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{{Short description|First human rights conference}}
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The '''World Conference on Human Rights''' was held by the [[United Nations]] in [[Vienna]], Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993.<ref name="norchi-87">{{cite book | last=Norchi | first=Charles | chapter=Human Rights: A Global Common Interest | editor=Krasno, Jean E. | title=The United Nations: Confronting the Challenges of a Global Society | publisher=[[Lynne Rienner Publishers]] | year=2004 | isbn=1-58826-280-4 | page=87}}</ref> It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the [[Cold War]]. The main result of the conference was the [[Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action]].
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
⚫
The '''World Conference on Human Rights''' was held by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993.<ref name="norchi-87">{{cite book | last=Norchi | first=Charles | chapter=Human Rights: A Global Common Interest | editor=Krasno, Jean E. | title=The United Nations: Confronting the Challenges of a Global Society | publisher=[[Lynne Rienner Publishers]] | year=2004 | isbn=1-58826-280-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/unitednationscon0000unse/page/87 87] | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/unitednationscon0000unse/page/87 }}</ref> It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the [[Cold War]]. The main result of the conference was the [[Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action]].


==Background==
==Background==
Although the United Nations had long been active in the field of human rights,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/humanrightsun/2008/12/20081278493266190.html | title=Timeline: Human Rights Conventions | publisher=[[Al Jazeera]] | accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> the Vienna conference was only the second global conference to focus exclusively on human rights, with the first having been the [[International Conference on Human Rights]] held in [[Teheran]], [[Iran]], during April–May 1968 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]].<ref name="boyle-79"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/l2ptichr.htm | title=Proclamation of Teheran, Final Act of the International Conference on Human Rights, Teheran, 22 April to 13 May 1968 | publisher=U.N. Doc. A/CONF. 32/41 at 3 (1968) via [[University of Minnesota]] Human Rights Library | accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref>
Although the United Nations had long been active in the field of human rights,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/humanrightsun/2008/12/20081278493266190.html | title=Timeline: Human Rights Conventions | publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]] | access-date=22 March 2009}}</ref> the Vienna conference was only the second global conference to focus exclusively on human rights, with the first having been the [[International Conference on Human Rights]] held in [[Teheran]], [[Iran]], during April–May 1968 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]].<ref name="boyle-79"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/l2ptichr.htm | title=Proclamation of Tehran, Final Act of the International Conference on Human Rights, Teheran, 22 April to 13 May 1968 | publisher=U.N. Doc. A/CONF. 32/41 at 3 (1968) via [[University of Minnesota]] Human Rights Library | access-date=22 March 2009}}</ref>


The Vienna conference came at a time when world conferences were popular, with the [[United Nations Conference on Environment and Development]] having been held in [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil, in June 1992, and the [[International Conference on Population and Development]] in [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]], soon following in September 1994.<ref name="boyle-79"/> More conferences would follow after that, including the [[Commission for Social Development|World Summit for Social Development]] in [[Copenhagen]], Denmark, in March 1995 and the [[Fourth World Conference on Women]] in [[Beijing]], China, in September 1995. Such conferences were seen as a way to promote global participation, consultation, and policy formation, and were seen as a likely significant new way to influence the direction of international society.<ref name="boyle-79"/>
The Vienna conference came at a time when world conferences were popular, with the [[United Nations Conference on Environment and Development]] having been held in [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil, in June 1992, and the [[International Conference on Population and Development]] in [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]], soon following in September 1994.<ref name="boyle-79"/> More conferences would follow after that, including the [[Commission for Social Development|World Summit for Social Development]] in Copenhagen, Denmark, in March 1995 and the [[Fourth World Conference on Women]] in Beijing, China, in September 1995. Such conferences were seen as a way to promote global participation, consultation, and policy formation, and were seen as a likely significant new way to influence the direction of international society.<ref name="boyle-79"/>


The notion of having a world conference on human rights was first proposed in 1989.<ref name="boyle-79"/> The end of the [[Cold War]] brought about the hope that the long stalemate and distortion of United Nations behaviors due to the bipolar superpower confrontation would cease.<ref name="boyle-79"/>
The notion of having a world conference on human rights was first proposed in 1989.<ref name="boyle-79"/> The end of the [[Cold War]] brought about the hope that the long stalemate and distortion of United Nations behaviors due to the bipolar superpower confrontation would cease.<ref name="boyle-79"/>


In the run-up to the 1993 conference, much of the optimism of the 1989 era was lost.<ref name="boyle-80"/> Preparatory conferences were held in [[Geneva]], Switzerland, beginning in 1991, as were a number of regional and satellite meetings.<ref name="norchi-87"/><ref name="boyle-80"/> These struggled to produce new ideas that countries could agree upon,<ref name="nyt042593">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/25/world/a-bleak-assessment-as-rights-meeting-nears.html | title=A Bleak Assessment as Rights Meeting Nears | author=Riding, Alan | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=1993-04-25 | pages=1–11}}</ref> and highlighted differences surrounding the role of state sovereignty, [[non-governmental organizations]] (NGOs), and whether new or strengthened human rights instruments for the UN were feasible and impartial.<ref name="norchi-87"/> The [[United Nations General Assembly]] was eventually forced to decide upon the conference's agenda in 1992.<ref name="norchi-87"/><ref name="boyle-80"/> [[Pierre Sané]], the Secretary General of [[Amnesty International]], was concerned that conference might represent a backwards step for human rights.<ref name="nyt042593"/> He added, "It's not surprising that governments are not overenthusiastic. After all, they are the ones violating human rights."<ref name="nyt042593"/>
In the run-up to the 1993 conference, much of the optimism of the 1989 era was lost.<ref name="boyle-80"/> Preparatory conferences were held in [[Geneva]], Switzerland, beginning in 1991, as were a number of regional and satellite meetings.<ref name="norchi-87"/><ref name="boyle-80"/> These struggled to produce new ideas that countries could agree upon,<ref name="nyt042593">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/25/world/a-bleak-assessment-as-rights-meeting-nears.html | title=A Bleak Assessment as Rights Meeting Nears | author=Riding, Alan | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=25 April 1993 | pages=1–11}}</ref> and highlighted differences surrounding the role of state sovereignty, [[non-governmental organizations]] (NGOs), and whether new or strengthened human rights instruments for the UN were feasible and impartial.<ref name="norchi-87"/> The [[United Nations General Assembly]] was eventually forced to decide upon the conference's agenda in 1992.<ref name="norchi-87"/><ref name="boyle-80"/> [[Pierre Sané]], the Secretary General of [[Amnesty International]], was concerned that conference might represent a backwards step for human rights.<ref name="nyt042593"/> He added, "It's not surprising that governments are not overenthusiastic. After all, they are the ones violating human rights."<ref name="nyt042593"/>


==Conference==
==Conference==
The World Conference on Human Rights was attended by representatives of 171 nations and 800 NGOs, with some 7,000 participants overall.<ref name="boyle-79"/><ref name="norchi-88"/> This made it the largest gathering ever on human rights.<ref name="boyle-79">{{cite book | last=Boyle | first=Kevin | authorlink=Kevin Boyle (lawyer)| chapter=Stock-Taking on Human Rights: The World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna 1993 | editor=Beetham, David | title=Politics and Human Rights | publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] | year=1995 | isbn=0-631-19666-8 | page=79}}</ref> It was organised by Human Rights expert John Pace.
The World Conference on Human Rights was attended by representatives of 171 nations and 800 NGOs, with some 7,000 participants overall.<ref name="boyle-79"/><ref name="norchi-88"/> This made it the largest gathering ever on human rights.<ref name="boyle-79">{{cite book | last=Boyle | first=Kevin | author-link=Kevin Boyle (lawyer) | chapter=Stock-Taking on Human Rights: The World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna 1993 | editor=Beetham, David | title=Politics and Human Rights | publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] | year=1995 | isbn=0-631-19666-8 | page=[https://archive.org/details/politicshumanrig00beet/page/79 79] | chapter-url-access=registration | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/politicshumanrig00beet/page/79 }}</ref> It was organised by Human Rights expert John Pace.


There was much discussion ahead of the conference on what could and could not be said during it. The rules adopted stated that no specific countries or places could be mentioned where human rights abuses were taking place, including those involved in current conflicts such as [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Angola]], and [[Liberia]], and those subject to ongoing human rights criticism, such as China and [[Cuba]].<ref name="nyt061493">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/14/world/a-rights-meeting-but-don-t-mention-the-wronged.html | title=A Rights Meeting, but Don't Mention the Wronged | author=Riding, Alan | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=1993-06-14 | page=A3}}</ref><ref name="boyle-81">Boyle, "Stock-Taking on Human Rights", p. 81.</ref> Instead, human rights abuses were to be discussed in the abstract only; this led ''[[The New York Times]]'' to state that the conference was taking place "In an atmosphere strangely removed from reality."<ref name="nyt061493"/> In particular, that the ongoing [[Bosnian War]] was taking place only an hour's flight from Vienna testified dramatically that no new era of international cooperation had come into place.<ref name="boyle-80">Boyle, "Stock-Taking on Human Rights", p. 80.</ref>
There was much discussion ahead of the conference on what could and could not be said during it. The rules adopted stated that no specific countries or places could be mentioned where human rights abuses were taking place, including those involved in current conflicts such as [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Angola]], and [[Liberia]], and those subject to ongoing human rights criticism, such as China and [[Cuba]].<ref name="nyt061493">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/14/world/a-rights-meeting-but-don-t-mention-the-wronged.html | title=A Rights Meeting, but Don't Mention the Wronged | author=Riding, Alan | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=14 June 1993 | page=A3}}</ref><ref name="boyle-81">Boyle, "Stock-Taking on Human Rights", p. 81.</ref> Instead, human rights abuses were to be discussed in the abstract only; this led ''[[The New York Times]]'' to state that the conference was taking place "In an atmosphere strangely removed from reality."<ref name="nyt061493"/> In particular, that the ongoing [[Bosnian War]] was taking place only an hour's flight from Vienna testified dramatically that no new era of international cooperation had come into place.<ref name="boyle-80">Boyle, "Stock-Taking on Human Rights", p. 80.</ref>


Despite the rules, organizations and demonstrators at the conference's physical site were happy to mention specific ongoing abuses all around the world, with many displaying atrocity photographs in an attempt to out-do each other.<ref name="nyt061693">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/16/world/women-seize-focus-at-rights-forum.html | title=Women Seize Focus at Rights Forum | author=Riding, Alan | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=1993-06-16 | page=A3}}</ref> One person concerned about the [[Polisario Front]] and [[Western Sahara]] situation said, "It's hard to be noticed."<ref name="nyt061693"/>
Despite the rules, organizations and demonstrators at the conference's physical site were happy to mention specific ongoing abuses all around the world, with many displaying atrocity photographs in an attempt to out-do each other.<ref name="nyt061693">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/16/world/women-seize-focus-at-rights-forum.html | title=Women Seize Focus at Rights Forum | author=Riding, Alan | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=16 June 1993 | page=A3}}</ref> One person concerned about the [[Polisario Front]] and [[Western Sahara]] situation said, "It's hard to be noticed."<ref name="nyt061693"/>


The conference did have an expansive view of human rights, with efforts made to highlight [[women's rights]], [[indigenous peoples]]' rights, [[minority rights]], and more in the context of universal political and economic rights.<ref name="nyt061493"/> Women's rights in particular gained a strong and effective presence at the conference.<ref name="nyt061693"/>
The conference did have an expansive view of human rights, with efforts made to highlight [[women's rights]], [[indigenous peoples]]' rights, [[minority rights]], and more in the context of universal political and economic rights.<ref name="nyt061493"/> Women's rights in particular gained a strong and effective presence at the conference.<ref name="nyt061693"/>


One fault line at the conference was Western nations who proclaimed a universal meaning to human rights versus nations who said that human rights needed to be interpreted differently in non-Western cultures and that attempts to impose a universal definition amounted to interference in their internal affairs.<ref name="nyt061493"/><ref name="nyt061593">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/15/world/us-rejects-notion-that-human-rights-vary-with-culture.html | title=U.S. Rejects Notion That Human Rights Vary With Culture | author=Sciolino, Elaine | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=1993-06-15 | page=A1}}</ref> The latter group was led by China, [[Syria]] and [[Iran]], and also included a number of Asian nations such as [[Singapore]], [[Malaysia]], [[Indonesia]], and [[Vietnam]].<ref name="nyt061593"/> On the opening day of the conference, [[U.S. Secretary of State]] [[Warren Christopher]] spoke out strongly against this notion, saying "We cannot let [[cultural relativism]] become the last refuge of repression."<ref name="nyt061593"/>
One fault line at the conference was Western nations who proclaimed a [[moral universalism|universal meaning]] to human rights versus nations who said that human rights needed to be interpreted differently in non-Western cultures and that attempts to impose a universal definition amounted to interference in their internal affairs.<ref name="nyt061493"/><ref name="nyt061593">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/15/world/us-rejects-notion-that-human-rights-vary-with-culture.html | title=U.S. Rejects Notion That Human Rights Vary With Culture | author=Sciolino, Elaine | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=15 June 1993 | page=A1}}</ref> The latter group was led by China, [[Syria]] and [[Iran]], and also included a number of Asian nations such as Singapore, [[Malaysia]], [[Indonesia]], and [[Vietnam]].<ref name="nyt061593"/> On the opening day of the conference, U.S. Secretary of State [[Warren Christopher]] spoke out strongly against this notion, saying "We cannot let [[cultural relativism]] become the last refuge of [[oppression|repression]]."<ref name="nyt061593"/>


Former [[U.S. House of Representatives]] member and [[Vice President of the United States|vice presidential candidate]] [[Geraldine Ferraro]] attended the conference as the alternate U.S. delegate,<ref name="fox-bio">{{cite web | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,34759,00.html | title=Geraldine Ferraro – Bio | publisher=[[Fox News]] | date=2003-09-05 | accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> and was one of the attendees heavily interested in women's rights aspects.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/10/opinion/human-rights-for-women.html | title=Human Rights for Women | author=[[Geraldine Ferraro|Ferraro, Geraldine]] | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=1993-06-10 | page=A27 op-ed}}</ref>
Former [[U.S. House of Representatives]] member and vice presidential candidate [[Geraldine Ferraro]] attended the conference as the alternate U.S. delegate,<ref name="fox-bio">{{cite web | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,34759,00.html | title=Geraldine Ferraro – Bio | publisher=[[Fox News Channel]] | date=5 September 2003 | access-date=22 March 2009}}</ref> and was one of the attendees heavily interested in women's rights aspects.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/10/opinion/human-rights-for-women.html | title=Human Rights for Women | author=Ferraro, Geraldine | author-link=Geraldine Ferraro | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=10 June 1993 | page=A27 op-ed}}</ref>


In spite of pressures from the [[People's Republic of China]],<ref>[http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/f9e14159ae1b90f8c125690a005ab864?Opendocument Lettre datée du 24 juin 1993, adressée au Président de la Conférence mondiale sur les droits de l'homme par le Chef adjoint de la délégation chinoise]</ref> the [[14th Dalai Lama]] was able to give a talk at the conference on [[human responsibilities]].<ref>[[Pierre-Antoine Donnet]], ''Tibet mort ou vif'', Édition Gallimard, 1990 ; Nouv. éd. augmentée 1993, ISBN 2-07-032802-3 (''Tibet: Survival in Question'', traduction Tica Broch, Oxford/Zed Books, 1994, ISBN 0-19-563573-6, ISBN 1-85649-130-7, ISBN 1-85649-129-3)</ref><ref>[http://www.freetibet.org/about/dalai5 A speech given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, Austria, June 1993.]</ref>
In spite of pressures from the People's Republic of China,<ref>[http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/f9e14159ae1b90f8c125690a005ab864?Opendocument Lettre datée du 24 juin 1993, adressée au Président de la Conférence mondiale sur les droits de l'homme par le Chef adjoint de la délégation chinoise]</ref> the [[14th Dalai Lama]] was able to give a talk at the conference on [[human responsibilities]].<ref>[[Pierre-Antoine Donnet]], ''Tibet mort ou vif'', Édition Gallimard, 1990 ; Nouv. éd. augmentée 1993, {{ISBN|2-07-032802-3}} (''Tibet: Survival in Question'', traduction Tica Broch, Oxford/Zed Books, 1994, {{ISBN|0-19-563573-6}}, {{ISBN|1-85649-130-7}}, {{ISBN|1-85649-129-3}})</ref><ref>[http://www.freetibet.org/about/dalai5 A speech given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, Austria, June 1993.]</ref>


==Results==
==Results==
{{Main|Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action}}
{{Main|Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action}}
The key result of the World Conference on Human Rights was the [[Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action]], which was formulated late in the meeting<ref name="boyle-81"/> and was adopted by consensus of 171 states on 25 June 1993.<ref name="norchi-87"/> While one possible interpretation sees this document as a "well crafted but empty exhortation", it did come to represent as much of a consensus as could be found on human rights in the early 1990s.<ref name="boyle-81"/> And it did in fact set new marks in human rights work in several areas. It established the interdependence of democracy, economic development, and human rights.<ref name="norchi-87"/> Specifically, it replaced the Cold War division of Civil and Political Rights (CPR) apart from Economic Social and Cultural rights (ESCR) with the concept of rights being indivisible (you cannot take one type of rights without the other), interdependent (one set of rights needs the other to be realised), and inter-related (that all human rights relate to each other).<ref>[[Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action]], Part I, para 5</ref> It called for the creation of instruments to publicize and protect the rights of women, children, and indigenous peoples.<ref name="norchi-87"/> It requested more funding for the [[United Nations Center for Human Rights]].<ref name="norchi-88">Norchi, "Human Rights: A Global Common Interest", p. 88.</ref> Most significantly, it called for a new office, the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]].<ref name="norchi-88"/>
The key result of the World Conference on Human Rights was the [[Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action]], which was formulated late in the meeting<ref name="boyle-81"/> and was adopted by consensus of 171 states on 25 June 1993.<ref name="norchi-87"/> While one possible interpretation sees this document as a "well crafted but empty exhortation", it did come to represent as much of a consensus as could be found on human rights in the early 1990s.<ref name="boyle-81"/> And it did in fact set new marks in human rights work in several areas. It established the interdependence of democracy, economic development, and human rights.<ref name="norchi-87"/> Specifically, it replaced the Cold War division of Civil and Political Rights (CPR) apart from Economic Social and Cultural rights (ESCR) with the concept of rights being indivisible (one cannot take one type of rights without the other), interdependent (one set of rights needs the other to be realised), and inter-related (that all human rights relate to each other).<ref>[[Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action]], Part I, para 5</ref> It called for the creation of instruments to publicize and protect the rights of women, children, and indigenous peoples.<ref name="norchi-87"/> It requested more funding for the [[United Nations Center for Human Rights]].<ref name="norchi-88">Norchi, "Human Rights: A Global Common Interest", p. 88.</ref> Most significantly, it called for a new office, the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]].<ref name="norchi-88"/>


The [[United Nations General Assembly]] subsequently endorsed the declaration as part of Resolution 48/121.<ref name="norchi-87"/> It also created the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 20 December 1993.
The [[United Nations General Assembly]] subsequently endorsed the declaration as part of Resolution 48/121.<ref name="norchi-87"/> It also created the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 20 December 1993.


By the early 2000s, all of the explicit establishments recommended by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action had been met in full or in part.<ref name="norchi-88"/> The conference also highlighted the importance that NGOs would continue to play in the human rights infrastructure.<ref name="norchi-88"/><ref name="boyle-81"/>
By the early 2000s, all of the explicit establishments recommended by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action had been met in full or in part.<ref name="norchi-88"/> The conference also highlighted the importance that NGOs would continue to play in the human rights infrastructure.<ref name="norchi-88"/><ref name="boyle-81"/>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ABOUTUS/Pages/ViennaWC.aspx World Conference on Human Rights] at United Nations website
* [http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ABOUTUS/Pages/ViennaWC.aspx World Conference on Human Rights] at United Nations website
{{Authority control}}
* [http://www.freetibet.org/about/dalai5 A speech given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, Austria, June 1993.]


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Latest revision as of 01:21, 10 November 2023

The World Conference on Human Rights was held by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993.[1] It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War. The main result of the conference was the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

Background

[edit]

Although the United Nations had long been active in the field of human rights,[2] the Vienna conference was only the second global conference to focus exclusively on human rights, with the first having been the International Conference on Human Rights held in Teheran, Iran, during April–May 1968 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[3][4]

The Vienna conference came at a time when world conferences were popular, with the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development having been held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992, and the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt, soon following in September 1994.[3] More conferences would follow after that, including the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, Denmark, in March 1995 and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, in September 1995. Such conferences were seen as a way to promote global participation, consultation, and policy formation, and were seen as a likely significant new way to influence the direction of international society.[3]

The notion of having a world conference on human rights was first proposed in 1989.[3] The end of the Cold War brought about the hope that the long stalemate and distortion of United Nations behaviors due to the bipolar superpower confrontation would cease.[3]

In the run-up to the 1993 conference, much of the optimism of the 1989 era was lost.[5] Preparatory conferences were held in Geneva, Switzerland, beginning in 1991, as were a number of regional and satellite meetings.[1][5] These struggled to produce new ideas that countries could agree upon,[6] and highlighted differences surrounding the role of state sovereignty, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and whether new or strengthened human rights instruments for the UN were feasible and impartial.[1] The United Nations General Assembly was eventually forced to decide upon the conference's agenda in 1992.[1][5] Pierre Sané, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, was concerned that conference might represent a backwards step for human rights.[6] He added, "It's not surprising that governments are not overenthusiastic. After all, they are the ones violating human rights."[6]

Conference

[edit]

The World Conference on Human Rights was attended by representatives of 171 nations and 800 NGOs, with some 7,000 participants overall.[3][7] This made it the largest gathering ever on human rights.[3] It was organised by Human Rights expert John Pace.

There was much discussion ahead of the conference on what could and could not be said during it. The rules adopted stated that no specific countries or places could be mentioned where human rights abuses were taking place, including those involved in current conflicts such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angola, and Liberia, and those subject to ongoing human rights criticism, such as China and Cuba.[8][9] Instead, human rights abuses were to be discussed in the abstract only; this led The New York Times to state that the conference was taking place "In an atmosphere strangely removed from reality."[8] In particular, that the ongoing Bosnian War was taking place only an hour's flight from Vienna testified dramatically that no new era of international cooperation had come into place.[5]

Despite the rules, organizations and demonstrators at the conference's physical site were happy to mention specific ongoing abuses all around the world, with many displaying atrocity photographs in an attempt to out-do each other.[10] One person concerned about the Polisario Front and Western Sahara situation said, "It's hard to be noticed."[10]

The conference did have an expansive view of human rights, with efforts made to highlight women's rights, indigenous peoples' rights, minority rights, and more in the context of universal political and economic rights.[8] Women's rights in particular gained a strong and effective presence at the conference.[10]

One fault line at the conference was Western nations who proclaimed a universal meaning to human rights versus nations who said that human rights needed to be interpreted differently in non-Western cultures and that attempts to impose a universal definition amounted to interference in their internal affairs.[8][11] The latter group was led by China, Syria and Iran, and also included a number of Asian nations such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.[11] On the opening day of the conference, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher spoke out strongly against this notion, saying "We cannot let cultural relativism become the last refuge of repression."[11]

Former U.S. House of Representatives member and vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro attended the conference as the alternate U.S. delegate,[12] and was one of the attendees heavily interested in women's rights aspects.[13]

In spite of pressures from the People's Republic of China,[14] the 14th Dalai Lama was able to give a talk at the conference on human responsibilities.[15][16]

Results

[edit]
Main article: Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

The key result of the World Conference on Human Rights was the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which was formulated late in the meeting[9] and was adopted by consensus of 171 states on 25 June 1993.[1] While one possible interpretation sees this document as a "well crafted but empty exhortation", it did come to represent as much of a consensus as could be found on human rights in the early 1990s.[9] And it did in fact set new marks in human rights work in several areas. It established the interdependence of democracy, economic development, and human rights.[1] Specifically, it replaced the Cold War division of Civil and Political Rights (CPR) apart from Economic Social and Cultural rights (ESCR) with the concept of rights being indivisible (one cannot take one type of rights without the other), interdependent (one set of rights needs the other to be realised), and inter-related (that all human rights relate to each other).[17] It called for the creation of instruments to publicize and protect the rights of women, children, and indigenous peoples.[1] It requested more funding for the United Nations Center for Human Rights.[7] Most significantly, it called for a new office, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.[7]

The United Nations General Assembly subsequently endorsed the declaration as part of Resolution 48/121.[1] It also created the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 20 December 1993.

By the early 2000s, all of the explicit establishments recommended by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action had been met in full or in part.[7] The conference also highlighted the importance that NGOs would continue to play in the human rights infrastructure.[7][9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Norchi, Charles (2004). "Human Rights: A Global Common Interest". In Krasno, Jean E. (ed.). The United Nations: Confronting the Challenges of a Global Society. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 87. ISBN 1-58826-280-4.
  2. ^ "Timeline: Human Rights Conventions". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Boyle, Kevin (1995). "Stock-Taking on Human Rights: The World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna 1993". In Beetham, David (ed.). Politics and Human Rights. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 79. ISBN 0-631-19666-8.
  4. ^ "Proclamation of Tehran, Final Act of the International Conference on Human Rights, Teheran, 22 April to 13 May 1968". U.N. Doc. A/CONF. 32/41 at 3 (1968) via University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d Boyle, "Stock-Taking on Human Rights", p. 80.
  6. ^ a b c Riding, Alan (25 April 1993). "A Bleak Assessment as Rights Meeting Nears". The New York Times. pp. 1–11.
  7. ^ a b c d e Norchi, "Human Rights: A Global Common Interest", p. 88.
  8. ^ a b c d Riding, Alan (14 June 1993). "A Rights Meeting, but Don't Mention the Wronged". The New York Times. p. A3.
  9. ^ a b c d Boyle, "Stock-Taking on Human Rights", p. 81.
  10. ^ a b c Riding, Alan (16 June 1993). "Women Seize Focus at Rights Forum". The New York Times. p. A3.
  11. ^ a b c Sciolino, Elaine (15 June 1993). "U.S. Rejects Notion That Human Rights Vary With Culture". The New York Times. p. A1.
  12. ^ "Geraldine Ferraro – Bio". Fox News Channel. 5 September 2003. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  13. ^ Ferraro, Geraldine (10 June 1993). "Human Rights for Women". The New York Times. p. A27 op-ed.
  14. ^ Lettre datée du 24 juin 1993, adressée au Président de la Conférence mondiale sur les droits de l'homme par le Chef adjoint de la délégation chinoise
  15. ^ Pierre-Antoine Donnet, Tibet mort ou vif, Édition Gallimard, 1990 ; Nouv. éd. augmentée 1993, ISBN 2-07-032802-3 (Tibet: Survival in Question, traduction Tica Broch, Oxford/Zed Books, 1994, ISBN 0-19-563573-6, ISBN 1-85649-130-7, ISBN 1-85649-129-3)
  16. ^ A speech given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, Austria, June 1993.
  17. ^ Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Part I, para 5
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