Tal
Rights Works! Internationell konferens om systematiskt arbete för de mänskliga rätttigheterna, Stockholm 7 november 2008
Gunilla Carlsson, Biståndsminister

Tal av Gunilla Carlsson vid Rights Work!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure and honour for me to address you here today.

Seeing you all gathered here to discuss and exchange views and experiences on systematic work for human rights is tangible evidence of how far we have come. And - as the discussions at this conference have shown - of how much more still needs to be done to make these rights a reality for all.

This conference reflects the priority Sweden attaches to the implementation of human rights. This has been a key element in our chairmanship of the Council of Europe this year. It will be equally prominent when we assume the presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2009.

This year we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - a historic document and, still today, an impressively modern one.

In the sixty years that have passed we have seen unparalleled development in the area of human rights at international, regional and national levels.

But human rights are also still violated every day. Much remains to be done to ensure that the principles are translated into practice. Still, the Universal Declaration remains a central reference point of the international human rights system, reaffirming the dignity and worth of the human person, and the duty of States to uphold and respect all human rights.

Human rights are an essential part of what we consider the basis of our global society. Today, it is legitimate to react to human rights abuses wherever they occur. No country can claim that sovereignty makes human rights issues a purely internal affair.

We need to be prepared to speak out against abuse wherever it occurs. And to act to protect all those who work to defend human rights - sometimes at great risk to themselves.

Human rights can never be fully realised without the active participation of each and every one of us, also at regional and local levels, and by civil society and other non-state actors.

As Eleanor Roosevelt, who chaired the drafting of the Universal Declaration, once said: "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighbourhood he lives in, the school or college he attends, the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere."

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How these rights - our common human rights - can be made to have meaning - both in the small places in the world, and in the somewhat larger national, regional and global contexts, is a central question for my Government.

In every country, including my own, challenges continue to hamper efforts for the full realisation. The urgent need to discuss and exchange experiences on these issues inspired this conference.

We need to use the results of these discussions to improve the ways in which individuals become aware of their rights and feel empowered to pursue them. How can accountability and a more results-based approach be encouraged? How can the legal system and public administration as a whole be strengthened to better safeguard and protect the rights of individuals, and to combat discrimination and abuse?

There is a worrying gap between the rights proclaimed in international and regional human rights instruments and how these rights are being respected at the national level.

If States are serious about their human rights obligations, ratifying conventions, though necessary, is not enough. It is important that States also accept the principle that their record must be open for review. States should accede to the various oversight mechanisms available at international or regional levels, and take the recommendations and decisions from such bodies seriously.

For States that want to improve their records but lack the necessary means or capacity, international and regional human rights mechanisms can provide important guidance and help. As we have heard, both international and regional organisations provide capacity-building support, which does affect the implementation of human rights on the ground.

The United Nations has a unique role to play in this regard. Through its many foras and its specialised programmes and agencies, the UN is uniquely placed to monitor international human rights standards, and to react when human rights are abused. It also has a central role to play in providing capacity-building and support. Through its global nature and its wide presence, the UN is well equipped to help make a human rights-based approach to development a reality.

Similarly, in many regions, regional systems have developed.

In Europe, the Council of Europe plays a central role in promoting and protecting human rights. The European Court of Human Rights is of special importance and has enhanced and developed the protection of human rights in Europe during its nearly fifty years of existence. In addition, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights is able to provide both reaction and response to human rights issues facing member states of the Council of Europe.

Human rights are also at the core of cooperation within the European Union and for example the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency which provides analysis and recommendations on issues that need to be addressed. The OSCE contributes to strengthening human rights protection in Europe, not least by providing a tangible link between security, human rights and democracy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are often reminded that the three fundamental areas of the work and mandate of the United Nations - human rights, peace and security, together with development - are interrelated and go hand in hand. Without any one of these, none of the other can be fully realised.

As Minister for International Development Cooperation, I often visit countries mired by conflict and poverty. What strikes me on these trips is that poverty is not only about socioeconomic development and material security. Poverty is also about the lack of political power at individual level. About the inability of citizens to exercise their rights and influence decisions that affect their lives.

One way to fight powerlessness is to emphasise the need for a close, reciprocal relationship between democracy and human rights. In the Government's recent communication to the Parliament "Freedom from Oppression" - our instruments for promoting democratisation on the basis of a sharper focus on civil and political rights have been strengthened. Democracy is rooted in values based on respect for the equal worth of all human beings. By the same token, full compliance with human rights presupposes a democratic society.

Highlighting the role of civil society, the media and other independent oversight mechanisms is another way of improving accountability and fighting powerlessness and abuse. In Swedish development cooperation, national human rights institutions and civil society have always been strategic and valued partners in the task of promoting and protecting human rights.

Just to give a few examples;
Sweden supports human rights institutions and ombudsmen in all regions where we have cooperation; Africa, Asia, Europe and also in Latinamerica.
Through The Raoul Wallenberg Institute (of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law), Sweden supports cooperation with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and other partners in Indonesia. The Raoul Wallenberg Institute has, for example, been active in supporting the implementation of the Indonesian national human rights action plan. Save the Children UK receives funding to implement a project aiming at a participatory production of an alternative report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

For civil society to be able to take the role as human rights protector, States also need to create an environment in which they can operate freely and without risking reprisals, threats or assaults.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we come to the end of what I hope have been two inspiring and rewarding days, I hope you will take with you some of the ideas and experiences exchanged here and incorporate them into your own important work on these issues in every possible way.

From our side, we will continue to follow up on some of the ideas and conclusions from this conference within the framework of the Council of Europe, the UN and other fora.

More broadly, we look forward to a continued international and cross-regional discussion on how rights can be made to work better and more effectively, for every woman, man and child.

Universal Human Rights, as formulated sixty years ago, remain among the greatest achievements of humankind. But they can be made to work better. Let's hope that the next sixty years will finally see them reach all the small places their authors dreamed of - not only on paper but in everyday life.

Thank you.