VIENNA DECLARATION PART II

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

VIENNA DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME OF ACTION
(posted in III parts for easier downloading)
 
Part II
 
***************************
 
28.  The World Conference on Human Rights expresses its dismay
at massive violations of human rights especially in the form
of genocide, "ethnic cleansing" and systematic rape of women
in war situations, creating mass exodus of refugees and
displaced persons.  While strongly condemning such abhorrent
practices it reiterates the call that perpetrators of such
crimes be punished and such practices immediately stopped.
 
29.  The World Conference on Human Rights expresses grave
concern about continuing human rights violations in all parts
of the world in disregard of standards as contained in
international human rights instruments and international
humanitarian law and about the lack of sufficient and
effective remedies for the victims.
 
     The World Conference on Human Rights is deeply concerned
about violations of human rights during armed conflicts,
affecting the civilian population, especially women, children,
the elderly and the disabled.  The Conference therefore calls
upon States and all parties to armed conflicts strictly to
observe international humanitarian law, as set forth in the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 and other rules and principles of
international law, as well as minimum standards for protection
of human rights, as laid down in international conventions.
 
     The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the right
of the victims to be assisted by humanitarian organizations,
as set forth in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and other
relevant instruments of international humanitarian law, and
calls for the safe and timely access for such assistance.
 
30.  The World Conference on Human Rights also expresses its
dismay and condemnation that gross and systematic violations
and situations that constitute serious obstacles to the full
enjoyment of all human rights continue to occur in different
parts of the world.  Such violations and obstacles include, as
well as torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or
punishment, summary and arbitrary executions, disappearances,
arbitrary detentions, all forms of racism, racial
discrimination and apartheid, foreign occupation and alien
domination, xenophobia, poverty, hunger and other denials of
economic, social and cultural rights, religious intolerance,
terrorism, discrimination against women and lack of the rule
of law.
 
31.  The World Conference on Human Rights calls upon States to
refrain from any unilateral measure not in accordance with
international law and the Charter of the United Nations that
creates obstacles to trade relations among States and impedes
the full realization of the human rights set forth in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human
rights instruments, in particular the rights of everyone to a
standard of living adequate for their health and well-being,
including food and medical care, housing and the necessary
social services.  The World Conference on Human Rights affirms
that food should not be used as a tool for political pressure.
 
32.  The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the
importance of ensuring the universality, objectivity and
non-selectivity of the consideration of human rights issues. 
 
33.  The World Conference on Human Rights  reaffirms that
States are duty-bound, as stipulated in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and in other
international human rights instruments, to ensure that
education is aimed at strengthening the respect of human
rights and fundamental freedoms.  The World Conference on
Human Rights emphasizes the importance of incorporating the
subject of human rights education programmes and calls upon
States to do so.  Education should promote understanding,
tolerance, peace and friendly relations between the nations
and all racial or religious groups and encourage the
development of United Nations activities in pursuance of these
objectives.  Therefore, education on human rights and the
dissemination of proper information, both theoretical and
practical, play an important role in the promotion and respect
of human rights with regard to all individuals without
distinction of any kind such as race, sex, language or
religion, and this should be integrated in the education
policies at the national as well as international levels.  The
World Conference on Human Rights notes that resource
constraints and institutional inadequacies may impede the
immediate realization of these objectives.
 
34.  Increased efforts should be made to assist countries
which so request to create the conditions whereby each
individual can enjoy universal human rights and fundamental
freedoms. Governments, the United Nations system as well as
other multilateral organizations are urged to increase
considerably the resources allocated to programmes aiming at
the establishment and strengthening of national legislation,
national institutions and related infrastructures which uphold
the rule of law and democracy, electoral assistance, human
rights awareness through training, teaching and education,
popular participation and civil society.
 
     The programmes of advisory services and technical
cooperation under the Centre for Human Rights should be
strengthened as well as made more efficient and transparent
and thus become a major contribution to improving respect for
human rights.  States are called upon to increase their
contributions to these programmes, both through promoting a
larger allocation from the United Nations regular budget, and
through voluntary contributions.
 
35.  The full and effective implementation of United Nations
activities to promote and protect human rights must reflect
the high importance accorded to human rights by the Charter of
the United Nations and the demands of the United Nations human
rights activities, as mandated by Member States.  To this end,
United Nations human rights activities should be provided with
increased resources.
 
36.  The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the
important and constructive role played by national
institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights,
in particular in their advisory capacity to the competent
authorities, their role in remedying human rights violations,
in the dissemination of human rights information, and
education in human rights. 
 
     The World Conference on Human Rights encourages the
establishment and strengthening of national institutions,
having regard to the "Principles relating to the status of
national institutions" and recognizing that it is the right of
each State to choose the framework which is best suited to its
particular needs at the national level.
 
37.  Regional arrangements play a fundamental role in
promoting and protecting human rights.  They should reinforce
universal human rights standards, as contained in
international human rights instruments, and their protection. 
The World Conference on Human Rights endorses efforts under
way to strengthen these arrangements and to increase their
effectiveness, while at the same time stressing the importance
of cooperation with the United Nations human rights
activities. 
 
     The World Conference on Human Rights reiterates the need
to consider the possibility of establishing regional and
subregional arrangements for the promotion and protection of
human rights where they do not already exist.
 
38.  The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes the
important role of non-governmental organizations in the
promotion of all human rights and in humanitarian activities
at national, regional and international levels.  The World
Conference on Human Rights appreciates their contribution to
increasing public awareness of human rights issues, to the
conduct of education, training and research in this field, and
to the promotion and protection of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms.  While recognizing that the primary
responsibility for standard-setting lies with States, the
conference also appreciates the contribution of non-
governmental organizations to this process.  In this respect,
the World Conference on Human Rights emphasizes the importance
of continued dialogue and cooperation between Governments and
non-governmental organizations.  Non-governmental
organizations and their members genuinely involved in the
field of human rights should enjoy the rights and freedoms
recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
the protection of the national law.  These rights and freedoms
may not be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles
of the United Nations. Non-governmental organizations should
be free to carry out their human rights activities, without
interference, within the framework of national law and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
 
39.  Underlining the importance of objective, responsible and
impartial information about human rights and humanitarian
issues, the World Conference on Human Rights encourages the
increased involvement of the media, for whom freedom and
protection should be guaranteed within the framework of
national law. 
 
                              II
 
A.  Increased coordination on human rights within the United
Nations system 
 
1.   The World Conference on Human Rights recommends increased
coordination in support of human rights and fundamental
freedoms within the United Nations system.  To this end, the
World Conference on Human Rights urges all United Nations
organs, bodies and the specialized agencies whose activities
deal with human rights to cooperate in order to strengthen,
rationalize and streamline their activities, taking into
account the need to avoid unnecessary duplication.  The World
Conference on Human Rights also recommends to the
Secretary-General that high-level officials of relevant United
Nations bodies and specialized agencies at their annual
meeting, besides coordinating their activities, also assess
the impact of their strategies and policies on the enjoyment
of all human rights.
 
2.   Furthermore, the World Conference on Human Rights calls
on regional organizations and prominent international and
regional finance and development institutions to assess also
the impact of their policies and programmes on the enjoyment
of human rights. 
 
3.   The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes that
relevant specialized agencies and bodies and institutions of
the United Nations system as well as other relevant
intergovernmental organizations whose activities deal with
human rights play a vital role in the formulation, promotion
and implementation of human rights standards, within their
respective mandates, and should take into account the outcome
of the World Conference on Human Rights within their fields of
competence. 
 
4.   The World Conference on Human Rights strongly recommends
that a concerted effort be made to encourage and facilitate
the ratification of and accession or succession to
international human rights treaties and protocols adopted
within the framework of the United Nations system with the aim
of universal acceptance.  The Secretary-General, in
consultation with treaty bodies, should consider opening a
dialogue with States not having acceded to these human rights
treaties, in order to identify obstacles and to seek ways of
overcoming them.
 
5.   The World Conference on Human Rights encourages States to
consider limiting the extent of any reservations they lodge to
international human rights instruments, formulate any
reservations as precisely and narrowly as possible, ensure
that none is incompatible with the object and purpose of the
relevant treaty and regularly review any reservations with a
view to withdrawing them.
 
6.   The World Conference on Human Rights, recognizing the
need to maintain consistency with the high quality of existing
international standards and to avoid proliferation of human
rights instruments, reaffirms the guidelines relating to the
elaboration of new international instruments contained in
General Assembly resolution 41/120 of 4 December 1986 and
calls on the United Nations human rights bodies, when
considering the elaboration of new international standards, to
keep those guidelines in mind, to consult with human rights
treaty bodies on the necessity for drafting new standards and
to request the Secretariat to carry out technical reviews of
proposed new instruments.
 
7.   The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that
human rights officers be assigned if and when necessary to
regional offices of the United Nations Organization with the
purpose of disseminating information and offering training and
other technical assistance in the field of human rights upon
the request of concerned Member States.  Human rights training
for international civil servants who are assigned to work
relating to human rights should be organized.  
 
8.   The World Conference on Human Rights welcomes the
convening of emergency sessions of the Commission on Human
Rights as a positive initiative and that other ways of
responding to acute violations of human rights be considered
by the relevant organs of the United Nations system.
 
Resources
 
9.   The World Conference on Human Rights, concerned by the
growing disparity between the activities of the Centre for
Human Rights and the human, financial and other resources
available to carry them out, and bearing in mind the resources
needed for other important United Nations programmes, requests
the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to take
immediate steps to  increase substantially the resources for
the human rights programme from within the existing and future
regular budgets of the United Nations, and to take urgent
steps to seek increased extrabudgetary resources.
 
10.  Within this framework, an increased proportion of the
regular budget should be allocated directly to the Centre for
Human Rights to cover its costs and all other costs borne by
the Centre for Human Rights, including those related to the
United Nations human rights bodies.  Voluntary funding of the
Centre's technical cooperation activities should reinforce
this enhanced budget; the World Conference on Human Rights
calls for generous contributions to the existing trust funds.
 
11.  The World Conference on Human Rights requests the
Secretary-General and the General Assembly to provide
sufficient human, financial and other resources to the Centre
for Human Rights to enable it effectively, efficiently and
expeditiously to carry out its activities.
 
12.  The World Conference on Human Rights, noting the need to
ensure that human and financial resources are available to
carry out the human rights activities, as mandated by
intergovernmental bodies, urges the Secretary-General, in
accordance with Article 101 of the Charter of the United
Nations, and Member States to adopt a coherent approach aimed
at securing that resources commensurate to the increased
mandates are allocated to the Secretariat.  The World
Conference on Human Rights invites the Secretary-General to
consider whether adjustments to procedures in the programme
budget cycle would be necessary or helpful to ensure the
timely and effective implementation of human rights activities
as mandated by Member States.
 
Centre for Human Rights
 
13.  The World Conference on Human Rights stresses the
importance of strengthening the United Nations Centre for
Human Rights.  
 
14.  The Centre for Human Rights should play an important role
in coordinating system-wide attention for human rights.  The 
focal role of the Centre can best be realized if it is enabled
to cooperate fully with other United Nations bodies and
organs.  The coordinating role of the Centre for Human Rights
also implies that the office of the Centre for Human Rights in
New York is strengthened.
 
 
15.  The Centre for Human Rights should be assured adequate
means for the system of thematic and country rapporteurs,
experts, working groups and treaty bodies.  Follow-up on
recommendations should become a priority matter for
consideration by the Commission on Human Rights.  
 
16.  The Centre for Human Rights should assume a larger role
in the promotion of human rights.  This role could be given
shape through cooperation with Member States and by an
enhanced programme of advisory services and technical
assistance.  The existing voluntary funds will have to be
expanded substantially for these purposes and should be
managed in a more efficient and coordinated way.  All
activities should follow strict and transparent project
management rules and regular programme and project evaluations
should be held periodically.  To this end, the results of such
evaluation exercises and other relevant information should be
made available regularly.  The Centre should, in particular,
organize at least once a year information meetings open to all
Member States and organizations directly involved in these
projects and programmes.  
 
Adaptation and strengthening of the United Nations machinery
for human rights, including the question of the establishment
of a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
 
17.  The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes the
necessity for a continuing adaptation of the United Nations
human rights machinery to the current and future needs in the
promotion and protection of human rights, as reflected in the
present Declaration and within the framework of a balanced and
sustainable development for all people.  In particular, the
United Nations human rights organs should improve their
coordination, efficiency and effectiveness.
 
18.  The World Conference on Human Rights recommends to the
General Assembly that when examining the report of the
Conference at its forty-eighth session, it begin, as a matter
of priority, consideration of the question of the
establishment of a High Commissioner for Human Rights for the
promotion and protection of all human rights.
 
                B.  Equality, dignity and tolerance
 
1.  Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms
of intolerance 
 
19.  The World Conference on Human Rights considers the
elimination of racism and racial discrimination, in particular
in their institutionalized forms such as apartheid or
resulting from doctrines of racial superiority or exclusivity
or contemporary forms and manifestations of racism, as a
primary objective for the international community and a
worldwide promotion programme in the field of human rights. 
United Nations organs and agencies should strengthen their
efforts to implement such a programme of action related to the
third decade to combat racism and racial discrimination as
well as subsequent mandates to the same end.  The World
Conference on Human Rights strongly appeals to the
international community to contribute generously to the Trust
Fund for the Programme for the Decade for Action to Combat
Racism and Racial Discrimination.
 
20.  The World Conference on Human Rights urges all
Governments to take immediate measures and to develop strong
policies to prevent and combat all forms and manifestations of
racism, xenophobia or related intolerance, where necessary by
enactment of appropriate legislation, including penal
measures, and by the establishment of national institutions to
combat such phenomena.
 
21.  The World Conference on Human Rights welcomes the
decision of the Commission on Human Rights to appoint a
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.  The World
Conference on Human Rights also appeals to all States parties
to the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination to consider making the
declaration under article 14 of the Convention.
 
22.  The World Conference on Human Rights calls upon all
Governments to take all appropriate measures in compliance
with their international obligations and with due regard to
their respective legal systems to counter intolerance and
related violence based on religion or belief, including
practices of discrimination against women and  including the
desecration of religious sites, recognizing that every
individual has the right to freedom of thought, conscience,
expression and religion.  The Conference alWo invites all
States to put into practice the provisions of the Declaration
on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.
 
23.  The World Conference on Human Rights stresses that all
persons who perpetrate or authorize criminal acts associated
with ethnic cleansing are individually responsible and
accountable for such human rights violations, and that the
international community should exert every effort to bring
those legally responsible for such violations to justice.
 
24.  [he World Conference on Human Rights calls on all States
to take immediate measures, individually and collectively, to
combat the practice of ethnic cleansing to bring it quickly to
an end.  Victims of the abhorrent practice of ethnic cleansing
are entitled to appropriate and effective remedies.
 
2.  Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and
linguistic minorities 
 
25.  The World Conference on Human Rights calls on the
Commission on Human Rights to examine ways and means to
promote and protect effectively the rights of persons
belonging to minorities as set out in the Declaration on the
Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious
and Linguistic Minorities.  In this context, the World
Conference on Human Rights calls upon the Centre for Human
Rights to provide, at the request of Governments concerned and
as part of its programme of advisory services and technical
assistance, qualified expertise on minority issues and human
rights, as well as on the prevention and resolution of
disputes, to assist in existing or potential situations
involving minorities.
 
26.  The World Conference on Human Rights urges States and the
international community to promote and protect the rights of
persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and
linguistic minorities in accordance with the Declaration on
the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic,
Religious and Linguistic Minorities.
 
27.  Measures to be taken, where appropriate, should include
facilitation of their full participation in all aspects of the
political, economic, social, religious and cultural life of
society and in the economic progress and development in their
country. 
 
Indigenous people
 
28.  The World Conference on Human Rights calls on the Working
Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on
Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to
complete the drafting of a declaration on the rights of
indigenous people at its eleventh session.
 
29.  The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that the
Commission on Human Rights consider the renewal and updating
of the mandate of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations
upon completion of the drafting of a declaration on the rights
of indigenous people.
 
30.  The World Conference on Human Rights also recommends that
advisory services and technical assistance programmes within
the United Nations system respond positively to requests by
States for assistance which would be of direct benefit to
indigenous people.  The World Conference on Human Rights
further recommends that adequate human and financial resources
be made available to the Centre for Human Rights within the
overall framework of strengthening the Centre's activities as
envisaged by this document.
 
31.  The World Conference on Human Rights urges States to
ensure the full and free participation of indigenous people in
all aspects of society, in particular in matters of concern to
them. 
 
32.  The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that the
General Assembly proclaim an international decade of the
world's indigenous people, to begin from January 1994,
including action-orientated programmes, to be decided upon in
partnership with indigenous people.  An appropriate voluntary
trust fund should be set up for this purpose.  In the
framework of such a decade, the establishment of a permanent
forum for indigenous people in the United Nations system
should be considered. 
 
Migrant workers
 
33.  The World Conference on Human Rights urges all States to
guarantee the protection of the human rights of all migrant
workers and their families.
 
34.  The World Conference on Human Rights considers that the
creation of conditions to foster greater harmony and tolerance
between migrant workers and the rest of the society of the
State in which they reside is of particular importance.
 
35.  The World Conference on Human Rights invites States to
consider the possibility of signing and ratifying, at the
earliest possible time, the International Convention on the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
 
END OF PART II