PUBLICATIONS

Personal Statement from Mary Robinson

Speaking to representatives of the international press corps in Geneva on Tuesday, 10 September, Mary Robinson announced her plans post the completion of her term as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"My last day as High Commissioner for Human Rights is tomorrow, 9/11, when we commemorate the first anniversary of an appalling crime against humanity. The events of that date have shaped much of my work over the past year and helped influence my future focus.

On 1st October I will begin to develop a new project - Ethical Globalization Initiative - in which I will be supported by a partnership of three distinguished organizations with a proven record and commitment to addressing challenges facing our unequal world. The partners are The Aspen Institute (US), State of the World Forum (US) and the International Council on Human Rights Policy (Switzerland). I will be based in New York.

For the past number of years I have been very focused on seeking to implement the legal framework of human rights commitments made by governments. I now want to further this work by taking this normative framework into the debate on globalization. A second focus will be addressing the need of developing countries to secure adequate resources to build national protection systems in human rights. The "North" must provide support in an appropriate way while recognizing the right and responsibility of States to shape their own national capacity.

This is a 15 month project; the aim is to ensure support for a sustainable movement for ethical globalization. I will be undertaking various engagements including public lectures which will facilitate this project and working closely with governments, elements of civil society in various parts of the world, and with a particular focus on Africa. It will be some months before I am in a position to elaborate on my work and I seek your understanding of that."

Contact co-ordinate (from 1st October): press@eginitiative.org

Editors Notes

The Aspen Institute is a global forum for leveraging the power of leaders to improve the human condition. Through its seminar and policy programs, the Institute fosters enlightened, morally responsible leadership and convenes leaders and policy makers to address the foremost challenges of the new century. Founded in 1950, the Aspen Institute is a non-profit organization with principal offices in Washington, DC; New York; Aspen, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Since 1978, the Institute has had a policy program on international human rights law and norms, directed by its Justice and Society program. The program has organized numerous conferences and published reports on issues ranging from the role of human rights in post-conflict peacekeeping operations to approaches to justice and reconciliation following abuses of human rights. The Aspen Institute operates internationally through a network of partners in Europe and Asia.

Founded in 1995, the San Francisco based State of the World Forum works with partners worldwide in the search for solutions to critical global challenges. The Forum's Commission on Globalization is an incubator, catalyst and integrator for innovative leaders and institutions working to bring greater equity, democracy and accountability to globalization and global governance. The strategic intent of the Commission's activities is to build a global coalition of individuals and institutions committed to exercising democracy at the global level; working collaboratively to take action that will shape globalization humanely; and refining the processes related to multi-stakeholder deliberations.

The International Council on Human Rights Policy is a not-for-profit foundation established in 1996. It provides a forum for applied research, reflection and forward thinking on matters of international human rights policy. The Council's 24 Members meet annually to set the broad priorities of its program. Research is conducted in cooperation with governments, scholars, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations around the world. The Council is intellectually independent, consultative, and international and inter-disciplinary in its membership and approach. Its offices are in Geneva, Switzerland.