.pdf">2012 Chatham House study</a>, Chinese officials have worked hard to derail human rights resolutions at the UN whether or not they had a bearing on the country’s own record.</p>
<p>Alarm about the role China is playing to weaken the UN human rights system was also raised by <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/09/05/costs-international-advocacy/chinas-interference-united-nations-human-rights">Human Rights Watch</a> in 2017. It accused China of intimidation on UN premises, obstruction of NGO advocacy at the UN, resistance to routine practices regarding appointments and media broadcast, and efforts to weaken key human rights resolutions.</p>
<p>If China succeeds in gaining the support of a majority of UN member states, it can push to water down some of the binding international legal safeguards for human rights, such as civil and political rights. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-uyghur-re-education-centres-in-xinjiang-will-not-produce-a-loyal-and-obedient-population-105630">China's Uyghur re-education centres in Xinjiang will not produce a loyal and obedient population</a>
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<h2>Insisting on sovereignty</h2>
<p>China’s approach has been to engage with the UN’s human rights bodies to impose its own narrative, which misinterprets sovereignty as being distinct and above human rights. The Chinese government persistently reacts to any criticism of China by labelling it interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. In doing so, it ignores repeated <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx">emphasis in international human rights law</a> that human rights depend on one another. The exercise of one right, such as the right to sovereignty, cannot allow the violation of another, such as the right not to be tortured.</p>
<p>Chinese delegates at the UN Human Rights Council <a href="https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/china-thanks-37-countries-including-islamic-states-praising-its">said they</a> “highly appreciated” the letter of support by the 37 signatories. China’s ambassador to the council, Chen Xu, said: “We have repeatedly expressed that what is going on in Xinjiang is entirely an internal affair of China and it involves China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”</p>
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<h2>A dangerous block</h2>
<p>China is recruiting like-minded governments to push its line on sovereignty. The 37 signatories of the letter, as well as other countries not on the list, including Iran and Turkey, are taking the same approach towards legitimate criticism of their human rights records. Not only are they brothers in arms against safeguarding human rights, but for many <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2019/06/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-undermining-human-rights/">their partnership</a> with China’s Belt and Road Initiative or their dependency on China’s low interest loans is a growing incentive to join China’s block. The stronger this menacing form of solidarity grows, the less effective human rights safeguards will be in these countries. </p>
<p>Chinese officials have <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201812/25/WS5c21a3aaa3107d4c3a002ba7.html">repeatedly termed</a> the criticism of their treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang region as Western media politicising the issue. But the block of support that China is building is itself a highly political enterprise. The countries include Muslim states, such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, who turn a blind eye to the treatment of Muslims in China but have been vocal against the treatment of Muslims in other parts of the world in a display of double standards.</p>
<p>What unites many of the 37 countries who support China is their style of governance. They all appear hostile to campaigns for democracy in their countries, ruthlessly suppress freedoms, and with a few exceptions rank high in Transparency International’s <a href="https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018">Corruption Perceptions Index</a>.</p>
<p>China may not be currently pushing for actual amendments to international human rights law, but it is advocating a change in how the law is interpreted. It may also want to have control in future on the appointment of independent experts, for which it would need support from other countries. A block of 37 countries may not yet be a decisive development, but it is the start of what could be a nightmare for human rights defenders. </p>
<p>China’s economic might and worldwide influence enable it to deflect international criticism of its poor human rights record. With a growing army of like-minded governments behind it, international human rights safeguards have never been so dangerously exposed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120546/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abbas Faiz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A group of 37 countries, including North Korea, Russia and Saudia Arabia, signed a letter in support of China’s human rights record.Abbas Faiz, Lecturer on Human Rights, School of Law, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1199312019-07-07T09:03:33Z2019-07-07T09:03:33ZHow glow of the historic accord between Ethiopia and Eritrea has faded<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282851/original/file-20190705-51305-n6h8ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (left) and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki at the re-opening of the Eritrean embassy in Addis Ababa. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/Stringer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Exactly a year ago Eritreans could hardly contain their joy as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/ethiopia-pm-abiy-ahmed-eritrea-landmark-visit-180708083000438.html">touched down in Asmara</a>. The city had seen nothing like it in a generation that knew war rather than peace. Men and women lined the streets and waved Ethiopian flags as Abiy arrived to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44764597">seal a peace deal</a>. </p>
<p>Less than a week later Eritrea’s president Isaias Afwerki made a reciprocal visit, landing in Addis Ababa to an <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44824676">equally rapturous welcome</a>. In September a formal treaty was signed between the two leaders in the Saudi capital, Jeddah, witnessed by King Salman and the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who described it as an <a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1372886/saudi-arabia">“historic event.”</a></p>
<p>The treaty <a href="http://shabait.com/news/local-news/27076-agreement-on-peace-friendship-and-comprehensive-cooperation-between-the-federal-democratic-republic-of-ethiopia-and-the-state-of-eritrea-">covered a number of things</a>. It ended the state of war between Eritrea and Ethiopia; declaring a new era of peace, friendship and comprehensive cooperation.</p>
<p>As part of this deal, there were two important provisions. One called for “the establishment of joint special economic zones. The other was a pledge to establish a high-level joint committee, as well as sub-committees where needed to guide and oversee the implementation of this agreement.</p>
<p>But there has been little apparent progress on either front. Economic co-operation was probably one of the key drivers of this reconciliation. These included plans to develop a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-23/eritrea-mulls-new-port-as-ethiopia-rapprochement-spurs-investors">massive potash mine that would straddle the border</a>. But little has been heard of the project in recent months.</p>
<p>Much the same can be said of the joint committees that were given the job of sorting out the many issues bedevilling relations between the two countries. </p>
<p>What’s become clear is that the warmth of a year ago has largely gone. With little progress on implementing and institutionalising the relations between the two countries an air of uncertainty and suspicion is <a href="https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2019/01/31/politicized-eritrea-peace-perpetuates-conflict-cycle/">creeping back</a>.</p>
<h2>Disputed border</h2>
<p>One of the sticking points between the two countries is the disputed border. The border was <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/eritrea/eritrea-ethiopia-boundary-commission-decision-regarding-delimitation-border">formally designated</a> by the Boundary Commission established after the 1998–2000 border war. The conflict had many causes: rivalry between the liberation movements that had been operating in both countries and economic competition. But it was competing claims to the insignificant border town of Badme that was the spark that <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/why-eritrea-border-ethiopia-conflict-zone-469739">ignited the war.</a> </p>
<p>The two countries signed what became known as the Algiers Peace Agreement in 2000. The agreement made clear that the boundary commission could only make decisions based strictly on legal and historical grounds. This barred it from being able to allow for what might be considered just and fair – what’s known as <a href="https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/file/resources/collections/peace_agreements/eritrea_ethiopia_12122000.pdf">ex aequo et bono</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, the border the Boundary Commission came up with resulted in settlements being dissected and villagers separated from their farmlands. And it left some people on both sides of the border concerned at being transferred from one state to the other. </p>
<p>Changes could only be made by both countries agreeing to any adjustments. This was one of the questions that the joint commissions agreed to in Jeddah was meant to resolve. Others included the terms of trade between Eritrea and Ethiopia, for example exchange rates and economic relations which were seen as important <a href="http://www.dehai.org/conflict/analysis/alemsghed2.html">contributing factors</a> in the 1988 – 2000 border war.</p>
<h2>Distractions</h2>
<p>Rather than working to consolidate the peace, the leaders of both countries have drifted elsewhere. Ethiopia has been caught up in increasingly <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-needs-act-fast-solve-its-internal-displacement-problem">complex and bloody ethnic conflicts</a> that have driven more than a million people from their homes. Coming to grips with this is taking much of Abiy’s time and attention. </p>
<p>He has also been working <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXHBo4Sug6k">on behalf of the African Union</a> to help resolve the political crisis in Sudan. Eritrea’s Isaias has also been to Sudan, but with a rather different remit. <a href="http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article67719">Welcomed warmly by</a> by the deputy chairman of the Transitional Military Council, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo "Hemetti”, Isaias issued a statement that showed his agenda was quite <a href="http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article67719">different</a>, as shown by his recent statement:</p>
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<p>The Government of Eritrea requests the AU to refrain from internationalising and exacerbating the situation in Sudan. </p>
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<p>His approach isn’t difficult to understand. Isaias enjoys <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201904110180.html">strong relations</a> with Saudi Arabia and the UAE both of which have been embroiled in a war in Yemen. Eritrea has <a href="http://www.madote.com/2016/09/how-eritreas-assab-port-became-major.html">allowed its ports and airfields</a> to be used by both countries to prosecute this war. At the same time the Sudanese military <a href="http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article67591">provide troops</a> to fight in Yemen and have been open in their support for the Saudi and UAE in their war aims. </p>
<p>Saudi Arabia was therefore <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/05/saudi-arabia-sudan-uprising-omar-al-bashir">alarmed</a> at the challenge posed to the Sudanese government by the popular uprising in Khartoum and other Sudanese towns and cities. </p>
<h2>Border remains tense</h2>
<p>Even though the glow of last year’s events has faced, Eritrea has nevertheless reaped many gains from the rapprochement with Ethiopia. One consequence is that it <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47934398">signalled</a> the end of its international isolation. Limited United Nations sanctions were <a href="https://theconversation.com/sanctions-are-being-lifted-against-eritrea-heres-why-106881">lifted</a> and the country now holds a <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/eritrea-in-the-un-human-rights-council-fox-guarding-the-henhouse/a-49378901">seat on the UN Human Rights Council</a>, a body that frequently criticised its lack of adherence to international human rights norms.</p>
<p>Eritrea has also taken the chair of the <a href="https://www.khartoumprocess.net/about/actors-and-governance">Khartoum Process</a>. This is a critical position, since it is the key forum in which African states negotiate with the European Union.</p>
<p>But the situation along the Ethiopia-Eritrea border remains tense. The Ethiopian government attempted to move its heavy artillery away from the border, but this was <a href="https://ecadforum.com/2019/01/09/military-trucks-blocked-in-tigray-region/">blocked by local residents</a> of Tigray, fearful that there might be renewed conflict with Eritrea. </p>
<p>Their concerns are hardly surprising. Isaias has made <a href="http://www.shabait.com/news/local-news/26520-president-isaias-speech-on-martyrs-day">vituperative statements</a> about his immediate neighbours, describing the Trigrayan ruling party - the TPLF – as “vultures”, and accusing them of following a “toxic and malignan” agenda.</p>
<p>It is difficult to know how relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara will develop. The fear is that Isaias has gone back to his unpredictable ways, making any predictions difficult.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119931/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Plaut is affiliated with Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London</span></em></p>It’s unclear how relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara will develop but the warmth has largely gone.Martin Plaut, Senior Research Fellow, Horn of Africa and Southern Africa, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1136572019-03-18T18:44:43Z2019-03-18T18:44:43ZAustralia’s performance on gender equality – are we fair dinkum?<p>On <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/">International Women’s Day</a> this year, Australia hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Not only did we <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/australia-refuses-to-sign-on-to-un-international-women-s-day-statement">fail to support</a> a United Nations (UN) motion that called for greater accountability for human rights violations against women and girls, but comments made by our prime minister provoked international outrage.</p>
<p>The UN resolution proposed “policies and legislation that respect women and girls’ right to bodily autonomy”. Perhaps Australia refused to support this motion because some of its domestic laws effectively maintain sex discrimination against women. </p>
<p>Abortion is still restricted and even criminalised in some circumstances, in some Australian states, which impinges on women’s capacity to access <a href="https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2019/3/9/morrison-government-missing-in-action-at-un-on-international-womens-day">safe reproductive healthcare</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/crowd-mapping-gender-equality-a-powerful-tool-for-shaping-a-better-city-launches-in-melbourne-105648">Crowd-mapping gender equality – a powerful tool for shaping a better city launches in Melbourne</a>
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<p>Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, at an International Women’s Day event, generated controversy by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/08/scott-morrison-wants-women-to-rise-but-not-solely-at-expense-of-others">saying</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’re not about setting Australians against each other, trying to push some down and lift others up. We want to see women rise but we don’t want to see women rise only on the basis of others doing worse.</p>
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<p>In contrast, UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres, a “proud feminist” stated: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When we exclude women, everyone pays the price. When we include women, the whole world wins.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Following <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/pm-scott-morrisons-women-comments-heard-around-the-world/news-story/c5b1816dd87bdc4fe11aedf17778b803">international media coverage</a>, Morrison sought to clarify his earlier remarks: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>What I was saying yesterday is I don’t want to see this agenda pursued by setting women against men. No. Australian against Australian. No. I want to bring all Australians together to focus on this. That’s what I’m fair dinkum about.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>How Australia measures up</h2>
<p>Fair dinkum though, these developments are disappointing. Australia was one of 47 states <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-human-rights-council-election-comes-with-a-challenge-to-improve-its-domestic-record-80953">elected</a> to a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for a 2018-2020 term. It currently has real potential to contribute to global progress on women’s rights. </p>
<p>Indeed, one of the five “pillars” of <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/un/unhrc-2018-2020/pillars-and-priorities/Pages/pillars-and-priorities.aspx">Australia’s bid</a> for a HRC seat was gender equality. Foreign Minister Marise Payne <a href="https://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2019/mp_sp_190225.aspx">recently reiterated Australia’s commitment</a> to these pillars in her speech to the HRC.</p>
<p>We can measure whether Australia has demonstrated its commitment to its voluntary pledges as a member of the HRC in a number of ways. We can assess whether Australia’s public statements at the council address its objectives. </p>
<p>In 2018, gender equality was the most consistent theme of <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/un/unhrc-2018-2020/statements/Pages/hrc-statements.aspx">Australia’s statements</a> before the council. Australia promoted gender equality through statements on violence against women, female genital mutilation, discrimination against women and women’s rights. </p>
<p>On this measure, then, Australia performed well.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/backlash-and-gender-fatigue-why-progress-on-gender-equality-has-slowed-112706">Backlash and gender fatigue. Why progress on gender equality has slowed</a>
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<p>In recent years, Australia has at times <a href="https://theconversation.com/lashing-out-at-the-un-is-not-the-act-of-a-good-international-citizen-38587https:/theconversation.com/lashing-out-at-the-un-is-not-the-act-of-a-good-international-citizen-38587">reacted with hostility</a> to constructive critique from the UN human rights bodies.</p>
<p>But in June 2018, in response to a report from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, then Foreign Minister Julie Bishop struck a more diplomatic tone. Bishop thanked the special rapporteur for her report and <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/United-Nations-Human-Rights-Reporting/Documents/UPR-2015-Opening-Statement.pdf">commented</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Independent scrutiny, transparency and accountability are critical to upholding the human rights of all people and Australia welcomes such scrutiny. Australia is carefully considering the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations and appreciates the opportunity to make a preliminary response today.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this area, then, Australia also appears to be doing better.</p>
<h2>A poor record in Indigenous communities</h2>
<p>But in the same statement, Australia acknowledged the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Special Rapporteur noted particular concerns regarding the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. We acknowledge and regret that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience violence at higher levels than non-Indigenous Australian women. We must do better.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Indeed, the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21243&LangID=E">special rapporteur</a> called on the Australian government to make policy in this area <em>with</em> – rather than for – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. She noted that current <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-indigenous-women-have-become-targets-in-a-domestic-violence-system-intended-to-protect-them-102656">policy</a> settings are insufficient to address the “institutional, systemic, multiple, intersecting forms of discrimination” experienced by Indigenous women and girls. </p>
<p>On top of that, Australia is falling down on its commitments in terms of how it responds to the human rights performance of other countries. The <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/upr/pages/uprmain.aspx">Universal Periodic Review</a> process, administered by the HRC, scrutinises each UN state’s behaviour on cycles of four and a half years. According to a public <a href="https://www.upr-info.org/database/">database of recommendations</a>, only 4% of Australia’s recommendations to other states related to gender equality.</p>
<p>Far fewer of Australia’s recommendations - 0.6% - related to its commitment “pillar” of Indigenous rights. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/parents-can-promote-gender-equality-and-help-prevent-violence-against-women-heres-how-99836">Parents can promote gender equality and help prevent violence against women. Here's how</a>
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<h2>Plenty of room for improvement</h2>
<p>Gender equality is one of many areas in which Australia’s public discourse is poorly served by a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-charter-of-rights-could-protect-australians-fundamental-freedoms-81947">lack of comprehensive human rights protection</a> in our domestic law. </p>
<p>From the prime minister’s public comments to Australia’s diplomatic behaviour, there is considerable room for improvement if we are to be “fair dinkum” about gender equality. </p>
<p>Having secured a place on the HRC as a defender of gender equality, Australia ought to be beyond immature statements that depict women’s equality as necessarily diminishing men’s capacity or rights in society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona McGaughey has previously received a bursary from Graduate Women (WA). She is a board member of two not-for-profits- the Australian Council for State School Organisations Inc. and Australia New Zealand Third Sector Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Maguire does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From the prime minister’s public comments to Australia’s diplomatic behaviour, there is considerable room for improvement if we are to be “fair dinkum” about gender equality.Fiona McGaughey, Lecturer, Law School, The University of Western AustraliaAmy Maguire, Associate professor, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1076162018-11-28T12:37:49Z2018-11-28T12:37:49ZConcerns over Eritrea’s role in efforts by Africa and EU to manage refugees<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247244/original/file-20181126-140507-1sg92g3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Migrants arriving on the island of Lampedusa, southern Italy in April 2011.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Ettore Ferrari</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Early in 2019 the Eritrean government will take over the chair of the key Africa and European Union (EU) forum dealing with African migration, known as <a href="https://www.khartoumprocess.net/about/the-khartoum-process">the Khartoum Process</a>.</p>
<p>The Khartoum Process was established in the Sudanese capital in 2014. It’s had little public profile, yet it’s the most important means Europe has of attempting to halt the flow of refugees and migrants from Africa. The official title says it all: The EU-Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative. Its main role is <a href="https://www.iom.int/eu-horn-africa-migration-route-initiative-khartoum-process">spelled out as being</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>primarily focused on preventing and fighting migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. </p>
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<p>Chairing the Khartoum Process <a href="https://www.khartoumprocess.net/about/actors-and-governance">alternates</a> between European and African leaders. In January it will be Africa’s turn. The steering committee has five African members – Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan. A number of others nations, such as Kenya to Tunisia, have participating status. </p>
<p>The African countries chose Eritrea to lead this critical relationship. But it’s been heavily criticised because it places refugees and asylum seekers in the hands of a regime that is notorious for its human rights abuses. Worse still, there is evidence that Eritrean officials are directly implicated in human trafficking the Khartoum Process is meant to end. </p>
<p>That the European Union allowed this to happen puts in question its repeated assurances that human rights are at the heart of its foreign policies.</p>
<h2>The Khartoum Process</h2>
<p>The Khartoum Process involves a huge range of initiatives. All are designed to reduce the number of Africans crossing the Mediterranean. These include training the fragile Libyan government’s coastguards, who round up migrants at sea and return them to the brutal conditions of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/08/refugee-libyan-camp-people-dying">Libyan prison camps</a>.</p>
<p>The programme has sometimes backfired. Some EU-funded coastguards have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/08/un-accuses-libyan-linked-to-eu-funded-coastguard-of-people-trafficking">accused of involvement in people trafficking</a> themselves. </p>
<p>The EU has also established a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/trustfundforafrica/region/horn-africa/regional/regional-operational-centre-support-khartoum-process-and-au-horn-africa_en">regional operational centre</a> in Khartoum. But this has meant European officials collaborating with the security forces of a government which has regularly abused its own citizens, as well as foreigners on its soil. President Omar al-Bashir himself has been <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir">indicted</a> for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.</p>
<p>The centre requires European police and other officers to work directly with the security officials who uphold the Sudanese government. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/22/world/africa/migration-european-union-sudan.html">According</a> to the head of the immigration police department,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The planned countertrafficking coordination centre in Khartoum – staffed jointly by police officers from Sudan and several European countries, including Britain, France and Italy – will partly rely on information sourced by Sudanese National Intelligence. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The centre also receives support from Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/africa/2017/11/sudan-rsf-unit-accused-abuses-migrants-171117133237654.html">which grew out of the Janjaweed</a>: notorious for the atrocities it committed in Darfur. </p>
<p>These initiatives are all very much in line with the <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/21839/action_plan_en.pdf">migration agreement</a> signed in the Maltese capital in 2015. Its action plan detailed how European institutions would co-operate with their African partners to fight</p>
<blockquote>
<p>irregular migration, migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. </p>
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<p>Europe promised to offer training to law enforcement and judicial authorities in new methods of investigation and to assist in setting up specialised anti-trafficking and smuggling police units.</p>
<p>It is this sensitive relationship that will now come under Eritrean supervision. They will be dealing with some of the most vulnerable men, women and children who have fled their own countries. It is here that the process gets really difficult, because Eritrean government officials have themselves been implicated in human trafficking. UN researchers, working for the Security Council <a href="https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_1869.pdf">described how this took place</a> in 2011. </p>
<p>More recently, survivors of human trafficking interviewed by a team led by Dutch professor Mirjam van Reisen, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mirjam_Reisen/publication/316989834_Human_Trafficking_and_Trauma_in_the_Digital_Era_The_Ongoing_Tragedy_of_the_Trade_in_Refugees_from_Eritrea/links/59f0afeda6fdcc1dc7b8e9c9/Human-Trafficking-and-Trauma-in-the-Digital-Era-The-Ongoing-Tragedy-of-the-Trade-in-Refugees-from-Eritrea.pdf">described</a> how the Eritrean Border Surveillance Unit ferried refugees out of Eritrea, at a price. </p>
<p>The danger is that implicated Eritrean officials will play a critical role in the development of the Khartoum Process.</p>
<h2>Europe’s commitment to human rights</h2>
<p>The EU has repeatedly stressed that its commitment to <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A12007L%2FTXT">human rights runs through everything it does</a>. Yet the Eritrean government, with which the EU is now collaborating so closely, has been <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23272&LangID=E">denounced</a> for its human rights abuses by no less than the Special Rapporteur for Eritrea to the UN Human Rights Council as recently as June 2018. </p>
<p>As Mike Smith, who chaired the UN Commission Inquiry into Eritrea in 2015, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=16139&LangID=E">put it</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The many violations in Eritrea are of a scope and scale seldom seen anywhere else in today’s world. Basic freedoms are curtailed, from movement to expression; from religion to association. The Commission finds that crimes against humanity may have occurred with regard to torture, extrajudicial executions, forced labour and in the context of national service.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The EU itself has remained silent. It is difficult to see how the EU can allow its key African migration work to be overseen by such a regime, without running foul of its own human rights commitments. European leaders need to reconsider their relationships with African governments implicated in gross human rights abuses if they are to uphold these values. </p>
<p>The Khartoum Process may have reduced the flow of refugees and asylum seekers across the Mediterranean. But it hasn’t eliminated the need for a fresh approach to their plight.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107616/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Plaut is affiliated with the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London</span></em></p>It is difficult to see how the EU can allow its key African migration work to be supervised by Eritrea.Martin Plaut, Senior Research Fellow, Horn of Africa and Southern Africa, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1042502018-10-03T20:07:08Z2018-10-03T20:07:08ZAung San Suu Kyi’s extraordinary fall from grace<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239076/original/file-20181003-708-1o4sq83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aung Sun Suu Kyi is now seen as an enabler of ethnic cleansing and genocide.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s civilian leader and de facto president, is under fire from all sides. Domestically, she is <a href="https://www.mmtimes.com/news/2018-will-be-make-or-break-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi.html">facing growing criticism</a> for <a href="https://www.mmtimes.com/news/economy-increasingly-disappointing-govt-approaches-half-term.html">stalled economic and political reforms</a>, glacial progress on policy and service improvements, and the suppression of <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/former-columnist-jailed-for-social-media-criticism-09192018163944.html">freedom of expression</a> and press freedom.</p>
<p>But it is her international reputation that is most in tatters. </p>
<p>The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/11/13/burma-chronology-aung-san-suu-kyis-detention">imprisoned for 15 years</a> over a 21-year period in her struggle for human rights and democracy, has suffered a swift and dramatic fall from grace as a global icon. She is now widely seen as an enabler of ethnic cleansing and genocide. </p>
<p>In just the last few days, Canada <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/suu-kyi-honorary-canadian-citizenship-1.4847568">stripped</a> Suu Kyi of her honorary citizenship and the Malaysian prime minister <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/no-support-for-aung-san-suu-kyi-malaysia-pm-mahathir">stated publicly</a> that she has lost his support. </p>
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<p>As the Brussels-based International Crisis Group put it recently: </p>
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<p>Rarely has the reputation of a leader fallen so far, so fast. </p>
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<h2>Failures of Suu Kyi’s government</h2>
<p>Suu Kyi has been the subject of much criticism since taking power 2½ years ago, but the most recent and vociferous condemnation has centred on two events: the jailing of two Reuters journalists who exposed a massacre of Rohingya civilians by the military, and her government’s failure to respond to international investigations into allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide.</p>
<p>In September, the two Reuters journalists were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/03/world/asia/myanmar-reuters-journalists-sentenced-trial.html">convicted</a> of possessing official secrets, despite <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-journalists-trial-specialrepo/special-report-how-myanmar-punished-two-reporters-for-uncovering-an-atrocity-idUSKCN1LJ167">testimony by a policeman</a> that they had been entrapped. </p>
<p>The journalists <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/myanmar-rakhine-events/">had reported</a> on a 2017 massacre of Rohingya Muslims by security forces, which resulted in the eventual <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-military/seven-myanmar-soldiers-sentenced-to-10-years-for-rohingya-massacre-idUSKBN1HH2ZS">conviction of seven soldiers for murder</a></p>
<p>It is notable that it was Suu Kyi’s civilian government that prosecuted the journalists, not the military. Suu Kyi could have ordered the charges dropped, as she did for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/world/asia/myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-political-prisoners.html">student protesters</a> during her early days in office. Instead, before the trial was over, <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/myanmar-to-try-reuters-reporters-on-state-secrecy-charges-07092018165820.html">she commented</a> that the reporters were guilty of violating the Official Secrets Act, and once even <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/suu-kyi-s-choice-press-to-free-jailed-myanmar-journalists-or-stay-silent-1536065593">allegedly referred</a> to them as “traitors”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239090/original/file-20181003-52688-zv80dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239090/original/file-20181003-52688-zv80dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239090/original/file-20181003-52688-zv80dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239090/original/file-20181003-52688-zv80dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239090/original/file-20181003-52688-zv80dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239090/original/file-20181003-52688-zv80dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239090/original/file-20181003-52688-zv80dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reuters journalists Wa Lone (center) and Kyaw Soe Oo (top left) are escorted by police after their first trial in January.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lynn Bo Bo/EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second great disappointment has been the government’s response to the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/MyanmarFFM/Pages/ReportoftheMyanmarFFM.aspx">UN Human Rights Council’s report</a> into the violence that drove almost 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh last year. </p>
<p>The report, released in full in September, found conclusive evidence that security forces had indeed engaged in mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya, with genocidal intent. It went on to accuse Suu Kyi and her government of contributing to the atrocities through “acts and omissions”. </p>
<p>The HRC recommended the UN Security Council refer the Myanmar commander-in-chief and five generals to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The UN Human Rights Council <a href="https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/un-sets-body-prepare-myanmar-atrocity-prosecution-files.html">also set up a body to prepare evidence</a> for trials.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-the-un-has-found-myanmars-military-committed-genocide-against-the-rohingya-102251">Explainer: why the UN has found Myanmar’s military committed genocide against the Rohingya</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Rather than pledge to cooperate with the investigation, however, Suu Kyi has consistently defended the military action against the Rohingya and repeatedly pointed to a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/09/myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-rohingya-united-nations/571618/">lack of understanding of the complexities</a> of the situation.</p>
<p>Her <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/no-surprises-but-aung-san-suu-kyi-shocks-with-comments-on-rohingya-20180914-p503r0.html">only concession</a> to the increasing international condemnation of her government has been this muted statement:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are, of course, ways in which, with hindsight, we might think that the situation could have been handled better. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Limitations on Suu Kyi’s power</h2>
<p>The military remains a very powerful force in Myanmar. It has the power to appoint its own personnel to a quarter of the seats in parliament and oversees the three powerful ministries of Home Affairs, Defence and Border Affairs. </p>
<p>The government has no power to hold the military accountable for actions against the Rohingya. Suu Kyi is therefore in a very weak position.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-a-seat-on-the-un-security-council-what-can-key-asean-member-indonesia-do-to-solve-the-rohingya-crisis-102915">With a seat on the UN Security Council, what can key ASEAN member Indonesia do to solve the Rohingya crisis?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>She has nonetheless gone out of her way to not just defend the military, but praise it. In Singapore last month, she made headlines when she declared that the three generals in her cabinet were “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-myanmar-suukyi/myanmars-suu-kyi-says-relations-with-military-not-that-bad-idUSKCN1L60OP">rather sweet</a>”. </p>
<p>Suu Kyi has stressed that her government’s aim of removing the military from politics would eventually be achieved through negotiation, keeping in mind the need for national reconciliation. However, her dream of <a href="https://www.mmtimes.com/national-news/nay-pyi-taw/19910-nld-could-draft-new-constitution.html">constitutional reform</a> depends entirely on military approval. </p>
<p>This would appear to inhibit any ability for her to censure the military. She also has no means to compel the military to cooperate with international investigators. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239091/original/file-20181003-52660-v5qnq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239091/original/file-20181003-52660-v5qnq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239091/original/file-20181003-52660-v5qnq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239091/original/file-20181003-52660-v5qnq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239091/original/file-20181003-52660-v5qnq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239091/original/file-20181003-52660-v5qnq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239091/original/file-20181003-52660-v5qnq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Around 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since last year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nyein Chan Naing/EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A path to redemption</h2>
<p>Suu Kyi still has considerable moral authority within Myanmar, and the military is still widely unpopular. Thus, despite the severe limitations on her power, she does have other options to lead effectively on issues like human rights, the Rohingya and press freedom.</p>
<p>Suu Kyi and her government should start by recommitting themselves to a belief in universal human rights. She should also express empathy with the victims of the atrocities in Rakhine state, which may begin to shift popular opinion against the actions of the military and engender more public sympathy for the Rohingya.</p>
<p>Further, Suu Kyi needs to pledge full cooperation with the ICC investigation into the serious allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide, and call for a genuinely independent domestic inquiry to pave the way towards true reconciliation. </p>
<p>Suu Kyi may not be able to compel military cooperation with the ICC investigation, or even unfettered access to the country for investigators. But drawing on her moral authority could go a long way to help. She could pave the way for visas and travel approval, for instance, both of which were denied to investigators by her government.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-the-rohingya-crisis-aung-san-suu-kyi-will-come-to-the-asean-summit-with-her-reputation-tarnished-92823">After the Rohingya crisis, Aung San Suu Kyi will come to the ASEAN summit with her reputation tarnished</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Finally, the government must develop robust, urgent repatriation plans for the Rohingya – in cooperation with Bangladesh and the UN – that guarantee their security, human rights, a pathway to full citizenship and an end to segregation in Rakhine. They need a plan for inclusive development policies in the state, and to restore both media freedoms and humanitarian access to the region.</p>
<p>The opportunity for such moral leadership is quickly evaporating. </p>
<p>Suu Kyi and her government were elected by a landslide in 2015, winning about 80% of seats up for election. Polling released last week <a href="https://www.mmtimes.com/news/critics-doubt-new-survey-showing-public-happy-nld-govt.html">showed</a> that only about half those surveyed believe the rights of people have improved in the 2½ years that she has been in power and less than half the population feel there has been any political or economic improvement. </p>
<p>There have also been <a href="https://www.mmtimes.com/news/2018-will-be-make-or-break-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi.html%20/">increasing complaints</a> about the performance of the government. </p>
<p>With her support eroding both home and abroad, Suu Kyi appears to have a limited window to adequately address the Rohingya crisis and regain her moral authority. Otherwise, Myanmar risks slipping back into isolation and again becoming a pariah state.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104250/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Ware receives research funding from the development organisation GraceWorks Myanmar, and previously was funded for research in Myanmar by the Gerda Henkel Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Costas Laoutides works for Deakin University. He has received funding from the Gerda Henkel Foundation for research in Myanmar.</span></em></p>Facing increasing international pressure, Myanmar’s one-time star leader is running out of time to show leadership on human rights and the Rohingya crisis.Anthony Ware, Senior Lecturer in International & Community Development, Deakin UniversityCostas Laoutides, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/986442018-06-20T12:36:55Z2018-06-20T12:36:55ZWhy the US left the UN Human Rights Council – and why it matters<p>The US’s announcement that it is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/44537372">leaving the UN Human Rights Council</a> should not surprise anyone, since the Trump administration has long made clear its disdain for many parts of the United Nations. But the damage that the decision is likely to cause could nonetheless topple an increasingly wobbly house of cards.</p>
<p>When the Human Rights Council was created in 2006, the US (then under the Bush administration) <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2006/ga10449.doc.htm">voted against its establishment</a> and refused to stand for election to it, though it nonetheless provided the Council with significant funding and supported its work as the UN’s only intergovernmental human rights body. The US’s objections centred on the argument that the design of the Council did not do enough to address problems of politicisation, bias and the membership eligibility of well-known rights violators – problems that had dogged its predecessor. And those arguments have continued throughout the Council’s 12-year history.</p>
<p>Many countries and NGOs have <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/UNHRC_Country_Specific_v1.pdf">criticised</a> the council’s bias against Israel, and the presence of grave human rights abusers (such as Burundi) as members of the body. But even the Council’s harshest critics have generally recognised that to make effective changes, you have to be in the ring. The US’s decision to leave bucks that trend.</p>
<p>The Council has 47 members, elected for fixed terms, with seats distributed to ensure proportionate geographic representation. Because it is made up of states represented by diplomats tasked with protecting their national interests, it is an inherently political entity. Its remit is to promote, protect and develop human rights – but it only has “soft” powers, not legally binding ones. Instead, much of its work involves fact-finding, information-sharing, capacity-building, and technical assistance. On those fronts, it has often had great success, particularly in <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/22/un-human-rights-council-build-recent-successes">establishing international investigations</a> into major violations worldwide.</p>
<p>But as would be expected with any political body – let alone one representing all nation states – the Council undeniably suffers from deep problems.</p>
<h2>Bias and diversion</h2>
<p>One of the most glaring and long-running issues is an <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-rights-violators-keep-the-un-human-rights-council-focused-on-israel-44319">excessive and disproportionate focus on Israel</a>. There is no question that Israel commits human rights abuses in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or that it is an occupying power in those territories. But since the Council’s creation, those human rights abuses have received more scrutiny than grotesque atrocities elsewhere.</p>
<p>Israel is the only country singled out for its own item on the Council’s permanent agenda, <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/1.4944826">Agenda Item 7</a>. There have been more special sessions convened on Israel than any other country, even Syria. And in total, Israel has received more of the council’s attention than the Democratic Republic of Congo (where millions of people have been <a href="https://www.cfr.org/interactives/global-conflict-tracker#!/conflict/violence-in-the-democratic-republic-of-congo">killed or displaced</a> in recent years), Darfur and Sri Lanka (where genocides were perpetrated), North Korea, and Yemen. And this is not just more than each of those countries – but <a href="http://time.com/3060203/united-nations-human-rights-council-israel/">more than all of them combined</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JjUHUFhktQA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>This disproportionate scrutiny undermines the Council’s credibility and diverts resources away from other areas that desperately require attention. But some countries have taken some steps to address the issue. The sessions convened around Agenda Item 7 are not well attended, with many states refusing to participate in the discussions about Israel at every council session. And pressure has been placed on the Organisation of Islamic States, a political bloc with 54 members, not to constantly raise Israel during discussions on all other regular agenda items.</p>
<p>Let’s be clear: even though there is disproportionate and excessive attention placed on Israel, the Council does focus on an awful lot of other grave and crisis situations. And that work is not overshadowed or cancelled out simply because of bias against Israel.</p>
<p>A second oft-cited criticism of the Council is that it allows well-known human rights abusers to take seats. But this is an intergovernmental body – and that means all states have the opportunity to stand for election. If elected by their peers, they have the right to be a member. There are “soft” membership criteria, and states make pledges and commitments during their campaigns – but, ultimately, it comes down to elections.</p>
<p>Some known rights abusers, notably <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-rights-un/iran-withdraws-bid-for-seat-on-u-n-rights-council-idUSTRE63M4GV20100424?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29">Iran</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/05/11/un-syria-ends-rights-body-bid-not-repression">Syria</a>, previously withdrew their candidacies when it became clear that they wouldn’t be elected, while Libya’s membership was <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2011/ga11050.doc.htm">suspended</a> in 2011 because of the serious human rights violations occurring there. But other violators have secured membership – most recently, Burundi was put forward by the African Group and <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2015/10/514042-general-assembly-elects-18-members-un-human-rights-council">elected to the Council</a> despite its <a href="https://theconversation.com/democracy-in-peril-burundis-referendum-will-cement-nkurunzizas-grip-on-power-96544">ongoing</a> gross and systemic rights violations.</p>
<h2>Giving up</h2>
<p>The Council is also used by some states to promote agendas that directly undermine human rights. Countries such as Cuba, Pakistan and Russia have been at the forefront of <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-push-to-protect-family-values-is-a-brazen-attack-on-human-rights-43815">efforts</a> to protect “the family” or “religious freedom” in order to justify state-sponsored violence and discrimination against ethnic, religious and sexual orientation minorities.</p>
<p>For these and other reasons, there have been some efforts to try to implement hard and soft reforms. The Trump administration initially made that reform agenda central to its engagement with the Council – in recent weeks it floated a draft resolution on reforms and sought allies to co-sponsor it. But while many countries and NGOs agreed with the substance of the proposal, it was <a href="https://www.ishr.ch/news/hrc-council-must-be-strengthened-ground-enhance-impact">strongly and publicly opposed</a> by several organisations, among them Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Service for Human Rights.</p>
<p>Those NGOs wrote to 60 states setting out concerns that opening a formal reform process would likely backfire, with states hostile to human rights using that process to undermine rather than strengthen the Human Rights Council. Their intervention seems to have been the final straw for the US. But although the Trump administration has long made it clear that human rights and multilateralism are not its priorities, this move will have a major impact. Even America’s closest allies on the Council have expressed their <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/withdrawal-human-rights-council-180620060224309.html">disappointment</a> at this decision.</p>
<p>The Council is the world’s main human rights body – and it is crucial that all states engage with its work. The US has long been a leader on human rights, particularly through its work and support for the UN’s Geneva-based human rights mechanisms. By abandoning ship, the US has made it that much harder for like-minded states to protect and promote human rights. And it has set a dangerous and worrying precedent that other countries, particularly those who commit grave violations, may emulate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98644/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosa Freedman has received funding from the British Academy and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p>While not exactly surprising coming from the Trump administration, backing out of a major UN body is bound to have serious consequences.Rosa Freedman, Professor of Law, Conflict and Global Development, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/882382017-12-05T19:16:10Z2017-12-05T19:16:10ZTen things Australia can do to be a human rights hero<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196846/original/file-20171129-28913-14q42ar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1946%2C3591%2C1639&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Effective leadership requires leading by example, but Australia’s human rights record has drawn increasing criticism at home and abroad. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/froge/24865242966/in/album-72157664247376242/">Andrew Hill/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/democracy-futures">Democracy Futures</a> project, a <a href="http://sydneydemocracynetwork.org/democracy-futures/">joint global initiative</a> between The Conversation and the <a href="http://sydneydemocracynetwork.org/">Sydney Democracy Network</a>. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking about the many challenges facing democracies in the 21st century.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Sunday is Human Rights Day. December 10 marks 69 years since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a> on December 10, 1948. With the 70th anniversary coming up in 2018, the UN has launched <a href="http://www.standup4humanrights.org/en/">Stand Up 4 Human Rights</a>, a year-long campaign to bring the ideals of the declaration closer to reality. </p>
<p>As a leader in the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/australia-and-universal-declaration-human-rights">framing of the UN declaration</a> and one of the world’s oldest democracies, Australia prides itself on its commitment to democracy and human rights. The Australian government has an excellent opportunity to show leadership in promoting these values at home and abroad when it takes up a seat on the UN Human Rights Council from 2018. </p>
<p>In this role, Australia has <a href="http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/Pages/australias-membership-unhrc-2018-2020.aspx">pledged</a> to be “an international human rights leader” and to advance human rights with “active, practical advocacy, sensitivity and fairness, and a willingness to speak out against human rights violations and abuses”.</p>
<p>However, effective leadership requires leading by example, and Australia’s human rights record has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/nov/10/un-countries-line-up-to-criticise-australias-human-rights-record">drawn increasing criticism in recent years</a>. </p>
<h2>What can we do to strengthen our human rights framework?</h2>
<p>We recently brought together Australian human rights scholars to answer this question. <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjhu20/23/2?nav=tocList&">Our collection</a> of articles in the Australian Journal of Human Rights, entitled <em>Vanguard or laggard? Democracy and human rights in Australia</em>, details the relationship between democracy and human rights, and provides a roadmap for improving Australia’s democratic and human rights record.</p>
<p>Democracy should generate protection for human rights through accountability mechanisms that work across three axes:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>horizontal accountability</strong> refers to the role of the judiciary and integrity institutions such as the ombudsman and human rights commission</p></li>
<li><p><strong>vertical accountability</strong> refers to elections and the participatory role of citizens</p></li>
<li><p><strong>diagonal accountability</strong> denotes the role of free speech, media and civil society organisations in holding governments to account.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>There is no clear-cut nexus between Australian democracy and human rights across these areas of accountability. And the conditions necessary for each form of accountability to operate successfully are not as strong as is generally assumed. </p>
<p>Accountability mechanisms are often overshadowed by parliamentary supremacy in our version of Westminster democracy. This leaves many citizens vulnerable to rights infringements.</p>
<p>A core weakness in Australia’s vertical accountability is the lack of an entrenched or statutory bill of rights. This leaves the executive and legislature with primary control over human rights determinations. </p>
<p>Voters decide who these legislators are and can change them at elections if they are unhappy with their decisions on rights issues. History suggests voters have indeed punished governments that fail to act on majority rights concerns. </p>
<p>However, protection for minority rights, and the rights of <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-just-black-matter-australias-indifference-to-aboriginal-lives-and-land-85168">Indigenous Australians</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-trump-ups-the-ante-executive-powers-should-worry-australians-too-78763">refugees</a> in particular, do not attract sufficient support at the ballot box. Not surprisingly, government policies reflect this electoral reality.</p>
<p>Without a bill of rights, minorities and others whose rights are threatened also have limited capacity to trigger horizontal accountability mechanisms for protection. Aside from some exceptional rulings, such as the High Court’s <a href="http://lawgovpol.com/implied-rights-constitution/">implied rights determinations</a>, Australian judges have generally been reluctant to read the law broadly to incorporate rights. </p>
<p>Further, the Australian Human Rights Commission has a limited mandate. It is also <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/revealed-abbott-government-tried-to-remove-gillian-triggs-as-head-of-the-australian-human-rights-commission-20150213-13du7s.html">vulnerable</a> to <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/australian-human-rights-commission-president-gillian-triggs-criticises-federal-government-cuts-to-her-budget/news-story/d8b102a9467516415cf62e20aa4afb80">funding cuts</a> and <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/section-18c-attorney-general-george-brandis-slams-human-rights-commission/news-story/0fffc094d7d444809d27bb1dffd71cc8">political attacks</a> when government perceives the commission to have overstepped its mark. These deficiencies have become more obvious in recent years with the rise of the “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/07/how-australia-just-became-a-national-security-state/?utm_term=.d663c3376feb">security state</a>”.</p>
<p>Diagonal accountability mechanisms, including a free press and civil society, have been able to flourish in Australia. Even so, there are major limitations to their ability to pursue rights concerns. We have seen increasing media concentration, funding cuts to public broadcasters and the extension of <a href="https://www.hrlc.org.au/opinion/2017/2/3/we-must-protest-restrictions-on-our-right-to-protest">legislative restrictions</a> on civil society.</p>
<p>Such developments reduce the potential for these democratic actors to bring problems to light and inform governments and voters about rights issues.</p>
<p>Unless or until Australians decide to support greater rights protections, whether through constitutional or legislative action, these problems are likely to remain. </p>
<p>Fixing these problems is important. This is not only because human rights are important in themselves, but also because democracy requires a basic level of respect for human rights to function properly.</p>
<h2>Ten things Australia can do to protect rights</h2>
<p>With Australia becoming a member of the UN Human Rights Council, it is more important than ever that we get our own house in order, if we want to be a model for good democratic practice underpinned by a strong human rights framework.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196854/original/file-20171129-28862-fi5miy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196854/original/file-20171129-28862-fi5miy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196854/original/file-20171129-28862-fi5miy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196854/original/file-20171129-28862-fi5miy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196854/original/file-20171129-28862-fi5miy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196854/original/file-20171129-28862-fi5miy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196854/original/file-20171129-28862-fi5miy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Having secured a seat at the UN Human Rights Council, Australia needs to get its own house in order.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UN Geneva/flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Here’s a start: these ten broad steps are eminently doable. While not covering all the gaps, these will get us a long way toward more robust human rights protection in Australia.</p>
<p><strong>1. Adopt a bill of rights</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>A bill of rights will increase the capacity of minorities and others whose rights are threatened to seek protection from the courts, if and when parliament fails to do so.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>2. Protect freedom of speech</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Reverse funding cuts to public media outlets.</p></li>
<li><p>Achieve a better balance between security laws and freedom of speech by adding public interest disclosure protections to national security laws.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>3. Protect the rule of law and integrity institutions</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Strengthen the independence of integrity institutions such as statutory officeholders (information commissioners, human rights commissioners). This includes mandating transparent, arm’s length and merit-based selection criteria for appointments to these offices. Stronger statutory guarantees of adequate funding are also needed.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>4. Protect the right to vote</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Strengthen our compulsory voting laws because of their beneficial (yet generally unrecognised) effects on human rights protection, particularly their demonstrated capacity to protect rights such as equality before the law, freedom from discrimination and equal voting power.</p></li>
<li><p>Continue to support electoral commissions in their efforts to achieve universal or near-universal electoral participation.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>5. Protect freedom of association</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Support the flourishing of civil society organisations by removing restrictive protest laws.</p></li>
<li><p>Ensure a fair and nonpartisan regulatory framework for funding civil society organisations.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>6. Strengthen rights protections for Indigenous Australians</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Dismantle the intellectual and legal framework that creates barriers to recognising and respecting Indigenous Australians.</p></li>
<li><p>Be open to Indigenous perspectives and realities and make a genuine effort to right historical wrongs.</p></li>
<li><p>Strengthen racial discrimination laws to prevent the abuse of the special measures provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act to the detriment of Indigenous Australians.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196856/original/file-20171129-28866-1sjqw92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196856/original/file-20171129-28866-1sjqw92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196856/original/file-20171129-28866-1sjqw92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196856/original/file-20171129-28866-1sjqw92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196856/original/file-20171129-28866-1sjqw92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196856/original/file-20171129-28866-1sjqw92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196856/original/file-20171129-28866-1sjqw92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia must not forget that seeking asylum is a human right.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Takver/flick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>7. Strengthen rights protections for asylum seekers</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Uphold human right obligations that are owed to asylum seekers on the presumption that they may well be genuine refugees (as the 1951 Convention on Refugees that Australia has signed requires). This includes closing all offshore processing and detention centres.</p></li>
<li><p>Promote the human rights of all migrants and their families as Australia’s representatives have promised at UN meetings such as the <a href="http://refugeesmigrants.un.org/refugees-compact">Global Compact for Refugees and Migrants</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>8. Strengthen rights protections for women</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Improve women’s social and economic rights to enable them to participate fully and equally in Australian society. This includes closing the gender pay gap, increasing access to affordable child care and tackling the poverty facing disadvantaged women including single mothers, Indigenous women, older women, women and girls with disabilities, and women facing domestic violence and sexual harassment in the workplace and community.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>9. Strengthen rights protections for poor Australians</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Implement a policy framework to better uphold our international commitments to protect the economic and social rights of vulnerable Australians. This includes acting on housing affordability and homelessness, protecting vulnerable workers, reducing unemployment and underemployment, and increasing support for the poorest households.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>10. Implement marriage equality</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Honour the outcome of the Marriage Law Postal Survey by legalising marriage equality.</li>
</ul>
<p>Happy Human Rights Day everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88238/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolien van Ham receives funding from the Australian Research Council's DECRA funding scheme (project number RG142911, project name DE150101692). The views expressed in this article are the views of the author, based on the author's research, and in no way represent the views of the ARC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Hill receives funding from the Australian Research Council. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and in no way represent the views of the ARC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Chappell receives funding from the Australian Research Council and from the European Researcg Council. The views expressed in this article belong to the authors and no way represent the views of the ARC. </span></em></p>On Human Rights Day, and with Australia set to take up a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, here’s a must-do list for this country to become a credible advocate for human rights.Carolien van Ham, Lecturer in Comparative Politics, UNSW SydneyLisa Hill, Professor of Politics, University of AdelaideLouise Chappell, Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute, Professor Law, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/809532017-10-17T00:11:52Z2017-10-17T00:11:52ZAustralia’s Human Rights Council election comes with a challenge to improve its domestic record<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190288/original/file-20171015-1509-2qi6re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia’s campaign for a seat on the Human Rights Council opened it to further scrutiny of its record on such issues.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Denis Balibouse</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/10/17/aust-wins-seat-un-human-rights-council">has been elected</a> to a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. It will serve on the council from 2018 to 2020.</p>
<p>The announcement overnight formalised an <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/australia-to-take-a-seat-on-powerful-united-nations-human-rights-council/news-story/5b86ce8a09c5ae1e357c8151ffe0e7ad">assumed result</a>: Australia and <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1532991/pakistan-elected-un-human-rights-council/">Spain</a> were the only two countries seeking election to the two available seats for the Western Europe and Others group. Most of the other newly- elected council members similarly ran uncontested.</p>
<p>However, all campaigning countries required the support of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/14/australia-to-be-elected-to-powerful-un-human-rights-council">majority of voting countries</a> to ensure their election. Australia received 176 votes and Spain 180 - both survived grilling by an <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/10/16/australias-human-rights-record-no-hurdle-un-council-bid-bishop">expert committee</a>. </p>
<h2>How did Australia present itself as a candidate?</h2>
<p>Foreign Minister Julie Bishop led Australia’s campaign, which had a particular focus on freedoms, free speech, and equality. The <a href="http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/pages/australias-candidacy-for-the-unhrc-2018-2020.aspx">“five pillars”</a> of Australia’s bid were: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>gender equality</p></li>
<li><p>good governance</p></li>
<li><p>freedom of expression</p></li>
<li><p>the rights of Indigenous peoples</p></li>
<li><p>strong national human rights institutions and capacity building.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Australia presented itself as a <a href="https://dfat-media-portal.publish.viostream.com/media-distribution?v=6aoztqb779hwh">“pragmatic and principled”</a> candidate for the council position. Bishop cited Australia’s <a href="https://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2016/jb_sp_161212.aspx">“strong track record for human rights”</a> as well as its <a href="https://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2017/jb_sp_150518.aspx">active and practical involvement</a> in international affairs. </p>
<p>Such active and practical involvement can be seen in Australia’s advocacy for the <a href="https://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2015/jb_sp_150929a.aspx?w=tb1CaGpkPX%2FlS0K%2Bg9ZKEg%3D%3D">abolition of the death penalty</a>, as in the case of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/28/memories-of-andrew-chan-and-myuran-sukumaran-can-help-us-fight-the-death-penalty">Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan</a>. Furthering global advocacy for death penalty abolition is one of Australia’s <a href="http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/un/Documents/ga-doc-a-72-212-voluntary-pledges-hrc-australia.pdf">primary pledges</a> as a new council member. </p>
<p>Australia’s involvement in multiple UN treaties and its <a href="https://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Mediareleases/Pages/2017/FirstQuarter/Improving-oversight-and-conditions-in-detention.aspx">anticipated adoption</a> of the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/OPCAT.aspx">Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture</a> were also cited as evidence of its worthiness for election.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"919959932082032641"}"></div></p>
<h2>Australia’s bid and opportunities for human rights advocacy</h2>
<p>However, Australia’s campaign opened it to further scrutiny of its <a href="http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2fAUS%2fCO%2f5&Lang=en">human rights record</a>. <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/05/17/australia-vies-un-human-rights-council-seat">Human rights organisations</a> in Australia and overseas have been lobbying to ensure that Australia’s practices are well publicised and subject to oversight and critique.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2016/jb_sp_161212.aspx">December 2016</a>, Bishop sought to pre-empt such criticism, claiming <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/news-and-media/multimedia/audio/julie-bishop-australia-and-un-human-rights-council">“no country is perfect”</a>. Bishop pledged to be “honest and open” about Australia’s human rights record during the campaign. </p>
<p>Yet the campaign’s pledges failed to acknowledge Australia’s human rights abuses. As such, Australia remains open to accusations of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/09/22/australia-human-rights-council/ready-leadership-role">hypocrisy on human rights</a>.</p>
<p>Australia’s <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/australia">human rights track record</a> is more chequered than it would claim. The UN has condemned Australia for its <a href="http://un.org.au/2016/11/18/australias-human-rights-record-blemished-by-punitive-approach-to-migrants-un-rights-expert/">asylum-seeker policies</a> and <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/the-point-with-stan-grant/article/2017/04/03/un-rapporteur-slams-governments-record-indigenous-issues-hopeful-change?cid=inbody:australia%E2%80%99s-poor-record-on-indigenous-affairs-could-jeopardise-its-bid-for-a-unhrc-seat">treatment of Indigenous peoples</a>. </p>
<p>Bishop frequently praised Australia for its success in building a <a href="https://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2017/jb_sp_150518.aspx">multicultural society</a> and valuing the diverse background of migrant settlers. Yet asylum seekers arriving by boat <a href="https://theconversation.com/fake-refugees-dutton-adopts-an-alternative-fact-to-justify-our-latest-human-rights-violation-78175">continue to be dehumanised</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/fake-refugees-dutton-adopts-an-alternative-fact-to-justify-our-latest-human-rights-violation-78175">‘Fake refugees’: Dutton adopts an alternative fact to justify our latest human rights violation</a></strong></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Another key area of human rights controversy is the current postal plebiscite to survey public opinion on <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/audiotrack/marriage-equality-human-rights-issue-says-law-lecturer-rita-verma">marriage equality</a>. Australia’s council bid promised the <a href="http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/pages/australias-candidacy-for-the-unhrc-2018-2020.aspx">protection of LGBTQI rights</a>. But <a href="https://www.psychology.org.au/community/public-interest/marriage-equality/">as was forewarned</a>, the plebiscite campaign <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/21/homophobic-anti-marriage-equality-material-surfaces-in-postal-survey-campaign">has exposed</a> LGBTQI people to harmful fear campaigning and social exclusion.</p>
<p>It is incongruous for a claimed champion of human rights to put the rights of a minority group to a <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/question-of-gay-marriage-should-not-be-put-to-a-toxic-plebiscite-20160929-grrgkj.html">popular vote</a>, potentially in an effort to prevent that group from gaining marriage equality.</p>
<p>Australia strikes a similarly dissonant note in relation to its treatment of Indigenous people. A <a href="http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/international-organisations/un/Documents/ga-doc-a-72-212-voluntary-pledges-hrc-australia.pdf">key pledge</a> of the council bid was the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution. However, a constitutional convention <a href="https://www.referendumcouncil.org.au/sites/default/files/2017-05/Uluru_Statement_From_The_Heart_0.PDF">rejected</a> the form of “recognition” the government-sponsored Recognise campaign had promoted.</p>
<p>The Recognise campaign has <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-11/recognise-campaign-wound-up/8797540">since been abandoned</a>, and the future of the proposed referendum is unclear. The Australian government is yet to embrace the Referendum Council’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/listening-to-the-heart-what-now-for-indigenous-recognition-after-the-uluru-summit-77853">proposals</a> for treaty, truth-telling and a First Nations Voice. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/listening-to-the-heart-what-now-for-indigenous-recognition-after-the-uluru-summit-77853">Listening to the heart: what now for Indigenous recognition after the Uluru summit?</a></strong></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>France’s withdrawal was a loss to the election campaign</h2>
<p>Given Australia’s record, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-13/australia-likely-to-win-seat-on-un-human-rights-council/8703976">France’s withdrawal</a> as a third candidate for the two available seats was unfortunate. The lack of competition reduced pressure on Australia to extend its human rights commitments. </p>
<p>The weight of international disapproval of Australia’s practice in relation to refugees, in particular, could well have weakened the bid had France stayed in the race. </p>
<p>No doubt this was also true for Spain. The recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-spain-represses-catalonias-show-of-independence-the-rest-of-europe-watches-on-nervously-84463">Catalan independence referendum</a> exposed Spain’s problematic record in relation to self-determination and political rights for minority groups.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-spain-represses-catalonias-show-of-independence-the-rest-of-europe-watches-on-nervously-84463">As Spain represses Catalonia’s show of independence, the rest of Europe watches on nervously</a></strong></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>In interesting company</h2>
<p>The UN’s orientation is to promote inclusion rather than marginalisation of member countries on international bodies. The UN is committed to <a href="http://www.un.org/en/charter-united-nations/">universal values and obligations</a>, and seeks to enforce these through universal involvement in its processes. </p>
<p>It is undoubtedly difficult to countenance <a href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/628741/phl-at-risk-of-being-removed-from-un-human-rights-council-hrw/story/">egregious</a> human rights <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/01/how-saudi-arabia-kept-its-un-human-rights-council-seat">violators</a> participating in human rights processes. But it is at least arguable that their involvement promotes the progressive realisation of human rights more effectively than their marginalisation would. </p>
<p>However, in some cases, it may be that a country’s membership should be postponed until it can show improvement in a deplorable record. Leading up to the election, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/13/un-dr-congo-unfit-serve-rights-body">Human Rights Watch</a> campaigned against promoting the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the council due to its grave human rights violations. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the US warned it <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/un-elects-congo-to-human-rights-council-despite-abuses/2017/10/16/840b45f2-b292-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html?utm_term=.c915903bdfdb">may withdraw</a> if the council continued to elect countries responsible for gross abuses.</p>
<p>Australia is not in this category. It aspires to be an exemplary member of the council. And its election should act as impetus for progressive gains in its human rights performance. </p>
<h2>The value of Australia’s election for human rights</h2>
<p><a href="https://alhr.org.au/indifferencetohumanrightsviolationsdamageaustunhrcbid/">Human rights advocates</a> will take the opportunity to draw attention to any gaps between Australia’s international legal obligations and its domestic practices. </p>
<p>Bishop was right to highlight the value of Australia becoming the <a href="https://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2017/jb_sp_150518.aspx?w=tb1CaGpkPX%2FlS0K%2Bg9ZKEg%3D%3D">first Pacific country</a> to join the council. Strong diplomatic and trade relationships will hopefully enable Australia to influence human rights development in its region. It is the <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=fyDmDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA658&lpg=PA658&dq=asia+pacific+lacks+human+rights+treaty&source=bl&ots=hbXzwCbZiN&sig=eK8BhPG9VR7pRIIrOEolUBqH2eQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjL2eOl9_PWAhUEGJQKHQesDLQQ6AEITjAG#v=onepage&q=asia%20pacific%20lacks%20human%20rights%20treaty&f=false">only place</a> without a regional human rights treaty or institution.</p>
<p>An important focus in this context will be Australia’s advocacy for the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/Death_Penalty/Report">abolition of capital punishment</a>. Allied to that concern for the <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Human-rights-scrutiny/PublicSectorGuidanceSheets/Pages/Righttolife.aspx">right to life</a>, perhaps Australia might also consider lobbying other countries – notably the US – for <a href="https://castancentre.com/2016/03/16/what-does-human-rights-law-say-about-gun-control/">gun laws</a> that prioritise human life and wellbeing. </p>
<p>Australia could substantially increase the legitimacy of such efforts, though, by working to build adequate domestic <a href="http://www.naclc.org.au/cb_pages/news/AustraliasHumanRightsRecordCriticisedbyUNExpertCommittee.php">human rights architecture</a>. Without federal human rights legislation, Australia cannot demonstrate the social and legal value of building human rights protections into law. </p>
<p>Australia’s election also calls for a renewal of political commitment to the value of international human rights review processes. Recent years have seen expressions of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-international-condemnation-on-human-rights-mean-so-little-to-australia-53814">frustration</a>, <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/australian-government-dismisses-united-nations-concerns-on-northern-territory-intervention/news-story/9c82c381ba5eac2bc24f16a363ee8b54">dismissal</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-13/lynch-human-rights/4190968">poor faith</a> that undermine Australia’s strong record of commitment to international human rights treaties. </p>
<p>Nowhere was this troubling attitude toward human rights protection more clear than <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/attorneygeneral-george-brandis-censured-over-gillian-triggs-affair-20150302-13sm22.html">in efforts</a> to tarnish the reputation and work of former Human Rights Commission president <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2016/04/23/human-rights-commission-president-gillian-triggs-speaks-out/14613336003160">Gillian Triggs</a>. </p>
<p>Such mixed messages sit poorly with Australia’s continued efforts to review the practices of other countries – particularly now that it has an official role on the Human Rights Council.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-international-condemnation-on-human-rights-mean-so-little-to-australia-53814">Why does international condemnation on human rights mean so little to Australia?</a></strong></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Australia has claimed leadership in the areas of gender equality, good governance, freedom of expression, the rights of Indigenous people, and strong national human rights institutions. </p>
<p>Imperfect performance in these areas indicates key targets for immediate focus – for example through human-rights-informed approaches to <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/family-and-domestic-violence/why-domestic-violence-human-rights-issue">gendered violence</a>, and concern for limitations on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/free-speech-is-at-risk-in-australia-and-its-not-from-section-18c-64800">freedom to express</a> views about politically sensitive matters.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-11/closing-the-gap-progress-woeful-un-says/8892980">Considerable progress</a> will be required on the <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/journals/NZYbkIntLaw/2014/7.html">rights of Indigenous people</a> for Australia to claim success on that key pillar of its council campaign. The federal government could look to <a href="http://nationalcongress.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Media-Release-VIC-funding-Aboriginal-body.pdf">progress on a treaty</a> in Victoria as evidence that such a conversation can be inclusive and productive.</p>
<p>Importantly, Australia must also be held accountable in the key area its bid sought to avoid: the treatment of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-10/nauru-a-blemish-on-australias-human-rights-record:-un-official/8606960">asylum seekers</a> and <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54669#.WeQ6F2iCzIU">refugees</a>. Its election provides an ideal opportunity for Australia to show leadership and commitment to durable <a href="http://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/news/how-australia-can-shape-global-compact-refugees">regional and global responses</a> to refugee flows.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80953/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Maguire is Co-Chair of the Indigenous Rights Subcommittee of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and a member of Amnesty International. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgia Monaghan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s Human Rights Council election provides an ideal opportunity for it to show leadership and commitment on issues such as refugee flows and the death penalty.Amy Maguire, Senior Lecturer in International Law and Human Rights, University of NewcastleGeorgia Monaghan, Research Assistant, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/841352017-09-19T17:56:58Z2017-09-19T17:56:58ZThe trade in body parts of people with albinism is driven by myth and international inaction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186199/original/file-20170915-8108-1sthgq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Witchcraft related beliefs pose serious human rights violations for people with Albinism.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>In the last decade, close to 200 killings and more than 500 attacks on people with albinism have been reported in 27 <a href="http://www.underthesamesun.com/content/issue#human-rights-abuse-and-attacks">sub-Saharan African countries</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.underthesamesun.com/content/issue#superstition-and-witchcraft">Tanzania</a> has the highest number of recorded attacks globally at more than 170. There have also been reports of attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org.uk/ritual-murders-people-albinism-malawi">Malawi</a>, <a href="http://clubofmozambique.com/news/people-albinism-need-urgent-attention-mozambique-un-expert-tells-geneva-human-rights-council/">Mozambique</a> and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/albino-child-killed-and-dismembered-in-burundi-a6885786.html">Burundi</a>.</p>
<p>Most of these attacks are fuelled by rising <a href="https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56280#.Wbuhr8gjHIV">demand</a> for the body parts of people with albinism used in rituals by traditional healers, known as <em>muti killing</em> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/16/tanzania-humanrights">black magic, <em>juju</em></a>. </p>
<p>The hair and bones, genitals and thumbs of people with albinism are said to possess <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Albinism/Pages/Witchcraft.aspx">distinct powers</a>. Alleged to bring wealth or success, they are often dried and ground, put into a package to be carried, to be secreted in boats, businesses, homes or clothing, or scattered in the sea.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/illegal-trade-in-body-parts-threatens-africans-with-albinism/2016/02/11/f02e15f8-d0d9-11e5-90d3-34c2c42653ac_story.html?utm_term=.1561bbdae400">illegal trade</a> for body parts operates at regional, national and international levels.</p>
<p>In Tanzania the government is working with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/may/13/albinism-in-tanzania-slow-progress-in-combatting-violence-and-discrimination">non governmental organisations</a> and civil society which has resulted in more thorough investigations, new laws, and some convictions. </p>
<p>But countries such as Mozambique and Malawi need to act more diligently to discourage the illegal trade. While President Peter Mutharika of Malawi has <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36418596">condemned the attacks</a> on people with albinism, the general response beyond these words has been slow.</p>
<h2>Deep-rooted cultural myths</h2>
<p>Arrests and prosecution are complex because the illegal cross border trade is highly secretive and controlled by wealthy and influential buyers.</p>
<p>The champions against this illegal trade face a number of challenges, including <a href="https://www.academia.edu/271411/The_Myths_Surrounding_People_With_Albinism_In_South_Africa_and_Zimbabwe">complex and deep-rooted cultural myths</a>. For example, in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230852434_The_myths_surrounding_people_with_albinism_in_South_Africa_and_Zimbabwe">northern South Africa</a>, a mother was told the cause of her child’s albinism was a previous encounter with a child with albinism.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The mother attended a party while pregnant and saw a mother with a baby precariously strapped to her back in a blanket. Fearing the baby was about to fall she went forward to help tighten the blanket. She then saw to her fright that the baby had albinism. She believed that, as a direct result of this encounter, she had given birth to a child affected with the same condition.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The illegal traders who “harvest” the body parts usually come from poor families and they lure strangers or their own family members for the promise of about <a href="http://www.underthesamesun.com/content/issue#human-rights-abuse-and-attacks">USD$75,000</a> for a whole set of body parts. Even the <a href="https://theconversation.com/grave-robbers-and-killing-sprees-living-with-albinism-in-east-africa-32300">graves</a> of people with albinism have to be sealed with concrete to stop grave robbers.</p>
<p>Activists have reported an increase in fear among people with albinism because it is believed that demand for body parts increases <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2015-05-14-albinos-in-tanzania-fear-death-as-polls-near">closer to general elections.</a>. The wealthy and educated elite running for office consult traditional healers for good luck potions.</p>
<h2>Global action</h2>
<p>Despite the seriousness of these human rights abuses, governments across East and Southern Africa have been criticised for insufficient action to prevent and to prosecute. </p>
<p>The trade in the body parts of people with albinism will be one of the key issues in focus at an upcoming United Nations <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Albinism/Pages/Witchcraft.aspx">expert meeting on witchcraft and human rights</a> at its headquarters in Geneva.</p>
<p>The meeting will challenge the various actors including governments, academics and civil society to increase awareness and understanding to discourage the illegal trade.</p>
<p>The director of the <a href="http://www.whrin.org/">Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network</a>, Gary Foxcroft, has made a global call: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is the first time the UN has properly recognised the scale of the problem and the need to bring together experts from across the world to identify all the challenges and solutions. Our goal is a UN Special Resolution for the UN Human Rights Council to recognise the scale of the problem, provide a clearly articulated outline of the problem and recommendations. We want people to feel inspired and to go back to their countries and know that they are not alone. This is a major step forward.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism, Ikponwosa Ero, has called for <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=ID56280#Wb1ygoWcG1s">more effective oversight</a> over the practice of traditional healers, pointing to the secrecy that often surrounds witchcraft rituals. </p>
<p>The trafficking of body parts from people with albinism must urgently be addressed, clear national policies are needed, and communities must be effectively educated about albinism to demystify this genetic condition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Baker receives funding from The Wellcome Trust and Lancaster University.</span></em></p>An upcoming UN meeting on witchcraft and human rights in Geneva is set to focus on the rising attacks on Albinos and the trade of body parts in sub-Saharan African.Charlotte Baker, Senior Lecturer in French and Francophone Studies, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/680212016-11-24T21:32:52Z2016-11-24T21:32:52ZHow the UN’s special rapporteur can make the right to development a reality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147174/original/image-20161123-19682-lxmnlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">N'da Yao Messou is president of a cocoa farmers' association in Niable, eastern Ivory Coast. Women's right to development has a long way to go.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UN Human Rights Council recently adopted a <a href="http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/HRC/33/L.29">resolution</a> creating the position of a Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development. The decision was in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the <a href="http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/41/a41r128.htm">Declaration on the Right to Development</a> which, over the past three decades, has played a significant part in the advancement of a rights-based approach to development across the world.</p>
<p>The creation of a UN special rapporteur is a significant move in developing the norm on the right to development and addressing controversies such as the practical aspects of implementation by states.</p>
<p>While the decision of the Human Rights Council is good news, there are key issues that must still be addressed. This includes how specific groups should be protected, how co-operation between various global and regional organisations will be managed and how best practice around the world can be identified.</p>
<h2>How the right to development came about</h2>
<p>Prior to the adoption of the UN Declaration in 1986, ideas around the human right to development emanated from prominent Senegalese jurist <a href="http://prabook.com/web/person-view.html?profileId=1308343">Justice Kéba M’Baye</a>. </p>
<p>In 1972, M’Baye argued for a <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=rYLV0pbTepcC&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=Dieng+%E2%80%98Background+to+and+growth+of+the+right+to+development:+the+role+of+law+and+lawyers+in&source=bl&ots=EjEYSqKwsX&sig=QvvcMI3QvMJtyfId5BiVifjqzOk&hl=pcm&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFpam_9JXQAhVq0oMKHYn3DToQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=Dieng%20%E2%80%98Background%20to%20and%20growth%20of%20the%20right%20to%20development%3A%20the%20role%20of%20law%20and%20lawyers%20in&f=false">distinction</a> between development as a field of study and development as a human right. His argument was that the effective realisation of freedom for all people requires that development must be viewed as a right, and not solely through the lens of economics and politics. </p>
<p>Around this time, developing countries had called for the recognition of development as a right of states. Seeking to assert economic self-determination, these countries argued for a New International Economic <a href="http://www.un-documents.net/s6r3201.htm">Order</a>. The aim was to advance development equitably with the rest of the world. They were concerned that the prevailing international economic order did not adequately respond to the needs of newly independent colonies. </p>
<p>Viewing development as a right was an affirmation of the need for the newly independent colonies to determine their economic trajectories and for the developed states to foster this goal through <a href="http://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1143&context=twls">reforms</a> in the international economic order.</p>
<h2>An alternative view on development</h2>
<p>M'Baye’s proposition advanced a new angle for the conceptualisation of the subject of development. His thesis on development as a <a href="http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/b9789004293137_026">right of all men to live better</a> refocused the lens of development from state rights to human rights. </p>
<p>Over the next decade, discussions on development as a human right gained significant momentum. In 1977 the Commission on Human Rights (now the Human Rights Council) adopted a resolution calling for a <a href="http://legal.un.org/avl/pdf/ha/drd/drd_ph_e.pdf">study</a> on development as a human right. </p>
<p>In 1979, when the Assembly of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) <a href="http://www.achpr.org/instruments/achpr/history/">decided</a> to create a regional human rights treaty, there was a strong emphasis on incorporating a right to development. At the UN, deliberations on the right eventually culminated in the adoption of the Declaration on the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/righttodevelopment/declaration.shtml">Right to Development</a>. </p>
<p>In 1998, the Commission <a href="http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/e/chr/resolutions/e-cn_4-res-1998-72.doc">created</a> an Intergovernmental Working Group to monitor and review the implementation of the declaration. But the effectiveness of this Working Group <a href="http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/HRC/33/L.29">has been fraught</a>. </p>
<p>This highlights the need for independent perspectives on the promotion of the right to development. </p>
<h2>Making the special rapporteur work</h2>
<p>I believe that the special rapporteur’s mandate should address three key outstanding issues. </p>
<p>First, the special rapporteur needs to expound on how development can be realised for specific groups – such as vulnerable ones – within societies. The declaration emphasises the need for all individuals to engage in economic, social and cultural development. </p>
<p>But it is not clear how specific groups should be protected. For instance, how should development for persons with disabilities, women and children be achieved? What will constitute development for these categories? Against what standards must development be measured, and how? </p>
<p>Second, the special rapporteur should develop a road map for cooperation between the UN and regional institutions, such as the African Union, the European Union and the Organisation of American States for the realisation of this right within the context of the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld">2030 sustainable development goals</a>.</p>
<p>A crucial benefit of engaging regional institutions in protecting human rights lies in their proximity to the people within their regions. Synergy is important to prevent unnecessary duplication. It is also important to ensure that there is a common understanding of how the development goals should be met and, at the same time, how a rights-based approach should be advanced.</p>
<p>Third, the special rapporteur should compile a study on best practices. It should draw on legal, administrative, social and financial measures taken by states and institutions in realising the right to development. These best practices can guide other states wanting to initiate similar efforts. They can demonstrate what works and how to improve on existing efforts. Also, they can help in developing key indicators for evaluating effectiveness.</p>
<p>The establishment of a special rapporteur is a laudable initiative in the realisation of the right to development. But the buck stops with states. The Human Rights Council must therefore ensure that the recommendations of the special rapporteur are implemented by states. That way the right to development won’t remain an elusive aspiration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68021/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Romola Adeola does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The creation of a UN special rapporteurship on the right to development should help develop practical solutions on how the right could be realised.Romola Adeola, Steinberg Postdoctoral Fellow in International Migration Law, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, Faculty of Law, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/656442016-11-03T07:35:34Z2016-11-03T07:35:34ZUN human rights review is largely toothless – but it’s giving a boost to Asian civil society groups<p>A United Nations initiative reviewing human rights records of countries around the world is indirectly strengthening civil society organisations in Southeast Asia by allowing them to participate in the process. But the groups are still blocked from ensuring human rights are meaningfully protected in their countries. </p>
<p>The UN General Assembly <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRMain.aspx">established its Human Rights Council</a> and introduced the universal periodic review of the human rights situation in member countries in 2006. The ten Southeast Asian countries that make up ASEAN – Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam – have now undergone two cycles of review, while a few remaining nations are <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRSessions.aspx">awaiting the second round</a>. </p>
<p>Under the process, states report to the commission every four-and-a-half years and receive its recommendations. Reviews focus on the evolution of human rights in that state, and its implementation of previous recommendations. The state under review may either “accept” or “note” the suggestions.</p>
<p>Recommendations that states tend to accept are those around improving gender equality, accessibility for those with disabilities, and <a href="http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/sites/default/files/documents/5065.pdf">children’s rights</a>, which has gained particular prominence during the review.</p>
<p>Recommendations that aren’t as acceptable tend to involve hard political issues related to civil and political liberties. Unsurprisingly, it’s usually <a href="http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/10343.pdf">the latter that are detailed in submissions</a> by civil society organisations.</p>
<h2>A role for civil society</h2>
<p>Civil society participation in the universal periodic review of ASEAN countries has <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRMain.aspx">increased markedly over the two cycles</a>. Some 592 such organisations participated in the first cycle in 2008-2012, with 188 submissions; the second cycle (2012-2016) saw a strong increase, with 811 groups submitting 310 reports (personal, unpublished research).</p>
<p>The rise has put civil society groups at the centre of the UN human rights improvement process. But this isn’t the first time such groups have been at the heart of human rights advocacy in the region.</p>
<p>Civil society groups, such as the coalition known as the <a href="http://www.aseanhrmech.org/">Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism</a>, helped push individual countries to join the 2009 <a href="http://aichr.org/">ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights</a> (AICHR), and the 2012 <a href="http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/other_documents/section1/2012/11/phnom-penh-statement-on-the-adoption-of-the-asean-human-rights-declaration-ahrd-1.html">ASEAN Declaration on Human Rights</a>. </p>
<p>But since the establishment of the AICHR, civil society has disappeared from the process. Instead, the commission follows a secretive peer-review process in which such groups have no formal role.</p>
<p>Although AICHR is supposed to be engaged in human rights promotion and protection work, in reality it is unable to provide any actual protection. It is not mandated to receive complaints on human rights abuses, and does not have the power to investigate and hold perpetrators accountable. In fact, <a href="http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jsaa/article/view/806/807">the bulk of AICHR activities</a> revolve around meetings, discussions and research that have a consensual approach.</p>
<p>Similarly, national human rights institutions also cannot realistically contribute to the region’s protection arsenal. Research shows that, just like the AICHR, <a href="http://www.cityu.edu.hk/searc/Resources/Paper/16021610_172%20-%20WP%20-%20Dr%20Gomez.pdf">national institutions are not able to perform</a> their protection function effectively.</p>
<p>These weak mechanisms raise the question of whether national human rights institutions in Southeast Asia can fill the protection gap. They also make human rights protection in the region weak, and in dire need of improvement and enhancement. </p>
<p>Given the weakness of AICHR and national human rights institutions, engagement with the universal periodic review is critical to the advancement of human rights in Southeast Asia.</p>
<h2>Being clever about it</h2>
<p>Since the establishment of the universal periodic review process, civil society groups in the region have been receiving training, preparing submissions, and even making their way to Geneva. In 2015, for instance, five civil society groups from Singapore <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/5-civil-society-groups-heading-to-geneva-to-share-rights-views">went on a trip to Switzerland</a> to discuss human rights in the city-state. </p>
<p>Civil society groups have become involved in monitoring state recommendations and their implementation, as well as speaking on the review process itself. Many have attracted international donor funding and support for this work. US-based <a href="https://www.cartercenter.org/">The Carter Center</a>, for instance, has published a document titled <a href="http://internetrights.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/UPR-Training-Manual-English-Carter-Center-UPR-Info.pdf">Universal Periodic Review: Training Manual for Civil Society</a>.</p>
<p>While states in the region <a href="http://www.ishr.ch/news/increased-collaboration-within-civil-society-highlighted-during-singapores-upr">espouse the rhetoric of engagement</a> with civil society groups over the review process, they are, at the same time, cautious of them. </p>
<p>Governments often only pay lip service to human rights mechanisms and the periodic review is no different. This issue was <a href="http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/laos-prepares-for-upr-01082015153146.html">raised in 2015 by local civil society groups against the Laos government</a>, over the disappearance of activist Sombath Somphone and persecution of Lao Christians. </p>
<p>Overall it seems that states favour the current arrangement because they can use it to control the participation of civil society organisations in the process. They can <a href="http://www.acjps.org/sudanese-human-rights-defenders-prevented-from-travel-to-geneva-upr-meeting/">create legal obstructions</a>, <a href="http://poskod.my/cheat-sheets/why-has-comango-been-banned/">target organisations</a>, place <a href="http://www.edmundriceinternational.org/?p=3390">restrictions on civil society activities</a>, and harass and intimidate activists.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.civicus.org/index.php/media-resources/reports-publications/1779-enhancing-the-effectiveness-of-the-un-universal-periodic-review-a-civil-society-perspective-2">a 2015 report</a>, civil society body <a href="http://www.civicus.org/index.php/who-we-are">CIVICUS</a> discussed cases from Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam, in which governments have responded with misinformation, arranged for voluminous submissions by <a href="https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/pdf/civicus_enhancing_the_effectiveness_upr_2015.pdf">government-organised NGOs</a>, and conducted consultations only with partisan groups, while refusing to work with civil society groups that are more critical of government policy.</p>
<p>Some have enrolled supportive organisations to speak during sessions at the adoption of the working group report by the commission. While others, <a href="http://www.ishr.ch/news/un-committee-ngos-accredits-129-ngos-defers-130">such as Vietnam</a>, have objected to the granting of consultative status to some NGOs. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, for Southeast Asian civil society groups, the review has been an effective mechanism for putting human rights issues on the agenda and engaging their governments in conversation about critical issues, such as <a href="http://ilga.org/the-universal-periodic-review-and-lgbti-rights-indonesia/">LGBTI rights in Indonesia</a>. </p>
<p>But systemic problems remain for engaging others. These include following up on recommendations and the review’s ability to address difficult political issues, such as the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29628191"><em>lese majeste</em> law</a> in Thailand, which forbids citizens from defaming or insulting the kind, and other freedom of expression issues.</p>
<p>To have the review make a real impact, civil society organisations will need to think about what they’ve been doing and develop more strategic approaches for the third cycle, which begins in 2017. They will need to go beyond coalition-building and organising submissions to determining how they can make human rights protections actually enforceable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65644/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Gomez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>States report to the UN Human Rights Council every four-and-a-half years and receive its recommendations, which they can either “accept” or “note”.James Gomez, Executive Director, Asia Centre & Pro Vice Chancellor, Canadian University of BangladeshLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/623072016-07-18T19:53:56Z2016-07-18T19:53:56ZLGBTI vote at the UN shows battle for human rights is far from won<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130414/original/image-20160713-12358-zm87op.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/John Vizcaino</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world has edged closer to placing the same value on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people as it does on human rights. Sadly, not all states, including many African countries, are on the same page. </p>
<p>The 47-member Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a <a href="http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/HRC/32/L.2/Rev.1">landmark resolution</a> on “Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”. For the first time an independent monitor will be appointed with the mandate to identify the root causes of discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.</p>
<p>The expert will, like other special rapporteurs, be tasked with talking to governments to protect LGBTI rights. She or he will have the power to document hate crime and human rights violations. The monitor, however, will not have a mandate to recommend sanctions.</p>
<p>The main initiative was taken by a core group of seven South American states – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay. Forty-one additional countries co-sponsored the text. A record 628 nongovernmental organisations from 151 countries supported the effort. Notably, some 70% were from the global South.</p>
<p>But the resolution was adopted by a narrow margin: only 23 member states voted in favour, 18 against. Six abstained. African countries remained opposed or reluctant to take a stand. Ten of them voted against the resolution and four <a href="http://webtv.un.org/watch/ahrc32l.2rev.1-vote-item3-41st-meeting-32nd-regular-session-of-human-rights-council/5009164455001#full-text">abstained</a>.</p>
<p>The strongest resistance to the resolution came from the Muslim and African member states of the council. After all, half of the more than 70 countries that still criminalise same-sex relationships and behaviour are in <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-anti-gay-sentiment-remains-strong-in-much-of-africa-42677">Africa</a>.</p>
<h2>Champions and villains</h2>
<p>The final text was considerably softened and watered down after a controversial and, at times, <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20220&LangID=E">heated debate</a>. A last-minute amendment stressed that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But the resolution also states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As the International Commission of Jurists <a href="http://www.icj.org/hrc32sogi/">stressed</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Although a number of hostile amendments seeking to introduce notions of cultural relativism were adopted into the text by vote, the core of the resolution affirming the universal nature of international human rights law stood firm.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Voting in favour were: Albania, Belgium, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Macedonia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Vietnam. </p>
<p>Voting against were: Algeria, Bangladesh, Burundi, China, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Morocco, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Togo, United Arab Emirates. Abstentions were from: Botswana, Ghana, India, Namibia, Philippines, South Africa.</p>
<p>While ten of the African council members voted against, the other four abstained. Those that abstained argued that the resolution – despite several far-reaching amendments curbing the power of the expert – remained divisive and would impose cultural-specific (read Western) values. </p>
<h2>The puzzling case of South Africa and Namibia</h2>
<p>Ironically, South Africa was the first country in the world to include protection on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/science-alone-cant-shift-anti-gay-prejudice-in-africa-43007">grounds of sexuality</a> in its constitution. It championed gay rights in a lead role when the Human Rights Council adopted a first resolution in <a href="https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G11/148/76/PDF/G1114876.pdf?OpenElement">2011</a>. It remained committed to the cause when voting for the next <a href="https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G14/177/32/PDF/G1417732.pdf?OpenElement">landmark resolution</a> adopted by the Human Rights Council three years later.</p>
<p>But even then it was beginning to show <a href="https://theconversation.com/behind-south-africa-reluctance-to-champion-gay-rights-on-the-continent-44321">signs of reluctance</a>. South Africa’s abstention this time sent shock waves through the LGBTI communities, not only <a href="http://www.mambaonline.com/2016/07/04/watch-south-africa-sell-lgbt-people-un/">at home</a>.</p>
<p>As a South African legal expert has <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2016-07-04-south-africas-great-lgbti-failure/#.V4Itt65Q87C">observed</a>, South Africa’s approach</p>
<blockquote>
<p>was focusing on maximum unity within the council. … Thus, our lives as gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, intersex and transgender people are less important to the government than maintaining maximum unity within the UN Human Rights Council. … it appears as if our government believes that our lives are pretty worthless. Who cares about LGBTI people being assaulted and murdered across the world if caring about it will upset the unity within the Human Rights Council?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As he pointed out, homophobia, rather than free choice of sexual preferences, has been historically a construct of (19th century) Western imperialism and missionary zeal in Africa. This was imposed and legally codified in the colonised societies.</p>
<p>Put differently: while those opposing the freedom of sexual preferences argue these are Western values and a form of ideological imperialism, true decolonisation would actually – just as in the case of South Africa’s constitution – require them to abandon homophobic legislation. After all, countries voting in favour of the resolution – such as Bolivia, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela and Vietnam – can hardly be classified as neo-colonial agencies of the West.</p>
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<p>Similar criticism was articulated against <a href="http://www.namibian.com.na/Namibia-and-Human-Rights/42721/read">Namibia</a>. The country’s abstention was already some progress compared with its outright “no” vote in 2014. (Then, South Africa – albeit reluctantly – voted for the adoption of the Human Rights Council’s <a href="https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G14/177/32/PDF/G1417732.pdf?OpenElement">second resolution</a> on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”.) </p>
<p>Namibia defended its stance to abstain this time on the grounds that any kind of discrimination against any person in Namibia is regarded as unconstitutional. Thus, it was in full compliance with the intentions of the resolution. </p>
<p>But, instead of voting “yes” based on such an understanding, in a kind of 180-degree turnaround, Namibia bemoaned that, in the absence of international human rights law, it remains questionable what would guide the independent expert when assessing the compliance of states. Therefore, this mandate would allow interference in sensitive issues at national level. Hence Namibia would abstain.</p>
<p>The abstention was motivated more drastically by South Africa than Namibia. Despite its constitutional principles, <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20220&LangID=E">the explanation of its vote</a> declared that the draft resolution would – despite the significant compromises watering down the mandate – be unnecessarily divisive and “an arrogant approach. Recklessness and point scoring would not take anyone anywhere.” </p>
<h2>The battle for rights has always been divisive</h2>
<p>Divided lines seem to be by nature an integral part of the battle for human rights and dignity. After all, the promotion and protection of human rights has been divisive throughout history.</p>
<p>Take the campaign to abolish the slave trade. Or the ongoing fight for the adequate recognition of equal rights for women and the promotion of children’s rights. And campaigns for indigenous minorities.</p>
<p>Fighting racial and other forms of discrimination, including the fight for religious freedom, remains divisive. Advocating human rights and dignity will remain a contested matter.</p>
<p>But states have to make choices. Abstaining from the promotion of human dignity is a choice too, but a bad one.</p>
<p>As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon <a href="http://www.un.org/press/en/2010/sgsm13311.doc.htm">once declared</a>:</p>
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<p>As men and women of conscience, we reject discrimination in general, and in particular discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. When there is a tension between cultural attitudes and universal human rights, rights must carry the day.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62307/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henning Melber is a member of SWAPO since 1974. </span></em></p>The strongest resistance to the United Nations resolution to promote LGBTI rights came from Muslim and African states. Many of these countries still criminalise same-sex relationships.Henning Melber, Extraordinary Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/483852015-09-30T06:23:59Z2015-09-30T06:23:59ZAustralia’s bid for the UN Human Rights Council<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96755/original/image-20150930-19561-u4gwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Matt Campbell</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Foreign Minister <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2015/s4322448.htm">Julie Bishop</a> has announced that Australia is running for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council for the period of 2018 to 2020. The bid was originally made by the previous government, and has now been officially endorsed by this one. </p>
<h2>What is the Human Rights Council?</h2>
<p>The UN Human Rights Council was established in 2006 to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights, which had run from 1947 to 2006. In that time, the commission had some impressive accomplishments, including its early drafting of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948, and most of the core UN human rights treaties. The commission played a role in promoting and developing human rights norms, and investigating and highlighting human rights issues and crises.</p>
<p>However, by the time of its demise, its reputation was so clouded that its official name seemed to have become “the Discredited” Human Rights Commission. The West felt that too many countries with terrible human rights records, such as Sudan and Zimbabwe, were joining the commission (it had 53 member nations) to protect themselves from censure. In contrast, developing nations felt that the commission had become too antagonistic in its dealings with them. </p>
<p>A revamp was needed, so the commission was replaced by the council, which has the same normative and investigative functions and has 47 member nations. It has one major new function, the <a href="http://www.upr-info.org/en">Universal Periodic Review</a> (“UPR”), whereby the human rights record of every UN member is reviewed by the council (as well as all other “observer” nations) every four-and-a-half years. </p>
<p>The 47 seats are divided between the five official UN regions in the following way: Africa (13); Asia (13); Latin America and the Caribbean (8); Western Europe and Other (7); Eastern Europe (6). Australia is in the Western Europe and Other Group, known as WEOG. One-third of the council is elected every year by the UN General Assembly, and members serve three-year terms. No member may serve more than two consecutive terms. A member can also be suspended from the council upon a vote of two-thirds of the UN General Assembly: <a href="http://www.un.org/press/en/2011/ga11050.doc.htm">Libya</a> was so suspended in 2011 after Muammar Gaddafi’s crackdown on Arab Spring protesters and armed dissidents.</p>
<p>As the council’s members are representatives of their governments rather than independent human rights experts, it is hardly surprising that the council, like the commission before it, is a highly politicised body. So is the council an improvement upon the “discredited” commission? While the UPR is capable of improvement, it has generally been praised as a jewel in the council’s crown, which clearly distinguishes it from the commission. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, many of the same criticisms arise as were levelled at the commission. Some of its members, now and in the past, have terrible human rights records. After all, while Libya was suspended in 2011, one may fairly ask why it was elected in the first place? </p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/09/28/why-one-of-the-worlds-worst-human-rights-offenders-is-leading-a-un-human-rights-panel/">Saudi Arabia’s leadership role</a> is currently attracting much adverse media attention. Russia, China and Cuba are routinely elected, as was the case with the commission, though they all had to sit out 2013 as they had all served two consecutive terms. It is no coincidence that 2013 was a comparatively productive year for the council. **</p>
<p>Human rights criteria were mooted as prerequisites for membership back when the council was created. However, the UN’s nearly 200 members could not agree on substantive criteria, as they have different views on human rights. The US, for example, wanted only “democratic nations” to be eligible, whereas a focus on the implementation of economic and social rights might have led to the exclusion of the US itself. </p>
<p>Procedural criteria, such as a nation’s record on ratification of human rights treaties, would have been more objective. However, such criteria may have led to the exclusion of the two most powerful countries in the world – the US and China. As it stands, members commit to the highest standards of human rights, and countries should take into account a nominee’s human rights record when voting. But both of these rules are basically unenforceable.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I believe that the membership of the council has generally been better than was the case with the later years of the Commission on Human Rights. It is notable that notorious abusers such as Sri Lanka and Belarus have sought and failed to gain election, while Syria was sensibly talked out of running in 2011. The secret ballot for council elections may be a key here, as there is a chance that a UN region will lose a seat for a year if an insufficient number of its nominees are deemed acceptable enough to be elected by a majority of the UN General Assembly.</p>
<p>The council is also criticised for running hard against human rights abuses in some contexts, while being notably soft in others. For example, inconsistency arose in 2009 when Israel was heavily condemned over <a href="http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/404E93E166533F828525754E00559E30">Operation Cast Lead</a> in Gaza while <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/05/27/sri-lanka-un-rights-council-fails-victims">Sri Lanka</a> was effectively praised a few months later for the end of its long-running civil war despite thousands of civilian deaths. </p>
<p>To be fair, the 2009 Sri Lanka resolution was possibly a nadir in the council’s operations, and it has been more proactive in responding to major human crises since, such as those in Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, Syria, Mali and the Central African Republic. It has also now adopted resolutions condemning <a href="http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G14/132/86/PDF/G1413286.pdf?OpenElement">Sri Lanka</a> and calling for war crimes investigations. However, Australia did not support the 2014 resolution, presumably as it sought continued political favour with Sri Lanka to ensure its ongoing co-operation to stop asylum seeker boats.</p>
<p>A global intergovernmental body focusing on human rights is important. Such a body will always be dogged by politics, but it is important to have such a forum as countries care more about what other countries think than they do about the statements of human rights experts and NGOs. The council is that global intergovernmental body, and its evolving membership represents the world of today, warts and all. </p>
<p>It is doubtful that the battle for universal human rights observance will be won by adopting an “us and them” mentality which excludes significant numbers of countries even running for election for the “human rights club”. It could lead to balkanised human rights discussions, and possible competing institutions within the UN. The council must be a forum where non-like-minded countries can talk to each other and cross divides (as does happen on occasion) to make important human rights decisions.</p>
<h2>Australia and the council</h2>
<p>Australia is seeking a three-year term from 2018. It is competing with France and Spain for two WEOG seats. Will Australia be elected?</p>
<p>It is impossible to predict; much water will flow under the bridge before the election in 2017. Widespread praise for the role Australia ultimately played as a Security Council member indicates a reasonable amount of goodwill towards us. Clearly, France and Spain have the advantage of being members of the European Union, meaning they likely have a solid bloc of votes locked in. </p>
<p>On the other hand, Australia benefits from being seen to represent a different region than the always-well-represented Europe. Australia could for example try to position itself as a champion of the Pacific nations, and we will no doubt use the eternal narrative that “we punch above our weight”. Furthermore, the EU has frankly been dysfunctional in its lobbying efforts on the council, due to its slowness in being able to pin down a position among its own members.</p>
<p>Australia’s own human rights record will be of relevance to nations in deciding how to vote. Australia’s upcoming second UPR on November 9 will enable us to see what their major concerns are. </p>
<p>Australia has significant and well-known human rights problems, for example concerning asylum seekers, onshore and offshore detention, Indigenous people, violence against women and counter-terrorism laws. Here, I will focus on issues which have the capacity to undermine Australia’s reputation for cooperation with the UN.</p>
<p>One concern will be the Abbott government’s hounding of Gillian Triggs, the president of Australia’s Human Rights Commission, as those attacks do not sit well with the single resolution that Australia routinely co-sponsors before the council – that concerning the importance and independence of <a href="http://www.ishr.ch/news/states-must-protect-and-safeguard-independence-national-human-rights-institutions">National Human Rights Institutions</a>. However, it is likely that the government’s open hostility towards Triggs will soften under new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.</p>
<p>Of great concern will be Australia’s attitude to its direct engagements with UN human rights bodies. <a href="http://remedy.org.au/">We do not have a good record</a> of implementing the findings of the UN treaty bodies, which have found Australia to be in breach of international human rights law more than 40 times. </p>
<p>In March, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, an independent human rights expert who is appointed by and reports to the council, found that Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers contravened anti-torture standards. Then-prime minister Tony Abbott petulantly responded that Australia was <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-australians-sick-of-being-lectured-to-by-united-nations-after-report-finds-antitorture-breach-20150309-13z3j0.html">“sick of being lectured to”</a> by the UN. </p>
<p>Only this week, the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16503&LangID=E">Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants</a> postponed his official trip to Australia as the government could not guarantee that he could receive information from people about the offshore detention centres without those people suffering legal reprisals under the Border Force Act. </p>
<p>If Australia’s reputation for non-co-operation with the UN continues to grow, its council bid could and should suffer.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Australia has a long and proud history with regard to human rights and the UN. Herbert Vere Evatt oversaw the adoption of the UDHR in 1948 as the president of the UN General Assembly. Distinguished Australians have served on the UN treaty bodies (for example, Elizabeth Evatt, Ivan Shearer and Ron McCallum) and as Special Rapporteurs (for example Philip Alston is the current Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights).</p>
<p>It is appropriate for Australia to continue that history of leadership and engagement by running for the Human Rights Council. It is a flawed body, but a necessary one.</p>
<p>Australia’s road to election in 2018 will however be tough. A good faith attitude to our upcoming UPR and the resultant recommendations, as well as efforts to redress our considerable human rights failings, will help in that regard.</p>
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<p>**<em>The sentence on Saudi Arabia was added a few minutes after posting, due to the topicality of that issue.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48385/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Joseph has received funding for specific projects from the UN.</span></em></p>Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has announced that Australia is running for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council for the period of 2018 to 2020. The bid was originally made by the previous government, and…Sarah Joseph, Director, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.