Throughout the journey we have diplomats/business people/researchers/scholars/experts in their field sailing with us for a leg. Typically, our visiting Global Scholars offer 2-3 seminars available for the entire community as well as taking meals with our students and staff. In addition to these roles, Global Scholars are also available to join our classes to give a short presentation and speak about their job or their expertise.
Of first visiting Scholar is His Excellency Jan Axel Nordlander, who is Sweden’s Ambassador for Human Rights (there are only 8 such ambassadors in the world!) . His tasks are threefold: to represent Sweden’s seat at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and in other international organizations such as OSCE’s Human Dimension meetings; to undertake country visits, alone or with other EU Human Rights Ambassadors; and on behalf of the Swedish government to liaise with Swedish and international NGOs. He has retained his interest in education, and has been for many years a trustee of a graduate school in Asia and a fellow of a Swedish research institute. His Excellency studied law at Uppsala University in Sweden. After starting his career at the Ministry of Higher Education, he joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1974 and subsequently served in several postings in the Middle East, South and South East Asia as well as North America. During this time he also continued studies in arts and political science; for example, the Swedish Foreign Ministry sent him to Cairo for one year to learn Arabic and Arabic history. In several of his postings, international public law and human rights were high on the agenda. Such was the case in Jerusalem, Damascus, Beirut, New Delhi, Phnom Penh and Rangoon. He gave 2 seminars: The Global Status of Human Rights and Human Rights Education and Human Rights Defenders as well as visited my classes. During his first lecture, I took the following notes:
When it comes to Human Rights, we need to ask ourselves 3 questions: how do we measure them? What can we expect? And how do we implement them?
If we pick up any major newspaper’s headlines for a day, like the Bangkok Daily, it is clear that there is a dire need all over the world to protect human rights. We see violations in many parts of the world: Sudan, Congo, Sri Lanka, North Korea, Burma, Iran, Russia, China… and the list goes on…
How do we assess, however, where we stand? The UN has a count and a list of the countries that have ratified and various Human Rights Conventions, which are those covering: Children rights (most countries- 193), Women rights (185 countries), Racial Discrimination (173), Civil/Economic/political Rights (160), Anti-Torture (145), and Migrant Workers Protection (37).
The numbers show that we are making progress in terms of the legal framework of human rights. Those that ratified the Conventions are required to report to the UN about their compliance and be scrutinized by a committee that will publish the results of their scrutiny. It has now become politically incorrect not to comply. A country can “lose face” and be shamed for non-compliance by the global community, which many (but not all – look at North Korea) want to avoid. So the UN is playing an important role as are NGO’s that file “shadow reports” from the countries themselves, but it is the individual duty of each country to protect its human rights.
The organizational structure that supports this legal framework consists of the UN General Assembly whom the Human Rights Council reports to. The Council is supported by Treaty Bodies who are further supported by special rapprerteurs (sp?) that deal with specific topics. We cannot expect them, however, to act as courts of appeal (The European Union already has its own court of appeals)The question is what should they provide? Should they provide emergency help when needed? Serve only as inspectors? A Mandate of peacekeeping can be a problem for place like Darfur. Sri Lanka is another example of a country that is rapidly closing its borders for further UN monitoring and they are backed up by India and Pakistan. China has been advised to get closer to the opposition building in Burma for the mere reason that one day there will be a regime change there and it is in China’s interest to be close to them as well. However, that advice has so far not worked.
However, the role of the UN is to not only criticize countries about their Human Rights violations. It is to offer assistance and built confidence that they can actually accomplish better protection of Human Rights. Most countries will be willing to accept this assistance due to the “shame factor” even if they are not always sincere in accepting it.
Yet, the time has come to shift the attention of the world from legal action to implementation of the UN Conventions. It is time for countries to adapt national frameworks following these international conventions. Building and strengthening national institutions to create or improve the rule of law and its enforcement should be the new focus. And there should also be access to justice by underserved groups who are the targets of Human Rights violations. Most important, there should be an individual right to complain if your rights have been violated AND proper compensation given (although not following the US example).
Furthermore, there is a new concept being introduced of “Universal Periodic Review” which will mandate that every 4 years, there needs to be an assessment using equal standards for all countries. The scrutiny will be based on the data collected by the Commission of Human Rights and the countries themselves. Once this will be done the right way, it will be the most useful tool! The final report will need to also include measures to improve the situation in the specific country but not include any punitive measurements.
In essence, the truth is more important than penalties! The victims need to hear that someone has assumed the guilt in order to start the process of reconciliation. Reparations happen seldom but are just as important and there is a growing global consensus that they are needed!
Economic sanctions do not always work. They worked in South Africa but they will not work in Burma, for example. They are not smart tools because they usually hurt the population at large. In Burma, posing visa restrictions on the ruling regime and their families has been effective in spite of the fact that they are the equivalent of a “mosquito bite to an elephant”… Once they restrictions were published by the media and on the Internet, they became person-non-grata in the capitals of Europe where they were used the spending their money lavishly.
So the forecast is; “the sky id still cloudy, even though I see some rays of sunshine”… There has been improvement is freedom of religion, racism (the Durban Conference was very well received), and so forth. In the fight against terrorism we need to be cautious not to play into the hand of the terrorists by violating their human rights, which is what they are seeking as a justification!
In conclusion, we have made progress, but not much progress. But be patient and we shall most likely succeed further!
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2 comments:
Hi Clarice:
I love keeping up with the voyage through your blog. Thanks for the really interesting postings including your notes from various presentations.
Peggy Pusch
Nice blog !!!!! .I am interest to post comment in this blog about my china trip last year .me and my family member enjoyed lot . Hukou Waterfalls (Kettle Spout Falls) is very beautiful waterfall in china .
The Yellow River is the mother river of the Chinese nation. In its basin, there is a tourist attraction that visitors should not miss. That is Hukou Waterfalls, a glistening pearl in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It is located in Yichuan County in Yan'an City, Shaanxi Province. It is the only magnificent yellow waterfall in the world and the second biggest waterfall in China after Huangguoshu Waterfall .
When the mighty Yellow River flows through mountains and gorges to Hukou, the billowy water streams narrow suddenly, falling 30 meters (33 yards) into a deep riverbed like a herd of galloping horses, transforming the quiet river into a turbulent one. The thundering sound can be heard from quite a distance. The tremendous mass of water strikes the rocks, creating piles of foam and huge water poles. It is an amazing view with mist all around. The riverbed here is like an enormous teapot absorbing all the rushing water, so the waterfall is named Hukou Waterfalls (Kettle Spout Falls). No matter its rumbling sound, its grand vigor or its marvelous scenery can make you exclaim that the nature is really incredible.
The power of the yellow water of Hukou Waterfalls is tremendous when falling down to the pond, so it is hard for you to get close to the main waterfall. Looking from a distance, you still can enjoy the vast and gorgeous yellow ocean of mist-covered water. The big waves and foam, like angry beasts, are running and roaring. The beauty and vigor of the waterfalls are indeed beyond words. You cannot know unless you visit it in person.
There are many wonders at Hukou Waterfalls, such as smoke from the river, boats on land, rainbows in the sunshine, and so on. In Hukou the water falls to the deep pond from a relatively high place, stirring the mist which rises high into the air like surging heavy smoke coming out of the river. You can see various shapes of rainbows formed by the rising mist, refracted by the sunshine from different angles. Sometimes rainbows are arched, cutting into the river from the sky like a dragon playing with water; sometimes they are colored ribbons lying across the river; sometimes they become colorful masses which change second by second. The water in Hukou is very much torrential, so all the boats from the upper reaches must be pulled out of the river onto to the bank when they arrive. These boats will have to detour around this section, carried by a group of boatmen or shipped by truck before they can be put in the river again.
The view of Hukou Waterfalls changes according to the seasons. In spring the frozen ground thaws and the stalactites of snow fall into the pond like the mountains collapsing and the earth cracking up. In summer and autumn there is much rainfall. With the rains, the river rushes and the yellow waves seem to reach the sky. In winter Hukou Waterfalls gives the visitors another new look. On the surface of the silvery ice waterfalls, cool water flows down. Little silver icicles hang on the cliffs around the waterfalls. It presents you a distinctive natural landscape of the northern region of China.
The Hukou Waterfalls has for years attracted visitors from all over the world. You can have a better understanding of natural wonder if you come here in person. The Hukou Waterfalls will give you a warm welcome with its thrilling sound, rolling golden waves, changing scenery and majestic vigor.
Transportation: You can take number 4, 6, 16, or 19 bus to the bus station in Yanan City and then taking the regular buses to Hukou Waterfalls. The buses to Hukou Waterfalls will be delivered every 30 minutes and the whole journey will take you about four hours.
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