Statement by His Excellency Archbishop Dominique Mamberti,
Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with
States
at the High Level Segment of the 22nd
Session of the Human Rights Council
Geneva, 26 February 2013
Mr President,
Introduction
The need to prevent in the
future the immense tragedies of the Second World War, when the dignity of the
human person was profoundly violated and entire populations destroyed, created
among the international community a convergence of understanding on the basic
values that led to the establishment, in 1946, of the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights, - which was replaced, in 2006, by this Human Rights Council, -
and culminated, two years later, in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and
related Conventions.
Mr President,
Challenges for
the protection of the dignity of the human person
Twenty years ago, the 1993
Vienna World Conference on Human Rights proclaimed the indivisibility and
universality of all human rights. The effort, however, to give substance to the
stated equal importance and interdependence of civil and political rights and
of economic, social and cultural rights, still meets with serious obstacles in
the path towards its achievement. The resulting gap shows the high costs that large
segments of the world population have to pay as shown by their poor health and
lack of access to necessary medicines, the lack of adequate education, especially
for young girls, the lack of drinking water, of sufficient food, the ongoing political
exclusion of millions of people, the lack of security in armed conflicts, the lack
of assistance for migrants and refugees, and the lack of freedom of expression
and religious liberty. Much remains to be done to make the indivisibility of
human rights a reality.
Moreover, recent attempts to
re-interpret the meaning of some critical terms in basic documents, like the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights and related Conventions, by the introduction of
ambiguous expressions and ideological positions appear to ignore the solid
foundations of human rights, to weaken the successes already achieved, and to undermine
the universality of human rights.
While for too many people fundamental
human rights are still a practically unreachable aspiration, the mechanisms
that the concert of nations has for the protection and promotion of these
rights suffer from some serious contradictions, duplication of structures and limited
capacity to implement effectively their mandate, because sufficient resources
are not provided, clashes of convictions are increasing among groups, and
private interests are pursued instead of the common good.
Mr President,
Role of the
Human Rights Council
These challenges surely urge
the international community to recall the important role the Human Rights Council
is due to play in three main areas:
·
The Human Rights Council has the mandate and the ability permanently to monitor
respect for human rights and to ensure they become a universal standard of
achievement for all peoples and nations, and an important milestone of the
universal common good;
·
The Human Rights Council, through its activities ought to promote international
respect of human rights in fostering both duties and rights at the same
time, and further the concrete freedoms and responsibilities of human beings
all around the globe;
·
The Human Rights Council has grown by supporting the concrete universality
and indivisibility of human rights, and it should protect, promote and adhere
to these principles in order to resist the slide of human rights into a rhetorical
void, an ideology or an instrument of power for imposing political agendas.
Mr President,
Through its mechanisms and
procedures, especially the Universal Periodic Review, the Human Rights Council
is a key driving force for human development, and a positive service to member
States that can progressively improve the implementation of all human rights
for the benefit of their fellow citizens and other persons found in their
territory.
However, the way so-called “new
rights” are discussed and recognized by the Human Rights Council puts at risk
the universality and indivisibility of human rights and, consequently, the
credibility of the Council as a promoter and defender of the principles
enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. A fundamental question
ought always to be present in our minds: are human rights universal because a
majority of countries recognizes them, or are they universal because of an
ethical claim which is prior to their recognition by states and which comes from
the dignity of every person? The Holy See firmly believes that human rights
should be judged by their reference to the founding principles and objectives
enshrined in the basic documents where the nature and innate dignity of the
human person are key elements. In his 2009 Encyclical Letter Caritas in
Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI rightly observed: “A link has often been noted
between claims to a ‘right to excess’, and even to transgression and vice,
within affluent societies, and the lack of food, drinkable water, basic
instruction and elementary health care in areas of the underdeveloped world and
on the outskirts of large metropolitan centres. The link consists in this:
individual rights, when detached from a framework of duties which grants them
their full meaning, can run wild, leading to an escalation of demands which is
effectively unlimited and indiscriminate.”[1]
Thus the protection of the
dignity of every human person, on one hand, and the full implementation and
respect of the Resolutions of this Council, on the other hand, urge all States
to work together, in a spirit of dialogue and openness, to adopt Resolutions in
a consensual way. In fact, the number of resolutions is less important than
their effectiveness, the imposition of new rights and principles should be
replaced by respect for and strengthening of those already agreed upon. In this way, the common good will be sought,
cooperation among nations will be reinforced, and the principle of subsidiarity
will be fully respected.
In this context, the Holy See
will continue to contribute to this Council’s discussions, so as to offer an
essentially ethical reflection upon its decision-making, and so as to help safeguard
the dignity of the human person.
Mr President,
Allow me to address some specific
concerns that appear particularly urgent today, and that would give greater
credibility and status to the Council.
Freedom of
religion
One of the challenges the
international community has had to face in recent years is the right to freedom
of religion. International law is quite substantial in this regard. So why does
it remain one of the most frequently and widely denied and restricted rights in
the world? Authoritative studies have recently shown that violations of freedom
of religion are not abating, but have in fact increased over the last decade.
More than 70% of the world’s population lives in places where religious freedom
is not fully guaranteed, with high restrictions on religious beliefs and
practices, and religious minorities pay the highest price. It seems then that, despite
all the legal instruments available, a minimal protection of freedom of
religion has not yet been achieved in many countries.[2]
Reasons for this include poor state
legislation, lack of political will, cultural prejudice, hatred and intolerance.
These factors often accompany the violation of freedom of religion. However,
key to upholding freedom of religion is its recognition as grounded in the transcendent dimension of human dignity. The freedom safeguarded in
the freedom of religion cannot be reduced simply to its political or even civil
dimension. It is a freedom that signals a limit upon the state, and a
protection of the conscience of the individual from the power of the state. That
is why when a state safeguards it properly, freedom of religion becomes one of
the sources of the state’s legitimacy, and a primary indicator of democracy.
A full recognition of
religious freedom, therefore, requires a state, which recognizes the transcendent dimension of human dignity.
The issue at stake, then, is the recognition of the positive dimension of
religions in the public square as a force for peace and freedom. This is
accompanied by a correlative duty on the part of religions to participate in
public debate, an exercise that is part and parcel of democratic life.
Among the many concerns linked
to freedom of religion, the fate of religious minorities stand in particular
relief, including Christian communities suffering violence and cruelty. As the
last Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion shows, more can
and should be done to protect the freedom of religion of religious minorities.
Mr President,
Confronted by conflicts in
various regions of the globe and by the constant risk of fresh outbreaks of
violence, the international community is struggling to find new ways to ensure
peaceful coexistence, as the Charter of the United Nations requires and as the
current debate on the right to peace argues in a convincing way.
Peace as a
condition for human rights
No lasting peace can be
achieved without a true recognition of the dignity of every human person. Peace
is not only reached when armed conflict ends, however important a step this
might be; peace is earned by a society in the long term when the rule of law translates
into action the standards of human rights as recognized by the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights and by the international Conventions on human
rights, a task that the Holy See constantly advocates in the most diverse
circumstances.
Key to this search for
international peace in a globalized world is, once again, the preservation and
promotion of the universality and indivisibility of human rights. In today’s
context of an ever-growing inter-connection between societies, adhering to the
standard of human rights becomes both increasingly more important and a
condition for social harmony and peace. This requires defending the life of the
human person, from conception until natural death; protecting the rights of the
child, especially the right to have a family, founded on marriage between one man
and one woman, and upon whom falls the primary responsibility of education of
children; defending the rights of disabled people, of migrants and of refugees;
protecting freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of association and
so on; combating discrimination based on sex, religion, race and colour; and
combating violence against women.
In the context of the
discussion on human rights and how they should be given concrete and practical
application, special attention must be paid to the right to life, to its
promotion and to the deepening of our understanding of it. No peace can come
without the true recognition of the value of human life. Respect for the value
of life is by no means a limitation or contradiction of expressions of freedom.
On the contrary, freedom of choice flourishes where the deeper and prior value
of human life is acknowledged and safeguarded. Indeed, “openness to life is at the centre
of true development ... By cultivating openness to life, wealthy peoples
... can promote virtuous action within the perspective of production that is
morally sound and marked by solidarity, respecting the fundamental right to
life of every people and every individual.”[3]
Mr President,
The Catholic
Church’s contribution to human rights
The Catholic Church’s
acknowledgement of the legitimacy of human rights is not only a moral or
political duty. It has deep roots in its convictions and beliefs. This is due
to the way the Church views the human person and his or her dignity. Fifty
years ago Blessed Pope John XXIII wrote: “Any well-regulated and
productive association of men in society demands the acceptance of one
fundamental principle: that each individual human being is truly a person. His
is a nature that is endowed with intelligence and free will. As such he has
rights and duties, which together flow as a direct consequence from his nature.
These rights and duties are universal and inviolable, and therefore altogether
inalienable. When, furthermore, we consider a human being's personal dignity
from the standpoint of divine revelation, inevitably our estimate of it is
incomparably increased. Men and women have been ransomed by the blood of Jesus
Christ. Grace has made them sons and friends of God, and heirs to eternal
glory.”[4]
Therefore, millions of individuals
and thousands of Catholic communities and NGOs around the world have taken up
the task of promoting respect for the dignity of the human person and his or
her inherent human rights as one of their responsibilities and de facto are engaged in practical
actions to support and promote awareness of the critical importance of human
rights.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Mr President,
the Holy See cooperates with all people of good will who work to ensure that
the Charter and the principles of the United Nations are not only proclaimed,
but also recognized in their genuine formulation, meaning and application. Several
decades ago, the late Pope Paul VI appealed for the world’s commitment to close
the gap between the ideal and the reality. He wrote: “The vastness and the
urgency of the action to be carried out call for the united contribution of
all. How can we see to it that international resolutions be applied among all
peoples? How can we ensure the
fundamental rights of man, when they are mocked? How can we intervene, in a
word, to save the human person wherever it is threatened? How can we make those
in charge realize that it is a question of an essential heritage of man that no
one can harm with impunity, on any pretext, without making an attempt on what
is most sacred for a human being and thus ruining the very foundations of
social life? All these are grave problems and we cannot make any mystery of the
fact: it would be useless to proclaim rights if at the same time we did not do
everything in our power to ensure the duty of respecting them, on the part of
everyone, everywhere and for everyone.”[5]
Thank you, Mr President.
[1] Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical
Letter Caritas in Veritate (29 June 2009), 43: AAS 101 (2009).
[5] Pope Paul VI, Message addressed to the President of
the Conference on the Rights of Man, on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary of the UDHR, convened by the United Nations at Teheran from 22nd
April to 13th May 1968.
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