4/106 Public information activities in the field of human rights, including the World Public Information Campaign on Human Rights - Report of the Secretary-General

GE.07-10999 (E) 070307

UNITED NATIONS

A

General Assembly Distr. GENERAL

A/HRC/4/106 21 February 2007

Original: ENGLISH

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fourth session Item 2 of the provisional agenda

IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 60/251 OF 15 MARCH 2006 ENTITLED “HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL”

Public information activities in the field of human rights, including the World Public Information Campaign on Human Rights

Report of the Secretary-General*

Summary

The following narrative reports on global activities undertaken in line with the World Public Information Campaign on Human Rights. The report does not contain any specific recommendations. It includes activities performed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations information services in Geneva and Vienna, and other United Nations information centres. It describes a variety of products and services addressed to different publics and audiences, with a special emphasis in the use of modern tools of communication such as websites and webcasts.

* This report was submitted after the deadline in order to reflect recent information.

CONTENTS

Paragraphs Page

I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 1 - 5 3

II. PUBLIC INFORMATION ACTIVITIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS .... 6 - 28 3

A. Publications programme .................................................... 6 - 16 3

B. Use of electronic means ..................................................... 17 - 20 6

C. Media liaison ..................................................................... 21 - 22 6

D. Public outreach programmes ............................................. 23 - 28 7

III. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION ........................ 29 - 86 8

A. Activities of the United Nations Information Service at the United Nations Office at Geneva ............................. 61 - 67 14

B. Activities of the United Nations Information Service at the United Nations Office at Vienna .............................. 68 - 72 15

C. Activities of the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe ............................ 73 - 78 16

D. Activities of other United Nations information centres and services and United Nations offices ............... 79 - 86 17

I. INTRODUCTION

1. The Human Rights Council, by decision 2/102 of 6 October 2006, requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to “continue with the fulfilment of her activities, in accordance with all previous decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and to update the relevant reports and studies”. On the current issue, the Secretary-General submitted a comprehensive biannual report (E/CN.4/2005/92) to the sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights pursuant to resolution 2003/62. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) understands decision 2/102 to preserve the previous biannual reporting cycle in respect of this issue until otherwise decided by the Council, and accordingly the current report addresses the issue of public information activities in the field of human rights, including the World Public Information Campaign on Human Rights.

2. The World Public Information Campaign on Human Rights was launched by the General Assembly in its resolution 43/128 of 8 December 1988, with the objectives of increasing understanding and awareness of human rights and fundamental freedoms and educating the public on the international machinery available for the promotion and protection of those rights and freedoms and the efforts of the United Nations to realize them.

3. The coordination of the United Nations education and public information programmes in the field of human rights was specifically mentioned in General Assembly resolution 48/141 of 20 December 1993, as part of the mandate of the post of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

4. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly stressed the importance she attaches to the implementation of activities for increasing awareness of human rights among the general public. To meet this objective she stressed in her Strategic Management Plan 2006-2007 the need to enhance the Office’s communication capacity. The Public Affairs and Public Information Units have been merged to form a larger Communication Section composed of three units: Media Unit, Editorial and Publications Unit, and Web and Audiovisual Unit. The Section reports directly to the Deputy High Commissioner.

5. The present report supplements information and estimates provided in the Secretary-General’s last report to the Commission on Human Rights. Further information about other educational activities in the field of human rights undertaken within the framework of the World Programme for Human Rights Education (2005-ongoing) is available in the relevant report of the High Commissioner to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/4/85).

II. PUBLIC INFORMATION ACTIVITIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

A. Publications programme

6. The goal of the publications programme of OHCHR is to raise awareness of human rights and fundamental freedoms and to publicize ways of promoting and protecting them at the international level. Another aim is to encourage debate on human rights issues under discussion in United Nations bodies.

7. Since the last report of the Secretary-General, the demand for OHCHR publications has increased considerably. During the reporting period, the Office has distributed more than 268,712 copies of human rights publications, in addition to the 2,000 copies of each publication which are regularly distributed by the Distribution Section at the United Nations Office at Geneva through the mailing list established jointly by OHCHR and the Distribution Section. OHCHR also considerably increased the number of publications available on its website.

1. Fact Sheets

8. The Fact Sheet Series consists of booklets that deal with topical human rights issues and explain the structure and procedures of United Nations human rights treaty monitoring bodies and special mechanisms. The goal is to help readers understand basic human rights and the international machinery that has been established to promote and protect them. All Fact Sheets are available on the OHCHR website, thereby contributing to their dissemination, a reduction in print runs and a rationalization of costs.

9. During the reporting period, Fact Sheet No. 15 (Rev.1), Civil & Political Rights: The Human Rights Committee, was issued in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish; Fact Sheet No. 24 (Rev.1), The International Convention on Migrant Workers and its Committee, was issued in English, French and Spanish; Fact Sheet No. 30, The United Nations Human Rights Treaty System: An introduction to the core human rights treaties and the treaty bodies, was issued in Chinese, English and Russian.

2. Training and educational material

10. The Professional Training Series consists of handbooks and manuals intended to increase awareness of international standards and is directed at target audiences selected for their ability to influence the human rights situation at the national level. Although primarily designed to support the training activities of the OHCHR Technical Cooperation Programme, these publications also serve as practical tools for organizations that provide human rights education to professional groups.

11. During the period under review the following items of the series were published: No. 9, Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers, in Arabic; No. 11, Human Rights and Prisons: Manual on Human Rights Training for Prison Officials, in Arabic, English, French and Russian; No. 11/Add.1, Human Rights and Prisons: Compilation of International Human Rights Instruments concerning the Administration of Justice, in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Russian; No. 11/Add.2, Human Rights and Prisons: Trainer’s Guide on Human Rights Training for Prison Officials, in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish; No. 11/Add.3, Human Rights and Prisons: Pocket Book of International Human Rights Standards for Prison Officials, in all official languages; No. 12, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions, in all official languages; No. 13, Human Rights - Handbook for Parliamentarians, published jointly with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, in English and French. 12. Within the framework of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, which includes a series of publications aimed at supporting general human rights education efforts by all partners, a revised version of ABC: Teaching Human Rights - practical activities for primary

and secondary schools, was issued in Spanish. A Universal Declaration of Human Rights poster, containing the text of the Universal Declaration, was distributed in English, French and Spanish. Finally, the Plan of Action for the First Phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education was published in English, jointly with UNESCO.

3. Special issue papers

13. Special issue papers explore selected issues in greater depth. Issues are chosen in the light of their topicality and urgency, and of recent developments which have led to a change of perspective or emphasis that demands closer analysis. Several special issue papers were published in the period under review: International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights - 2006 Consolidated Version (in English); Human Rights and World Trade Agreements - Using general exception clauses to protect human rights (in Arabic, Chinese, English and Russian); Frequently asked questions on a human rights-based approach to development cooperation (in English, French and Spanish); 25 Years Rebuilding Lives - United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (in English, French and Spanish); Indigenous people’s right to adequate housing - A global overview (published jointly with UN-HABITAT in English); Embedding Human Rights in Business Practice (published jointly with the United Nations Global Compact in English); Dimensions of Racism (published jointly with UNESCO in English); Assessing the Effectiveness of National Human Rights Institutions (published jointly with the International Council on Human Rights Policy in English, French and Spanish); Principles and Guidelines for a Human Rights Approach to Poverty Reduction Strategies (in English, Web-based).

14. Rule-of-law tools for post-conflict States include the following: Truth Commissions, in Arabic, English and French; Mapping the justice sector, in Arabic, English and French; Monitoring legal systems in Arabic, English and French; Prosecution initiatives, in Arabic and English; Vetting: an operational framework, in Arabic and English.

4. Reference material

15. The OHCHR reference publications give researchers and human rights law practitioners access to key human rights instruments and other essential information. The material includes jurisprudence from human rights treaty bodies under the following tiles: Compilation of documents or texts adopted and used by various intergovernmental, international, regional and subregional organizations aimed at promoting and consolidating democracy, in English; Selected Decisions of the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol (vol. IV), in French, Russian and Spanish; Selected Decisions of the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol (vol. V), in English, French and Spanish; Selected Decisions of the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol (vol. VI), in English and Russian; Selected Decisions of the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol (vol. VII), in English; and The Core International Human Rights Treaties, in Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

5. Promotional material

16. The purpose of promotional material is to inform the general public about United Nations work in the field of human rights. It provides answers to the most frequently asked questions about the United Nations human rights programme as well as information on how to use the

system to address human rights violations. In this context, Working with OHCHR: A Handbook for NGOs is available in English (Web-based). In addition, The United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery was issued in English and Russian.

B. Use of electronic means

17. The OHCHR Internet site is an indispensable tool for human rights information users worldwide. To facilitate both developing and developed countries being informed about United Nations human rights issues and activities, the servers have been upgraded to take advantage of the latest technology. The log shows that the number of visitors to the site has been increasing constantly.

18. OHCHR has continued to improve the Internet site with a new home page design in January 2006 and has expanded the content of its website in order to reach out to a wider audience. The human rights country information pages have been updated to centralize all relevant information on each country in order to facilitate navigation by the users.

19. The Office is committed to making the contents of its website available to all, including those with disabilities. In this connection, OHCHR continues to design the Internet pages in accordance with international accessibility recommendations.

20. Understanding that multilingual development is a key to delivering human rights information, OHCHR has developed a document management system which allows users to access the United Nations human rights documents in all six official languages. The system is associated with the Internet pages and the search functions with a straightforward means of finding relevant information.

C. Media liaison

21. The Office has continued to strengthen its capacity to communicate the human rights message through the media. OHCHR staff responsible for media liaison brief the international press regularly on the activities of the Office and on the human rights programme in general. The media liaison staff participate in elaborating the communication strategy of OHCHR; accompany the High Commissioner in the field; draft press statements; organize media events for the High Commissioner; assist the special procedures mechanisms and the treaty bodies with their media liaison needs; and help draft and place opinion pieces and other articles in major international publications.

22. Among activities of note undertaken in 2005 and 2006, the Communication Section assisted the High Commissioner’s speechwriter in drafting, translating and placing seven opinion articles by the High Commissioner. Five senior staff undertook media skills training in 2006. Two thematic information kits were developed and distributed for use of the media and partners on the human rights issues of torture (in English) and poverty (in all official languages). Information kits for the media were also developed and distributed for the first session of the Human Rights Council, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and the launch of the Secretary-General’s study on violence against children. In the reporting period the Unit worked with the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Geneva and the Treaties and Commission Branch of OHCHR on two seminars to train

journalists from around the world on the work of the Office in the promotion and protection of human rights. In 2006, the Section also provided a moderator for the Human Rights Working Group of the Graduate Study Programme, organized by UNIS Geneva.

D. Public outreach programmes

1. Briefings

23. The Communication Section regularly organizes briefings for students, diplomats, journalists, public officials, academics, professors and non-governmental organizations. It also provides lecturers for briefings organized by UNIS Geneva. More than 130 briefings were delivered by OHCHR staff during the reporting period. In addition to conducting the briefings in English, French and Spanish, capacity has been established to conduct briefings in Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

2. Exhibitions and human rights observances

24. As part of overall outreach efforts by OHCHR for the biennium 2005-2006, the communication staff organized an exhibit showcasing works of art of victims of torture, in conjunction with Human Rights Day 2005. This exhibit opened at the Palais des Nations on 10 December and ran for one month.

25. Human Rights Day activities in 2006 focused on the theme Fighting poverty: a matter of obligation not charity. In addition to developing core information materials “on the issue of poverty”, the communication team provided global support to United Nations information centres (UNICs), OHCHR field presences and other partners for their various Human Rights Day observances.

26. The communication staff also worked closely with the host country on outreach activities aimed at raising awareness of the work of the Office in the promotion and protection of all human rights for all over the reporting period. To commemorate the first session of the Human Rights Council, the communication staff took an active part in planning the launch of the Swatch human rights watch collection and Open Doors Day on 18 June 2006, when the general public was invited to visit Palais Wilson. Activities planned for the day included an exhibition on human rights issues and the screening of a film about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Information stands were also set up at Palais Wilson and Parc des Bastions during the Geneva Fête de la musique.

3. Internship programme

27. During the reporting period, OHCHR, participating in the United Nations internship programme, offered internships to 176 graduate students to enable them to gain first-hand knowledge of United Nations actions and procedures in the field of human rights. Internships are awarded without financial commitment of any kind on the part of OHCHR or other United Nations bodies.

4. Training courses and other technical cooperation activities with a public information element

28. An account of the training courses, seminars and workshops organized by OHCHR is given in the report of the Secretary-General to the Human Rights Council on advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights (A/HRC/4/94).

III. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION

29. The Department of Public Information of the Secretariat publicized the work of the United Nations in the field of human rights using various tools of communication and information dissemination at its disposal. New technologies have accelerated the dissemination of information through electronic means, supplementing, and in some cases reinforcing, the traditional means. As a result of and in support of the Plan of Action of the High Commissioner’s Office, the Department has strengthened its working relationship with OHCHR.

30. The Department continued to cover the human rights-related work of the intergovernmental bodies of the United Nations, including the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and its successor, the Human Rights Council, and the human rights treaty bodies. It applied a multimedia approach to information dissemination with information materials distributed to the media through press conferences, press briefings and other media outreach activities, on the United Nations website, in radio and television programmes, at exhibits, special events and activities with educational and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and through public services for visitors and public inquiries. Information materials were produced in the six official languages of the United Nations and disseminated worldwide, including through the worldwide network of United Nations information centres and services and United Nations Offices. Many materials were also adapted into local languages.

31. The main activities undertaken by the Department from January 2005 to December 2006 are summarized below.

32. The UN News Centre portal (www.un.org/news) is one of the most heavily visited areas on the United Nations website, registering nearly 1 million separate visits a month. Over 1,400 news stories related to human rights issues and activities were posted on the site during the reporting period. Those stories were also distributed to nearly 50,000 subscribers to the United Nations News Service’s e-mail news alerts service (English and French) and published on a variety of United Nations-system and external websites, including those of major media outlets, news aggregator services, NGOs and educational institutions. The UN News Centre features “Human Rights” as one of its major news topics on the front page, as well as part of its RSS (Real Simple Syndication) news feed service that allows subscribers to receive digital news content as it is updated. Following the establishment of the Human Rights Council, a special “News Focus” page devoted to the new body was created and drew thousands of visitors.

33. The Department’s Web Services Section, working with UNIS Geneva, covered the three regular sessions of the Council in 2006, including 190 hours of live webcast recording of meetings and over 2,750 video clips of the proceedings in English and the original language. These were made accessible via a dedicated webcast page and links from the OHCHR and the

Human Rights Council home pages. This was the first time that such a webcast was transmitted from Geneva and positive feedback was reported from NGOs, including Amnesty International, the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, Pax Romana and Rights & Democracy.

34. The Press Service issued 311 press releases in English and 301 in French related to human rights issues during the reporting period, each averaging more than 10 per month.

35. The Radio Service covered human rights in its daily, weekly and monthly programmes in the six official languages, as well as in Portuguese, Swahili and other non-official languages. During the period under review, more than 800 programmes were produced about human rights in varying formats: news stories, features and interviews. Topics included the rights of women, people with disabilities, children, ethnic minority groups, indigenous peoples, the establishment of the Human Rights Council, and human rights issues specific to war-torn or politically unstable areas.

36. Television and video coverage of human rights issues included distribution of 270 news and feature stories through UNifeed, a new video distribution service established in 2005 which currently reaches nearly 700 broadcasters around the world via satellite. Prior to UNifeed’s existence, this material was produced and distributed by agencies, funds, peacekeeping missions and regional headquarters in various parts of the world, and was often not available to broadcasters on a same-day basis. UN in Action, a weekly video programme of 3-4 minutes in length on the work of the United Nations, featured human rights stories 24 times. World Chronicle, an interview programme with experts on a range of issues related to the United Nations, featured human rights stories 11 times during the period under review (this programme was terminated in March 2006).

37. During the intense negotiations leading up to the adoption by the General Assembly of the resolution establishing the Human Rights Council, the Department worked closely with the Office of the President of the General Assembly and OHCHR to conduct media outreach, including arranging interviews and background briefings with the President and United Nations officials for media at Headquarters. After the adoption, the Department worked to publicize the new body, producing materials that illustrated the important new features that distinguished it from its predecessor. Working closely with OHCHR, the Department assisted with the development of key messages and a communication strategy for the inaugural session of the Council, contributed to a press kit and deployed an additional Information Officer to Geneva to assist in proactive media outreach.

38. Realizing the importance of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as the first human rights treaty of the twenty-first century, with the potential to improve the lives of some 650 million people, the Department provided communication support and outreach in the lead-up to the adoption of the Convention by the General Assembly in December 2006. This included preparation of press materials and website text, organization of press briefings, including one held just after the adoption featuring the Chair of the negotiating committee and two representatives of the International Disability Caucus. The adoption received wide coverage by the world’s leading media.

39. In 2006, four press conferences were arranged and moderated by the Department for human rights special rapporteurs, relating to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, torture, counter-terrorism and food. These press conferences received good media coverage, which was subsequently compiled and reported to OHCHR.

40. The observance of Human Rights Day (10 December) in New York, Geneva and at other United Nations Offices provides an important opportunity for the Department to promote the work of the United Nations on human rights. In 2005 and 2006, the Department designed the website for Human Rights Day in all six official languages, arranged translations into all official languages of press and public information materials prepared by OHCHR, and disseminated them to target audiences electronically and through the network of UNICs. An op-ed piece by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the theme of human rights and poverty was placed in 30 publications in 27 countries in December 2006.

41. In 2006, the Department also sponsored a Human Rights Day essay contest in partnership with OHCHR. The contest, hosted by the United Nations Cyberschoolbus, was open to students between the ages of 8 and 18, and approximately 700 entries from around the world were received in all official languages. Given the importance and demand for educational materials on human rights, the Cyberschoolbus is working with the German Translation Unit in the Secretariat and several human rights NGOs in Austria and Germany to create a German-language version of the Cyberschoolbus website that will place strong emphasis on human rights issues. The new website will be launched in the first half of 2007.

42. The Department hosted annual student conferences in observance of Human Rights Day aimed at promoting awareness of human rights issues among young people, and to encourage them to devise ways of taking action concerning human rights. Through these conferences, it worked with a number of educational and non-governmental groups to raise awareness of specific issues, using multiple media, to gather participants on such issues as “Water as a human right” (2005) and “Migration and development: challenges for human rights” (2006). Participating via videoconference, an interactive website and e-mail, students throughout the world drafted plans of action on each theme, which those assembled at Headquarters presented to the President of the General Assembly.

43. The Department also participated in the first teacher conference on human rights, held at Adelphi University, New York. A workshop organized jointly by the Cyberschoolbus and UN Works introduced teachers from different countries to educational materials produced by the United Nations on human rights issues for use in the classroom.

44. Activities in observance of other special days related to human rights were organized by the Department at Headquarters and by UNICs, including International Women’s Day (8 March), International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March), World Press Freedom Day (3 May), International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (26 June), International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August), International Day for Tolerance (16 November) and World AIDS Day (1 December). The Department prepared fact sheets and collaborated with OHCHR and other partners in the organization of media or other special events for many of these Days.

45. During the reporting period, the UN Chronicle magazine and its online edition published a number of articles devoted to human rights, including a special report, “General Assembly Creates New Human Rights Council, The Human Rights Council at a Glance”. Other topics included: human trafficking and the spread of HIV/AIDS; linkages between trade agreements and human rights failures; human rights concerns of the Roma and Sinti communities of Europe; the rights of migrant and refugee populations; the rights of indigenous communities; HIV/AIDS and humans rights in the Russian Federation; the work of the Third Committee of the General Assembly; urban slums; and promoting democracy, equal rights for women and the end of slavery in the twenty-first century. These articles were also disseminated through the UN Chronicle Feature Service, and through an online newsletter that transmitted e-alerts on the work of the Human Rights Council and other human rights issues.

46. The Department organizes the Unlearning Intolerance Seminar Series aimed at examining different manifestations of intolerance, as well as exploring means to promote respect and understanding among peoples. The seminars held during the reporting period dealt with: “Fanning the flame of tolerance”, “Critical perspectives in combating genocide: what we can do to prevent. what we can do during. what we must do after” and “Cartooning for peace: the responsibility of political cartoonists?”.

47. The Yearbook of the United Nations, as the primary comprehensive reference work of the Organization, covers all human rights activities undertaken by the United Nations on a yearly basis. Each volume contains a section on Human Rights, subdivided into three major chapters: Promotion of Human Rights; Protection of Human Rights; and Human Rights Violations. The 2003 Yearbook, published in 2005, and the 2004 Yearbook, published in 2006, provide a comprehensive review of all United Nations human rights activities during those two years, including the entry into force of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, as well as the entry into force of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

48. The Department held the fifty-eighth Annual DPI/NGO Conference, entitled “Our Challenge: Voices for Peace, Partnerships and Renewal” (7-9 September 2005) and discussed human rights issues during the closing session, entitled “We the Peoples: every voice counts” with the keynote speaker, Ms. Shirin Ebadi, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and President of the Human Rights Defence Centre in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Interactive conference workshops included such subjects as “Introducing a holistic and practical vision of human rights from different perspectives”, “Human rights and dignity for all: youth engagement in the peace process” and “Dialogue on the Human Rights Council”.

49. In 2006, the fifty-ninth Annual DPI/NGO Conference, entitled “Unfinished Business: Effective Partnerships for Human Security and Sustainable Development” (6-8 September 2006) discussed human rights issues during the round table entitled “Human security: responsibility to protect and the Peacebuilding Commission”. The speakers included the Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide and a survivor of the Rwanda genocide. Approximately 1,800 people from all over the world attended the annual conferences.

50. In 2005 and 2006, NGO briefings were organized by the Department on such topics as: United Nations reform: focus on peacebuilding and human rights proposals; Remembrance and beyond (in observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust); Innovative initiatives for the elimination of racism (in observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination); the twelfth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda; the Secretary-General’s study on violence against children from the perspective of children; Gender equality beyond 2005: building a more secure future (in observance of International Women’s Day); Report on the Sudan: a UN/NGO perspective; and Human rights challenges in the twenty-first century (in observance of Human Rights Day).

51. The UN Works programme expands public understanding of the role that human rights and development play in the experience of people around the world. It worked with MTV in 2006 to produce the 30-minute documentary Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life, which was aired on 179 MTV channels worldwide. Online educational resources and classroom materials were distributed free worldwide, including to 80,000 schools and 300,000 teachers in the United States.

52. The Department’s booklet containing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (DPI/876/Rev.2) continues to be in demand. It was reprinted in English, French and Spanish several times during the reporting period.

53. The Department provided communication support for the launch of the Secretary-General’s study on violence against children in October 2006 in collaboration with the study secretariat. Guidance, press materials and two op-ed articles were sent to the network of UNICs. Media outreach was conducted at Headquarters and two op-eds - by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the independent expert for the study - were placed in 26 newspapers in 20 countries. The report gained significant coverage in all regions.

54. The Department has launched a new programme of outreach on the subject “The Holocaust and the United Nations”, whose mandate is to warn against the dangers of hatred, bigotry, prejudice and racism in order to help prevent genocide and to mobilize civil society for Holocaust remembrance and education. It organized, for the first time, an observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust in January 2006. A logo and a website (www.un.org/holocaustremembrance) were created as well as an award-winning commemorative poster in English and French designed by the Graphic Design Unit. The Department also coordinated and launched a travelling exhibit from Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, and organized two screenings of the movie Fateless, an NGO briefing and a candlelight vigil. The Day was observed under the theme “Remembrance and beyond”. More than 2,400 people, including Holocaust survivors, participated in the observance. UNICs and information components in United Nations Offices also carried out special observances in Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Eritrea, Georgia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, Poland, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine and Zambia. In addition, the Department hosted a number of workshops for civil society and educational institutions on tolerance and the prevention of genocide. It produced an information card detailing the objectives of “The Holocaust and the United Nations” programme and distributed it at special events and speaking engagements; organized round-table discussions at Headquarters in May and September 2006;

developed a series of discussion papers drafted by scholars on the Holocaust and genocide; launched a film series with the New York Tolerance Center and produced a 12-minute DVD of highlights of the 2006 Holocaust Remembrance Day.

55. During the reporting period, the Group Programmes Unit (GPU) organized 64 briefings for visiting groups to the United Nations on the subject of human rights. These briefings reached a total of 2,283 participants. Human rights is an issue frequently addressed in the course of the guided tours of United Nations Headquarters. Exhibit panels with the main provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are on display along the tour route. A total of 412,042 visitors took the guided tour in 2005, and 436,755 visitors in 2006. The Public Inquiries Unit responded to a total of 13,891 inquiries on human rights, while the Palestine, Decolonization and Human Rights Section handled approximately 500 information requests from various sources during the reporting period.

56. A series of exhibits was organized in the General Assembly public lobby at Headquarters on a number of themes relating to human rights. The relevant exhibits in 2005 included:

Lest we forget: the triumph over slavery (January); Islam (January); Auschwitz - the depth of the abyss (January); Afterwards, it’s just a part of you (January); Empower women (March); Raising the bar: new horizons in disability sports (March); Human rights mural (March); Indigenous art and photographic exhibit (May); Children of Darfur (September); Palestinian exhibit (November); and 60 years of international solidarity (November). The 2006 exhibits included: No child’s play (January); Holocaust Learning Centre (January); Child labour (April); Indigenous peoples: honouring the past, present and future (May); and Contextualization: a Palestinian narrative (November).

57. Africa Renewal (formerly Africa Recovery), a magazine produced by the Department in English and French, carried more than 40 articles on human rights issues pertaining to Africa during the reporting period. The articles covered a wide range of issues such as the new African peer review mechanism, an African Union programme to assess the performance of African States on human rights standards, economic management and democracy. In one of the magazine’s cover stories, women in Sierra Leone spoke out against sexual violence and other war crimes as part of that country’s peace and reconciliation process. Articles also examined efforts to attain gender equality, prevent genocide, protect press freedom, prosecute rights abuses and uphold the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa, and highlighted initiatives on the continent to promote human rights through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Africa Renewal is produced four times a year and has a print run of 25,000 copies in English and 10,000 in French. Nearly half of the copies go to readers in Africa, and the rest are distributed primarily in Europe, Asia and North America. Highly regarded among its readership, the magazine’s subscribers include academics, NGOs, the media, humanitarian aid agencies, United Nations system personnel, African policy makers and opinion shapers, economists and other experts on Africa. The Department also maintains the Africa Renewal website in English and French (www.un.org/AR).

58. In 2005, the Department published two brochures describing the historical work of the United Nations in furthering decolonization and options available to the Non-Self-Governing Territories in exercising their right to self-determination. In 2006 it prepared another brochure

entitled “What the United Nations Can Do to Assist Non-Self-Governing Territories” and made it available on the United Nations website on decolonization. The Department publicized the referendum on the future status of Tokelau in February 2006.

59. In 2005 and 2006, a total of 26 young journalists from developing countries participated in the Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalists’ Fellowship Programme. The journalists received human rights-related briefings as well as briefings on international migration, small arms, nuclear weapons, the responsibility to protect, children and armed conflict, culture of peace and counter-terrorism from senior Secretariat officials, including a representative of OHCHR. The journalists also attended an advanced skills and training workshop at Columbia University which included subjects such as “Covering democracies: good governance and free elections” and “Human rights and the media: promoting national interest or universal human rights?”; visited the Committee to Protect Journalists; participated in round-table discussions and seminars on the themes of genocide prevention and unlearning intolerance; and were given a reporting assignment on human rights.

60. The Department’s annual Training Programme for Palestinian Media Practitioners was attended by a total of 19 participants in 2005 and 2006. The 2005 programme included a week-long visit to Geneva where participants received extensive briefings by OHCHR officials on the work of the United Nations in the field of human rights. In 2006, the trainees received a human rights briefing by an OHCHR official in New York. Additionally, they visited Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists. The week-long academic programme at Columbia University included sessions on freedom of the press, human rights and the media, covering good governance and free elections, as well as conflict and peacekeeping, terrorism and counter-terrorism.

A. Activities of the United Nations Information Service at the United Nations Office at Geneva

61. UNIS Geneva has a special role in fostering awareness of the United Nations human rights programmes given its proximity to OHCHR and close working relationship with the Office, as well as the human rights treaty body system and the Human Rights Council.

62. The Council, which elicited extensive media and public interest, was a key priority in the Service’s workplan throughout the Council’s first transitional year. The Service provided key media liaison support to the Council’s Secretariat and Bureau, assigning one of its staff members to this role, whilst the Director of the Service serves as United Nations spokesperson on the Council’s activities. Multi-camera coverage of Council meetings was provided for a live webcast and for the provision of daily news items distributed through Eurovision and UNifeed. Additional B-roll was provided on request to national television stations. The webcast is now permanently available in archived format on the United Nations dedicated webcast page at www.un.org/webcast.

63. During the reporting period, the Service issued 501 press releases and 472 meeting summaries pertaining to human rights in English and French. It organized 95 press conferences related to human rights. A total of 209 radio reports and 151 television reports on various human rights activities and events were produced and transmitted to UN Radio in New York and to major national and international broadcasters and broadcast agencies, such as the European

Broadcasting Union and UNifeed. During the sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights in 2005, the Service moderated 19 briefings organized by OHCHR and given by special rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts and other mandate holders.

64. For Human Rights Day, the Service’s TV and Radio Section conducted interviews with the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the theme of human rights and poverty, which were transmitted through UNifeed and sent to UN Radio in New York. In addition, following a UNTV field mission to Colombia, several pieces on human rights violations in the country were produced and distributed to global television including two features for CNN World Report. A 10-minute Special Feature was also distributed on UNifeed and Eurovision to global broadcasters.

65. Of special note was the UNTV mission to Niger in July 2005 with the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, which triggered enormous international attention and a humanitarian response. The UNTV images of the famine in the country were the first to be aired widely and were transmitted through various broadcasters, including BBC, CNN, Télévision Suisse Romande and the European Broadcasting Union. UN Radio interviews were also broadcast extensively. Subsequently, the Service’s TV Unit assembled a DVD compilation of UNTV material on the Niger famine for various United Nations agencies. Additionally, the Service’s television coverage of the Secretary-General’s subsequent visit to Niger was fed from Africa and distributed through Eurovision and via UNifeed.

66. The Geneva Graduate Study Programme, organized annually by the Service and held during the first three weeks of July, contains a segment dedicated exclusively to human rights for which substantive input is received from OHCHR. The 82 and 83 students who took part in the forty-third and forty-fourth programmes, respectively, benefited greatly from workshops and general lectures which touched upon the overarching theme of human rights.

67. The Visitors Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva covers human rights in each of its tours. The 50-minute tour devotes about 5 minutes specifically to this subject, and guides are frequently asked questions about human rights. During the reporting period, the Service organized 40 briefings on human rights for groups of students in conjunction with a guided tour, and 60 seminars that included a human rights lecture as part of an information programme on the work of the United Nations tailored to the needs of students, diplomats and NGOs.

B. Activities of the United Nations Information Service at the United Nations Office at Vienna

68. UNIS Vienna considered human rights one of its priorities and organized a range of activities to promote the work of the United Nations in this field. In addition to promoting the newly established Human Rights Council, UNIS Vienna maximized the opportunity to distribute information materials on human rights themes such as trafficking in human beings and migration, and issued relevant press releases, including the Secretary-General’s Human Rights Day message, in the countries it services (Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia).

69. Human rights issues featured prominently in the two conferences on the theme of global security that UNIS Vienna co-sponsored in Bratislava, both of which discussed the fight against international terrorism. UNIS Vienna has encouraged and strongly supported the establishment

of an NGO Committee on Human Rights, in view not only of the importance of this theme, but also owing to the fact that Vienna hosts a number of regional and international organizations either devoted to human rights issues (such as the European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia) or with human rights as a strong component of their mission statement, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

70. As part of its media outreach, UNIS Vienna organized a press briefing with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and hosted an annual Journalists’ Forum, focusing on human rights. UNIS Vienna successfully placed a number of human rights-related op-ed pieces in various newspapers in the countries it covers, including: op-eds by the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary-General on the new Human Rights Council (five placements); the High Commissioner’s op-ed on violence against children (three placements); the High Commissioner’s op-ed on Human Rights Day 2006 (four placements); and an op-ed by the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, on the twelfth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda (one placement).

71. UNIS Vienna’s community outreach efforts included support for an Austrian school project on human rights education organized by various human rights NGOs in July 2005; the provision of extensive information on human rights to an NGO newly associated with the Department for a training workshop entitled “Encouraging partnerships and promoting human rights” in 2005; and the distribution of the latest information material and press releases on human rights and related issues to a specialized NGO mailing list throughout the period 2005-2006.

72. As a priority theme, human rights are included in the speaking engagements and briefings on the United Nations in all its client countries. Taking advantage of the fact that the Finnish Presidency of the European Union adopted human rights as a priority focus in July-December 2006, UNIS Vienna organized a number of round tables relating to human rights in the countries it covers. The exhibit on human rights is an integral part of the guided tours conducted by the Visitors Service of UNIS Vienna and visitors receive an information flyer that contains information on human rights. A total of 47,303 visitors took guided tours through the Vienna International Centre in 2005 and 49,305 visitors in 2006.

C. Activities of the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe

73. The United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC), based in Brussels, actively promoted human rights both before and after the establishment of the Human Rights Council in most of the 22 Western European countries that it covers.

74. UNRIC forged strong partnerships with the entities responsible for human rights in the three European institutions: the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council. It worked closely with the Special Representative of the European Council for Human Rights, with whom it held a number of joint events, such as press conferences and briefings for NGOs.

75. As part of the UNRIC communications strategy on human rights, United Nations special rapporteurs have regularly given briefings at the Centre, for media as well as for NGOs, think tanks and other civil society actors active in the field of human rights. UNRIC was also instrumental in organizing meetings for the special rapporteurs at the EU institutions, particularly at the European Parliament. It arranged a series of briefings by the President of the Human Rights Council for journalists, NGOs and EU representatives during his visit to Brussels.

76. UNRIC, along with EU, human rights NGOs and think tanks, established a group called “Friends of Human Rights in Europe”. This informal group is composed of representatives from the United Nations, the EU institutions, three main international NGOs in the field of human rights and three major international think tanks. In preparation for the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, OHCHR agreed that the Centre should take the lead in a Europe-wide public information campaign to be called “Know your rights”.

77. Being a regional information centre, UNRIC carried out a variety of activities to promote the issue of human rights in the countries that it covers. Examples include: speaking at a conference on “Volunteerism and human rights” in Portugal organized in cooperation with the Portuguese Youth Institute; lecturing at a three-day programme on “Human rights and conflict management” at the Scuola Sant’Anna in Pisa, Italy; giving interviews for Human Rights Day to a regional and a national radio station in Germany; opening a United Nations poster exhibit on the issue of torture at the University of Leuven, Belgium; chairing the annual human rights contest for students in France, which attracted approximately 2,000 participants and attendees; co-organizing events in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece, focusing on violations of the rights of migrant women; organizing a seminar in Liège, Belgium, on violence against children, in cooperation with the French-speaking United Nations Association of Belgium; and lecturing on human rights and the Millennium Development Goals in Luxembourg and Belgium.

78. UNRIC’s multilingual website was regularly updated with backgrounders, press releases and other information material on human rights. Op-eds on the issue were regularly translated into up to 13 languages and placed on the website, which also contains core human rights material in many languages. The UNRIC library produced backgrounders on genocide and the Human Rights Council which were shared with other UNICs.

D. Activities of other United Nations information centres and United Nations Offices

79. The Department’s network of other UNISs, UNICs and United Nations Offices conducted extensive media outreach in line with specific communications strategies, placing articles in local newspapers and publications, conducting radio, TV and print interviews, organizing events and arranging for placement of op-eds and official messages from senior officials in local publications.

80. Media outreach was also conducted to promote specific campaigns, publications or initiatives, including the establishment of the Human Rights Council, the launch of the Secretary-General’s study on violence against children and visits by human rights special rapporteurs. Articles relating to the new Human Rights Council, for example, were placed in local publications in Armenia, Burundi and Sri Lanka. Radio, TV or print interviews were conducted for Human Rights Day in Bangladesh, Brazil and India, and for International

Women’s Day in Colombia, Egypt, Ghana and South Africa. The Secretary-General’s message for the International Day of Tolerance 2005 was placed in local publications in the Philippines, the Sudan and Togo.

81. A range of information products, such as regular newsletters, TV and radio productions, press kit materials and websites, often produced by UNICs in local languages, also serve as vehicles for raising awareness of human rights issues within their regions. Specific examples from the range of products produced during this reporting period include: newsletter articles on human rights education, women’s rights and the Human Rights Council by UNICs in India, Bangladesh and Brazil, respectively; translations into Portuguese of press kits on human rights issues by UNIC Brazil and UNRIC; and the production of a booklet in Portuguese on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by UNIC Brazil.

82. UNICs also continue to be active in translating, printing and disseminating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other core international human rights instruments in local languages. For example, these documents were reprinted in Armenian, Czech, Fulfulde and local Indian languages.

83. Subjects of radio programmes produced by UNICs during this period included human rights abuses in Darfur, women’s rights, indigenous rights, racism and the Human Rights Council (Burundi); and women’s rights, children’s rights, freedom of expression and child labour (Kenya). Examples of TV programming produced or arranged by UNICs include a series on women and gender 10 years after Beijing (Armenia); and pieces on women and local elections, girl’s education and the Human Rights Council (Burkina Faso).

84. Human Rights Day and International Women’s Day are two of the most active international days for UNICs, and events are often organized in partnership with NGOs, national human rights institutions, law societies and academic institutions. Commemorative events for Human Rights Day were organized in Armenia, Burkina Faso, the Congo, India, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Thailand, Tunisia and the United Republic of Tanzania, and for International Women’s Day by UNICs in Burundi, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, Romania and Zimbabwe, among others. Special events for other international days such as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, the Day of the African Child and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women were organized by UNICs in Cameroon, the Congo and the United Republic of Tanzania.

85. Other examples of special initiatives relating to human rights in which UNICs were involved include exhibitions on human rights by the UNICs in Burkina Faso and Japan; a human rights educational project for high school students in the Czech Republic; and photo exhibitions on human rights in Armenia, the Congo and Senegal.

86. UNIC representatives regularly give briefings to visitors and participate as speakers in panel discussions, workshops and conferences. During this reporting period, some examples of human rights-related briefings or presentations included: briefings to students by UNICs in the Congo, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Togo; several briefings to the National Institute of Deaf Persons on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by UNIC Brazil; briefings to teachers on United Nations reform and the Human Rights Council by UNIC Iran; and on the United Nations and human rights by the UNICs in Mexico and

Panama. Video/film screenings were also organized, such as Shooting Dogs on the Rwanda genocide, screened in Panama City; Slave Children, shown to schools in Paraguay; and Keepers of the Memory, on the Rwandan genocide, screened in Namibia. Examples of participation by UNICs and other representatives of the Department in panel events and discussions during this period included a panel discussion on the right to health in Senegal; a debate on sexual and reproductive rights in Madagascar; a dinner-discussion on women in decision-making in the Congo; a panel on the Human Rights Council and a speech at the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in Washington, DC; a discussion on human rights and development in Paraguay; a round table on constitutional human rights and freedoms in Kazakhstan; a lecture on journalists and human rights in Togo; and a panel on the prevention of genocide in Burkina Faso.

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