Law News
2005 World Summit
A chance for UN to put human rights first
From 14 to 16 September, heads of state and government gathered in New York for the 2005 World Summit, a high-level meeting at the 60th session of the UN General Assembly. The Summit will review progress made towards implementing the 2000 Millennium Declaration and will address some of the most important issues before the international community. These include reducing poverty, strengthening collective security, and enhancing the protection of human rights. Underpinning the discussions will be UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's bold proposals to restructure the UN, including the recommendation, welcomed by AI, to replace the Commission on Human Rights with a Human Rights Council.
The aim of the Summit is the adoption of a document in which governments are expected to reiterate their pledge to implement the 2000 Millennium Declaration and to commit to specific actions to meet these goals.
The latest draft of the document, expected to be adopted at the Summit, was published in August. AI welcomed its commitment to establishing the proposed Human Rights Council within a strictly limited timescale. In the months leading up to the Summit, AI has continued to work toward the overall strengthening of the human rights aspects of the document. It is lobbying government representatives to, among other things:
- establish a strong Human Rights Council as a principal organ of the UN within a specified timeframe
- immediately treble the resources of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights from the UN regular budget and double the Office's overall resources within the next five years
- adopt the strongest possible text on human rights, including reaffirming the centrality of gender equality to human rights
- agree to develop an Arms Trade Treaty, consistent with international human rights and humanitarian law obligations.
Source: Amnesty International.
