THE UN IS POLITICAL
Although international human rights are meant to be above politics, the UN is the single most powerful forum where most of the world’s governments talk to one another, and this colours its human rights mechanisms just as much as it colours its political machinery. The issues that divide the world - east versus west, north versus south, the developed world versus the so-called third world, etc - also affect the way that the human rights machinery works. For example, China is criticised by many western democracies over its human rights record. China may therefore be ready to support criticisms levelled against a western democracy over human rights violations. Many countries oppose American imperialism. If criticising America or her allies on human rights grounds furthers their aim, they may be ready to do so. Fundamentalist Islamic states may support the rights of Islamic parents to establish separate schools for their children, but may be less supportive on other matters, such as prisoners’ rights. When lobbying the UN you need to be aware of these tensions, and choose your allies with care.
THE UN IS INTERNATIONAL
When it comes to human rights, there is nothing you can tell anyone at the UN that they have not heard before and no situation you can describe of which there has not been a worse example somewhere else in the world. It particularly pays for people in Ireland and the UK to be sensitive to that fact. Our countries, although they include oppressed and discriminated against individuals and communities, are seen by the rest of the world as privileged countries with few serious human rights problems. Our governments, naturally, do everything in their power to maintain this impression. In countering it, we need to keep a sense of proportion. It does not help to describe a beating-up in a police station, however brutal, as “torture”. Much better to call it “ill-treatment” and let the UN decide that you have understated your case.
LANGUAGE MATTERS
The language of international human rights is peppered with obscure jargon. No matter how much you support the use of plain English, you will need to learn this jargon. The reason for this is that the jargon crosses international language barriers. Once you know what is meant by an “extrajudicial execution” (a killing carried out with government involvement that is not capital punishment) it is much easier to use that phrase because everyone else will understand you, whatever language they speak. That is why this guide contains a glossary and then goes on to use the jargon. However, this does not mean that you should abandon plain English altogether. The more you use it to explain, for instance, the facts behind a case, the better. This is because anything you put in writing will probably have to be translated into at least some of the UN’s six official languages: French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian (English being the sixth). If what you say is unclear to begin with, you run the risk of it being even less clear in translation. So far as speaking to people at the UN is concerned, English speakers have an advantage. Almost everyone there speaks English, although it helps if you also know some French and/or Spanish.
THE UN IS NOT USER-FRIENDLY
This is not the fault of the staff, who are over-worked, under-resourced and often employed on short-term contracts. Despite these handicaps, they are usually very friendly and as helpful as they can be given the acute lack of resources at the UN. Generally speaking, you will get further by face-to-face or telephone discussions than by attempts to correspond (although faxes or e-mail can be useful for imparting information, especially in an emergency, so long as you do not expect a reply). Otherwise, dealing with the UN is extremely frustrating. If you send a written submission, do not expect an acknowledgement. Do not expect that the person you sent it to will necessarily have received it, or that anyone has read it - it may be sitting in that person’s assistant’s in-tray in a large pile of documents waiting to be read. If it is considered by an official or a committee, do not expect to be sent a copy of their report. If they take the matter up with the government, do not expect to hear about or be told what the government said in reply. Some of these things may happen, but do not count on it. If you want to know what happened to your submission, you will have to follow it up yourself, and this guide will explain how to do that where appropriate.
THE UN DEALS WITH GOVERNMENTS
UN human rights machinery is directed at governments. It is governments who sign up to international human rights treaties and instruments and it is governments who are obliged to uphold them. “Government” includes all those individuals and bodies who make up the state, such as parliament and the Dáil, government ministers, civil servants acting in an official capacity, the courts, the police, and the army. It also includes officials appointed under statutes and quangos carrying out state functions. However, it does not include private individuals, companies, membership groups carrying out non-governmental functions (e.g. trade unions), terrorists, criminals etc. You may consider, for example, that the refusal of a building society or bank to give you a mortgage infringes various human rights, but the UN will not think so. The only way that the UN human rights machinery will consider complaints about non-state people or bodies is if you can show that the government has failed in some way to protect your human rights by regulating their behaviour effectively and appropriately. For instance, a gay group might legitimately complain that thier right to life was not adequately protected if the police refused to investigate complaints about attacks on gays. Equally, Travellers might complain that their rights were being infringed if private landowners barred them from using their land but the government did nothing to provide them with places to stop overnight.
THE UN WORKS ON TRUST
The human rights machinery is basically about the UN monitoring what governments do. Governments make reports to the UN and reply to their questions. They are expected to be honest in their replies, but of course they are often selective and sometimes downright economical with the truth. The UN has to accept what governments say as being in good faith unless they have evidence to the contrary. Such evidence is usually supplied by NGOs (non-governmental organisations - that probably means you: see GLOSSARY). Just as the UN does not have the resources to test or check what governments say to them, they also have to take what NGOs tell them on trust. UN human rights experts are not pleased if they put a point made by an NGO to the government, only to find that it was inaccurate, exaggerated or unfair. Always back up what you say if you can by quoting statistics or official sources (e.g. the Census, Home Office statistics, a report by the Department of Foreign Affairs etc). See MAKING A SUBMISSION for more guidance on this. Also, the UN feels more confident about an NGO they already know than one they do not. You can create confidence in your own organisation by regularly making submissions to the UN, so that you build up a reputation for providing reliable information. You can also create confidence if you obtain the sponsorship of another NGO with consultative status (see GLOSSARY), such as the International Federation of Human Rights or the International Commission of Jurists - see Appendix A for their representatives in Britain and Ireland.
THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS MACHINERY IS NOT STATIC
The UN is constantly working on new human rights standards, and constantly refining its understanding of established standards. New human rights posts are constantly being created, and old posts are not always renewed. Newer committees and post-holders may be much more NGO-friendly than ones that have been established longer. Committees reflect the individuals who make up their membership, which is constantly changing. A recently-appointed post-holder may take a very different approach from his or her predecessor. The staff who service a particular mechanism may change. This guide therefore reflects a snapshot of how things stand in March 2002. You must be prepared to find that things have changed, especially the names of UN staff members and members of committees. If you want to check on the latest position, see the UN’s website (see site map on page 59) or telephone the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva (see Appendix C for details).
THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS HEADQUARTERS IS NOT AT THEIR POSTAL ADDRESS
All mail to the UN in Geneva goes to the main UN building, the Palais des Nations, so this address is given for postal communications in the tables at the end of this guide. However, the human rights staff do not work in the Palais des Nations, but in the Palais Wilson, 52 Rue des Pacquis, CH-1201 Geneva. Room numbers and telephone numbers in the tables at the end of this guide relate to the Palais Wilson. Some committee meetings and hearings are held at the Palais Wilson, while others are held at the Palais des Nations. Very large meetings, such as the Commission and Sub-Commission, always take place at the Palais des Nations; otherwise, you will need to check. The two buildings are 30 minutes’ walk apart, so it pays to get it right.