James Rawley to YT Human development and human rights are mutually re-enforcing and that they expand capabilities by protecting rights [Archives:2000/50/Interview]

On Saturday, December 9 the world celebrated the 52nd anniversary of the Universal Deceleration of Human Rights. During this time some countries have made a big leap in terms of abiding by the content of this declaration but some other countries are still crawling and some failed to put an end to aggression against its people.
This question of human rights has now become the talk of the time; people and governments are making a big fuss about it. In Yemen, this issue has made a quite good progress since 1990. However, violations are still taking place everywhere in the country. There is a long way for us to go to assimilate this concept which is still for many people alien and exotic.
To spotlight this issue and see the situation of human rights in the world and Yemen in particular, Mohammed Hatem Al-Qadhi of Yemen Times met Mr. James Rawley, Resident Coordinator of the UN Systems Operational Activities for Development and UNDP Resident Representative in Yemen and filed the following interview.
Excerpts.
Q: Could you please tell us a bit about the progress made internationally on human rights issues and their challenges?
A: Let me say first that it is quite understandable for the Yemen Times to follow such a topic taking into account that its late editor Dr. al-Saqqaf was such an important leader in this field in Yemen.
We all know that human rights have been an integral and key part of the mission of the UN as reflected in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, during the period of the Cold War there were two competing visions between those who expounded, on the one hand, civil and political rights and those who focused on social and economic rights. Indeed, just a few years ago the language of human rights was unwelcome in the work of development. Human rights was regarded as something political, provocative and contentious. Today, however, the situation has changed. In recent years there has been a revolution in the discourse on development. The right to development has been affirmed by states, large and small, in the North and South, in the developed and developing world. Indeed, virtually every international development agency, bilateral and multilateral, along with leading non-governmental organizations have now committed themselves to integrate human rights into its development work. A new dialogue is taking place between development and human rights experts. Their work has recognized that human development and human rights are mutually re-enforcing and that they expand capabilities by protecting rights. This dialogue has contributed to the development of people centered sustainable development. Today, it is widely recognized that the path of human dignity runs not through imposed technocratic solutions or imported foreign models or assumed trade off between development and rights. Health, education, housing, fair justice and free political participation are not matters for charity but rather matters of right. That is what is meant by Rights-based Approach. This refers to a participatory, empowering, accountable and nondiscriminatory development paradigm that is based on universal, inalienable human rights and freedoms. Great progress was made in human rights in the 20th century, but there is still very long, unfinished agenda. The goal of the 21st century must be that of achieving all human rights, civil, cultural, economic, political and social-for all people.
In short, the goal must be to transform the bold vision set forth in the Universal Decoration of Human Rights, that was signed 52 years ago into a reality. Such a task will require progress on at least seven important fronts.
The first of these relates to eradicating poverty. This must be pursued for the simple reason that a decent standard of living, adequate health and education are not just development goals, they are also basic human rights. Second, democracy must be pursued and become more inclusive, as well as providing separation of powers and ensuring public accountability. Multi-party elections are not enough. Separation of powers must take place, and independent judiciaries must be functioning for they are required for inclusive democracy. It is also very important that society be open and free and that independent free media be present. Related also to inclusive democracy is transparency in policy making. Policy making behind closed doors is a violation of the right to political participation and often ensures the non-sustainability of the decisions taken.
Third, every country needs to strengthen its social arrangements that promote Human Rights. These refer to the societys norms, institutions, legal frameworks and economic environment. Community, religious and business leaders and parents all have an important role in building norms, in upholding the values of respect for human dignity, freedom and equality. Besides, they have rights and duties in this regard. Institutions also have to be strengthened. This refers to schools, health centers, courts that function as well as independent national commissions for human rights and parliamentary human rights parties. Social arrangements also refer to legal recognition and enforcement where legal reforms give people greater access to legal processes with a removal of institutional barriers. In terms of an enabling economic environment, we refer not only to a growing economy which is required in order for a country to have the resources to invest in improving human development and human rights, but also an economy that is pro-poor and pro-rights.
Fourth, for human rights to be fully achieved in the 21st century there needs to be improvement in terms of global justice. The state centered model of accountability must be extended to the obligation of non-state actors and to the states obligations beyond its national borders.
Fifth, information and statistics need to be better collected in order to create a cultural ability and for realizing human rights.
Sixth, for human rights to become universal in the 21st century there must be greater commitment from the major groups in society. Here I refer not only to national governments but also to NGOs, media, businesses, parliamentarians and other opinion leaders. Concrete tasks need to be undertaken, for example, the preparation of national assessments on human rights situation and the reviewing of national legislation to identify areas where action is needed to address gaps and contradictions. And finally, for human rights to become a reality for all, there needs to be greater collaboration and solidarity from the international community, particularly in support of disadvantaged people and countries.
Q: What is Yemens state of play on human rights?
A: Although I am not an expert on Yemen nor on Islam. I understand that there is nothing in Islam that is inconsistent with human rights. Indeed I understand that the Prophet Mohammed who said in his famous Hadith that People are equal as a teeth of a comb. There is no distinction between an Arab and a non-Arab, a black and white… I also understand that the Fair Caliphate Omar is known for a famous saying namely Why enslave people when they are born free. which resonates with the first statement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Also the concept of human rights can be tracked to the pre-Islamic times when the Queen of Sheba who is mentioned in the Quran for her consultative and participatory rule. Here again is another example of human rights concepts that have deep roots in the culture of Yemen.
Yemen has recorded a number of significant achievements in the human rights fields in the recent years.
First, Yemen is a signatory to virtually all the international human rights instruments. Here I refer, for example, to the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, the Intentional Covenant of Social, Cultural and Economic Rights, CEDAW and many other ones including those relating to children.
Second, Yemen has established the Supreme National Council for Human Rights and has a Committee for Rights & Freedoms functioning in the Consultative Council. On another front, recently Yemen has established a womens police force, and prisons have been opened for human rights investigations by international parties such as Amnesty International and the ICRC. It also worth noting that Yemen has participated in all the global UN Conferences that took place in the last decade, and has voiced its commitment to implement their recommendations. Yemen has also carried out two parliamentary elections in 1993, 1997 and a presidential election in 1999.
Yemen is a country where human rights issues can be discussed in the media and in workshops. For instance, I attended a workshop two weeks ago where we celebrated on the 52nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with senior government officials as well as representatives of NGOs and the media. It is also worth noting that in recent years Yemen has seen the development of a number of local human rights NGOs. Also, and this is very important, theres been a shift in the Governments planning process to more fully embrace poverty reduction as the over-riding goal for its development efforts. This is very important since, as I mentioned before, that poverty reduction is a key goal that needs to be pursued for human rights to be fully realized. Finally, I would like to mention the interest of the Yemeni government in continuing to strengthen its capacity in the human rights field both in terms of the government officials as well as civil society representatives. In this regard, I would like to make special reference to a workshop that is scheduled to take place in February of the coming year.
Of course, it needs to be said that Yemen, like other countries, still faces considerable challenges and obstacles to overcome. The first of these perhaps is poverty. The high level of human poverty and low level of human development are clear evidence that more effective plans, strategies and resources need to be employed in order to make significant in-roads in reducing poverty, and thereby improving human rights. Second, as in the case of other countries, there still exists a significant degree of discrimination in Yemen in terms of access to basic social and legal services. This discrimination has a significant gender dimension, and applied to much of Yemens Rural Population, given its dispersed nature. Another area where improvement needs to be recorded relates to reporting on the implementation of human rights instruments and follow up to conferences. Of course, like other countries an important area that requires considerable attention and that will undoubtedly take many years of hard work relates to the justice sector. Here, I refer to the judicial branch of the government as well as the police and to civil society organizations working in the justice sector. Reforming and strengthening these and other related areas is very important in order that more transparent and effective institutions and laws are put into place. This is essential for Yemens democratic process as well as to create an environment that is more conducive for investment by Yemenis as well as by international investors. Finally, Yemens democratic process needs to continue to move forward and this, of course, relates to holding elections and further improving the multi-party system in this country.
Q: What is the UN system doing to help Yemen enforce human rights issues?
A: First of all, there has been an increasing attention in all our work to human rights. A very specific example is the ongoing UN Country Common Assessment process. This assessment is looking at Yemens development situation from a human development and human rights perspectives. Very interestingly, this is an exercise that is not only involving colleagues from the UN system but also from government, civil society (including NGOs) and the media. Second, I would like to mention that our work in terms of helping the government to draw poverty eradication plans and strategies is of great importance.
Third, all UN agencies in Yemen-FAO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and WHO-are working at the community level to better the lives of some of Yemens most impoverished people. Finally, the UN is making great efforts to train our staff in the Rights-based Approach to development so that we become more professional in this area.
Q: Talking about Yemen, is it enough to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of human rights, at a time we see lots of violations taking place on the ground, journalists are harassed and newspapers brought to trial..etc?
A: I think the 52nd anniversary is a time for celebration in all countries as well as a time for reflection. I dont think there is any country in the world today that can say it has completely implemented all the provisions of the vision that was set forth by the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Every country in the world has fallen short of the vision and I think it depends upon all of us today, whether we are occupying positions in government, international organizations or civil society, to not only to measure the achievements but also to reflect upon the gap between the vision of the Declaration and reality, and to identify concrete steps to bridge this gap.
Q: You said that you are cooperating with the National Committee for Human Rights which is a governmental organization. Is the UNDP or UN working with NGOs that are working on human rights?
A: Yes, we are. Our approach on human rights is an approach of engagement. Of course, being an inter-governmental organization our client is government. Having said that, since human rights and human development require a broad coalition of actors, we work very openly with all segment of Yemeni society. In this respect, I must say that Government of Yemen has been very supportive in terms of encouraging the UN to work with a wide variety of actors from civil society, the media, NGOs etc. And we plan to continue to contribute to building coalitions among civil society, Yemeni government and international community in order to advance in terms of human rights.
Q: You mentioned that poverty is a major challenge facing Yemen. What is the role of UN to help alleviate poverty?
A: Our role is on several different fronts. One is related to measuring poverty which means setting up statistical systems that would allow us to answer such fundamental questions such as is poverty increasing, staying the same or decreasing? In building upon this statistical system, to allow not only the government but also the international community and civil society to monitor progress, evaluate programs and to be engaged in planning the use of scarce resources in the most effective possible way in order to have the biggest possible impact on reducing poverty. A second level relates to helping the government with the participation of civil society to articulate development plans, strategies and programs that have as their key objective the reduction of poverty. Third, as I mentioned before, the UN System as a whole is now embracing poverty reduction as its primary objective, and a concrete example of this is the ongoing Country Common Assessment.
Q: You gave a good account of the achievements and advantages Yemen has made in the field of human rights. Does this mean that you are satisfied with the state of human rights in the country?
A: I am not satisfied with the state of human rights in any country. As I said before, all countries of the world – and I include all countries because there are some countries that have considerable resources where the gap between the reality and the form of human rights is still significant – need to make progress in this area. Entering the 21st century is an excellent opportunity to reflect on this gap and for all countries – in a very participatory open way – to articulate plans, programs and concrete measures to reduce this gap.
Q: Media is one of the most instrumental means to inform the people about human rights. Does the UNDP target this means in its programs?
A: I think you mentioned an extremely important point! The media has a crucial role in the development process in terms of advancing human development and human rights. Your newspaper, YT, has played a played an extremely important role in this pioneering area in the past and I am sure it will continue to do so in the future. We look forward to working very closely with the media in this area.
Q: Any last word?
A: I would like to finish by thanking you and YT for this opportunity and I look forward to having other chances to work with the media on such important subjects as human rights.


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