The Council should always strive to engage states in a dialogue that can bring concrete solutions to a particular human rights issue. Cooperation and dialogue should, therefore, be the first option. This is also one of the reasons why the Universal Periodic Review was created. However, the Council cannot dismiss resorting to other tools, such as a country-specific resolution or a country-specific special procedure, in case of lack of cooperation. I strongly believe that we have to creatively use all the tools that are available to the Council when engaging with any country. When applying its tools in fulfilling its mandate, the Council should follow a gradual approach.

How have the events of 9/11 altered the debate on human rights? To what extent have governments redefined their policies to legitimize “security measures” that might previously have been illegal police actions, and what danger does this trend pose to human rights?

The events of 9/11 have triggered changes in states’ security policies and have, as a consequence, raised challenges in terms of human rights protection. The human rights community has reacted by devoting more attention to the issue of protection of human rights while countering terrorism. New initiatives have been tabled in the General Assembly, in the Commission on Human Rights, and now in the Council. These new efforts seek to ensure that counter-terrorism measures are taken in accordance with international law and that they do not deprive people of their fundamental human rights.

The infamous Danish cartoon controversy of 2005 seemed to identify a discord between free speech and religious tolerance. How has the Council responded to this dilemma?

The controversy certainly incited debate on the issue of religious defamation, a debate which is still ongoing. The Organization of the Islamic Conference has brought this issue to the forefront of the Council, extensively debating limitations to the freedom of expression. We in the Western world have particular sensitivities with regard to the protection of the freedom of expression, and it is difficult to find a middle ground with those who want to limit it. Such a middle ground can only be found if we continue an open and transparent dialogue, taking into account the sensitivities of both sides.

Kofi Annan has cautioned the Human Rights Council on the dangers of internal division between developed and developing countries. A recent condemnation of unilateral coercive action, for example, drew support from 32 developing countries, but was voted against by every member of the Western European bloc. Do you observe any of this dialectic within the Council, and does it hinder the Council’s productivity on key issues?

The positioning along the lines of regional blocs is certainly a feature that the Council has inherited from the former Commission. I do not think such a group dynamic is fruitful for the Council. It is much more important to find majorities for issues across regional lines. My country has been working very hard at overcoming this group logic, and will continue to do so. Cross-regional dialogue will undoubtedly be necessary in order to enhance the work and credibility of the Council. The broader the ownership of the Council’s outcomes, the better.

Western sources have focused considerable attention on the status of women in many developing, primarily Muslim countries. Prominent Muslim scholars and clerics have responded that Islamic society recognizes a different and ostensibly more appropriate form of women’s rights. Is there room for a dualistic interpretation of women’s rights on the Council?

There is no room for a dualistic interpretation of women’s rights. The Council must maintain a unitary definition of human rights. As the Vienna Conference reaffirmed in 1993, all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated. It is the duty of states, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms. I see no room for a regional or cultural interpretation of human rights. Women’s rights must be promoted and protected with the same strength everywhere in the world. Once we start assessing countries under the Universal Periodic Review, we will, however, take into account all the factors related to a particular country, including its state of development.