Mandate

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was established in accordance with a UN General Assembly resolution, adopted in late 1993 pursuant to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. OHCHR forms part of the UN Secretariat and functions under the overall authority of the Secretary-General.

The OHCHR is mandated to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization, by all people, of all rights established in the Charter of the United Nations and in international human rights laws and treaties. The mandate includes preventing human rights violations, securing respect for all human rights, promoting international cooperation to protect human rights, coordinating related activities throughout the UN, and strengthening and streamlining the UN system in the field of human rights. In addition to its mandated responsibilities, the Office leads efforts to integrate a human rights approach within all work carried out by UN agencies.

OHCHR and the prevention of genocide

The first High Commissioner, José Ayala-Lasso, began work the week that the Rwandan genocide began. Subsequent High Commissioners, however, have taken prominent and quite public measures to focus international attention on atrocities involving the threat of genocide and mass killings, in the Balkans, Burundi, eastern Congo, East Timor, Darfur, and elsewhere.

There are different theories about how the High Commissioner can be most effective. Mary Robinson had a very public profile, operating through declarations, statements and press conferences. But the position can also be conceived of as one requiring quiet diplomacy rather like the model followed by the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. It may also be possible for the OHCHR to promote a 'good offices’ role, perhaps by using trusted low-profile representatives to make progress and resolve issues, with the threat of public denunciation by the High Commissioner where quiet diplomacy fails.

The OHCHR proved its ability to respond quickly and effectively by providing all of the administrative back-up to the Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, whose creation was mandated by the Security Council in September 2004. The Secretary General was given the task of implementing the Security Council decision, and he in effect turned to the OHCHR. It was able to respond promptly, devoting highly-skilled personnel who were either part of the permanent staff of the OHCHR or readily available through networks. The Commission of Inquiry worked quickly, and within weeks its team had assembled and was soon on the ground in Darfur and the sub-region. The Commission presented a comprehensive report in mid-January 2005, barely 4 months after its establishment.

The Darfur Commission provides one model of action for future situations of genocide and mass killing. It joins the dynamism of an ad hoc commission with the resources and expertise of the OHCHR, although it is focused only on investigation, rather than prevention as such. The Commission was launched following a US initiative in the Security Council. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was acting pursuant to Article VIII of the Genocide Convention, which authorizes states to:

"...call upon the competent organs of the United Nations to take such action under the Charter of the United Nations as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide."

The Commission of Inquiry was the result, and it, in turn, proposed the prosecution of international crimes by the ICC.

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