Human rights

SOME RESULTS FROM THE UN-EU PARTNERSHIP IN 2009 IN THE AREA OF HUMAN RIGHTS:

Responding to situations of urgent concern, the UN fielded teams of experts to Gabon, Honduras, Iraq, Madagascar and the occupied Palestinian territory and provided staff to support the International Commission of Inquiry into events in Guinea and the fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict.

Morocco, Tanzania, Nigeria and Pacific countries were helped in developing national human rights action plans. A training package on the value of the human rights framework in national development planning was piloted in Haiti and Liberia.

In Seychelles, national capacity building for both state and civil society was supported, including through human rights
training manuals and training.

A global campaign against discrimination was launched on Human Rights Day 2009 in South Africa under the slogan
“Embrace Diversity, End Discrimination.”

In Madagascar, the knowledge and capacity of 30 judges, prosecutors and government o!cials on the administration of
justice was increased.  

At the inter-governmental level, support was provided to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review mechanism, under which the human rights situation in all 192 Member States of the United Nations is reviewed on a rolling basis. The partnership also supported the 2009 Durban Review Conference tasked with assessing  implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action agreed in 2001 at the World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. The Outcome Document, supported by 182 countries, commits states to further steps to combat racism.

The EU helped strengthen internal UN capacity, supporting human rights mainstreaming including capacity development of UN country teams.