Human rights are universal and indivisible: Secretary-General

Human rights are as universal as they are indivisible, said Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma. He stressed that words and actions should also be indivisible on the issue of human rights which are at the core of the Commonwealth’s values.

“Human rights are both the simplest of absolutes and the loftiest of ideals,” said the Secretary-General. “But those fine ideals can seem a world away from the countless numbers who have been abused or tortured or the children who never get to school. The right to life, the right to trial, the right to vote, the right to education – these are just some of the human rights which have been debated and desecrated since the mists of time.”

Speaking at the opening of a two-day seminar at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, UK, on 20 November 2008 on the UN’s Universal Periodic Review reporting mechanism, the Secretary-General emphasised that the principles enshrined by Commonwealth leaders in the Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles of 1971 and the Harare Declaration of 1991 include the protection and promotion of democracy, fundamental human rights and equality for all citizens. He stated that the Secretariat promotes and defends human rights at both the political and practical levels.

“We have converted words and commitments into action. We have successfully developed a political mechanism to deal with members who persistently or seriously violate our principles. Those who do so can be excluded, as is currently the case with Fiji, which is suspended from our councils after the illegal overthrow of an elected government. It is a powerful force of dissuasion,” said Mr Sharma.

He stated that one of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s roles is to assist member governments in meeting their human rights treaty obligations, which includes the ratification of two key covenants – the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights – introduced more than four decades ago to safeguard universal rights.

The Secretary-General urged Commonwealth countries to progress human rights on the ground and noted that the Universal Periodic Review, which includes a report to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council every four years, is an assessment of every country’s policies and progress on human rights.

Eleven Commonwealth countries - Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nigeria and Vanuatu - are participating in the London seminar. These are among the 13 Commonwealth countries, including Belize and Dominica which had attended a regional seminar in October 2008, which are scheduled to submit country reports next year for the Universal Periodic Review on human rights.

Key Links:

• Human Rights