Volker Türk - Media Stakeout

Human rights, usually we have many things to say, and very often they are not positive. But today is a moment, I have to say, if you walk around in this building, there is emotion, there is happiness, there is a great, great joy that one of ours has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. So I really warmly congratulate my sister, my bigger sister, Navi Pillay, on this fantastic, on this absolutely fantastic award. To say it is well-deserved is a total understatement. And especially at a time when human rights are under attack on so many fronts, including from those who wield enormous power, this award is particularly poignant. It is an award to all those who around the world dedicate their lives to the defense of human rights, often at great risk to their security. This award to Navi Pillay is a recognition, a reaffirmation that human rights, the rule of law and justice, and accountability are fundamental to everything, to peace, to security, and prosperity. In fact, Navi embodies international law. As you know, she was a judge in South Africa, and then she became a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, of the International Criminal Court, but also now of the International Court of Justice. So she really is the embodiment of international law. And at the heart of that international law is international human rights law and international humanitarian law. And it's a fantastic recognition of not only what she embodies, but also of her as a person, as a very warm person, as someone who has touched many of the lives of my colleagues. I just heard a number of testaments to that, as a strong defender of women's rights, as a feminist. and as someone who deeply cares about this world and the people in this world. So on behalf of all the colleagues here at the UN Human Rights Office, a very warm congratulations and a big thank you to Navi. You continue to inspire us and millions of others around the world, and we will prevail. Thank you.

Time for a few questions. Antonio, Laurent. Antonio, please go ahead. Should we take three at a time?

Yeah.

Sure.

Thank you. For EFE, Spanish news agency, Ms. Pillay was the first to declare that there had been committed a genocide in Palestine. How important is this prize for this conflict and the Palestinian cause?

Well, obviously, Navi Pillay is an eminent, eminent jurist. So when she pronounces herself on questions of international law, it carries weight, and it is a recognition not only of what she did in relation to Palestine, but frankly, what she did in relation to so many other conflicts and situations around the world. I mean, she was also the one, in the context of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, to look at rape as part of what genocide represents. So I think we need to acknowledge and recognize and deeply appreciate and value the work that she has done all around the world on so many fronts with international law at its core.

Yeah, Laurence, you also said the agency, High Commissioner, you mentioned that she used to be a judge at the ICC. Do you consider it as well as an award for a strong signal towards the institution ICC after the attacks and the sanctions by the US?

I have to say the fact that the Nobel Award Committee decided to give this to Navi Pillay is a collective win for human rights, but also for seeking justice and accountability in this world. It's clear that we need international criminal accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, and it's clear that this is a very strong signal, that this is absolutely critical in today's world when we see so many violations occur everywhere.

And then Jamie has sent me a question that he's kindly asked me to read out. Go on.

Alors, c'est clair que Madame Pellet et son intégrité n'était jamais en question, et elle est elle est quelqu'un qui, comme j'ai dit, c'est une juriste éminente, et je suis vraiment content que... Le fait qu'elle ait qu'elle a cette ces capacités d'être une éminence dans le domaine de droit international est maintenant aussi reconnu par le prix Nobel pour la paix. C'est très important.

The question from Associated Press, High Commissioner, what does this mean for the UN Human Rights Office, the Human Rights Council, and efforts at accountability for things like crimes in the OPT?

Well, it's clear, we all know this, we human rights these days. is in a very difficult geopolitical whirlwind. We see a lot of attacks against the human rights framework, against the Council, against my office, against special rapporteurs, against the International Criminal Court. So these attacks, unfortunately, have become a little bit of a fashion. But we also see a lot of support Just my own reappointment showed that support, but also, frankly, the fact that a former High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former judge, a former of the International Criminal Court is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is a huge recognition and in a way shows, as I said, it's a collective win for human rights and for accountability.

Thank you. All right, and my last one.

Thank you, sorry. I'm wondering if you see this in any way as a repulse to President.

I mean, I see it as a positive recognition of someone who has served not only as an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa, as a feminist, someone who has served her country, her people, with full integrity over her whole life, as I said, in South Africa, but then also in a very important international career as an international judge. emphasizing rule of law, emphasizing international law, showing the importance of demonstrating the importance of international law to the world is a huge, very important step.