Rule of law coordination Group retreat, 22-23 May 2014 Presentation by Ivan Simonovic Current challenges and opportunities in advancing the Third Pillar • In my presentation I will address three aspects: 1. The importance of the 3 rd Pillar and the relationship with the Rule of Law; 2. Efficiency gains of improved coordination for the human rights area; 3. The need for joint human rights and rule of law approach when addressing real life problems. • “Peace and security, development and human rights are the 3 pillars of the UN system”. • “Human rights, rule of law and democracy are interlinked and mutually reinforcing”. • But what do the three pillars and inter-relationship between rule of law and human rights mean in practice? Let me use the example of Ukraine : • President Yanukovych’s Government was marked by the lack of rule of law and human rights. Corruption in turn negatively affected the protection of social and economic rights. 28% of the population were living below the poverty line. • Another aspect that embodies the weakness of the rule of law and impunity relates to the security forces, who encouraged excessive use of force by the Berkut special police forces against protesters violating their civil and political rights. • The rule of law, human rights and development deficit, negatively affected security during the Maidan protests and their aftermath. This has so far taken 250 lives. • In effect, the current situation in Ukraine amounts to an internal armed conflict. • I was asked to address the challenges for the human rights pillar. We can identify some of these challenges from the Ukrainian example: Corruption of the successive government, impunity of the security forces; polarisation (within Ukrainian society) as well as in the international community- as evidenced in the Security Council. • But let me ask you, are these challenges specific to Ukraine? Are not corruption, impunity, polarisation equally present in Syria, South Sudan and CAR? • Besides external, the Third pillar is also affected by some internal challenges : • Let me use a second example on the efficiency gains of improved coordination in the human rights area:
• A young girl belonging to a minority, raped during conflict in a country with a UN Peacekeeping mission can be interviewed by 4 different UN entities dealing with human rights: a the Human rights component of the peacekeeping operation; the women protection officer; the child protection officer and colleagues from the R2P and Prevention of Genocide office. • Of course in the field we have developed some ad hoc ways to prevent this. But can this be systematically prevented? Can we benefit out of the expertise of different HR mandates without the need to interview a victim 4 times? • “Rights up Front” provides some guidance in this respect. All information on the human rights violations should be gathered by all UN entities, sent to one focal point, and then analysed from the perspective of different mandates. • And now to the third area I would like to highlight: the need for a joint human rights and rule of law approach : • As a solution to overcrowding of prisoners, the UN builds a new prison. But it does not resolve the real underlying problem: that the justice system does not work properly, and that 90% of the people are in pre-trial detention. What is needed is not a new prison, but to speed up criminal proceedings and reduce the time sent by prisoners in pre-tial detention. • This is why human rights and rule of law need to addressed together. To see the bigger picture, to use UPR and treaty body recommendations as the basis for justice sector reforms. • Dear colleagues, let me conclude on a positive note. • There is an appetite by member states to strengthen the third pillar, to avoid duplication of activities and to improve effectiveness through closer ties between the rule of law and human rights. • The HL meeting on the rule of law in 2012 requested the SG “ to ensure greater coordination and coherence among UN entities…and… to improve the effectiveness of the rule of law capacity building activities.” • And the good opportunities for concrete action are coming soon. Post-2015 development agenda will include human rights as a transversal issue and hopefully a rule of law related goal. Let us link them close together! The first opportunity to test the waters will be the HL Panel on the Rule of Law and Post-2015 Development agenda on 9 June. • The emerging doctrine and evolving action plan of the RuF helps establish closer linkages between human rights, peace and security. Let me get back to my first example of Ukraine . UN Human Rights Monitors monitoring and their impartial public reporting contributes to
peace and security by de-escalating tensions and preventing propaganda warfare and distortions. In the next report we will also analyse the negative effects of conflict and insecurity on development and social and economic rights of Ukrainians in the East. No matter their ethnicity or political orientation. • I discussed it with the country team and they wish to contribute to this report. This will hopefully help put pressure and contain an incentive to re-establish peace and security. However, if we do not work also together on rule of law, we will not be able to help Ukraine to root out corruption o develop security forces that respect human rights, both pre- requisites for a better future of the country.
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