Page 45 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

the best and most effective use of these resources? Are Member States getting
the greatest benefits from the kind of secretariat support they presently receive
from the Office for Disarmament? These are questions which should be
addressed both politically and financially.

Another part of the global action of the UN in Geneva where your special
attention and assistance is required is the Centre for Human Rights. The
resources of the Centre are about less than 1 per cent of the regular budget of
the UN: i.e. US $ 12,000,000 per year and some 50 professional staff. The
Centre does not have even half the amount of financial and human resources
available to the international secretariat in London of Amnesty International.
Present regular budget allocations are clearly insufficient for the Centre to
perform the tasks that the international community is increasingly entrusting
upon it. The proposed 1994-1995 budget will certainly have to reflect a
substantial increase of regular funding so as to put the activities of the Centre
under more solid financial foundations.

I am deeply convinced that human rights is a top priority of the interna-
tional community and of the UN and remains a pillar of the global action of the
UN Office at Geneva.

While the IV session of the Preparatory Committee for the World
Conference is not making the kind of progress we would expect on the final
document prepared by the secretariat, it is my hope that the final outcome in
Vienna will result in an action-oriented document aimed at strengthening
national human rights institutions and the ability of the Centre to effectively
assist Member States in their endeavours for the largest possible realization of
human rights and fundamental freedoms. For world public opinion and the
media however the degree of success of the Conference will be measured to a
large extent by the ability of the international community to enhance the
mechanisms of implementation and particularly the monitoring, at the field
level, of human rights abuses. I myself believe from my own experience that
monitoring, the use of special rapporteurs is the part of the UN action for
human rights that is most effective in bringing about real change together with
effective cooperation and presence locally of NGOs.

While reform is bound to challenge the established structure and the estab-
lished practices, it is not carried out for its own sake. I wish to stress that the on-
going reforms aim at increasing the efficiency, productivity and responsiveness
of the Organization under the new conditions. They also aim at streamlining

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