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Action for UN Renewal
Erskine Childers Annual Memorial Lecture
'The growth and importance of individual action and its increasing influence in the field of human rights and United Nations reform'
Kate Allen, Director, Amnesty International (UK)
12th June 2007
Chair: Lord Peter Archer
Lord Archer introduced the speaker
Kate Allen noted that Amnesty International had 2 million members, significant support and following. She began with a physics analogy of the search for a Universal Theory to explain everything in terms of atomic structures and interaction. Individual action if coordinated by NGOs, was like the combined effect of atomic activity in producing [Planets]
AI had led the setting up of the International Criminal Court, the Treaty against Torture, the International Arms Trade Treaty and others. This showed that individual non-governmental voices were getting through to the UN. But reform is needed to turn this into action, in particular on the International Declaration on Human Rights.
AI was founded by Peter Benson, a lawyer, in 1961. It had campaigned against the death penalty. 89 countries have abolished it so far.
The young are turned away from politics because it has been dominated by Party political wrangling.
[They are perhaps disillusioned by the lack of sensitivity of politicians to both personal and global issues. Party politics is out of date. It has been overshadowed by a more sinister political divide, between the Judeo-Christian and the Muslim cultures]
The Sudan was being devastated by the Janjawid. AI had tried to get the US, UN and EU to intervene.
[The underlying problem is poverty in Chad, Central African Republic and Rwanda, pushing people into Sudan, upsetting farmers struggling on the border in Darfur. It is aggravated by the US which is worried about China drilling for oil and helping the local people with real economic and infrastructure benefits and winning Third World support]
AI had sponsored UN Resolution 1325 on 'Women's Peace & Security'
The IATT was taken up by the UN General Assembly which started to get agreements on it. AI pressed the UK government to support it.
[Sadly it concentrates on small arms which are the tools of the people against threats from armies, whilst scarcely affecting the heavy arms industry]
UN reform to respond to individual campaigners' pressure? Kofi Annan focuses on the frailties of the UN in 'In Larger Freedom' . The Peace-building Commission was established.
AI tried to stop countries like Libya chairing the Human Rights Commission because it would cause difficulties.
[What difficulties? Libya is guilty of far fewer human rights abuses than the USA, UK or Israel]
Special Procedures were established to facilitate reports by independent Human Rights advisers on specific areas. They planned to include all countries. The Council on Human Rights was now in its 5th Session.
Cuba, Sudan, Zimbabwe were guilty of human rights abuses.
[Cuba can hardly be singled out without mentioning Guantanamo Bay, a US torture camp of barbaric and patently lawless atrocities in another peoples' country; the very one being singled out! Is this double standards, blindness or corruption by superpower pressure?]
Iran and Sudan were ignoring the UN.
[Actually, Iran has complied with the UN over the extraordinary protocols placed on surveillance of her nuclear electric plans. Sudan allowed the African Unity Force to enter the country to help in Dafur. The major transgressors are the USA, the UK and Israel which have ignored or vetoed countless UN Resolutions, including hundreds on the occupation of Palestine. The also ignored the UN by invading Serbia, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Cuba]
The UK was not exempt from condemnation. AI is arguing for rights for asylum seekers and fair trials.
Questions:
1: Do you agree with indexing countries according to their Human Rights record?
KA: No. [Full answer not recorded]
2. [Not recorded]
3. JT: You mentioned youth being disillusioned with Party Politics. But isn't Party Politics out of date? There is a more insidious political divide between the Judeo-Christian and Muslim worlds in international politics. You singled out 4 countries abusing Human Rights, three of them are Muslim; Sudan, Iran and Libya. You did not mention human rights abuses by the USA, UK and Israel in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib… Indexing is not only necessary to get this into perspective, we need a special index for the much more horrendous human rights abuses in other people's countries. Could you save AI's reputation by correcting this imbalance?"
KA: I did mention the US and also China, Russia and the UK. Please don't think AI is anti-Islamic.
4. Vijay Metha: $1.3Trillion is spent on arms globally, half of it by the US….
[Answer & other questions not recorded]
The Chair thanked the speaker.
Dr James B Thring, Secretary [comments on square brackets]
12th June 2007 ref: GKS DMD MoP @ UN AUNR AI Kate Allen 19Jun7
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