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20 years ago a historic document was
adopted in Vienna it crystallized the
principle that human rights are
Universal and committed states to the
promotion and protection of all human
rights for all people regardless of
their political economic and cultural
systems among many other significant and
groundbreaking achievements the Vienna
declaration led to the creation of my
office the office of the High
Commissioner for human rights since then
there have been many advances indeed
More Than People perhaps realize the
fundamentals for protecting and
promoting human rights are largely in
place these include a strong and growing
body of international human rights law
and standards as well as institutions to
interpret the laws monitor compliance
and apply them to new and emerging human
rights issues the key now is to
implement the laws and standards to make
enjoyment of Human Rights a reality on
the ground the political will and the
human and financial resources to achieve
this are too often
lacking the 20 years since Vienna have
also unfortunately seen many setbacks
and a number of tragic failures to
prevent atrocities and Safeguard human
rights in several instances where
deplorable large scale violations of
international human rights law were
occurring the International Community
was too slow too divided too
shortsighted
or just plain inadequate in its response
to the warnings of Human Rights
Defenders and the cries of
victims the Vienna declaration should be
viewed as a blueprint for a magnificent
construction that is still only
half-built
women continue to suffer discrimination
violence and persecution so do ethnic
racial and religious minorities
migrants as well as individuals because
of their sexual
orientation this shows how far we still
have to go internal conflicts continue
to produce horrendous and widespread
human rights abuses peaceful protests by
people exercising and calling for their
legitimate rights are being ruthlessly
crushed by authorities virtually on a
daily
basis change changing and shifting
populations fueled by Rising poverty
Refugee movements and volatile Global
economics make countering fear of the
other a
priority and complex new challenges
continue to emerge such as climate
change and Global terrorist
movements the way we operate in this
world is also changing at break next
speed modern Technologies are
transforming the way we do human rights
work in
1993 the worldwide web was just four
years old and its future use and reach
could barely have been imagine nor how
fundamentally the internet would affect
our
lives together with social media and it
Innovations these Technologies are
dramatically improving moving realtime
Communications and information sharing
they are also magnifying the voice of
Human Rights Defenders shining a light
on abuses and mobilizing support for
various causes in many parts of the
world but we have also seen how new
technologies are facilitating the
violation of human rights with chilling
21st century efficiency in breach of
international law Mass electronic
surveillance and data collection are
threatening both individual rights and
the free functioning of a vibrant Civil
Society a tweet or Facebook post by a
human rights Defender can be enough to
land him or her in
jail drones can be and are being used
for positive purposes but armed drones
are also being deployed without due
legal process for the remote targeting
of
individuals so-called uh Killer Robots
autonomous weapon systems that can
select and hit a Target without human
intervention are no longer science
fiction but a reality their likely
future deployment poses deeply troubling
ethical and legal questions continued
vigilance is needed to ensure that new
technologies Advance rather than destroy
human rights no matter the scale of
these changes existing international
human rights law and international
humanitarian law governing the conduct
of armed conflict remain applicable
states must ensure that they are applied
at the international level a huge amount
of work remains to be done to transform
human rights from abstract promises to
genuine Improvement in the daily lives
of all people especially those who are
currently marginalized or
excluded the UN Human Rights office will
continue to work with all Partners to
try to prevent human rights breaches
from occurring
we will continue to be vocal about human
rights violations we will continue to
ask states to do their part the biggest
part by far to ensure that the tragic
mistakes of the past are not repeated
and that the human rights of all are
protected and
promoted we can and we must do better
the vision and goals formulated 20 years
ago go in Vienna are still valid they
are still worth fighting for now over
the next 20 years and Beyond
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