Ms. Okuno and Dr. Sonoda,
Thank you for your letter and for your commitment to the cause of international justice and
human rights. The role of the
Human Rights Foundation is important in the context of global justice and
rights issues but it is sustained only with the support of partner organisations and individuals throughout the world like yourselves.
Attempting to strengthen international
human rights law is a key objective of the
Human Rights Foundation (as I am sure you are both aware). Recent years have proven frustrating on this front, as the international community has largely fractured and
human rights issues have been challenged primarily at the national level or by non-governmental organisations, rather than by states applying pressure to those who fail in their duty to provide freedom and justice for their citizens.
With respect to your specific questions, the principles that were foundational to the International Declaration of
Human Rights remain the guiding principles of the
Human Rights Foundation. No codified statement of these principles and associated
rights exists within the international sphere since the abrogation of that document and it is an important aim of the Foundation to pursue the creation of such a document, which might serve as a focus for our campaigning efforts.
In the current legal context
Security Council Resolution 100 is the most significant statement of global
rights and you are right to highlight it. Leaving aside the lack of enforcement of its provisions, the broad agreement on the principles that it laid out remains a positive symbol of the potential for international co-operation regarding
human rights. In spite of this we cannot say that the resolution is perfect and the restrictive language regarding the use of promotion of
human rights abroad is particularly problematic.
Outside of this there are a number of international treaties that outline states' duties with respect to the fundamental
rights of citizens that are only partially enforced. Nonetheless many of these treaties have served an important function in providing a focus for the work of
human rights campaigns as well as shaping subsequent international agreements. Consider the
Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons for a key example of such an agreement.
A matter of persistent concern in the sphere of international
human rights is the approach that organisations should take to the role of the World Congress. On the face of it the World Congress represents a genuine miracle in international relations, in that it has managed to convene representatives of every country on the globe in the same room consistently for centuries. At the same time there has been only marginal improvement in the state of international
human rights in that period.
In recent times there have been positive developments in the World Congress, such as the inclusion of all of the countries of Dovani, Temania and Vascania and the abolition of the permanent members. Even so the Security Council in particular has been slow to take action in many instances of
rights abuse and the action that it does take tends to be motivated by political and economic self-interest and not global justice. From the perspective of the Foundation, we continue to work with the World Congress in certain capacities and hope that it will continue to take positive steps, however it will not move forward the agenda of
human rights alone.
I hope this response shines some light on the work of the
Human Rights Foundation and its perspective on international
human rights law.
Regards,
Mr. Ibezimako Nkemdilim
Secretary-General of the
Human Rights Foundation