I would like to confirm our support and active involvement in the issues of children's rights and violence against women. In this connection, I wish to express our appreciation to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, for her useful and comprehensive report. My Office is finalizing its own guidelines on Prevention of and Response to Sexual Violence Against Refugees. Torture, racism, as well as the deprivation of economic, social and cultural rights, are of constant concern to the daily work of my Office, and I would like to assure you of our full support and cooperation on these particular issues. The development of international respect for human rights must be addressed at different levels.
Education is a key area which deserves our sustained attention.
The devastating consequences of vicious forms of intolerance are all too clearly embodied by millions of persons driven out of their homes. In the face of this alarming trend, as well as of rising xenophobia affecting too many refugees and asylum-seekers, education and enhancing public awareness are of paramount importance if we are to promote a culture of human rights, tolerance and peace. Mr. Chairman, the need to safeguard basic human rights is increasingly demonstrated by the dramatic increase in the magnitute and intensity of coerced displacements throughout the world. A more effective international human rights machinery is essential to strengthen early warning, monitoring, and investigation, and to seek redress within the context of post-conflict rehabilitation. At the same time, humanitarian action has a unique and irreplaceable role to play, and our collaborative efforts to build in these areas must be based on full conceptual and operational clarity, and respect for the different mandates of all concerned.