United Nations Human Rights Council

United Nations Human Rights Council Background Guide The United Nations Human Rights Program began as a minor division at the UN Headquarters in New York during the 1940s. It was later upgraded to the Centre for Human Rights in the 1980s upon moving to Geneva. Finally, at the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, the international community recognized the need for a more robust human rights mandate with stronger institutional support. As a result, United Nations Human Rights council (UNHRC) was created by a General Assembly Resolution during the same year. UNHRC is led by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and is also composed of two major divisions and four branches. In concordance with the UN as a whole, UNHRC represents the world s commitment to human dignity, built upon a mandate from the international community to protect all human rights. I: Protecting the Rights of Indigenous People As much of the world continues to heal from the past centuries of colonialism, the rights of indigenous populations continues to be a great concern for the Human Rights Council. Often facing discrimination, the loss of ancestral land, and the exclusion from national policy making, indigenous populations face many continuing challenges to their fulfillment and advancement as equal members of their societies. It is estimated that there are 370 million indigenous peoples that live in 90 countries around the world. 1 Defined as members of ethnic groups that existed prior to colonization or immigration, indigenous peoples constitute roughly five percent of the globe s total population, but comprise one-third of the world s extremely poor rural individuals. 2 Indigenous groups live in every corner of the globe; from the Kachan people of Myanmar to the Alaska natives of the United States, and represent a fundamental part of the cultural heritage of the world. Though international declarations such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (A/61/295) state that indigenous peoples around the world are free and equal to all others, 3 significant inequality still exists between indigenous and non-native populations. There are a number of significant challenges that face indigenous populations 1 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 20 May, 2013 2 United Nations Department of Public Information, State of the World s Indigenous Peoples, United Nations Department of Public Information, 14 Jan, 2010 3 General Assembly resolution 61/295, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, A/RES/61/295 (13 Sep, 2007), available from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/drips_en.pdf 1

disproportionately to other groups. Indigenous peoples are generally subject to more crime and experience larger proportions of their populations in the penal system. In New Zealand, the indigenous Maori people, though less than fifteen percent of the country s total population, makes up approximately 40 percent of the nation s court convictions and half of its prison population, raising concerns of systematic racism within the penal system. 4 Crime among indigenous populations is on average higher than the rest of the population. Furthermore, indigenous women are also far more likely to be the victim of violent crime and domestic abuse. Across Canada, the United States, and Mexico nearly 84% of indigenous women have encountered violence at some point in their lives. 5 In Canada alone, almost 1,200 indigenous women have either been reported missing or murdered; a rate is seven times higher than that of non-indigenous Canadian women. 6 Similarly, in the United States, the rates of reported domestic violence are ten times higher for Alaskan Native women than the rest of the population, 7 despite laws protecting women against acts of violence. While much has been done to address this issue, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (A/RES/48/104), which states that violence against women is a violation of the rights and fundamental freedoms of women, and acknowledges specifically in the preamble that indigenous women are subject to more violence than non-indigenous women, 8 the disproportion between indigenous and non-indigenous women continues to persist across the globe. In addition to higher rates of crime and violence, poverty continues to be a significant issue for indigenous populations and further exacerbates the pressing issues of rights for indigenous populations. Not only do indigenous populations often live in higher rates of poverty, but they often lack access to economic opportunities. Due to the reality that many countries don t necessarily offer education and literature in indigenous languages, many indigenous groups are forgotten and become systematically disadvantaged in society. 9 While the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states in Article 14 that national bodies must take effective measures to provide fair educational opportunities to indigenous populations, 10 the truth is that most national curricula focus on the mainstream traditions of 4 United Nations Department of Public Information, State of the World s Indigenous Peoples, United Nations Department of Public Information, 14 Jan, 2010 5 Bettinger-Lopez, Carrie, Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls: Commitments from the North American Leaders Summit, The White House, 28 July, 2016 6 Ibid. 7 Indian Law Resource Center, Actions to Address Violence Against Indigenous Women in the Commission on the Status of Women and the Human Rights Council, Indian Law Resource Center, Sep, 2015 8 General Assembly resolution 48/104, Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, A/RES/48/104 (20 Dec, 1993), available from http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r104.htm 9 International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, Indigenous peoples and education, IWGIA 10 General Assembly resolution 61/295, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, A/RES/61/295 (13 Sep, 2007), available from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/drips_en.pdf 2

society in all schools, rather than the cultural practices of indigenous populations in schools with high native populations. 11 Without a proper education, indigenous children are often left in a continuous cycle of family poverty. Furthermore, without a stable income, families cannot afford or obtain access to medical care, noting that the child mortality rate in Latin American indigenous communities, for example, is 70% higher than the mortality rate of non-indigenous communities. 12 Basic human rights are also a concern to indigenous populations, as national governments often fail to protect their indigenous peoples. In Myanmar, there have been nearly 600 reported human rights violations by the Myanma army against the protesting Kachan natives. 13 Furthermore, In Indonesian West Papua, the Indonesian government has been involved in an ongoing effort to control the indigenous Papuans, who are regularly shot if resisting orders by officials for over five decades. 14 While both Myanmar and Indonesia have violated international terms, legal action has not provided justice to the victims of brutality against indigenous populations, a reality that has been witnessed across the globe. The rights of indigenous populations continues to be a significant challenge for many countries across the globe. While significant work has been done to advance the rights and status of indigenous populations around the world, these often fall short as indigenous groups continue to struggle with social exclusion, poverty, violence, and discriminatory governmental policies. Representing some of the most vulnerable people of the world, protecting and enhancing the rights of indigenous peoples is paramount to the mission of the United Nations and the Human Rights Council Questions to Consider: What can countries do on a national level to protect their indigenous populations cultural and traditional identities? Though international treaties exist that outline the rights of indigenous peoples, what more can the UN do to prevent human rights violations? How can the disproportionally high rates of violence against indigenous populations decrease? II: Extrajudicial, Summary, and Arbitrary Executions For as long as people have organized themselves into societies and communities, executions and the death penalty have played a role as the punishment for those who break the societal rules and threaten the cohesion and existence of the community. Designed as a form of justice for crimes, however, executions are often frequently carried out by individuals, groups, and governments without 11 International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, Indigenous peoples and education, IWGIA 12 United Nations Department of Public Information, State of the World s Indigenous Peoples, United Nations Department of Public Information, 14 Jan, 2010 13 Franciscans International, Violations Against Indigenous Peoples, Franciscans International 14 Ibid. 3

the adequate evidence or the due process of a trial and formal conviction, creating a grave violation of human rights and justice. The use of extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary executions is a human rights challenge that is prevalent in nearly all corners of the globe. Whether it s an extrajudicial killing, in which the government executes an individual without a legal procedure, or a summary killing, where an individual is accused of a crime and killed immediately without a fair trial, unauthorized executions are prohibited by international law and violate United Nations policies. One such example is the groundbreaking 1991 UN Manual on the Effective Prevention of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, or Minnesota Protocol, which was the original international law that outlined the actions of the international community in response to human rights violations in the form of unlawful execution. While this document succeeded in defining the issue and identifying strategies to address it, a 2016 revision of the Manual expanded on the issue by stating that a suspicious death is potentially a violation of the right to life, and further explained that investigation is key to ensuring that a culture of accountability prevails. 15 While the Manual created a basic platform for forensic investigators, lawyers, and law enforcement officials to help guide procedures in the handling of unlawful executions, the international community has struggled to address the issue; recognizing and condemning the practice, while unable to effectively end the practice. The issue of extrajudicial execution exists in different forms depending on the country or region of the world. In The Philippines the alleged killings of civilians by the government under President Rodrigo Duterte as a method to control the country s drug trafficking crisis, has incited considerable international backlash and condemnation. In the first seven months of Duterte s presidency, a reported 2500 alleged drug offenders were killed by police directly; 16 highlighting the severe human rights abuses initiated during Duterte s already controversial presidency. Furthermore, due to the prevalence of poverty in the Philippines, many people living in poverty are further targeted as the most vulnerable targets of such attacks while in affluent neighborhoods, officers will simply knock on the door when conducting drug raids. Throughout the Philippines, poorer neighborhoods often experience excessive force and violence during similar drug raids. 17 To make matters worse, the Filipino government has also been accused of paying police officers based on the number of executions they carry out, creating a dangerous opportunity for the violation of basic human rights. In some cases, officers are paid nearly $100 for every drug user that they kill, or up to $300 if they successfully kill a dealer. 18 Not only does this monetary reward for killing encourage unlawful executions, but leads to questions of class-based persecution as well. 15 United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, The Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016), available from http://www.ohchr.org/documents/issues/executions/minnesotaprotocolinvestigationpotentiallyunlawfuldeath20 16.pdf 16 Amnesty USA, If You are Poor You are Killed : Extrajudicial Executions in The Philippines War on Drugs, Amnesty International, 2017 17 Berehulak, Daniel, They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals, The New York Times, 07 Dec, 2016 18 Amnesty USA, If You are Poor You are Killed : Extrajudicial Executions in The Philippines War on Drugs, Amnesty International, 2017 4

Additionally, the rise of terrorism and its societal effects have further complicated the abilities of the international community to properly address the unlawful behaviors of national governments. Terrorism in Africa has increased tremendously in recent years, with a nearly 200 percent increase 19 in terrorist attacks from 2009 to 2015. In attempts to combat rises in terrorism, many African governments have taken often extreme measures. The Somali military court, for example, was accused in 2014 of the summary executions of men believed to be affiliated with terror organization Al-Shaabab. The Somali government allegedly executed three men for involvement with the terrorist group and posted photographs of the limp, hooded bodies 20 on Twitter, raising concerns of the legitimacy of their crimes. This situation is not new to Somalia, however. The man accused of carrying out a terrorist attack on the Maka al-mukarama hotel in Somalia s capital in November 2013 was tried and executed over just two weeks in July of 2014, spawning questions of mistreatment and torture during the interrogative process. According to Somalia s court chairman, Abdirahman Mohamed Turyare, the executed man had confessed 21 to the terrorist attack, though human rights organizations condemn the execution and suggest that Somalia s use of torture led to a confession. The Somali government is not alone in accusations of summary executions, for countries such as Israel and Pakistan 22 have also been accused of unlawful summary killings in recent years. Illegal detentions have only magnified the concerns of the international community towards unlawful punishment and execution. Protests erupted in Russia after the Chechen regional government was accused of detaining and torturing nearly 100 suspected gay men 23 in the region in April 2017, resulting in the deaths of three detainees. Not only does this alleged action violate international human rights laws such as resolution (A/HRC/RES/17/19), which condemns violence based on sexual orientation, 24 but also violates international laws against unlawful executions. Men in these Chechen secret jails 25 have reported being beaten and electrocuted, with the hopes that they will give up the names of gay friends to Chechen officials. The Chechen and Russian governments have denied these claims of torture and execution, claiming that [gay] people do not exist 26 in Chechnya. While not directly seen as an unlawful execution by many governments, the issue of the death penalty further complicates the role of the international community in its fight against unwarranted killings. As of the end of 2016, 104 countries have abolished the death penalty, opting in favor for life 19 Beri, Ruchita, Rise of Terrorism in Africa, Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, 13 Apr, 2017 20 Bader, Laetitia, Summary executions in Somalia, Human Rights Watch, 25 Aug, 2014 21 Yaron, Oded, Israelis Evenly Split in Reactions to Summary Execution of Palestinian Assailant, Haaretz, 25 Mar, 2016 22 Nelson, Dean and Siddiqui, Taha, Pakistan to execute 500 Islamist terrorists after Taliban school attack, The Telegraph, 22 Dec, 2014 23 Dearden, Lizzie, Russia backs Chechnya government s denials over killing and torture of gay men, The Independent, 20 Apr, 2017 24 General Assembly resolution 17/19, Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, A/HRC/RES/17/19 (14 Jul, 2011), available from http://arc-international.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/hrc-res-17-19.pdf 25 Dearden, Lizzie, Russia backs Chechnya government s denials over killing and torture of gay men, The Independent, 20 Apr, 2017 26 Ibid. 5

sentences instead. 27 The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in Article 5 that no one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment, 28 which many have argued includes the usage and implementation of the death penalty. Though international bodies have condemned the practice of the death penalty, it is still common in many highly-populated countries such as China, which executes more people than any other country, 29 and the United States. Opponents of the death penalty cite this practice as discriminatory because poor and marginalized populations have less access to the legal resources 30 that are required for defense. Furthermore, the United Nations Human Rights Office argues that the practice does not deter crime, nor does it agree with the UNHRC s principle of right to life. 31 Throughout the world, extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary executions continue to be one of the Human Rights Council s most pressing issues. While the international community has frequently spoken against the unlawful executions carried out by groups and governments around the world, there due to the cultural, political, and legal challenges in many parts of the world, it remains a difficult issue to properly address. Because of the immense human told that such a practice represents, it is vitally important for the Human Rights Council to address this issue. Questions to consider: Why does the use of the death penalty persist in a wide variety of countries with varying governmental systems? How can the UNHRC hold national governments accountable for the practice of unlawful execution of individuals? What are the barriers that prevent victims of unlawful treatment by their government from obtaining justice? How can these barriers be addressed and ultimately removed? 27 Amnesty International, Death Penalty, Amnesty International, 2017 28 General Assembly resolution 217 A, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, A/RES/217(III) (10 Dec, 1948), available from http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/ 29 Amnesty International, Death Penalty, Amnesty International, 2017 30 Ibid. 31 OHCHR, Death Penalty, OHCHR, 2017 6