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FORMER PRESIDENT OF IRELAND MARY ROBINSON INVITES OAS MEMBERS TO LEAD ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson praised the steps taken by Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Human Rights, and invited them to take the lead on the matter.

“I was really encouraged both by what was said and by the steps that the OAS has already taken in this regard, which I think are ahead of other regions,” she said at the end of her speech at the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs of the hemispheric institution, in a meeting that took place on Wednesday at the Bolivar Hall of the OAS Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Ms. Robinson especially highlighted the role played by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and in general de OAS in “promoting” Human Rights “not only in the Americas, but also globally”.

Ms. Robinson, President of Ireland between 1990 and 1997, specifically quoted three topics where the international community should work with a “special sense of urgency”, and where the role of the OAS Member States can be particularly important.

”We would be very open to a number of countries becoming champions of different components of this agenda in different contexts,” she said.

The link between poverty and Human Rights is the first point in the agenda. According to Ms. Robinson “a more rational approach” is needed to properly tackle the issue. The Americas have here “a very special role to play, because it has this holistic approach, so deeply embedded in the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights and the Constitutions of many of your countries.”

The efforts required to maintain and even strengthen the national Human Rights systems are the second point in Ms. Robinson’s agenda. She asked countries for “more networking”, “more exchanges” and “more contact with Human Rights institutions in other regions.”

Also in this topic have the Americas much to give. “Sharing more experiences of regional stregths and the way the inter American system has developed its approaches is something that we could follow through.”

Ms. Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights between 1997 and 2002 mentioned climate change and its impact on Human Rights protection as the third and final point in her priority agenda.


“We are looking for governments to be stakeholders with civil society, with the private sector, with various groups that are working in these areas, to help to make progress on this agenda,” said Ms. Robinson, who founded the organization “Realizing Rights.” Its mission is to put human rights standards at the heart of global governance and policy-making and to ensure that the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable are addressed on the global stage.”

Also took part in the meeting Rudolf Knoblauch, Special Envoy for Human Rights of the Government of Switzerland, who presented the Swiss initiative for an “Agenda on Human Rights”. The project includes, among others, Ms. Robinson, the OAS and Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, member of the IACHR.

Ms. Robinson and Mr. Knoblauch were introduced at the event by the President of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs and Permanent Representative of Uruguay at the OAS María del Luján Flores. Participants in the meeting also included the permanent representatives of Canada, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, United States, Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Uruguay and Peru, who all backed Ms. Robinson’s and Mr. Knoblauch’s initiatives.

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Reference: E-142/09