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Human
Rights After Sept. 11 At Risk, Says Outgoing Robinson
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| Robinson
said she would not seek a fresh term when her appointment
ends in September. |
GENEVA,
March 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – As Mary Robinson
announced that she would not be renewing her post as the U.N.'s top
human rights official, she deplored lack of respect for human rights
after September 11.
"I
have a sense that respect for the international human rights norms
and standards is at some risk” since September 11, Robinson said,
quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP).
U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan had asked Robinson to extend her
four-year mandate when it ended September 2001, but she said she
could do more from without the constraints of the U.N. system.
Robinson’s
stance may be the result of pressure from the United States for
focusing on sensitive topics, such as the death penalty, and human
rights violations of “publicly big governments like the United
States” according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
"I
was very concerned about the way the [U.S.] intervention was carried
out in Afghanistan, causing a disproportionate number of victims
among the civilian population," she said.
Robinson
had said she has no qualms about fighting terrorism, but that she
believes “in the dignity and value of every human being,” and
does “not accept that villages be written off as 'collateral
damage' without one even asking about the number and names of the
dead."
She
has been recently scrutinized and criticized by the U.S. government
for her reproof of U.S. treatment of Afghan prisoners at Guantanamo
Bay.
Robinson
called on the international community to consolidate efforts to
“safeguard citizen’ basic rights.”
At
a symposium on human rights in Islam, held at the United Nations'
European headquarters in Geneva and which came ahead of Monday,
March 18’s opening of the six-week annual session of the U.N.
Human Rights Commission, Robinson defended Islam as indivisible from
human rights.
“Islamic
principles are an integral part of international human rights
standards,” Robinson said. “No one can deny the acceptance of
the universality of human rights by Islamic states."
She
warned the world “the tragedy of September 11 brought in its wake
a resurgence of ‘Islamophobia’ in many parts of the world.”
Robinson
repeated her call for international observers to be sent to the
Middle East as a “deterrent to violations in the Palestinian
territories and to promote security against attacks on Israeli
civilians.”
"I
do quite often think what difference it might have made if,
following my visit there in November 2000 and the strong
recommendation about international observers, this had been
accepted," she said.
"It
wouldn't have stopped all of the violence,” she added, “but I
think it would have made a very significant difference."
Robinson
has also voiced concern over reports of abuse committed by Russian
soldiers against Chechen civilians in the independence-seeking
republic of Chechnya.
Robinson
refused to comment on the stand of individual countries with regards
to her departure, but said she knows she has many supporters.
According
to AFP, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher wished
Robinson well in her “future endeavors,” adding that the United
States would consult with Annan on "his appointment of a new
high commissioner."
The
U.S. will not be on the commission’s member list as it was voted
off last year as a result of a system to ensure a rotation of
members.
However,
Washington will uphold observer status in talks that are to probe
into international human rights violations, including those in
Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, China, Chechnya,
African countries and Colombia.
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