Speech by Rene Jones-Bos Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands on the 65th anniversary of the

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in The Hague Tuesday, 10 December 2013

Excellencies, distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues and listeners around the world, Thank you, Kees and the Roosevelt Study Centre, for inviting me to speak on this important day, the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Thank you all for being here in The Hague or with us online. Good to see so many old friends and colleagues! DAY of HOPE If it werent for you, or all those thousands of minds and hands honoring the Declaration, today would be just another grim day in an imperfect world. With grave injustice. And just as grave indifference. A day for two men in love to fear for their lives. A day for women speaking up to fear for their lives. A day for journalists reporting on war and peace to fear for their lives. A day of sorrow for mankind. But this is a day of hope! In Dakar. In Kigali. In 120 capitals around the world, Dutch diplomats and their local interlocutors are marking Human Rights Day. Fueled by hope. Today, I will sketch how human rights became the cornerstone of Dutch foreign policy. I want to tell you about Minister Timmermans recent human rights policy innovations. And I will elaborate on three of our priorities. As we innovate, we also contemplate on our own human rights situation in the Netherlands. Our aim is to practice what we preach, both at home and abroad. I will get back to that later. HUMAN RIGHTS IN DUTCH FOREIGN POLICY Ladies and Gentlemen, the Netherlands is a free country. With equal rights for all, guaranteed by our Constitution and by the rule of law. We hold a deep-seated belief in human rights, based on centuries of molding our democratic freedom. In the 17th Century, Dutch economist Pieter de la Court saw Dutch interests as being at the center of a triangle, whose vertices were free trade, peace and rule of law. To this day, our policy is based on these values. Sixty-five years ago, the foundation was laid for universal recognition of human rights. Today, the Declaration is as relevant as ever, and a continuous source of inspiration. In addition to the Declaration, human rights are laid down in the European Convention of Human Rights. Over the years and across the world, human rights have been the object of many treaties and

other legal instruments, ratified by large numbers of states. Implementation of these treaties is now a priority, is going on around the world, with ups and downs, as work in progress. Ever since, the Netherlands has consistently thrown its weight behind the improvement of human rights, based on universally accepted values. As our Foreign Minister Max van der Stoel pointed out in the seventies, advancing our national interests cannot be done without serving higher interests. Such as peace. Security. Promoting the international rule of law. Safeguarding human rights. Preventing or containing conflicts. And fighting social and economic injustice. The current Dutch government carries on this tradition. Because human rights can never be taken for granted. Because freedom brings obligations. Because work on human rights is still a necessity. Also in our own country. So we take an honest look at ourselves. Are we providing sufficient human rights education in schools? Are we ensuring the human rights of asylum seekers? Are we ourselves abiding by the international treaties to which we are signatories? We know there is room for improvement. Barbara Oomen tells us about it in her fascinating book, Rights for Others, which she will present later today. And so human rights are a cornerstone of Dutch foreign policy. We place human rights on every possible agenda, in every dialogue and in all our international relations. With drive, but also with realism and aware of a changing world. INNOVATION IN HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY While our values remain unchanged and our commitment unwavering, the context of foreign policy has changed. We see it in the transition processes in the Middle East. We see it in the upcoming economies. Brazil, Russia. India. China. And in the Next 11 countries identified by Goldman Sachs as moving into the mainstream global economy. This is why also our human rights policy requires innovation. Last June, Foreign Minister Timmermans presented our new national human rights strategy to parliament. It is based on the inextricable link between human rights, democracy and rule of law. On the universality of human rights. And on the need to respond to a changing world. New powers are at play. Different ways of looking at the world require us to adapt our policy. Let me highlight three new elements in Dutch human rights strategy. TRILATERAL COOPERATION The first is trilateral cooperation. Clever partnerships. Teaming up with regional players. Letting them take the lead. It is so much more effective, ladies and gentlemen, when a non-Western country states the obvious. Difficult messages go down better. And human rights stand to gain.

Take our regional human rights education project for example, in Morocco. Here, our Embassy is working with Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian NGOs. Jointly offering a course to school and university students, teachers, professors and journalists on human rights and underlying universal values. Another example is our work in the African Great Lakes region, where we work together with Burundi and other countries to fight violence against women. Increasingly, we take an integrated approach, including NGOs, businesses, knowledge institutes and trade unions. Bringing as many players as possible in the loop. Clearly, we are producing better results. In Tbilisi, our Embassy joined hands with the Brazilian Embassy, UNDP and Human Rights Watch to organize a roundtable discussion with Boris Dittrich on Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders, or LGBT. A highly relevant event, in view of the disproportionate violence perpetrated against homosexuals on the International Day Against Homophobia earlier this year. And a highly effective joint effort, demonstrating that LGBT rights are not just a Western hobby horse. USING THE INTERNET Also new in our human rights strategy is harnessing the Internets potential. The Internet enables individuals to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression. But it also affords tremendous new opportunities for other human rights, with unprecedented outreach. Take the online Bell Bajao campaign, which addresses domestic violence. Men calling on each other to stop abusing women. The human rights NGO Breakthrough set this up in India in 2008 with Dutch support. Now, the bell is ringing across the continents. Over 240 million people have been exposed to this campaign. New technologies enable human rights defenders to draw attention to human rights violations. Much quicker than before. A good example is the App Story Maker, a mobile course on safe and responsible reporting, financed by the Dutch government. The Internet also pushes us to innovate and upgrade existing human rights initiatives. Take our annual Human Rights Tulip Prize. Every year, the Human Rights Tulip goes to an organization or individual who has made an outstanding contribution to human rights. The winner of that prize gets the publicity, but also the online platform, to further develop their ideas. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Mrs. Sheena Hadi and her organization Aahung, the winner of the 2013 Human Rights Tulip. Mrs. Hadi and her organization work on a very practical level, in Pakistan: providing information on sex, birth control and reproductive rights. Leading to the fulfillment of article one of the Declaration: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

CREDIBILITY New in our strategy, finally, is our enhanced focus on credibility. While we continue to address human rights violations in other countries, we are aware that we must do this in a credible way. Our own credibility is of utmost importance. And so we keep a close eye on our practices at home and in the region. Foreign policy should always be firmly rooted in domestic policy. This year, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights submitted its first annual report on human rights in the Netherlands. The governments reaction is due to be discussed in parliament early next year. Meanwhile, just before this event, Minister Plasterk presented the governments first National Human Rights Action Plan. A direct follow-up to international standards. You see, ladies and gentlemen, we really do try to put our money where our mouth is. Within the EU, too, we continue to address each other on human rights issues. Together with Germany, Finland and Denmark, we are currently developing an instrument to monitor the rule of law in EU member states. Honest introspection enhances our credibility. Ultimately, it enhances the effectiveness of EU instruments, such as the EU human rights dialogues. PRIORITIES The Netherlands has all kinds of experience and expertise in the field of human rights. While we continue to cultivate that, we direct our efforts to three priority groups. LGBT. Women. And human rights defenders. Ladies and Gentlemen, I started by saying that this was a day of hope. In Dakar. In Damascus. In Kigali. Let me tell you of a few recent steps forward for human rights for these three priority groups. SENEGAL: LGBT Just last month, five Senegalese women were released after charges had been pressed against them for breaking anti-gay law. They had allegedly engaged in so-called unnatural activities between same sex individuals. Now, homosexuality, ladies and gentlemen, is a crime in Senegal. The Dutch Embassy in Dakar supported the women while in prison awaiting their verdict and in court. Today, it can be proud of what it achieved for LGBT rights. And the Senegalese Lesbian organization, Sourire de femme, can produce a smile. Around the world, our ambassadors will continue the call for nondiscrimination and an end to violence against LGBT. SYRIA: WOMENS RIGHTS Just last month, UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi spoke about the conditions for bringing Syrias warring parties to the negotiating table. If the opposition does not participate, there will be no Geneva conference, said Brahimi. I would take it one step further, ladies and gentlemen, and venture to say this: If women do not participate, then there will be no sustainable peace in Syria. In the

interest of an inclusive transition, the Netherlands actively encourages parties to invite women to the peace talks. And to consider the gender perspective every step of the way. During our UN General Assembly side-event last September, the Netherlands invited Syrian womens organizations to talk to Brahimi. We are now working on a follow-up to that dialogue, together with UNDPA and UNWomen, possibly even before Geneva Two. RWANDA: MEDIA FREEDOM Just last Spring, the parliament in Rwanda adopted four new media laws, giving reporters more freedom and more responsibility. An important step towards the establishment of a free and independent media-climate for journalists in that country. An important step for a fundamental human right, that of freedom of expression. The Netherlands Embassy in Kigali actively supports the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Its efforts to kick-start and fortify the media sector in Rwanda are promising. For journalists. And for Rwandan democracy. HUMAN RIGHTS AND MODERN DIPLOMACY Ladies and gentlemen, having briefly sketched the history of our human rights policy, the recent changes made in response to a changing world and our priority focus areas, I humbly conclude by saying that we stand on the shoulders of giants. Franklin Roosevelt, who left us the Four Freedoms, Eleanor Roosevelt, the driving force behind the Universal Declaration. The Roosevelt Study Centre has a fantastic heritage to work with and on. And John F. Kennedy, who said: If one man is enslaved, all are not free. Examples and words that inspired me when I was Human Rights Ambassador, back in 2000. Now, I am Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in charge of modernizing Dutch diplomacy. Modern diplomacy also takes innovative thinking. Based on efficiency, integrity, and using our networks: bilaterally, trilaterally, multilaterally and online, to the very best of our potential. But most importantly, it still takes the kind of inspiration FDR and JFK left us. I wish you a fruitful afternoon. Thank you.