annual report 2002 IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIVITIES AND USE OF FUNDS OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS human rights OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ANNUAL REPORT 2002 The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais des Nations - CH-1211 Geneva 10 - Switzerland Telephone: 41 22/917 90 00 - Fax: 41 22/917 90 04 Web site: www.unhchr.ch annual report 2002 OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Prepared by the Resource Mobilization Unit of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Editorial Consultant: Marilyn Achiron Design and Desktop Publishing by Latitudesign, Geneva Printed by Atar SA, Geneva Photographs: UNICEF/HQ00-0682/Chalasani; UNICEF/HQ01-0375/Squire; UNICEF/HQ99-0916/LeMoyne; UNICEF/HQ00-0623/ LeMoyne; UNICEF/HQ98-0181/Hartley; UNICEF/HQ03-0030/Noorani; UNICEF/HQ99-0512/Horner; UNICEF/HQ99-0898/LeMoyne; UNICEF/HQ02-0083/Markisz. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Table of contents Introduction by the High Commissioner . 5 Activities administered through UNOG The Annual Report 2002: A reader’s guide . 7 and UNOPS . 115 Funding of OHCHR. 9 Human rights support for peace-making, peacekeeping and peace-building activities Human rights trust funds established Introduction. 117 by the United Nations General Assembly Staff security . 120 Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture . 23 Burundi . 122 Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Democratic Republic of the Congo . 126 Forms of Slavery . 26 Colombia . 129 Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations . 28 Cambodia. 133 Voluntary Fund for the International Decade of Bosnia and Herzegovina . 139 the World’s Indigenous People . 31 Croatia . 142 Follow-up to the World Conference Serbia and Montenegro . 146 against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance . 35 Human rights in development . 151 Technical cooperation activities Support to human rights bodies and organs . 157 Introduction . 39 Response to allegations of human Global projects . 44 rights violations UN decade for human rights education . 44 Support to the special procedures . 161 Human rights training for peacekeepers . 47 Trafficking in persons . 48 Issues in focus Africa . 51 Introduction . 165 Regional and sub-regional activities . 52 Gender issues, women’s rights Country projects . 53 and reproductive rights . 167 Latin America and the Caribbean . 65 HIV/AIDS . 168 Regional and sub-regional activities . 65 Persons living with disabilities . 170 Country projects . 67 Protection of indigenous peoples . 171 Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus. 77 Protection of minorities . 172 Regional and sub-regional activities . 77 Bioethics and human rights . 174 Country projects . 78 Asia and the Pacific . 84 Building the capacity of OHCHR Regional and sub-regional activities . 85 Introduction . 175 Country projects . 85 Core management systems . 177 Arab region. 96 Human rights knowledge management . 179 Regional and sub-regional activities . 96 Public information. 183 Country projects . 98 Resource mobilization . 184 Support to national institutions . 105 Miscellaneous. 189 Support to the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 111 3 Introduction by the High Commissioner It is my pleasure to introduce the third Annual Report of the as these, with responsibility for oversight and implementation of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human international human rights standards and norms, are critical Rights. It is a report of an organization which has improved its partners. Many national institutions around the world are in capacity to tackle complex human rights concerns in a timely their formative stages and require support to increase their fashion. independence, accountability and operational efficiency; to help them, OHCHR last year provided information, advice or As human rights remain at the forefront of the United Nations assistance to 26 countries. in all its endeavors, the work of my Office has become an imperative – it is the foundation upon which durable peace, OHCHR also supported reconciliation efforts in several coun- stability, development and tolerance can be sustained. OHCHR’s tries. Significant among these is the Truth and Reconciliation efforts in 2002 have promoted a full range of human rights Commission in Sierra Leone (TRC), which commenced its concerns at the country and regional level. My aim is to build activities in July 2002. OHCHR supported the establishment of on improvements and achievements so that OHCHR becomes the TRC, selection and deployment of its commissioners, more effective in promoting and protecting human rights recruitment of personnel and the dissemination of information around the globe. to the Sierra Leone population about the TRC, and has steadily supported the TRC in fulfilling its mandate. Marked progress has been achieved in many areas. The Office’s increased emphasis on national human rights protection Many of these achievements were results of enhanced cooper- systems grew naturally out of the fact that once a human rights ation among OHCHR and other United Nations departments treaty is ratified it becomes country-owned. It is the responsi- and agencies. OHCHR is present in many countries within the bility of the government in each State to turn treaty provisions context of United Nations peace operations or country teams, or into policy. OHCHR facilitated the work of the human rights has independent national or regional offices. Since taking office, bodies that monitor compliance with the six core human rights I have devoted special effort to strengthening OHCHR’s field treaties, just as it assisted governments in incorporating activity. Much depends on our assisting others in integrating international standards into national laws and practices and human rights into their work. A study of OHCHR’s capacity to building sustainable national capacities to implement these support United Nations Country Teams showed that progress standards. The Office focused in particular on promoting the has been made in incorporating human rights concepts and follow-up at national level of recommendations by the treaty language but many challenges remain in turning principles bodies and strived to provide strengthened support to special into practices. procedures. As a result the number of representations made on behalf of victims and the number of governments’ responses has The management review report by the Office of Internal grown gradually. Oversight was helpful in addressing both substantive and management issues. Implementation of the recommendations OHCHR emphasized establishing or strengthening independent started in fall 2002. The establishment of the post of Office national human rights institutions and enhancing their relations Manager will strengthen overall planning and management, with the United Nations and with each other. Institutions such while the new External Relations Branch will publicize the work of 5 the Office and of the human rights mechanisms. The establishment must select our areas of emphasis, and more rigorous prioriti- of a Special Procedures Branch will enhance professionalism in zation – including the reduction or elimination of some this vital area of work. programmes – has become a principal objective for 2003. Throughout the Office, we are looking for ways to enhance The effective implementation of activities continued to improve. planning to achieve maximum impact. Expenditures in 2002 matched income and no excessive carry- over funds were accumulated. However, more effective The need for tangible human rights work has never been implementation has made other problems stand out in relief. greater. I hope you will join me in celebrating the accomplish- The increased demand by states for technical cooperation – to ments reflected in this Annual Report and in bringing this help them meet their treaty undertakings and plans for national Office closer to achieving the goals we all share. human rights institutions – has strained our resources, because there has been no new funding to match the increased demand. The same is true of our mandates from the Commission on Human Rights: the Commission has increased its requests for the services of our Office, but the funding has remained the same. Sergio Vieira de Mello My Office has a very modest and fragile funding base. Its share United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations regular budget has stayed well below two per cent. These funds covered only one third of our 2002 expenditures. Two thirds of expenditures were covered by voluntary contributions, mostly from governments and the European Commission, as well as some foundations and private donors. Voluntary contributions increased from US$ 35 million in 2001 to US$ 40 million in 2002 and were provided with more predictability and flexibility. There is a clear trend towards lighter “earmarking” – targeting of funds to specific uses – and some donors, in particular Denmark and Ireland, gave large amounts totally unearmarked. In spite of increases, for which I am grateful, matching needs with resources remains a formidable challenge. Much of my task is to make my Office worthy