<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font face="Times New Roman">Human Rights Reader 194</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">KEEP IN MIND: IN HUMAN RIGHTS WORK WE ARE IN A STRUGGLE NOT ONLY FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, BUT ALSO AGAINST IMPUNITY.</font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></b></p>
<div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 2in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1.5pt solid; mso-element: para-border-div">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">
<font face="Times New Roman">It is not enough to just open the gates of opportunity; all our citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates; we seek not just equality as a (vague) human right and a theory, but equality as a fact and equality as a result. (Lyndon B. Johnson)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But sadly, reality has the nasty habit to creep into our dreams: If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other causes for prejudice by noon. (G. Aitken)</font></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">It is pertinent that, at this juncture, this Reader revisits some human rights <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>principles:</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">1. To begin with, at the core, is the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Principle of Universal Jurisdiction</b> which says that human rights (HR) are everybody's; they have to be sensitive to cultural and religious concerns --<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">if</b> there are valid reasons for them. [We note that many of the objections that have been made against the universality of HR have <u>not</u> come up with valid reasons other than something along the lines of "HR are a Western construct"].</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">2. In terms of bearing HR duties, the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Principle of Individual Responsibility</b> applies regardless of how high or low the official function of the violator(s) is(are)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>--and beware, the neglect of such responsibilities does carry culpability. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">3. Impunity for such a neglect of duties goes against the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Principle of Accountability</b> (linked to Individual Responsibility). The principle implies that we cannot just establish accountability, we necessarily have to also deal with severity with the perpetrators --even if the latter is not really the purpose of HR work. Demanding accountability gives a) the victims a chance to at least know the truth, and b) society a chance to learn the lessons of the past. [The other side of the coin here is that redress can only be fought-for after accountability has been actively established].</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">4. To actively seek and establish accountability, we must encourage victims of HR violations to make use of the recently approved Optional Protocol of the ICESCR that allows victims to launch formal complaints on economic, social and cultural rights. Through it, reparation and redress after gross and/or systematic HR violations have now become legally more expeditious.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">5. There is thus now an established <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Right to Petition</b> by individuals or groups that are victims of a violation of any of their rights.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">6. Nevertheless, realistically speaking, denial of justice (or of timely justice… or denial due to the high costs associated with accessing justice) still remains a major problem to overcome even with the new Optional Protocol. It will take time for the latter to become fully operational --the shorter the time the more all of us become involved in helping people to seek redress.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">7. The critical issue thus remains to empower poor and marginalized people in general, and an up-to-now passive workforce in particular, to strengthen their resistance and struggle against the HR violations perpetrated against them. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">8. Keep in mind that empowerment has to go hand-in-hand with coalescing the empowered into social movements that can exert influence. Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Because ultimately, poverty --which is universal-- is the denial of people's power and resources in many, many places at any given time. Or stated otherwise, poverty is a human condition characterized by a sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other fundamental civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. (UNHCR) </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">9. In a very real way, poverty 'paralizes' people's political existence. In this context, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">HR violations represent the non-income face of poverty, deprivation and marginalization.</b> From this perspective, the effective integration of the HR framework into poverty reduction strategies is thus paramount.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">10. But out there, there is a huge gap between verbal commitments to, political intentions about and actual implementation of poverty reduction strategies --and HR are yet to even be seriously considered in that context.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">11. Rich countries' governments still control the governance of the world economy in a bid that concentrates wealth in the industrialized countries and de-facto actually excludes the poorest countries <u>and</u> people from a fair share in the global 'prosperity' they create.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">12. Needed is for the rich countries to actively be held accountable for the countless broken commitments they have been making the world over for years (many of them resulting in or perpetuating clear HR violations). Also needed is for national governments and for international financial institutions and donors to fundamentally restructure existing patterns of spending that have historically failed to do away with unacceptable levels of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>poverty worldwide. Here are prime candidates for using the new Optional Protocol…</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><font face="Times New Roman">13. Deplorably, much to the contrary of what is needed, we have witnessed a rollback of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>states, rich and poor, from their HR responsibilities. So much for getting away with impunity….</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span lang="IT" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: IT"><font face="Times New Roman">Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><a href="mailto:cschuftan@phmovement.org"><font face="Times New Roman">cschuftan@phmovement.org</font></a><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt"><font face="Times New Roman">[All Readers can be found in </font><a href="http://www.humaninfo.org/aviva%20%20under%20No.69"><font face="Times New Roman">www.humaninfo.org/aviva<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">under No.69</span></font></a><font face="Times New Roman">]</font></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font face="Times New Roman">__________</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><font face="Times New Roman">Adapted from W. Benedek et al, Understanding Human Rights: Manual on Human Rights Education, 2<sup>nd</sup> Edition, European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (ETC), Graz, Austria, May 2006.</font></span></p>