{"id":802410,"date":"2022-09-15T08:42:09","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T08:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/?p=23426"},"modified":"2022-09-15T08:42:09","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T08:42:09","slug":"new-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-volker-turk-the-man-for-an-impossible-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/09\/15\/new-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-volker-turk-the-man-for-an-impossible-job\/","title":{"rendered":"New High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk \u2013 the man for an impossible job?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On  23 June 2022 Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group posted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.universal-rights.org\/category\/blog\/\">Blog<\/a>: &#8220;<strong>Time to ask again: is being the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights an impossible job<\/strong>?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In February 2018, he published a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.universal-rights.org\/blog\/un-high-commissioner-human-rights-impossible-job22\/\" >blog<\/a> on the early departure of the previous High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra\u2019ad Al Hussein. The blog responded to David Petrasek\u2019s <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.openglobalrights.org\/another-one-bites-the-dust-what-future-for-the-un-high-commissioner-for-human-rights\/\" >article<\/a> in OpenGlobaRights, entitled \u2018Another one bites the dust\u2019 (8 February 2018). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Limon argues that the High Commissioner position is, in fact, several jobs rolled into one. The mandate of the High Commissioner and his\/her Office comprises <em>inter alia<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Monitoring and speaking out about human rights violations around the world \u2013 \u2018preventing the continuation of human rights violations throughout the world,\u2019 (OP4f of GA resolution 48\/141 of 7 January 1994).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Acting as the Secretariat to the \u2018competent bodies of the United Nations system in the field of human rights and [making] recommendations to them,\u2019 (OP4b of GA res. 48\/141).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Providing capacity building, advisory services and technical assistance, at the request of the State concerned, \u2018with a view to supporting actions and programs in the field of human rights,\u2019 (OP4d, GA res. 48\/141).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Engaging in human rights diplomacy (\u2018dialogue\u2019) with governments and \u2018enhanc[ing] international cooperation,\u2019 in order to promote the implementation of international human rights obligations and commitments, and respect for human rights, (OP4g, OP5h, GA res. 48\/141).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Coordinating human rights mainstreaming across the UN system, (OP4i, GA res. 48\/141).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Making recommendations and driving efforts to \u2018rationalize, adapt, strengthen and streamline the United Nations machinery in the field of human rights with a view to improving its efficiency and effectiveness,\u2019 (OP4j, GA res. 48\/141).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It is clear that, when held in the hands of a single human being, these different parts of the High Commissioner\u2019s overall mandate operate in tension and are, perhaps, even mutually incompatible&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it possible for one person to wear all these hats at the same time? Can a single person publicly criticise States in one breath, then in the next reach out to them to forge agreement on reform of the UN human rights system or to provide human rights technical assistance? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Petrasek has made no secret of his belief (apparently shared by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres) that Zeid over-prioritised human rights monitoring and public advocacy, to the detriment of almost all other parts of his mandate. Yet for many other civil society representatives in Geneva and for many Western diplomats, this singlemindedness (together with Zeid\u2019s natural eloquence) made the former High Commissioner something of a cult hero and the perfect High Commissioner,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast forward four and a half years and Zeid replacement as High Commissioner, the former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, has also fallen on her sword \u2013 yet for precisely the opposite reasons as Zeid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bachelet was handpicked by Guterres to mark a clear break from Zeid by pursuing a more holistic and balanced approach to the role and mandate of the High Commissioner. In addition to public advocacy  Bachelet tried to emphasise human rights diplomacy, international cooperation, support for the international human rights machinery, a focus on emerging thematic human rights concerns (e.g., climate change, the right to a healthy environment, prevention, digital technology), and the on-the-ground delivery of technical assistance and capacity-building support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See: <a href=\"https:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/2022\/06\/09\/disappointment-with-un-high-commissioners-visit-to-xinjiang-boils-over\/\">https:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/2022\/06\/09\/disappointment-with-un-high-commissioners-visit-to-xinjiang-boils-over\/<\/a> and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-hans-thoolen-on-human-rights-defenders-and-their-awards wp-block-embed-hans-thoolen-on-human-rights-defenders-and-their-awards\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/2022\/09\/01\/finally-the-long-awaited-un-report-on-china\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/2022\/09\/01\/finally-the-long-awaited-un-report-on-china\/<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In truth, the world needs a High Commissioner Zeid <strong><em>and<\/em><\/strong> a High Commissioner Bachelet. The question is: is that possible? Maybe other solutions might be considered? Might, perhaps, the High Commissioner focus on public advocacy, and the Deputy High Commissioner on the more cooperation-orientated aspects of the mandate? Maybe different Deputies could be appointed for each of the main \u2018baskets\u2019 of the High Commissioner\u2019s overall mandate? Or maybe the parts of the mandate related to the human rights machinery could be \u2018spun off\u2019 \u2013 for example, into a new position of secretary-general of the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms, and of the Treaty Bodies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are difficult and sensitive questions, and yet it is surely important that they be asked and considered now rather than later. Perhaps today, as the Secretary-General ponders the appointment of the next High Commissioner, is an opportune moment to do so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On September 7, 2022, the UN announced Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 decision to appoint Volker T\u00fcrk, an Austrian national, to replace Michelle Bachelet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-attachment-id=\"23622\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/2022\/09\/15\/new-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-volker-turk-the-man-for-an-impossible-job\/volker-turk\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1024,731\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;UN Photo\\\/Jean-Marc Ferr\\u00e9&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"volker-turk\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg?w=300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg?w=380\" src=\"https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23622\" width=\"428\" height=\"305\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg?w=428 428w, https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg?w=856 856w, https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg?w=150 150w, https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg?w=300 300w, https:\/\/thoolen.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/09\/volker-turk.jpg?w=768 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 428px) 100vw, 428px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Reactions were swift, most of them expressing the need for action, e.g.  \u201c<em>The new UN high commissioner for human rights should neither seek nor expect a honeymoon period from UN member states,<\/em>\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/about\/people\/tirana-hassan\">Tirana Hassan<\/a>, interim executive director of Human Rights Watch on 8 September \u201c<em>What\u2019s needed by the millions of people around the world whose rights are being violated every day is an advocate in their corner who will take on abusive governments large and small without fear and without hesitation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yoni Ish-Hurwitz, Executive Director of Human Rights Likeminded Office was invited by the Universal Human Rights Group on 12 September, 2022<a href=\"https:\/\/www.universal-rights.org\/category\/blog\/\">, to contribute a Blog<\/a> `&#8217;<strong>Who is Volker T\u00fcrk<\/strong>?&#8217;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Opinions have already begun forming about Volker T\u00fcrk in the short time since the announcement of his appointment last week as the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. However, in the absence of a public competition, there was little opportunity to learn about T\u00fcrk. He is also not well-known outside of the UN (and had few followers on twitter until last week). Therefore, in the absence of personal familiarity, it may be useful to focus on his biography, body of work and statements. This would lead to a better understanding of why he was selected for this role. [<strong><em>DISCLAIMER; I happen to know him personally from my days in UNHCR. He has always struck me as an honest and dedicated person with a pronounced interest in the human rights side of refugee work.<\/em><\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Central to T\u00fcrk\u2019s biography is his&nbsp;long professional&nbsp;relationship with the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.&nbsp;They worked together at UNHCR when&nbsp;Guterres led the agency as High Commissioner for Refugees. When Guterres became UN Secretary-General, T\u00fcrk joined him in New York, to serve as Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the Executive Office. Guterres promoted him in January, to the rank of Under-Secretary-General for Policy, also in the Executive Office, perhaps setting him up to take the role of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having a close confidant as the High Commissioner may be especially important for the Secretary-General at present,&nbsp;considering the significant current&nbsp;political&nbsp;challenges he faces. This is especially the case in the aftermath of the release of the long-awaited report on Xinjiang by the former High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet. She spared T\u00fcrk the need to continue holding this hot potato. However, China won\u2019t let T\u00fcrk off the hook, and will likely exert pressure on him, as it has done with Bachelet, to carefully weigh his words and the way he manages his Office\u2019s work on China. In the meantime, Chen Xu, the Permanent Representative of China in Geneva, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/china-ambassador-un-report-xinjiang-has-closed-door-cooperation-2022-09-09\/\">announced<\/a> that \u2018the Office closed the door of cooperation by releasing the so-called assessment.\u2019 This means that this is one political crisis that will not end with Bachelet\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One key question is whether the new High Commissioner will prioritise engagement over speaking truth to power. Bachelet was criticised of doing just that following her recent statements on China, until she released her report at the 11<sup>th<\/sup> hour on the job. .. On the face of it, it may appear that Guterres selected a diplomat, rather than an advocate. T\u00fcrk is a UN career officer through and through, and as such he is in a better position to offer \u2018good offices,\u2019 as the UN does, compared to any former Head of State that could have taken the High Commissioner\u2019s post. Among his predecessors were two presidents, two supreme court judges, one foreign minister and one permanent representative to the UN headquarters. However, every day before walking into his new office, the face that T\u00fcrk will see first is that of his predecessor S\u00e9rgio Vieira de Mello, who also spent most of his career in UNHCR. He was commemorated in a bust at the entrance to Palais Wilson, four years after his death in a bombing at UN headquarters in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>T\u00fcrk worked in the UN refugee agency for over 30 years, including in the field. Coming from within the UN system is an asset for navigating organisational politics, fostering collaboration with other parts of the UN, enhancing the contribution of OHCHR to&nbsp;all relevant UN fora, and understanding how to engage with Member States to address the situation of the most vulnerable people. His intimate understanding of the UN system is manifested in two major initiatives he stewarded \u2013 the Secretary-General\u2019s flagship report, Our Common Agenda, as well as the Secretary-General\u2019s Call to Action for Human Rights. This may not be the place to analyse their successes or shortcomings, but it can be said that they were both well-received. Our Common Agenda offered a vision for mobilising the UN to address global challenges. OHCHR needs a manager with this kind of foresight to grasp the organisation\u2019s structure, programmes and needs. The second initiative, the Call to Action for Human Rights, identified areas for action to advance human rights. As High Commissioner, perhaps T\u00fcrk will be in a better position to support the implementation of the Call to Action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This work demonstrates deep engagement on human rights. His legal background, holding a doctorate in international law, will support his role as an advocate. He can substantively articulate concerns and uphold norms based in international human rights law, humanitarian law and refugee law. He certainly appears as an advocate on twitter (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/volker_turk\">@volker_turk<\/a>). His tweets show his compassion, as he mostly addresses human rights concerns, with people at the centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ishr.ch\/latest-updates\/volker-turk-to-be-appointed-next-un-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-after-opaque-nomination-process\/\">Civil society was concerned about the selection process<\/a>. Phil Lynch, Executive Director of the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), said: \u2018<em>The lack of transparency and meaningful consultation with independent civil society in the selection process meant that the Secretary-General missed a key opportunity to build the legitimacy and authority of the next High Commissione<\/em>r.\u2019 The appointment of the Secretary-General\u2019s confidant may have reaffirmed worries that the High Commissioner would prioritise diplomacy and engagement over advocacy for human rights. However, T\u00fcrk appears to have the appropriate biography and a heart in the right place to fulfil both of the High Commissioner\u2019s roles as an advocate and a diplomat. Hopefully he will be attentive to civil society and rights-holders, in line with his advice during his time as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UNHCR:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipinst.org\/2018\/11\/addressing-contemporary-protection-challenges-in-complex-crises#5\">\u2018Listen to what refugees are telling us.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After being appointed at the last minute as the next UN high commissioner for human rights, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/genevasolutions.news\/global-news\/volker-turk-of-austria-nominated-to-be-next-un-rights-chief\" >Volker Turk<\/a> is not expected to be at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council, held from 12 September to 7 October. When he does, Turk will have to grapple among other challenges with his predecessor\u2019s report on Xinjiang, but for the moment deputy high commissioner Nada Al Nashif is in charge of the UN rights office and will have to answer any questions about China that might come up during the first days of debate..<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.universal-rights.org\/uncategorized\/time-to-ask-again-is-being-the-un-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-an-impossible-job\/\">https:\/\/www.universal-rights.org\/uncategorized\/time-to-ask-again-is-being-the-un-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-an-impossible-job\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/09\/08\/un-new-rights-chief-should-speak-out-all-victims\">https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/09\/08\/un-new-rights-chief-should-speak-out-all-victims<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-universal-rights-group wp-block-embed-universal-rights-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"MFUw7cx6fv\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.universal-rights.org\/by-invitation\/who-is-volker-turk\/\">Who is Volker T\u00fcrk?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"&#8220;Who is Volker T\u00fcrk?&#8221; &#8212; Universal Rights Group\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universal-rights.org\/by-invitation\/who-is-volker-turk\/embed\/#?secret=MFUw7cx6fv\" data-secret=\"MFUw7cx6fv\" width=\"380\" height=\"214\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/humanrightsdefenders.blog\/2022\/09\/15\/new-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-volker-turk-the-man-for-an-impossible-job\/\">Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 23 June 2022 Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group posted a Blog: \u201cTime to ask again: is being the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights an impossible job?\u201d In February 2018, he published a blog on the early departure of the previous High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra\u2019ad Al Hussein. [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7707,9543,52616,25801,6,51124,52620,1439,1680,2002,52634,2789,111,52651,52653],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802410"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/487"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":802411,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802410\/revisions\/802411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}