Page 40 - IB AUG 2018

Indepth

‘Defend the people, not the States’, says

outgoing UN human rights chief

For four years, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the United Nations High Com- I always felt that that is the principle task: we provide technical as-
missioner for Human Rights, has been taking governments across the sistance, we collect information, we go public on it. But in overall terms,
world to task, exposing human rights violations and robustly advocating the central duty for us is to defend the rights of those most marginalised
for the rights of victims. His appointment by the Secretary-General back and those that need it.
in 2014 was a landmark: he became the first Asian, Muslim and Arab
ever to hold the post. UN News: what if you come under pressure to stay
Before that, Zeid had already enjoyed a long and distinguished career, silent?
both at the UN and as a Jordanian diplomat. He served his country in
several capacities, notably as Ambassador to the United States, and Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein: Well, the interesting thing is that the
Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, with a pressure on this particular job doesn’t really come very much from the
stint as President of the Security Council in January 2014. governments. They all attack the office because we criticise all of them,
The United Nations News first published this interview with Commis- but we also point to areas where there is improvement, and I sometimes
sioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Husssein on 16 August, 2018 and here are excerpts: will praise the government for doing the right thing.
The real pressure on this job comes from the victims and those who
UN News: When you compare the human rights suffer and expect a great deal from us. That’s the pressure that I think
landscape today to when you took over the UN human matters most in terms of the need to do the right thing.
rights office back in 2014, what are the key differences
that you see?

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein: When I took over, it coincided with the
terrible videos put online by Daesh, or ISIS, which stoked a great deal
of fear and horror. And we began to see a sort of a deepening of the
crisis in Syria and in Iraq. And this then folded into two things:
One, a great determination to embark on counter-terrorism
strategies, which we felt were, in part, excessive in certain
respects. Every country has an obligation to defend its people,
and the work of terrorism is odious and appalling and needs
to be condemned and faced. But whenever there is exces-
sive action, you don’t just turn one person against the
State, you turn the whole family against the State. Ten
or maybe more members could end up moving in the
direction of the extremists.
And then, the migration debates, and the strength-
ening of the demagogues and those who made hay out
of what was happening in Europe for political profit. As
each year passed, we began to see a more intense pressure
on the human rights agenda.

UN News: You have been very outspoken and
you’ve called out governments and individual
leaders around the world who have abused
human rights. Do you see that as the most
important role for the UN human rights chief?

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein: Yes. At the Human Rights High
Commission, you’re part of the UN, but also part of the human rights
movement and both are equally important. As I said on earlier occasions,
governments are more than capable of defending themselves. It’s not
my job to defend them. I have to defend civil society, vulnerable groups,
the marginalised, the oppressed. Those are the people that we, in our
office, need to represent.

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Photo: www.ohchr.org

40 Islands Business, August 2018