The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the nomination of the South African judge Ms. Navanethem Pillay by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the UN' next High Commissioner for Human Rights. Pillay's appointment must accelerate the advancement of international law and reinforce justice and accountability, which are essential to preventing egregious human rights violations and meeting the UN objectives of development, security and protection of human rights, said the ICJ today. Ms. Pillay is expected to further the legacy of Louise Arbour, who enhanced the human rights components of the UN country presences and the effectiveness of their monitoring and assistance mission.

"Given her past experience, Ms. Pillay is expected to guide the UN response to human rights violations, which are often compounded by armed conflicts and hostilities or pervasive impunity of their perpetrators. Tackling war crimes, crimes against humanity and other gross human rights violations, ending impunity of their perpetrators and ensuring the rights of victims to justice, reparation and truth should range as priorities", said Lukas Machon, ICJ Representative to the UN. Ms. Pillay served as Judge on the High Court of South Africa, and as President and Judge on the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Since 2003, she has served as Judge on the International Criminal Court.

Addressing human rights violations requires concerted action by the UN as a whole. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has the principal responsibility for the United Nations rights-related action, plays a crucial and pivotal role. "The High Commissioner must continue to take the initiative in ensuring that the UN Human Rights Council and the Security Council interact in tandem and not as alternates in addressing gross and systematic violations.
The Human Rights Council has an essential early warning role if escalation of human rights violations is imminent, which the Security Council needs to uphold or complement when there is a threat to international peace or security", continued Machon. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the independent experts of the Human Rights Council, known as special procedures, have corresponding tasks to update both the Councils on developments in conflict situations.

Continuous development of international human rights law and effective implementation of the human rights treaties, including the recently adopted instruments on enforced disappearance and on a communication procedure for economic, social and cultural rights, are crucial. The treaty monitoring bodies require robust reform to become more effective, accessible and transparent.
There is a need for resolute standardisation of treaty bodies' working methods and greater authority to be attributed to their views on the basis of individual communications. In this regard, the ICJ also encourages the OHCHR to continue with third-party interventions to uphold the international human rights standards.

Beyond increased resources, protection of human rights, particularly in countries in crisis or where gross human rights violations are protracted, requires the OHCHR's field offices or presences to be equipped with effective monitoring mandates and capacity to react or activate the UN system in order to prevent gross and systematic human rights violations. "The ICJ demands that the new High Commissioner enhance effectiveness of the monitoring and operational capacity of the OHCHR's field offices or other forms of presences", added Machon. The ICJ also reiterates its call to pursue the establishment of an OHCHR regional office in North Africa.

The High Commissioner's interaction with the UN organs and bodies is of the essence. The Human Rights Council has gone through the institution-building phase. However, the independence and impartiality of the Special Procedures, which is key to their operation, remains challenged. The system of special procedures is in need of effective support by the OHCHR and greater coordination among mandate-holders. The credibility of the Council also largely depends on the Universal Periodic Review mechanism, which has so far lacked candid cooperation from some of the reviewed states, which occasionally objected to a meaningful cooperation with the civil society, including NGOs. As regards the OHCHR, it should enhance its support to this process.

"The UN as a whole must prevent repeated attempts by some states to reopen the agreement on the Human Rights Council's procedures and mechanisms. Only then will it be able to deal with real issues, such as attacks on justice and obstacles to due process and accountability, including for democratic deficits", concluded Machon.

For further information, please contact Mr. Lukas Machon, ICJ Representative to the UN,
Phone: +41 22 979 38 29 or mobile: +41 76 345 40 65