World Conference on Human Rights
Encyclopedia
The World Conference on Human Rights was held by the United Nations
in Vienna
, Austria
, on 14 to 25 June 1993. It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War
. The main result of the conference was the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
.
, during April–May 1968 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
.
The Vienna conference came at a time when world conferences were popular, with the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development having been held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil
, in June 1992, and the International Conference on Population and Development
in Cairo
, Egypt
, soon following in September 1994. More conferences would follow after that, including the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen
, Denmark
, in March 1995 and the Fourth World Conference on Women
in Beijing
, China
, in September 1995. Such conferences were seen as a way to promote global participation, consultation, and policy formation, and were seen as a likely significant new way to influence the direction of international society.
The notion of having a world conference on human rights was first proposed in 1989. The end of the Cold War
brought about the hope that the long stalemate and distortion of United Nations behaviors due to the bipolar superpower confrontation would cease.
In the run-up to the 1993 conference, much of the optimism of the 1989 era was lost. Preparatory conferences were held in Geneva
, Switzerland
, beginning in 1991, as were a number of regional and satellite meetings. These struggled to produce new ideas that countries could agree upon, and highlighted differences surrounding the role of state sovereignty, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and whether new or strengthened human rights instruments for the UN were feasible and impartial. The United Nations General Assembly
was eventually forced to decide upon the conference's agenda in 1992. Pierre Sané
, the Secretary General of Amnesty International
, was concerned that conference might represent a backwards step for human rights. He added, "It's not surprising that governments are not overenthusiastic. After all, they are the ones violating human rights."
There was much discussion ahead of the conference on what could and could not be said during it. The rules adopted stated that no specific countries or places could be mentioned where human rights abuses were taking place, including those involved in current conflicts such as Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Angola
, and Liberia
, and those subject to ongoing human rights criticism, such as China
and Cuba
. Instead, human rights abuses were to be discussed in the abstract only; this led The New York Times
to state that the conference was taking place "In an atmosphere strangely removed from reality." In particular, that the ongoing Bosnian War
was taking place only an hour's flight from Vienna testified dramatically that no new era of international cooperation had come into place.
Despite the rules, organizations and demonstrators at the conference's physical site were happy to mention specific ongoing abuses all around the world, with many displaying atrocity photographs in an attempt to out-do each other. One person concerned about the Polisario Front
and Western Sahara
situation said, "It's hard to be noticed."
The conference did have an expansive view of human rights, with the normal political and economic rights being explicitly augmented by women's rights
, indigenous peoples
' rights, minority rights
, and more. Women's rights in particular gained a strong and effective presence at the conference.
One fault line at the conference was Western nations who proclaimed a universal meaning to human rights versus nations who said that human rights needed to be interpreted differently in non-Western cultures and that attempts to impose a universal definition amounted to interference in their internal affairs. The latter group was led by China
, Syria
and Iran
, and also included a number of Asian nations such as Singapore
, Malaysia, Indonesia
, and Vietnam
. On the opening day of the conference, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher
spoke out strongly against this notion, saying "We cannot let cultural relativism become the last refuge of repression."
Former U.S. House of Representatives member and vice presidential candidate
Geraldine Ferraro
attended the conference as the alternate U.S. delegate, and was one of the attendees heavily interested in women's rights aspects.
In spite of pressures from the People's Republic of China
, the 14th Dalai Lama
was able to give a talk at the conference on human responsibilities
.
, which was formulated late in the meeting and was adopted by consensus of 171 states on 25 June 1993. While one possible interpretation sees this document as a "well crafted but empty exhortation", it did come to represent as much of a consensus as could be found on human rights in the early 1990s. And it did in fact set new marks in human rights work in several areas. It established the interdependence of democracy, economic development, and human rights. Specifically, it replaced the Cold War division of Civil and Political Rights (CPR) apart from Economic Social and Cultural rights (ESCR) with the concept of rights being indivisible (you cannot take one type of rights without the other), interdependent (one set of rights needs the other to be realised), and inter-related (that all human rights relate to each other). It called for the creation of instruments to publicize and protect the rights of women, children, and indigenous peoples. It requested more funding for the United Nations Center for Human Rights. Most significantly, it called for a new office, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The United Nations General Assembly
subsequently endorsed the declaration as part of Resolution 48/121. It also created the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 20 December 1993.
By the early 2000s, all of the explicit establishments recommended by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action had been met in full or in part. The conference also highlighted the importance that NGOs would continue to play in the human rights infrastructure.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, on 14 to 25 June 1993. It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. The main result of the conference was the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, also known as VDPA, is a human rights declaration adopted by consensus at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 in Vienna, Austria...
.
Background
Although the United Nations had long been active in the field of human rights, the Vienna conference was only the second global conference to focus exclusively on human rights, with the first having been the International Conference on Human Rights held in Teheran, IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, during April–May 1968 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
.
The Vienna conference came at a time when world conferences were popular, with the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development having been held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, in June 1992, and the International Conference on Population and Development
International Conference on Population and Development
The United Nations coordinated an International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt from 5–13 September 1994. Its resulting Program of Action is the steering document for the United Nations Population Fund ....
in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, soon following in September 1994. More conferences would follow after that, including the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, in March 1995 and the Fourth World Conference on Women
Fourth World Conference on Women
The United Nations convened the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace on 4-15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. 189 governments and more than 5,000 representatives from 2,100 non-governmental organizations participated in the Conference...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, in September 1995. Such conferences were seen as a way to promote global participation, consultation, and policy formation, and were seen as a likely significant new way to influence the direction of international society.
The notion of having a world conference on human rights was first proposed in 1989. The end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
brought about the hope that the long stalemate and distortion of United Nations behaviors due to the bipolar superpower confrontation would cease.
In the run-up to the 1993 conference, much of the optimism of the 1989 era was lost. Preparatory conferences were held in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, beginning in 1991, as were a number of regional and satellite meetings. These struggled to produce new ideas that countries could agree upon, and highlighted differences surrounding the role of state sovereignty, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and whether new or strengthened human rights instruments for the UN were feasible and impartial. The United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
was eventually forced to decide upon the conference's agenda in 1992. Pierre Sané
Pierre Sané
Pierre Sané was UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences from May 2001 - June 2010. He was Secretary General of Amnesty International from October 1992 to April 2001.-Biography:Born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1949...
, the Secretary General of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, was concerned that conference might represent a backwards step for human rights. He added, "It's not surprising that governments are not overenthusiastic. After all, they are the ones violating human rights."
Conference
The World Conference on Human Rights was attended by representatives of 171 nations and 800 NGOs, with some 7,000 participants overall. This made it the largest gathering ever on human rights. It was organised by Human Rights expert John Pace.There was much discussion ahead of the conference on what could and could not be said during it. The rules adopted stated that no specific countries or places could be mentioned where human rights abuses were taking place, including those involved in current conflicts such as Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, and Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, and those subject to ongoing human rights criticism, such as China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Instead, human rights abuses were to be discussed in the abstract only; this led The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
to state that the conference was taking place "In an atmosphere strangely removed from reality." In particular, that the ongoing Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
was taking place only an hour's flight from Vienna testified dramatically that no new era of international cooperation had come into place.
Despite the rules, organizations and demonstrators at the conference's physical site were happy to mention specific ongoing abuses all around the world, with many displaying atrocity photographs in an attempt to out-do each other. One person concerned about the Polisario Front
Polisario Front
The POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
and Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
situation said, "It's hard to be noticed."
The conference did have an expansive view of human rights, with the normal political and economic rights being explicitly augmented by women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
, indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
' rights, minority rights
Minority rights
The term Minority Rights embodies two separate concepts: first, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or sexual minorities, and second, collective rights accorded to minority groups...
, and more. Women's rights in particular gained a strong and effective presence at the conference.
One fault line at the conference was Western nations who proclaimed a universal meaning to human rights versus nations who said that human rights needed to be interpreted differently in non-Western cultures and that attempts to impose a universal definition amounted to interference in their internal affairs. The latter group was led by China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and also included a number of Asian nations such as Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Malaysia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. On the opening day of the conference, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher
Warren Christopher
Warren Minor Christopher was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as President, Christopher served as the 63rd Secretary of State. He also served as Deputy Attorney General in the Lyndon Johnson administration, and as Deputy Secretary of State in the Jimmy...
spoke out strongly against this notion, saying "We cannot let cultural relativism become the last refuge of repression."
Former U.S. House of Representatives member and vice presidential candidate
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Anne Ferraro was an American attorney, a Democratic Party politician, and a member of the United States House of Representatives. She was the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party....
attended the conference as the alternate U.S. delegate, and was one of the attendees heavily interested in women's rights aspects.
In spite of pressures from the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, the 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
was able to give a talk at the conference on human responsibilities
Human responsibilities
Human responsibilities are the universal responsibilities of human beings regardless of jurisdiction or other factors, such as ethnicity, nationality, religion, or sex....
.
Results
The key result of the World Conference on Human Rights was the Vienna Declaration and Programme of ActionVienna Declaration and Programme of Action
The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, also known as VDPA, is a human rights declaration adopted by consensus at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 in Vienna, Austria...
, which was formulated late in the meeting and was adopted by consensus of 171 states on 25 June 1993. While one possible interpretation sees this document as a "well crafted but empty exhortation", it did come to represent as much of a consensus as could be found on human rights in the early 1990s. And it did in fact set new marks in human rights work in several areas. It established the interdependence of democracy, economic development, and human rights. Specifically, it replaced the Cold War division of Civil and Political Rights (CPR) apart from Economic Social and Cultural rights (ESCR) with the concept of rights being indivisible (you cannot take one type of rights without the other), interdependent (one set of rights needs the other to be realised), and inter-related (that all human rights relate to each other). It called for the creation of instruments to publicize and protect the rights of women, children, and indigenous peoples. It requested more funding for the United Nations Center for Human Rights. Most significantly, it called for a new office, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
subsequently endorsed the declaration as part of Resolution 48/121. It also created the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 20 December 1993.
By the early 2000s, all of the explicit establishments recommended by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action had been met in full or in part. The conference also highlighted the importance that NGOs would continue to play in the human rights infrastructure.