Candidate for the UN Human Rights Council

Transcription

1 Candidate for the UN Human Rights Council

2 The German Government s strong commitment to human rights is a lesson drawn from the darkest chapter of German history. Our constitution and all our political endeavours are rooted in the belief that human dignity is inviolable and that inviolable and inalienable human rights are the basis of every community and of peace and justice in the world. It is in our view just as important to protect basic rights in our own country as it is to champion respect for human rights in other parts of the world. We regard the Human Rights Council as the leading international institution concerned with human rights protection around the world and the further development of human rights standards. Since its founding we have striven to assist the Council in the exercise of its mandate and help it acquire the capacities it needs for this purpose. Germany contributes to the Council in many different ways and participates actively in its work. We give targeted support to issues of particular concern to the poorest of the poor. We attach high priority to inter-regional cooperation in the Human Rights Council and intend to make this an even stronger focus of our work here. We welcome initiatives designed to help all countries take a fuller part in the Council s activities. Germany stands ready to live up to the challenges of Council membership. We would greatly appreciate your support for Germany s candidacy. Dr Guido Westerwelle Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs

3 Key messages From the start, Germany has strongly supported the work of the Human Rights Council. If elected, we plan to help the Council expand its leading role in the field of international human rights protection. For us, human rights are universal, inalienable and indivisible. This is something we believe is of fundamental importance. Protecting human rights must be seen as a collective task, a task that is inter-regional and cross-cultural in nature. We believe this is the only way to make long-term progress towards the universal realization and advancement of human rights. This belief is reflected in the various resolutions we have tabled on the human right to water and sanitation, on combating human trafficking and on the human right to adequate housing. We know that rich and developed countries do not have a monopoly on safeguarding human rights. Therefore, we realize that safeguarding human rights in Germany is something we ourselves need to work on every single day. All the Council s Special Rapporteurs are invited to visit Germany at all times. This demonstrates our openness to constructive dialogue about the human rights situation in our own country. In recent years, the Human Rights Council has been very successful in terms of setting standards. Germany is ready to join with others in assuming responsibility for advancing the Council s mission and intensifying inter-regional cooperation to this end.

4 We invite you to support our candidacy for membership in the Human Rights Council for the term The United Nations have declared the protection and promotion of human rights to be one of their top priorities. To this end, the Human Rights Council plays a leading role within the UN system. It addresses human rights issues all over the world and actively contributes to the further development of the human rights canon. As one of the Council s founding members, Germany has worked hard to help ensure that the Human Rights Council is an effective body that can serve the cause of human rights. Germany considers the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Mechanism a very important step in securing continuous monitoring of the human rights situation within countries. It also encourages a regular exchange of experiences and best practices for dealing with all kinds of different issues and challenges related to human rights. Through its voluntary contribution to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Germany actively supports participation in this procedure and the implementation of recommendations resulting from it. Germany highly values the system of Special Procedures. All Special Rapporteurs are permanently invited to monitor the human rights situation in Germany at all times. Through our voluntary contribution to the Office of the High Commissioner, we also support the mandate of the Special Procedures. Together with its partners, Germany has been the main sponsor of three mandates: the Special Rapporteur on adequate

5 housing, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons and the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. Germany has been actively involved in the negotiations on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, establishing a communications procedure for individual complaints. We signed the Protocol on 28 February Germany believes that there is a lot to gain from intensifying inter-regional cooperation. Efforts to strengthen human rights and their universal realization need to be based on a broad, inter-cultural and inter-regional consensus that reinforces the idea of the indivisibility of human rights. We are fully committed to achieving this cause. All UN Member States should be able to contribute equally to the Council s work. This is why we back the proposal for a new trust fund to support the participation of the least developed countries and small developing island nations in the work of the Council. Germany will support this fund. Germany is willing and prepared to join with others in assuming responsibility for advancing the Council s mission and intensifying inter-regional cooperation to this end.

6 Auswärtiges Amt 2012 Published by Federal Foreign Office Human Rights Division (VN06) Werderscher Markt Berlin Conception, design and layout Atelier Hauer + Dörfler, Berlin Printed by bud Brandenburgische Universitätdruckerei und Verlagsgesellschaft Potsdam mbh Picture Ute Grabowsky/ photothek.net