Welcome speeches

The CIFEDHOP’s 7th international training session on UPR was sponsored by the swiss Department of Foreign Affairs and the Republic and Canton of Geneva. This event took place at the Maison des Associations and the United Nations Office from october 24th to the 30th 2012.
The inauguration of this event was held under the auspices of Mr. Guy-Olivier Segond, chairman of the CIFEDHOP’s Governing Board, Mr. Olivier Courteau, Geneva International representative and Mrs Monique Prindezis, Director of the CIFEDHOP.

The 29 participants were closely linked to the world of education and NGOs as well. They came from across 20 countries : Algeria, Burkina Faso, China, Colombia, Denmark, Eritrea, France, Irak, Iran, Liberia, Macedonia, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Romania, Ukraine, Senegal, Switzerland, Yemen and Zambia. This training session lasted 35 hours and was held in french and English.

UPR : from 1st to 2nd cycle

UPR 2nd cycle raises some issues, especially for the NGOs who have become well aware of it’s dynamic process. What is at stake now is to benefit from this experience in order to make the more efficient possible interventions on the ground despite the lack of clarity and continuity sometimes and the potential power struggle that may oppose the States to the civil society and the NGOs. Notwithstanding these impedimenta and the limitations of the UPR process itself, the latter still remain a very usefull tool and a mean of applying pressure before the States and governments who are called for engagement to respect and promote human rights on the national level and internationally as well. How therefore can the NGOs and civil society prepare themselves for the 2nd cycle at the national level where the main impacts are expected? In order to achieve such a goal, the member States have to overcome the basic dialogue in betwee them and switch to a strong commitment on the ground where the promotion and the defending of human rights are at stake. This being said, it will remain difficult however in a number of cases to assess States commitment’s to concrete results due to their unfulfilled and/or non-measurable promises. This is why it is important as far as the NGOs are concerned to evaluate as precisely as possible the progress if any that has been made and to take to most efficient and effective measures of the hurdles to overcome for the implementation of the UPR’s recommandations. Even is one has to call for other UN conventional mechanisms to reinforce action on the field and call for possible legal steps at the international level.

Awareness and mobilization of the civil society

UPR Info : the recommandations related to human rights international instruments, women and children as well are the most often implemented. This can be explained by the fact that those three catagories are not seen as controversial by the States. On the other part, it is highly recommended that the States start to submit half-way reports on a voluntary basis. It’s in this perspective that UPR Info has set up a recommandations follow-up program in order to encourage the Member States to develop by themself surveillance mechanisms. This approach is expected to extend among countries where the civil society in influent and well organised.

The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) is an international non governemental organization which aims to support and facilitate the work of human rights advocates within the United Nations human rights system and regional human rights systems as well.

According to the ISHR, human rights promotion and advocacy strategies should be initially be developed on a domestic level – focal point of the civil society. It ought to be the same as well when time comes to prepare the NGOs report on UPR. A dynamic based upon consultations allows the making of a critical mass that could influence the process of decision-making, raise the medias’ attention and public awareness in case of a State refusal to take into account the recommandations that were brought to its attention in the frame of the UPR.

National coalition experience : Zambia

The zambian experience with Mrs Judith Mulenga, Executive Director, Zambia Civic Education Association - ZCEA (http://www.zamcivic.com.zm/).
Set up un 1993, the ZCEA aims to promote and advocate children’s rights. This NGO intervenes against violation of those rights, campaigns for their reinforcement through law and consistent policies and aims to unify all initiatives in this area. In Zambia, studies and reports on children’s rights are the result of a close cooperation between relevant NGOs. Such an approach makes it possible to avoid isolation and gives more weight and credibility to political and administratives forces in the country. Moreover, this strategic choice enables, at least in part, to overcome organisations’ financing difficulties, problems of disseminating information and the rather low level of mobilization from the civil society. The ZCEA’s participation to the UPR process in the country has contributed to favor, as soon as 2008, a certain number of issues such as a legislative review in the field of children’s rights, an implementation of a youth national policy, a better awareness among the professionnel staff concerning the situation of the children’s rights, a reviewing of a birth registry and a budget increase for various programs dedicated to childhood. Four years later, the civil society stakeholders are still pursuing the same objectives and work to report on the following priorities : the right of children to education, health and participation and children protection throughout justice and against violence. This in-depht study was broadly disseminated around the country and in the ambassies and medias as well.

National coalition experience : Switzerlan

The swiss example, with Mr. Selim Neffah, Centre de conseils et d’appui pour les jeunes en matière de droits de l’homme (CODAP) (http://codap.ifaway.net/) and Swiss NGO Coalition for the UPR (http://www.humanrights.ch/upload/pdf/120423_Swiss_NGO-UPR_Final_Report_Web.pdf) CODAP is a resource center set up in Geneva in 1986. Its aims to enhance youth’s commitment towards fundamental rights, the disadvantaged young people and a healthy and ecologically balanced environment.

The Swiss NGO Coalition for the UPR was created in 2007. Two working papers were released in 2008 and 2012. The composition of those two documents reflects the same working dynamic : one day’s discussion between NGOs, each member writes a ten lines paragraph according to his own competences, a data’s compiling by the steering group, members consultation and broadcasting before the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the mass media and a wide human rights network. In addition to these two publications, il should be noted the relations with the swiss state representatives. In 2008, let us point out, amongst others, a day’s consultation and a more formal meeting following the adoption of the working group report by the troïka. What can we learn from this ? What lessons can be drawn ? On one side, an open working relation, constructive, with the state’s reprentatives. On the other side, one must take into accocunt the lack of time and resources, the difficulty to share a common vision and a lack of political will in the implementation of human rights.

Workshops session 2012

Fri 2013/03/02
The workshops are meant to help the participants to take into account helpful knowledge and strategies when time comes to integrate the UPR process. The participants were asked to use flip charts to present snapshots of the human rights situation in their countries. Such a crossfonctional exercice highlights the main national actors who are more or less closed to the participants.
UPR’s 2nd cycle gives the opportunty to extend and deepen mobilization through actions which were already initiated during the 1st cycle and to develop functional links and eventual alliances with i) other NGOs (under thematic and/or national coalitions, for instance) and IGOs - if possible - by taking into account political consensus if ever, financial facilities and logistical resources; ii) press bodies across various platforms; iii) interested researchers; iv) diplomats open to exchange and v) public administration as well.
Throughout the workshops, the participants were also invited to identify priorities in their UPR approach as a political process. In addition, one must take into consideration a) opposing contexts (for instance - at an institutional level - suspicion from some authorities against civil society and also - socio-culturally speaking - the lack of knowlede on human rights; b) favourable contexts such as a will to promote human rights education and training that throws all it’s weight on the overall dynamic of the UPR process. Finally, it is a very usefull exercice to set up priorities and to evaluate i) strategic choices, ii) what is at stake, iii) the effectiveness and iv) credibility of the work that has been done.

Awareness and mobilization of the civil society – interventions day 2
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Awareness and Training : the Diplomacy

« Awareness and Training : the Diplomacy » by Mrs Clarisse Merindol-Ouoba, legal advisor, Burkina Faso’s embassy, Switzerland.  http://www.ambaburkinafaso-ch.org/spip.php?article9

The permanent mission is in charge of the bilateral cooperation before the embassies and the mutilateral cooperation when the United Nations system, in Geneva, is concerned. Yet one can regret that the civil society is not recognized as it should within national relations, in particular in the field of human rights where it plays a crucial role however. If, within the UPR, the civil society maintains trustworthy relationships with the States, it is not always the case with the diplomatic missions. Within the framework of bilateral cooperation the common issues are related to the humanitarian domain such as clean water and maternal health. By contrast, on the multilateral cooperation level, Burkina Faso has relationships with many IGOs, notably the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Council of which the country has been a member since 2008. These relations have enabled us to become receptive to civil society in a quest for common interests without soul-searching keeping in mind that the States defend at first their own interests. Our relations with the civil society remain limited although its contribution to UPR is of paramount importance. However, Burkina Faso nurtures moderated relationships with other States and usually abstain itself from voting. This attitude could mainly be explained by the fact that as a developing country it is far from being easy to gather sufficient information in order to take an informed decision. However, resolutions related to particular thematic (rights of handicapped people, maternal mortality) are most of the time adopted by consensus.