Annual Report of the University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights

Transcription

1 University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR) Annual Report of the University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights Reporting Period from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012 Steering Committee of the Competence Center for Human Rights: Prof. Dr. Christine Kaufmann (President) Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Wehrli (Vice-President) Prof. Dr. Regina Kiener Prof. Dr. Peter Schaber Prof. Dr. Francis Cheneval Prof. Dr. Ulrike Müller-Böker Dr. Hans-Peter Burkhard (advisory member)

2 Table of Content Table of Content Annual Report Overview 3 2 Public Events Event Series Other Events 5 3 Other Activities th Annual Summer Institute in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Seminar on «Child Rights and the Business Sector» AHRI Annual Conference Participation in the first UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 7 4 Publications 7 5 Research Projects 8 6 Membership 8 7 Outlook 9 Seite 2 Universität Zürich, University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR), Mai 2013

3 Overview Annual Report Overview The University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR) is a scientific network with the goal of fostering and coordinating research, teachings and knowledge transfer in the field of human rights and was founded in March By pooling existing competencies the Center helps to further develop current knowledge through the promotion of inter-disciplinary and inter-faculty research and serves as a knowledge transfer platform for the business sector and civil society. The UZHR participates in several research projects and regularly organizes public events to provide a stimulating platform for the exchange and the transfer of knowledge with the interested public. The presently 50 members are academics working in the associated institutes of the University of Zurich as well as other Swiss universities who are actively researching human rights or addressing human rights issues in their teaching and have a proven performance record in the field of human rights. All faculties of the University of Zurich with the exception of the Vetsuisse faculty are represented through our members. This allows us to bring together different perspectives and promotes the active collaboration and exchange between the scientists involved. The UZHR is responsible for the Human Rights and Business Cluster in the Swiss Center of Expertise in Human Rights (SCHR) network. The Human Rights and Business cluster focuses on supporting organizations in the implementation of human rights standards, this includes federal authorities, cantons, municipalities and private enterprises. The specific services required will be defined in mandates; they may consist of consultation services regarding internal procedures, the analysis and translation of international requirements for a specific corporate context, continuing education and scientific studies. This further includes documentation and evaluation of the implementation practices, development of application-oriented studies relevant to the professionals in the field, offers for continuing education and the corresponding inter-disciplinary research and teaching. This mandate offers the opportunity of making the work of the UZHR known to the wider public as well as to various important stakeholders (Confederation, cantons, municipalities, private enterprises and NGOs) and to establish the UZHR as a service provider that can offer assistance to practitioners with the processed results of its research in the human rights field. In the spring of 2012 the university management also acknowledged the important contribution to research and the great potential for development when it accredited the UZHR as a competence center of the University of Zurich for three additional years. 2 Public Events 2.1 Event Series In 2012, as in the previous years, the UZHR organized two public, inter-disciplinary event series on current human rights issues at the University of Zurich targeted at students and the wider public. The Seite 3 Universität Zürich, University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR), Mai 2013

4 Public Events evening events were well attended and sometimes also attracted representatives from political life, the private sector and civil society. Subsequent to the input lectures of the speakers the audience had the opportunity to ask questions and add comments, which often led to lively discussions. Especially, the events on privacy and data security in social networks as well as the lecture on OECD grievance mechanisms for victims of human rights infringements by corporations attracted a large audience. Event series: Human Rights in the Digital Age In the spring term of 2012 the forth public and inter-disciplinary event series of the UZHR primarily covered the following topics: Privacy in Social Networks: At the event on 24 April 2012 Dr. iur. Bruno Baeriswyl (Data Protection Officer of the canton Zurich, president of Privatim, Association of Swiss Data Protection Officers) and Dr. iur. Bruno Wildhaber (Wildhaber Consulting Information Management) lectured on human rights issues to be considered in connection with data protection and data gathering in social networks. Cyber Conflicts and Human Rights: The UZHR Research Director, Dr. iur. Nils Melzer, explained the importance of human rights and international humanitarian law in the limitation and regulation of cyber conflicts on 15 May The Use of IT tools in Criminal Investigations: At the event on 29 May 2012 public prosecutor Dr. iur. Marc Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel and attorney lic. iur. Ingrid Indermaur covered the boundaries between permitted investigative measures using information technology and unlawful interferences in the human rights of the persons concerned. Event series: Human Rights and Business Within the scope of the fifth public and inter-disciplinary event series of the UZHR the following topics were discussed in the autumn term of 2012: Fair Trade Effective Contribution to the Respect of Human Rights?: Hans-Peter Egler (Head of the Trade Facilitation Department, SECO) and Balz Strasser (CEO Pakka AG) covered human rights topics and challenges in connection with fair trade at the event on 23 October Grievance Mechanisms for victims of Human Rights Infringements by Corporations: Norway Breaks New Ground. At the event on 30 October 2012 the head of the Norwegian OECD national contact point and dean of the faculty of law at the University of Oslo, Prof. Dr. Hans Petter Graver, presented the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the innovative grievance mechanisms applied by the Norwegian OECD national contact point. Promotion of Human Rights through Microcredits and insurances? Bernd Balkenhol (professor for microfinance at the University of Geneva) and Roland Steinmann (MicroInsurance Centre, Zurich) examined the connection between microfinance systems and human rights at the event on 11 December Seite 4 Universität Zürich, University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR), Mai 2013

5 Public Events 2.2 Other Events In addition to the regular event series the UZHR organized further events arising from the on-going research projects of the Center and the cooperation with the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Human Rights: Speech Human Rights, a Risk for Corporations : On 15 March 2012 the president of the UZHR Steering Committee, Prof. Dr. Christine Kaufmann, gave a speech on human rights risks for corporations at an event of the Zurich Lawyers Association, she further reported on the newest developments in the field and explained how the risks may be integrated in corporate strategies. Roundtable on The Khmer Rouge Tribunal Assessing Recent Developments and Challenges Ahead: At the conference on the Khmer Rouge Tribunal on 19 November 2012 at the University of Zurich the research results of the monitoring project at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (the ECCC or Khmer Rouge Tribunal) on-going since 2009 were presented. The project s goal was the observation and monitoring of the proceedings at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal and took place in cooperation with the War Crimes Studies Center of the University of Berkeley. This included on the one hand mandates for young lawyers and law students from Cambodia and abroad for the observation of the on-going proceedings and the validation of the compliance with international procedural standards. On the other hand in the scope of the inter-disciplinary project on Psychology, Mental Health and Law: Integrating Psychological Knowledge in the Khmer Rouge Trials funded by the Swiss Network for International Studies law and psychology researchers analysed the possibilities of how psychological knowledge regarding the behaviour of traumatized persons during testimony could be incorporated in the proceedings at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. The research results were presented in a panel discussion with renowned experts [Prof. Dr. Ulrike Ehlert (Institute of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich), Prof. Dr. iur. Christine Kaufmann (Law Faculty, University of Zurich), Prof. Dr. iur. David Cohen (U.C. Berkeley s War Crimes Studies Center), Ass. Prof. Dr. iur. Sarah Summers, LL.B. (Law Faculty, University of Zurich), Prof. Dr. iur. Christian Schwarzenegger (Dean of the Law Faculty, University of Zurich), lic. iur. Elisabeth Baumgartner (swisspeace) and Laura Marschner (Law Faculty, University of Zurich)] and were complemented by a stimulating keynote speech by Mme Catherine Marchi-Uhel, a former judge at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal and current Head of Chambers at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Panel Discussion on the most recent recommendations of the UN Human Rights Council to Switzerland Subsequent to the 2 nd Universal Periodic Review of Switzerland by the UN Human Rights Council at the end of October 2012 the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Human Rights in collaboration with the UZHR informed the public on the importance of this review procedure for Switzerland and invited several representatives of the cantons, towns and NGOs to discuss the latest recommendations in Zurich on 27 November With Markus Notter (former member of the cantonal government of Zurich), Ruedi Tobler (President of the Swiss Peace Seite 5 Universität Zürich, University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR), Mai 2013

6 Other Activities Council), Kathrin Arioli (General Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs of the Canton of Zug), Roland Mayer (Deputy Secretary of the Conference of Cantonal Governments, Head of the Foreign Policy Department) and Urs Betschart (Head of the Migration Department of the Canton of Zurich) renowned personalities from civil society and the administration ensured a lively panel discussion and answered the numerous questions of the very interested public. 3 Other Activities th Annual Summer Institute in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights From 16 to 26 July 2012 the 5 th Annual Summer Institute in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights that was co-organized by the UZHR took place in Singapore. The topic of this year s summer school was Human Rights and Business with special focus on the ASEAN region. The Summer Institute was organized in cooperation with various renowned institutions in Asia, the US and Europe, in particular the U.S.-based East-West Center (EWC) in collaboration with the U.C. Berkeley s War Crimes Studies Center (WCSC), the Singapore Management University (SMU) School of Law, the Human Rights Resource Center for ASEAN (HRRC) and the International Institute for Child Rights and Development (IICRD). The purpose of the Summer Institute was to provide the participants from ASEAN states, Europe and the USA with an overview on the UN Protect, Respect and Remedy framework ( Ruggie framework ) as well as other guidelines regulating human rights and business (OECD etc.), establish the practical relevance based on concrete examples from the area and show possibilities to implement these provisions in the region. The Summer Institute was characterized by the exciting presentations and contributions of well-known specialists and practitioners as well as by the active input and high level of attention of the participants who due to their diverse professional backgrounds (administration, economy, civil society, science) were able to contribute different perspectives and practical approaches to the discussions. Moreover, the 5 th Summer Institute was the first one that was able to engage members of the UN Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises as speakers, which allowed valuable insights into the functioning and challenges of this working group. In addition to the significant knowledge exchange the involvement in the Summer Institute allowed the UZHR to further develop and consolidate its relationships with renowned institutions in the ASEAN region and to establish direct contacts to the members of the UN Working Group. 3.2 Seminar on «Child Rights and the Business Sector» An international seminar on the topic of Child Rights and the Business Sector organized by the Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (IUKB), the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the UZHR took place in Sion from 14 to 17 October With her presentation on the development of the international framework for the protection of human rights in connection with economic activities the president of the UZHR Steering Committee, Prof. Dr. Christine Kaufmann, made a major scientific contribution to the debate. In the three day event questions in connection with child rights and busi- Seite 6 Universität Zürich, University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR), Mai 2013

7 Publications ness were intensely discussed and culminated in a list of recommendations intended for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The latter subsequently held out the prospect of addressing and incorporating the recommendations within the scope of their general recommendations on the topic. 3.3 AHRI Annual Conference The 13 th Annual Conference of the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) took place in Vienna from 10 to 12 September A delegation of the UZHR participated and was able to contribute to the network s discussions. The final conference of the four-year research project COST Action ISO702 The role of the EU in UN Human Rights Reform took place at the same time. The conference that was organized by the University of Vienna in cooperation with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights offered the unique opportunity to listen to high-ranking representatives from politics, the diplomatic corps and science, exchange views on research results with human rights experts from leading academic networks and discuss political recommendations. The UZHR contributed to the professional debate on new perspectives for partnerships in the human rights field, in particular in connection with the involvement of corporations in the protection of human rights. 3.4 Participation in the first UN Forum on Business and Human Rights From 3 to 5 December 2012 the first Forum on Business and Human Rights of the United Nations took place in Geneva and with more than 1000 participants it was the biggest global conference on the topic to date. The forum s focus points for debate were the challenges in connection with the implementation of the UN Human Rights Council s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ( Guiding Principles ) and the Protect, Respect and Remedy -framework of the UN published in The forum was characterized by various keynote speeches [a.o. Navi Pillay (UN-High Comissioner for Human Rights), John Ruggie (former Special Representative for Business and Human Rights) and Stavros Lambrinidis (EU Special Representative for Human Rights)] as well as numerous panel discussions held in parallel that debated all aspects of the framework and at the same time created a platform for all stakeholders involved in the Human Rights and Business community. The UZHR also participated in the forum with a delegation and supported its president, Prof. Dr. Christine Kaufmann, who was invited by the UN to lead a very well-attended panel on the implementation of corporate responsibility in connection with the respect of human rights ( business responsibility to respect ). The forum offered the unique opportunity to establish the UZHR at an international level and to cultivate or deepen valuable contacts to the UN Working Group. 4 Publications Newsletter In 2012 the UZHR contributed to several Newsletter articles on the actual developments in the field of Human Rights and Business that are available in German and French on the website of the UZHR ( and the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Human Rights (SCHR) ( Seite 7 Universität Zürich, University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR), Mai 2013

8 Research Projects Publications The following publications by or with the contribution of members of the UZHR were published in 2012: Kiener, Regina: Judicial Independence in Switzerland (State Report), in: Seibert-Fohr A. (Hrsg.), Judicial Independence in Transition, Heidelberg 2012, S Schaber, Peter: Das Recht auf Einwanderung: Ein Recht worauf?, in: Cassee, A; Goppel, A., Migration und Ethik, Münster 2012, S Schaber, Peter: Menschenwürde, Stuttgart Schaber, Peter (2012): Menschenwürde: Ein für die Medizinethik irrelevanter Begriff? Ethik in der Medizin, 24(4): Schaber, Peter: Recht und Ethik im Werk von Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in: Byrd, B Sharon; Hruschka, Joachim, Themenschwerpunkt: Recht und Ethik im Werk von Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Berlin 2012, S Scherer, Andreas G., Baumann-Pauly, Dorothée & Schneider, Anselm: Democratizing Corporate Governance: Compensating for the Democratic Deficit of Corporate Political Activity and Corporate Citizenship, in: Business & Society XX(X), S (6. Juni 2012). Scherer, Andreas G., & Schneider, Anselm: Corporate Citizenship und Corporate Governance: Ein Ansatz zur Behebung des Legitimitätsdefizits der Corporate Political Activities von multinationalen Unternehmen, in: Eberl, P., Geiger, D., & Koch, J. (Hrsg.), Komplexität und Handlungsspielraum: Unternehmenssteuerung zwischen Ordnung und Chaos, Berlin 2012, S Research Projects Through its members and collaborators the UZHR is involved in several research projects that continued or came to an end in Below a short selection of projects is listed: Exclusion from public space; Dr. Daniel Moeckli; to Corporate Legitimacy and Corporate Communication A Meso Level Analysis of Organizational Structures within Global Business Firms; Prof. Dr. Andreas G. Scherer; to Corporate Governance and Human Rights in a Globalized Economy: The Opening of Organizational Information- and Interest-Structures as a Reaction to increasing Complexity and Legitimacy Deficits; Dipl. Vw. Anselm Schneider; to Witness Evidence in International Criminal Trials; Laura Marschner; to Social Clauses in Free Trade Agreements with a Special Emphasis on Labour Rights; lic. iur. Jonatan Niedrig; to Human Rights Assessments; lic. iur. Sinan Odok; to Membership In 2012 the UZHR welcomed the following new members to its network who with their respective expertise are making an essential contribution to the inter-disciplinary research in the field of human rights: Dr. iur. Stéphanie Dagron (Ethics Center, Institute for Biomedical Ethics) Dr. phil. Jan-Christoph Heilinger (Ethics Center, Institute for Biomedical Ethics) Seite 8 Universität Zürich, University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR), Mai 2013

9 Outlook Laura Marschner (doctoral student Law Faculty) Prof. Dr. Frank Meyer (Chair of Criminal Law and Law of Criminal Procedure including International Criminal Law) RA lic. iur. Sinan Odok, MAE (doctoral student Law Faculty) Prof. Dr. Carmen Tanner (Director Research Center Moral Intelligence, Center for Responsibility in Finance) The former research director of the UZHR, Dr. iur. Nils Melzer left the Competence Center at the end of With great commitment for the UZHR he contributed to promoting our institute on a local and international level and to build a reputation as an important and competent point of contact for human rights questions. Dr. iur. Christoph Good was appointed as his successor and started working for the UZHR with great engagement and motivation in August Outlook The many activities undertaken in 2012 presented the UZHR with numerous opportunities for project work and cooperations with national and international institutions. Thus in 2013 the Center will continue its efforts to realize the projects that have already started or are being initialized now and to allow the public to partake in the results of the research and the current human rights discourse within the scope of conferences and events. Moreover, the UZHR has already planned two event series on current human rights issues in connection with Child Rights (spring term 2013) and Dementia (autumn term 2013). The Center is looking forward to dynamically continuing to promote research and knowledge transfer in the field of human rights within the scope of projects and information sharing events in May 2013 Prof. Dr. Christine Kaufmann President of the Steering Committee Seite 9 Universität Zürich, University of Zurich Competence Center for Human Rights (UZHR), Mai 2013