28 February 2020
To: All permanent missions in New York and Geneva
CC: Antonio Guterres, members of the St and 3rd Committee of the UN General Assembly and Ms. Michelle Bachelet
Your Excellency,
In recent years, the United Nations Human Right System has grown exponentially. The number of states ratifying human rights treaties continued to increase, getting us closer to the ambitious goal of universal ratification. Such growth represents a great achievement of the peoples' struggle for justice and social progress and at the same time, it poses some challenges that need to be addressed.
Our organizations are particularly concerned by the lack of adequate funding to the UN Human Rights System. Human Rights, Peace and Development are the three pillars of the United Nations. These pillars are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. It is unacceptable that, as underlined by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights received less than the 8% of the regular budget and the Office of the High Commissioner just received 3.7 per cent of the total UN regular budget[1] for 2018-2019 and 3.3% for 2020[2]•
In 2019, the financial constraint of the OHCHR resulted in the potential cancellation of the third session of six different treaty bodies. The decreasing budgetary allocation to UNOG forced the Human Rights Council to reduce its meetings and, consequently, the Council suppressed all general debates during its nextJune session and it further reduced speaking time for all stakeholders. Special Procedures, as well as the OHCHR, heavily rely for their functioning on 'voluntary contributions' by states, private institutions and even business enterprises. This situation is unacceptable and it seriously threaten the independence and impartiality of the UN work in the field of human rights. Such developments negatively affect the right of participation of civil society organizations and peoples' movements.
Despite its limits and defects, the UN Human Rights System plays a fundamental role in the promotion and protection of human rights all over the world. It is crucial to preserve it and to guarantee its efficacy and efficiency. For many groups the UN Human rights system remains one of the few international spaces to which they can turn seeking justice and accountability. These institutions are especially relevant in the current environment, in which i.a. authoritarian forces are fueling racism, xenophobia, misogyny and nationalism; repression and criminalization of human rights defenders are on the rise; and outrageous inequalities are deepened by the dominant economic model. Armed conflicts affect many regions of the world and environmental destruction and climate change harm the livelihoods of the most marginalized groups of the population and threat to destroy our common house.
In accordance with resolution 68/268, in April 2020 the General Assembly will review the functioning of the UN human rights treaty body system. In Geneva, the so-called "Human Rights Council Long Term efficiency process" is ongoing. We urge all UN member states to actively participate in these important debates and to make sure that adequate recourses are allocated to the human rights system through the UN regular budget.
More than 70 years ago, we, the peoples of the United Nations, decided to unite our strength to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and to create better conditions of living for all, i.a through promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all. We have come a long way since then but there is still a long way to go.
Confident in the active support of your Delegation to our common effort to improve and strengthen the UN human rights system, please accept, Excellency, the assurance of our highest considerations.
- Conselho lndigenista Missionário - CIMI
- FIAN International
- Franciscans International
- Movimento Nacional de Direitos Humanos MNDH Brasil
- FIAN International
- MAB
- Central de Cooperativas Unisol Brasil
- La Sabana University - Federico Carrillo
- Peace Brigades International
- REDIM - Red por los Derechos de la lnfancia en México
- Asistencia Legal Por los Derechos Humanos A.C. (ASILEGAL)
- CUT COLOMBIA
- Articulacão para o Monitoramento dos Direitos Humanos no Brasil
- Al-Haq
- Center for Women's Global Leadership
- Dominicans for Justice and Peace
- Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Francisco de Vitoria, O.P, A.C
- Collectif GRITO
- Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights, University of Cincinnati College of Law
- Society for International Development (SID)
- Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ)
- Centro de Documentacion en Derechos Humanos "Segundo Montes Mozo S.J." (CSMM)
- FIAN Colombia
- Participatory Research Action Network- PRAN
- Food Security Network- KHANi, Bangladesh
- lnpade intituto de participacion y desarrollo. FOCO Foro ciudadano de participacion y derechos humanos
- Saluteglobale.it
- ISCOS CISL
- FIAN Indonesia
- Global Policy Forum Europe
- Honduras Forum Switzerland
- Viva Salud
- Solsoc
- Frères des Hommes Belgique
- Peace Watch Switzerland (PWS)
- Grupo de Trabajo Suiza Colombia (ask!)
- University of Essex - Professor Clara Sandoval
- Rural Poor Institute for Land and Human Rights Services (RIGHTS), Inc.
- Asociacion de lnvestigación y Especialización sobre Temas lberoamericanos
- FIAN Austria
- Plataforma Internacional contra la lmpunidad
- Foro Honduras-Suiza
- KM2207 Guatemala Suisse
- Group-FIAN Haiti
- Fian Brasil
- Institute Plurais
- RCA- Rede de Cooperação Amazônica
- lepé -lnstituto de Pesquisa e Formação lndígena
- lnspirAction
- UPR Info
- SWISSAID
- Brazilian Campaign for the Right to Education
- ETIS
- Jóvenes Argentinos por el Derecho a la Educación
- Forum Syd
- Coalición Colombiana por el Derecho a la Educación
- Frente Amplio por la Educación los Derechos y la Paz
- FIAN Ecuador
- Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras
- "Red europea de Comités Oscar Romero" y Comité belga 'Solidair met Guatemala"
- CLADEM El Salvador
- Campaña Boliviana por el derecho a la educación
- Campaña Latinoamericana por el Derecho a la Educación
- PODER Proyecto sabre Organización, Desarrollo, Educación e lnvestigación (PODER, por sus siglas en inglés)® MéxicoI
- CNCD-11.11.11
- INPADE / FOCO
- Espacio Público
- 11.11.11 - The Coalition of the Flemish North-South Movement
- ASOCIACION PRO DERECHOS HUMANOS DE ESPANA
- Ligue Burundaise des droits de l'homme lteka
- WomanHealth Philippines
- Fundación para el Desarrollo de Comunidades Rurales y Urbanas de El Salvador
- International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
- ICID (lniciativas de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo)
- Mundubat
- Institute de Derecho Ambiental A.C.
- ORGANIZACIÓN CONTRA LS DISCRIMINISACION REPUBLICANA DE IDEOLOGIA LIBERAL
- Robert F Kennedy Human Rights
- El Proyecto sobre Organización, Desarrollo, Educación e lnvestigación (PODER, por sus siglas en ingles)® MéxicoPODER
- Red de Educacion Popular entre Mujeres - REPEM
- Comunidad de Derechos Humanos
- Fundacion Levantate y Anda
- Plataforma Internacional contra la lmpunidad
- Campana por el derecho a la educación en México CADEM
- WhyHunger
- PASO global
- Institute de Desenvolvimento e Direitos Humanos - IDDH
- Corporate Accountability
- Centro de Gestión Cultural PUKANAWI
- Asociacion de Mujeres JUMAM Pl LURATA
- Andrea Bolaños Vargas Defensora y Consultora Internacional
- Red Global/glocal por la calidad educativa
- Comité Cerezo México
- Frontera con Justicia AC - Casa del Migrante de Saltillo
- Consejo de Educación Popular de America Latina y el Caribe - CEAAL
- MARUAH, Singapore
- Cfrculo de Mujeres lntelectuales de Panama. CIMIP
- Sudwind, Austria
- Sudwind, Austria
- Confédération Paysanne
- CEAR-Euskadi
- Kilusan para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan (KATARUNGAN)
- Society for International Development
- Friends of the Earth Sweden/Jordens Vanner
- Katarungan Negros Occidental
- Katarungan Negros Occidental
- APRASE -Asociación Profesional de Abogados Saharauis en Espana
- Fondazione Lelio e Listi Basso Onlus
- ARTICLE 19
- CCFD-Terre Solidaire
- Katarungan (kilusan para sa repormang agraryo at katarungan panlipunan)
- Transnational Institute TNI
- Campaña Argentina por el Derecho a la Educación (CADE)
- Coordinadora de la Mujer
- Mexiko Forum Schweiz
- Trocaire
- 5 Elementos - Institute de Educacão para a Sustentabilidade
- Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE)
- Fundación Tierra de Paz
- FIAN Suisse
- Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
- Mujeres Libres COLEM A.C
- Grupo de Mujeres de San Cristobal Las Casas AC
- FEDERACION INTERNACIONAL DE FEY ALEGRIA
- FIAN Sweden
- CENTRO DE APOYO SOLiDARiO, DOCUMENTACION Y ESTUDIO, A.C.
- Sindicato de Trabajadores del Ministerio de Salud
- Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montana "Tlachinollan"
- Servicios y Asesorfa para la Paz A.C.
[1] https://w [1]ww.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/FundingBudget.aspx [1]
[2] Human Rights Appeal 2020: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/AnnualAppeal2020.pdf [2]p.40
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