Last Wednesday’s RightOn webinar consisted of an expert analysis of democracy and the rule of law amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Towards the very end of a highly engaging discussion, the audience were invited to participate in a poll. Introduced as a ‘devil’s advocate’ question, they were asked: are authoritarian or democratic regimes best placed to respond to the pandemic? Given that …
Today the UN Secretary-General (SG) Antonio Guterres launched a report on how human rights can and should guide coronavirus response and recovery. This report is intended to be read in conjunction with the SG’s Call to Action on Human Rights (launched this February) and the SG’s other reports and statements related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including his report ‘ Shared responsibility, global solidarity: responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 ’, his appeal for governments to …
Hoy, el Secretario General (SG) de la ONU Antonio Guterres lanzó un informe sobre cómo los derechos humanos pueden y deben guiar la respuesta a y recuperación del coronavirus. El informe debe ser leído conjuntamente con el “ Llamado a la acción por los derechos humanos” del SG (lanzado en febrero) y otros informes y declaraciones del SG relacionados con la pandemia de COVID-19, incluidos …
Having arisen out of the post Cold War period, the concept of ‘Groups of Friends’ represented a newly found faith and belief in the power of multilateralism as a means of global problem solving. Groups of friends are coalitions of United Nations (UN) member states, who band together in order to further and actualise particular goals and outcomes related to …
Surgido en el período posterior a la Guerra Fría, el concepto de “Grupos de Amigos” representaba una fe y creencia recién descubiertas en el poder del multilateralismo como un medio para la resolución global de problemas. Los Grupos de Amigos son coaliciones de Estados Miembros de las Naciones Unidas (ONU), que se unen para promover y actualizar objetivos y resultados …
Gran parte de las críticas contra el SG de la ONU, Guterres, por su “silencio” en materia de derechos humanos no tienen fundamento; en realidad, está haciendo un esfuerzo de buena fe, junto con la alta comisionada Bachelet, para equilibrar los aspectos diplomáticos públicos y privados de su mandato. ¿El secretario general de la ONU, António Guterres, realmente está comprometido …
Much of the criticism of UN SG Guterres for his “silence” on human rights is misplaced—he is rather making a good faith effort, alongside High Commissioner Bachelet, to balance the public and private diplomacy aspects of his mandate. Is Secretary-General António Guterres really committed to human rights? That’s a question that has been vexing diplomats, civil society representatives and journalists …
In a 2017 post on this site (and drawing on an idea advanced 20 years ago by Christof Heyns and Frans Viljoen ), we argued that the current process of reform of the human rights treaty system should include efforts to “bring the treaty system closer to the people on the ground.” More specifically, treaty bodies should not only conduct their work in Geneva, but also hold meetings away from their home base, in particular in the …
En una publicación de 2017 en este sitio (y basándose en una idea presentada hace 20 años por Christof Heyns y Frans Viljoen ), argumentamos que el proceso actual de reforma del sistema de tratados de derechos humanos debe incluir esfuerzos para “acercar el sistema de tratados a la gente en el terreno”. De manera más específica, los órganos de tratados no solo deben realizar su trabajo en Ginebra, sino también celebrar reuniones en otras partes, en particular …
An independent analysis of the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council The High-Level Segment of the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council , held from 24 to 26 February 2020, saw the active participation of more than a 100 world leaders, including, four heads of States, around 90 ministers or vice-ministers, and a number of principals of international organisations. In the statements they delivered to …
