A human rights system for the Asia-Pacific
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. It was drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, accepted by the General Assembly as Resolution 217 during its third session on 10 Dec 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. Adopted as a “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations”, the declaration commits nations to recognize all humans as beings “born free and equal in dignity and rights” regardless of “nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status”.
The UDHR is considered a milestone document for its universalist language, which makes no reference to a particular culture, political system or religion. The declaration directly inspired the development of international human rights law and was the first step in the formulation of the International Bill of Human Rights, which was completed in 1966 and came into force in 1976. Although not legally binding, the contents of the declaration have been elaborated and incorporated into subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments and national constitutions and legal codes.
All 193 member-states of the United Nations have ratified at least one of the nine binding treaties influenced by the UDHR, with a vast majority ratifying four or more. Nevertheless, UDHR has influenced legal, political and social developments on both the global and national levels, with its significance partly evidenced by its 530 translations, the most of any document in history.
This year sees the 75th anniversary of the declaration. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, has embarked on a year-long Human Rights 75 (HR75) Initiative to rekindle the spirit, impulse and vitality of the UDHR and renew a worldwide dedication to human rights. The initiative aims to inspire new global, regional and national commitments, pledges and other takeaways from member-states, civil society organizations and other stakeholders. One of these initiatives is the Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue, which was held on Oct 11. It was one of the five (Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Europe and Central Asia, Americas) regional dialogues mandated by the Human Rights Council held before the High-Level Event in Geneva on 11-12 Dec 2023 and other international and intergovernmental processes and negotiations. The results will contribute to the High Commissioner’s Vision Statement for Human Rights and the 2024 Summit of the Future.
The Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue was conducted in English in a hybrid modality, both on and offline, with a limited number of places being available for in-person participation at the UN Conference Centre of ESCAP in Bangkok, Thailand. Only those participants, who received confirmation from OHCHR, were allowed to attend in person and fortunately I was one of them.
Though regional human rights mechanisms are a crucial tool to advance the promotion and protection of human rights; to date, Asia-Pacific is the only region that does not have a region-wide mechanism. But, with around two-thirds of the world’s population inhabiting this region and the diverse and complex challenges it faces, regional cooperation for human rights should be a priority for all. Speaking at the opening session of the dialogue, United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk admitted it and said, “With this in mind, the Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue looks to bring together member-states, regional organizations, national human rights institutions, UN agencies, Special Procedures mandate holders, civil society organizations, human rights defenders, youth organizations, academia and more to accelerate the conversation on regional collaboration to advance human rights and make further advances to establish a regional human rights mechanism in the region in the spirit of the UDHR.”
Russ Jalichandra, advisor to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand participated in that session and highlighted the role of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) as sub-regional human rights mechanism and advocated the importance of SDGs as well as just, peaceful and inclusive society. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand; Cynthia Veliko, South-East Asia Regional Representative, UN Human Rights; Rory Mungoven Chief Asia-Pacific Section, UN Human Rights were among the speakers at different sessions.
The dialogue brought together member-states, regional organizations, national human rights institutions and equality bodies, UN agencies and entities, experts from the UN and regional organizations, special procedures mandate holders, civil society organizations, human rights and environmental human rights defenders, youth organizations, academia and more (like youth and child representatives) to accelerate the conversation on regional collaboration to advance human rights and make further advances to establish a regional human rights mechanism in the region in the spirit of UDHR.
Taking everything into account, I would like to say that the 75th anniversary is an opportunity to rejuvenate UDHR, demonstrate how it can meet the needs of our times and advance its promise of freedom, equality and justice for all.
