Position paper 2007 relating to substantive and other aspects of attacking the root cause of violence
As part of a wider project funded by the
European Union and other donors, OMCT organised an international seminar in
Geneva on “Addressing the economic, social and cultural root causes of violence
through the UN Special Procedures System” from 18 to 22 June 2007. This
seminar, attended by representatives of national human rights NGOs from 14
countries, was an important element of OMCT’s three-year project on “Preventing
Torture and Other Forms of Violence by acting on their Economic, Social and
Cultural Root Causes.”
This OMCT project is intended to develop
concrete measures to act upon this link and reduce levels of violence
associated with socio-economic conditions. The Special Procedures mechanisms
represent a significant element in this regard. It is, therefore, important
that national NGOs addressing both human rights and development issues are
aware of how to interact most effectively with these mechanisms.
This document contains expert papers and NGO
case studies developed during the 2007 OMCT Special Procedures Seminar. We
believe that this information is very relevant to the UN Special Procedures
System, and its Mandate Holders.
Presentations (reproduced in Section II) by two
invited experts, Mr. François Beaujolin
and Mr. Yves Berthelot, examined the macro-economic and political policies
that need to be addressed to reduce inequality and the resulting violence and
illustrated the ways that national NGOs, with international collaboration, can
effectively act against government policies that risk increasing poverty.
The NGO representatives - from Argentina,
Bangladesh, Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Egypt, Gambia, Georgia, India, Liberia,
Nepal, South Africa and Zambia - presented case studies (summarised in Section
III) discussing the specific economic, social and cultural root causes of
torture and violence in their countries, and discussed what national NGOs
needed to do to help make the special procedures effective. They also held in-depth discussions with
special procedures mandate holders responsible for issues relating to torture, indigenous
peoples, the right to health, arbitrary detention, protection of human rights
defenders and violations of human rights by private security forces.
The participants in the seminar concluded that
in order to fight violence it is crucial for NGOs to identify and address its
economic, social and cultural root causes; that NGO action can be effective in
this regard, that the United Nations procedures can be of significant
assistance if NGOs provide reliable and targeted information, and that it is important
for OMCT to continue to develop its capacity to support national NGOs in this
area.
OMCT is grateful to the European Union, the
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Karl Popper Foundation,
the Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation and the Foundation for
Human Rights at Work for their financial support for this project.