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圖爾克告訴意大利參議院委員會:"我們需要堅定地履行人權承諾”
2024 年 1 月25日
夫人宮，意大利共和國參議院所在地 © iStock / Getty Images Plus
沃爾克·蒂爾克，聯合國人權事務高級專員
在意大利參議院促進和保護人權特別委員會
普恰雷利參議員，
尊敬的委員會成員，
我很高興有機會在世界各地極其緊急和動蕩的時刻與這個特別委員會交談。
衝突不斷加劇，導致侵犯人權、流離失所、饑餓和人道主義需求達到新的高峰。
世界各地——烏克蘭； 在蘇丹和薩赫勒地區； 在緬甸； 在其他數十起衝突中，僅本月就有數萬名平民喪生。 還有更多的人受傷，甚至可能是永久性的。 還有更多人被迫逃離家園。
世界上最嚴重的熱點地區的緊張局勢正在加劇。 最近，自10月7日哈馬斯在以色列發動可怕襲擊以來，以色列與哈馬斯在加沙的戰爭造成了前所未有的平民殺戮和饑餓，基本基礎設施遭到全麵破壞。 這場衝突也影響到該地區的其他國家，而且持續的時間越長，發生更大規模火災的風險就越大。 在西巴爾幹地區和其他地方，潛在的衝突也麵臨著爆發暴力的現實威脅。 好戰似乎正在成為政治格局中可接受的特征。
當衝突如我們今天所看到的規模肆虐或醞釀時，世界任何地方都沒有真正的安全。
與此同時，承諾在本十年末消除極端貧困的全球發展議程卻步履蹣跚。 世界上近一半人口所生活的國家的政府在債務上的支出多於教育或醫療衛生 — 我們的國際金融基礎設施功能失調加劇了這一負擔。
種族主義和其他形式的歧視——尤其是針對婦女和女童的歧視——再次抬頭，數字平台成為仇恨言論的傳遞係統，並且通常以文化或傳統的名義共同努力，以抵製最近取得的重大進展。 幾十年。
越來越多國家的公民空間正被嚴厲的限製所窒息，這些限製削弱了正義、自由和獨立的媒體以及民主和參與的空間。
所有這些趨勢加劇並助長了氣候變化、汙染和生物多樣性喪失等日益加劇的壓倒性威脅，這是一場三重行星危機，很可能成為我們這一代人麵臨的決定性人權威脅。
但多邊體係和許多社會並沒有以統一的目標和果斷、合作的領導力共同解決這些問題，而是變得更加兩極分化和更加分裂。
這是一個嚴峻的政治和經濟形勢。 這是人權緊急情況。 我相信，你們的工作對於維持和推進所有這些挑戰的解決方案的鬥爭非常重要——因為為了有效，這些解決方案需要以人權為基礎。
2018年，開創性的和平之路研究非常清楚地表明，歧視、不平等和排斥等未得到解決的不滿情緒會加劇緊張局勢，從而加劇衝突，導致流離失所，並導致痛苦和不穩定的進一步循環。 衝突的其他強大驅動因素包括腐敗、各種形式的治理不善和政府瀆職。
解決衝突； 維持和平； 為了實現可持續和綠色發展，必須解決這些根本原因。 事實上，最近的曆史提供了許多例子，表明強有力的防止侵犯人權行為使社會更具複原力，並且不太可能爆發暴力。
我們從那些看似棘手的衝突得到持久解決的地區得到了證據。 例如，當問責製得到適當重視時就是這種情況； 當持續存在的歧視和不平等得到解決時； 以及治理是透明和參與性的。
然而，今天，數以百萬計的人正在遭受未能維持和平（例如在蘇丹和緬甸）或為巴勒斯坦人創造公正和持久和平的影響。
在利比亞，缺乏有效的人權協議和非常糟糕的治理對利比亞人以及移民和難民的基本權利產生了可怕的影響——他們的可怕痛苦因被驅逐到該國而進一步加劇。 利比亞的混亂暴力也對該國鄰國產生了深遠的負麵影響
在許多領域，以人權為基礎的經濟和福利政策帶來了更加可持續的發展和經濟增長，有助於減少不平等和不滿。 事實上，在政府政策的各個領域，基於人權的措施的好處都極其明顯：投資於人權（包括基於權利的發展）的國家不易發生衝突和暴力，並且能夠更好地抵禦衝擊 一個不穩定的世界。 這就是為什麽正義、善政、平等和盡可能廣泛的公民參與空間是支撐聯合國所有發展工作的核心人權原則。
簡而言之：人權工作通過建設和平、公平、有複原力、繁榮和綠色的社會來提供解決方案，使社會更有能力度過動蕩。 這些工作需要強有力的合作領導。
但我們今天看到的不是統一的領導，而是分裂政治的統治。
一種分散注意力的政治——例如，通過捏造有關性別、移民的人為爭端或想象文明的“衝突”。 當人們感到恐懼時，仇恨言論和煽動歧視就會迅速蔓延； 當混亂甚至貧困似乎威脅到他們的生命時。
冷漠的政治否定受害者和其他人的人性，例如移民，他們不構成威脅，但很容易受到傷害。
在新技術的幫助下，一種欺騙政治，大量生產謊言和虛假信息，以使根深蒂固的精英的利益不會受到威脅。 這在否認氣候變化的情況下非常明顯。 今年全球將舉行 60 多場選舉，這種錯誤信息和虛假信息可能尤其危險。
陳舊、生硬、殘酷的鎮壓政治 — — 從未真正退出舞台 — — 也破壞了為當今的挑戰尋求公正解決方案的工作。 我們迫切需要湧現批判性、創新性和建設性的觀點來建立更好的政策和體係，但在許多國家，我們經曆的是軍事政變和獨裁主義——靴子和拳頭。
我們需要堅定地履行人權承諾，這是解決方案的承諾。 我們需要采取聯合措施，實現更多正義、尊重和包容，以增強韌性。
我們需要培養批判性思維和創造力，而這些隻能源於廣泛、自由的參與和公開辯論。 自由與發展之間不存在二分法：基本自由使發展更加可持續並惠及所有人。
我們需要堅持正義、證據和真相——例如，采取措施確保人工智能工具的原則性治理。
我們需要注意我們的相互聯係和共同價值觀——培養人類的同理心、正義和同情心的自然反應。 必須克服導致社會分裂的深刻分歧。 利比亞作家希沙姆·馬塔爾最近寫道，“戰爭的反麵是合作”，我覺得這是一係列重要的問題。 為了建立韌性與和平，我們必須努力建立或加強社會聯係、同理心和共同理解感——共同的命運。
我們該怎麽做呢？ 必須將障礙推到一邊。 教育——強調我們普遍和完全平等的權利的人權教育——可以在學校和公共媒體宣傳活動中公開進行，但也可以通過包容性運動隊、當地技能培訓、以婦女為基礎的民間社會項目進行更微妙的傳播 、宗教和社區領袖，也許特別是強調年輕人的包容性參與。 需要采取果斷行動打擊仇恨言論和仇恨犯罪。
現在讓我把這次討論帶回到這座宏偉的夫人宮，以及尊敬的本委員會成員和整個參議院所做的工作，因為這些問題不僅限於暴力猖獗的國家。 在西歐，我們也看到經濟不公正、歧視和分裂言論在許多社會中造成深刻的分歧，破壞了人權的平等和普遍性。
意大利可以為克服全球分歧做出非常有力的貢獻，這些分歧正在破壞多邊努力尋求解決方案的努力。 正如我們在下周的意大利-非洲會議上看到的那樣，它可以有助於在歐洲和通常被稱為“全球南方”的國家之間建立橋梁。 它可以激發強大的全球聯盟以促進世界各地的和平。
意大利還可以分配資源，並為確定人道主義援助和建設和平的優先事項做出貢獻。 意大利是經合組織第八大發展援助捐助國，到 2022 年將貢獻國民總收入的 0.32%。
到2030年將海外發展援助提高到0.7%的目標，以支持2030年可持續發展議程的關鍵人權目標——我希望我們能夠在這一努力中得到委員會成員的支持。
我非常感謝意大利去年向我的辦事處提供的財政捐助，並希望看到資金在未來幾年擴大。
我還期待與您合作，推進意大利境內的關鍵人權目標。 其中包括更大程度的包容性，以及結束助長仇恨和極端主義的分裂言論 — — 例如基於所謂“替代”理論的有毒和虛假陰謀論。 正如朱塞佩·托馬西·迪·蘭佩杜薩指出的那樣，意大利文化和意大利民族的豐富性始終基於其吸引和融合來自其他地方的人們的能力。 這段令人欽佩且多方麵的曆史是意大利人可以自豪的。
意大利、希臘和西班牙顯然麵臨著大量移民和尋求庇護者的挑戰，我珍視意大利人多年來在歡迎移民和協助他們融入該國方麵所表現出的團結。 移民和難民不是罪犯。 他們和你我一樣，經常被迫在痛苦和不幸中離開家園，他們為社會做出了貢獻並豐富了社會，正如 COVID-19 大流行所清楚地表明的那樣。
不幸的是，在公開辯論中，我們還看到，通過捏造所謂“文明衝突”的虛假敘述，將移民當作替罪羊，這歪曲了現實，分散了人們對基本問題的注意力。
我對針對少數族裔，特別是羅姆人、辛提人和卡米南蒂人的種族主義言論感到擔憂； 非洲人和非洲人後裔； 以及移民、尋求庇護者和難民，以及種族主義仇恨犯罪，包括言語攻擊和身體暴力。
去年，聯合國消除種族歧視委員會發布了打擊種族主義仇恨言論和仇恨犯罪的重要建議。 我鼓勵你們認真關注這些問題，並特別提請你們注意關於意大利繼續培訓執法官員並開展提高認識運動以預防和打擊種族主義仇恨犯罪和仇恨言論的建議。 作為種族主義思想的傳播。
我還對在阿爾巴尼亞建立接收移民和尋求庇護者設施的協議感到關切。 轉移到阿爾巴尼亞進行庇護和遣返程序引發了重要的人權問題，特別是免遭任意拘留的問題； 適當的庇護申請程序，包括篩查和身份識別； 和生活條件。 意大利在人權和難民法下的法律義務不得受到損害。 同時，我們也不要忘記，這種域外安排並沒有在其他國家發揮作用，反而造成了巨大的痛苦和傷害。
意大利長期大量拘留移民和尋求庇護者，並在沒有明確法律依據的情況下將其限製在所謂的“熱點”設施，這令人煩惱。 雖然我認識到預防和懲罰人口販運的重要性，但拯救生命和提供人道主義援助 — — 特別是當人們在海上處於危險時 — — 是一項人權當務之急，絕不應將其定罪或起訴。
我認為寬容——一種非常積極和擁抱差異的接受——是意大利文化的榮耀之一。 對任何群體——無論是移民、少數族裔還是 LGBTIQ+ 人群——煽動仇恨和不寬容的背後，隱藏著替罪羊和非人化他人的舊禍害。 這損害了整個社會。 它加深了分歧，並阻止所有社會成員發揮其全部技能。
政府打擊暴力侵害婦女行為的努力非常重要。 去年 11 月朱莉婭·切切丁 (Giulia Cecchettin) 被殺後，在殺戮女性事件令人擔憂的增加的背景下，全國性的反省將帶來真正的改變，幫助消除厭女症、權力遊戲和統治，這是許多女性所麵臨的問題。 忍。
我歡迎意大利在紀念《世界人權宣言》75周年之際承諾通過加強國家性別平等認證體係來推動企業減少就業中的性別歧視； 賦予兒童和青少年有意義的權力，讓他們參與決策； 對殘疾人政策進行創新和多層麵的改革。 這些承諾需要強有力的後續行動。
我期待該委員會確保所有立法完全符合意大利的人權義務。 在這方麵，我的辦公室繼續鼓勵建立國家人權機構
有權獨立、正直地行事。
總之，從我的角度來看，我們克服極端主義、兩極分化、“我們與他們”的心態確實至關重要。 當今衝突以及今天衝突之前發生的許多戰爭的主要教訓是，我們所有人都需要尋找並將我們團結在一起的因素並在此基礎上繼續發展。
尤其是在這個最困難的時期，我們決不能放棄爭取更大正義、更大平等、社會和諧和更大自由的努力。 正如《世界人權宣言》明確指出的那樣，這是世界和我們所有國家的“和平的基礎”。
我期待您繼續支持這一努力。
"We need to stand firm on the promise of human rights," Türk tells Italian Senate Committee
25 January 2024
“We need to stand firm on the promise of human rights,” Türk tells Italian Senate Committee
25 January 2024
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Palazzo Madama, home of the Senate of the Italian Republic © iStock / Getty Images Plus
DELIVERED BY
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
AT
the Italian Senate’s Extraordinary Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
Senator Pucciarelli,
Honourable Members of the Committee,
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with this Extraordinary Committee at a time of great urgency and turmoil across the world.
Conflicts are multiplying, and they are driving human rights violations, displacement, hunger and humanitarian needs to new peaks.
Across the world – in Ukraine; in Sudan and the Sahel; in Myanmar; and in dozens of other conflicts – tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, this month alone. Many more people have been wounded, perhaps permanently. Still more have been forced to flee their homes.
Tensions are rising at the world's most acute flashpoints. Most recently, since the horrific attacks by Hamas in Israel on 7 October, Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza has caused unprecedented levels of civilian killings and starvation, with wholescale destruction of essential infrastructure. That conflict is also affecting other countries across the region -- and the longer it continues, the greater the risk that an even more massive conflagration will take place. In the Western Balkans and elsewhere, there are also very real threats that dormant conflicts will erupt into violence. It appears that warmongering is becoming an acceptable feature of the political landscape.
There is no true security in any part of the world when conflict is raging – or simmering – on the scale that we are seeing today.
In tandem, the global development agenda, which promised to end extreme poverty by the end of this decade, is faltering. Nearly half the world's population live in countries whose governments spend more on debt than education or health – a burden that is fuelled by dysfunction in our international financial infrastructure.
Racism and other forms of discrimination – notably against women and girls – are again rising, with digital platforms becoming delivery systems for hate speech, and concerted efforts – often in the name of culture or tradition – to push back against the significant progress made in recent decades.
The civic space in more and more countries is being suffocated by harsh restrictions that undercut justice, free and independent media, as well as the space for democracy and participation.
And all these trends compound and fuel the accelerating, overwhelming threats of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, a triple planetary crisis that may well be the defining human rights threat of our generation.
But instead of coming together to address these questions with unity of purpose and decisive, cooperative leadership, the multilateral system – and many societies – are becoming more polarized, and more divided.
This is a dire political and economic landscape. It is a human rights emergency. I am convinced that your work can be of great importance in the struggle to sustain and advance solutions to all these challenges – because to be effective, those solutions need to be grounded in human rights.
In 2018, the ground-breaking Pathways for Peace studies demonstrated very clearly that unaddressed grievances, such as discrimination, inequalities and exclusion, drive tensions, which fuel conflicts, which lead to displacement – and further cycles of misery and destabilisation. Other powerful drivers of conflict include corruption, various forms of poor governance and government malfeasance.
To resolve conflict; to sustain peace; and to create sustainable and green development, these root causes have to be addressed and resolved. Indeed, recent history gives many examples where strong work to prevent human rights violations has made societies more resilient and less likely to explode into violence.
We have evidence from areas where apparently intractable conflicts have been durably resolved. This is the case, for example, when accountability is given appropriate weight; when persistent discrimination and inequalities are addressed; and when governance is transparent and participative.
Yet, today millions of people are suffering the impact of failures to sustain peace for example in both Sudan and Myanmar, or to create a just and enduring peace for Palestinians.
In Libya, the absence of effective human rights agreements, and very poor governance, have terrible impact on the fundamental rights of Libyans, as well as migrants and refugees – whose terrible suffering is further exacerbated by deportations of people to the country. Libya's chaotic violence also has profoundly negative consequences for the country's neighbours in the Sahel, as well as across the Mediterranean, as the Members of this Committee know well.
Across the world, there are many areas where economic and welfare policies grounded in human rights have unlocked much more sustainable development and economic growth, helping to diminish inequalities and grievances. In fact, across every area of Government policy, the benefits of human rights-based measures are extremely clear: countries that invest in human rights, including rights-based development, are less prone to conflict and violence and much better able to withstand the shocks of an unstable world. This is why justice, good governance, equality and the broadest possible space for civic participation are core human rights principles that underpin all the UN’s development work.
In short: human rights work brings solutions to the table - by building peaceful, equitable, resilient, prosperous and green societies that are much better equipped to navigate through turmoil. Such work requires strong cooperative leadership.
But instead of that unifying leadership, too often what we are seeing today is the domination of a politics of division.
A politics of distraction – for instance, through the fabrication of artificial disputes over gender, migration or imagining a "clash" of civilisations. Hate speech and incitement to discrimination can quickly catch fire when people are fearful; when chaos and perhaps even poverty seem to threaten their lives.
A politics of indifference that negates the humanity of victims and other people, such as migrants, who pose no threat, but who are vulnerable to harm.
A politics of deception, assisted by new technologies, that mass-produces lies and disinformation so that the interests of entrenched elites will not be threatened. This is very evident in the case of climate denial. This misinformation and disinformation could be especially dangerous this year, when there will be more than 60 elections worldwide.
The old, blunt, brutal politics of repression – which never really left the scene – are also undermining the work of seeking out just solutions to challenges today. We so badly need a flowering of critical, innovative and constructive views to build better policies and systems, but in so many countries, what we experience are military coups and authoritarianism – the boots and the fist.
We need to stand firm on the promise of human rights, which is a promise of solutions. We need joined-up steps towards more justice, respect and inclusion that will anchor resilience.
We need to nourish the critical thinking and creativity that can only stem from broad, free participation and open debates. There is no dichotomy between freedom and development: fundamental freedoms empower development that is more sustainable and which benefits everyone.
We need to insist on justice, evidence and truth – taking steps, for example, to ensure principled governance of artificial intelligence tools.
And we need to be mindful of our interconnectedness and shared values – cultivating humanity's natural reflexes of empathy, justice and compassion. It is essential to overcome the deep divisions that have torn apart societies. The Libyan writer Hisham Matar wrote recently that "the opposite of war is cooperation", and I feel this is an important set of issues. To build resilience and peace, we have to work to build or strengthen social connections, empathy, and a sense of shared understanding – a shared destiny.
How do we do that? Barriers must be nudged aside. Education – human rights education, which emphasises our universal and fully equal rights – can be overt, in schools and public media campaigns, but it can also be more subtle, diffused through inclusive sports teams, local skills training, women-based civil society programmes, religious and community leaders and, perhaps especially, an emphasis on the inclusive participation of young people. There needs to be decisive action against hate speech and hate crimes.
Let me now bring this discussion back to this magnificent Palazzo Madama, and the work that is done by the distinguished Members of this Committee and the Senate as a whole, because these are issues that are not limited to countries where violence is raging. In Western Europe, too, we are seeing economic injustices, discrimination and divisive rhetoric driving deep wedges across many societies, undermining the equality and universality of human rights.
Italy can contribute very powerfully to overcoming the global fractures that are tearing apart efforts to work multilaterally towards solutions. It can contribute to building bridges between Europe and the countries often termed the 'Global South', as we see with the Italy-Africa conference next week. It can galvanise strong global coalitions for peace across the world.
Italy can also allocate resources, and contribute to shaping priorities, for humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding. Italy is the eighth largest donor of development assistance in the OECD, contributing 0.32% of gross national income in 2022. It will be important to increase that overseas development assistance to the 0.7% target by 2030, to support the crucial human rights goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – and I hope we will be able to count on the support of Committee members for this effort.
I am deeply grateful for Italy’s financial contribution to my Office last year, and hope to see that financing expand in years to come.
I also look forward to working together with you to advance key human rights goals within Italy. They include greater inclusion, and an end to divisive rhetoric that fuels hatred and extremism – such as the toxic and false conspiracy theories based on alleged “replacement” theories. The richness of Italian culture and the Italian nation has always been based on its capacity to draw and integrate people from elsewhere, as Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa pointed out. This admirable and multifaceted history is something Italians can be proud of.
Italy, Greece and Spain clearly face challenges with high numbers of migrants and asylum-seekers, and I value the solidarity that Italians have shown over the years in welcoming migrants and assisting their integration in the country. Migrants and refugees are not criminals. They are people just like you and me, who have often been forced to leave their homes in pain and misery – and they contribute to and enrich society, as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated very clearly.
In public debates we have also seen- unfortunately- the scapegoating migrants through the fabrication of false narratives about a so-called "clash of civilisations", which distorts reality and distracts attention from fundamental issues.
I am concerned about the racist discourse against ethnic minorities, particularly Roma, Sinti and Camminanti people; Africans and people of African descent; as well as migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, as well as about racist hate crimes, including verbal attacks and physical violence.
Last year, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued important recommendations to combat racist hate speech and hate crimes. I encourage your attentive follow-up to these issues and draw your attention, in particular, to the recommendations that Italy continue to train law enforcement officials, and to conduct awareness-raising campaigns to prevent and combat racist hate crimes and hate speech, as well as the dissemination of racist ideas.
I am also concerned about the agreement to establish facilities in Albania for the reception of migrants and asylum-seekers. Transfers to Albania to conduct asylum and return procedures raise important human rights issues, particularly freedom from arbitrary detention; adequate asylum application procedures, including screening and identification; and living conditions. Italy's legal obligations under human rights and refugee law must not be undermined. Also, let us not forget that this type of extraterritorial arrangement has not worked in other countries, but instead caused great suffering and harm.
Italy's extensive use of detention, for long periods, of migrants and asylum-seekers, and their restriction to so-called "hotspot" facilities without clear legal basis, is troublesome. And while I recognize the importance of preventing and punishing human trafficking, saving lives and providing humanitarian assistance – especially when people are in peril at sea – is a human rights imperative, which should never be criminalised or prosecuted.
I view tolerance – a very active and embracing acceptance of difference – as one of the glories of Italian culture. Behind the whipping up hatred and intolerance against any group – whether migrants, racial minorities or LGBTIQ+ people – hides the old scourge of scapegoating and dehumanizing the other. This harms all of society. It deepens divisions and prevents all members of society from contributing their full skills.
The Government's efforts to combat violence against women are important. The national soul-searching that has followed the killing of Giulia Cecchettin last November – against a backdrop of worrying increases in femicide – will, I hope, lead to real change, helping to eradicate misogyny, the power play and domination that so many women have to endure.
I welcome Italy's pledges, in the context of the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to advance work by businesses to reduce gender discrimination in employment through a strengthened National Gender Equality Certification System; to empower children and adolescents meaningfully to participate in decision-making; and to adopt an innovative and multidimensional reform of policies regarding people with disabilities. These are commitments that require robust follow-up.
I look to this Committee to ensure that all legislation fully complies with Italy’s human rights obligations. In this context, my Office continues to encourage the establishment of a national human rights institution that is empowered to act independently and with integrity.
In conclusion, from my vantage point, it is really critical that we overcome extremist, polarised, “us versus them” mindsets. The chief lesson of today’s conflicts – and the many wars that have preceded today’s conflicts – is the need for all of us to seek out and build on the elements that bring us together.
Especially in this most troubled time, we must never give up efforts towards greater justice, greater equality, social harmony, and larger freedoms. As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes it clear, this is “the foundation of peace" – in the world, and within all our nations.
I look forward to your continued support in this endeavour.
