10-12-2003 - Items 48 & 117 (d) - Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

New York

Permanent Mission address: 150 East 42 Street, Level 33, New York, New York 10017 - Telephone: 1 212 351 6600 - Fax: 1 212 351 6610

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Statement by Mr Gilbert Laurin,
Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations

on behalf of Australia, Canada and New Zealand

on

Items 48 & 117 (d)

New York
10 December, 2003

Mr. President,

On behalf of Australia, New Zealand and Canada, I am pleased to join other speakers before me in participating in this debate to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 10th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action.

First, I would like to congratulate the organizations and individuals who today received the UN Prize in the Field of Human Rights. While it is governments that have the legal and ultimate responsibility to ensure that human rights are respected and promoted, it is individuals and organizations like those whose courage and commitment was honoured this morning that are the motors behind the advancement of human rights.

On this day, it is also fitting to pay tribute to all those who died defending human rights around the world, including peacekeepers, humanitarian workers, military personnel, members of civil society, government representatives, journalists and many others. We would like to pay tribute in particular to the achievements and dedication of the late High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

International Human Rights Day commemorates the great legacy of our predecessors, the adoption of the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948. The six major conventions forming the core of international human rights law, to which Australia, Canada and New Zealand are all parties, and the elaboration of specific standards for women, children, disabled persons, minorities and other vulnerable groups, attest to the great progress achieved since.

In 1993, on the occasion of the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, all Member States of the United Nations reaffirmed their commitment to the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and reaffirmed that human rights are universal, interdependent, interrelated, and indivisible. Our dialogue over the past ten years has been grounded in this commitment.

We very much appreciate the important efforts of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in what can only be considered to have been a very difficult year, and in particular the commitment and leadership demonstrated by the Acting High Commissioner.

The advancement of human rights is a guiding principle in Australia, New Zealand and Canada’s foreign policy. We believe that the standards of human rights laid down in the United Nations` Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be applied uniformly around the world, and we have worked tirelessly for the past fifty-five years to promote this goal through all available means. We will continue to do so.

Canada is proud to have played a significant role in the development of a human rights framework, from the role played by diplomat John Humphrey in designing the Universal Declaration in 1948, to its support in the creation of the position of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 1993 and to its participation in the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002.

That said, International Human Rights Day is not just a time for congratulations. It is a reminder of all the work that remains to be done to ensure that the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people are respected. It is an invitation to all countries to examine their own human rights situations. In too many places still, human rights are violated.

Most importantly, International Human Rights Day is an occasion for Member States to renew their commitment to fulfill their obligations to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. We must continue to be vigilant and spare no effort in this regard, even in the most challenging circumstances. We must ensure that our common efforts to combat terrorism respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. We must ensure that there is no impunity for serious violations of human rights and prevent such violations from occurring in the first place.

Let us rise to the challenge. We possess all the tools necessary to fulfill this task and duty. We must put them to good use and implement the principles and values that we all adhere to.

Thank you.