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Several
NGOs have decided to ask UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to put
a brake on the proliferation of diplomats at the heart of
committees charged with verifying how well states respect the
treaties and conventions they have signed. They say such experts
must be independent, as stipulated by a UN directive and that
this autonomy is incompatible with the status of a diplomat.
A letter
will go out from Geneva soon, demouncing this abuse, supported
by
Amnesty
International, the
International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH),
Human
Rights Watch, the
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) and
Alkarama,
a Geneva NGO that advocates for Arab rights.
At the
beginning of the current Council Session (September 22-23), the
matter was brought up before Council President Martin Ihoeghian
Uhomoibhi of Nigeria. Abdel Wahab Hani, speaking for Alkarama
and the Arab Commission for Human Rights criticized the
nomination on September 4 of the current Egyptian Ambassador to
the Netherlands, Ahmed Amin Fathall, as a member of the
Human
Rights Comittee. The diplomat was charged with
overseeing compliance with the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, one of the two pillars of the UN. He was
named to this post at the time that the unelected Algerian
Senator, Lazhari Bouzid was appointed to the same committee,
alongside Peru’s ambassador to Spain.
‘These
political nominations raise serious problems for the
independence of watchdog organizations. We call on all states to
refrain from presenting as UN experts those holding political
posts since this is in total contradiction with the criteria of
independence and impartiality,’ stressed Abdel Wahab Hani on
September 19 during a Council debate. He called for their
resignation. Sebastien Gillioz of Human Rights Watch is
concerned about ‘the consequences that this type of practice
could engender. ‘There is a real risk of blurring the line
between who is a human rights expert and who is a diplomat. The
confusiuon will only increase the dangers to the independence of
institutional mechanisms,’ he said.
The
practice is frequently criticized by NGOs who fear the lack of
autonomy on the part of these diplomat-experts. ‘This represents
‘a violation of the criteria and morality inscribed in article
28 of the Covenant,’ said Abdel Wahab Hani.
According to a communique by Amnesty International on March 7,
2008, the UN ought to ‘abstain from nominating candidates who
occupy paid or unpaid government positions that could compromise
their independence and impartiality.’ Amnesty went on to say
that these experts should be selected on the basis of competence
and be highly qualified to vigorously advocate in favor of human
rights. Amnesty reminded that a UN document, signed in 1997 by
all the organs presiding over treaty verification at the time,
recommended that member states ‘abstain from naming or electing
persons active in public office or occupying positions that are
not immediately reconciliable’ with the role of expert.
Questioned by HRT in the corridors of the Palais des Nations,
several ambassadors refused to give their position on the
subject. One of them speculated that exceptions might be made
for those countries with less diplomatic representation and few
available experts.
Other
cases cited by NGOs
In the
committee that controls the second covenant upon which the
judicial base of the UN rests, regarding economic, social and
cultural rights, one notes the name of Sergei Martynov, the
Foreign Minister of Belarus. On the committee to oversee the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW), one finds the name of Naéla Gabr, Egypt’s
former ambassador in Geneva, currently assistant to the Egyptian
Foreign Affairs Minister for international organizations. She
sits alongside Violeta Neubauer of Slovenia and Dubravka
Simonovic of Croatia, who are equal opportunity coordinators in
the foreign ministries of their respective countries.
On the
committee against racial discrimination (CERD) one finds José
Augusto Lindgren Alves, former Brazilian ambassador to Bulgaria,
who is still in government and Fatima-Binta Victoria Dah, a
career diplomat from Burkina Faso, currently retired with the
grade of Minister Plenipotentary. On the committee overseeing
the rights of children (CRC), the diplomats represented are from
Qatar, Bangladesh and Egypt. Finally, Ecuador’s ambassador to
Washington, Luis Gallegos Chiriboga, is on the committee against
torture (CAT).
The heavy hand of diplomacy is even more flagrant in the
committee to protect the rights of migrant workers and their
families (MWC), where seven out of ten members are diplomats.
Translated from French by Pamela Taylor
Human Rights Tribune
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