THIRD COMMITTEE HEARS CALL FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS IN PROTECTING MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS AND MINORITIES
Press Release
GA/SHC/3335
THIRD COMMITTEE HEARS CALL FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS IN PROTECTING MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS AND MINORITIES
19951128 Speakers called for the effective implementation of human rights mechanisms in protecting the rights of the most vulnerable groups and minorities, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its consideration of human rights questions this morning."It is through national human rights institutions that vulnerable individuals and groups can seek redress of violations of their human rights", the representative of Australia said. He hoped that each State would consider the desirability of drawing up a national action plan identifying steps whereby they could improve the promotion and protection of human rights.
The representative of Ukraine said effective bilateral mechanisms could be of great help to provide legal means for kin-States to protect their minorities in neighbouring countries. Domestic policy alone in the field of human rights and the rights of minorities was not sufficient to prevent the threat of ethnic tensions.
The representative of China said effective implementation of various human rights instruments would be facilitated if reform of the reporting system was carried out, and it was ensured that treaty bodies fulfilled their responsibilities strictly within their respective spheres of competence.
The United States representative referred to numerous human rights violations still taking place in various parts of the world. In the general sphere of promoting and protecting human rights, she said "in respecting the distinctions of physiology, culture and history that separate us, let us never forget the common humanity that binds us".
Also this morning, the Committee heard the introduction of a text under which the Assembly would invite States to attach great importance to improving the situation of rural women in their national development strategies, paying attention to both their practical and strategic needs.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Italy, Netherlands, Malaysia, Chile and Slovenia.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 29 November, to continue its consideration of human rights questions.
Committee Work Programme
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to continue its consideration of human rights questions. Those include how the provisions of human rights instruments are being carried out, as well as alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights. The Committee will also examine human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives. It will also have before it a report of the Secretary-General on the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.
Under its sub-item on the implementation of human rights instruments, the Committee has before it the reports of the Human Rights Committee (document A/50/40); the Committee against Torture (document A/50/44); on the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (document A/50/512); and the Secretary-General on the status of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (document A/50/469). It will also consider the report on the status of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (document A/50/472). (For background, see Press Release GA/SHC/3331 of 24 November.)
Under its sub-item on human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the Committee has before it reports on: respect for the principles of national sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of States in their electoral processes (document A/50/495); the effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (document A/50/514); human rights and mass exoduses (document A/50/566); human rights and terrorism (document A/50/685); assistance to States in strengthening the rule of law (document A/50/653); the strengthening of the Centre for Human Rights (document A/50/678); and the geographical composition and functions of the staff of the Centre for Human Rights (document A/50/682). It also has before it the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the plan of action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (document A/50/698). (For background, see Press Release GA/SHC/3331 of 24 November.)
Under its sub-item on human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives, the Committee had before it notes by the Secretary-General transmitting the following: the interim report prepared by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (document A/50/568); the interim report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan (document A/50/569); the interim report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cuba (document
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A/50/663); and the three reports by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Rwanda (document A/50/709). (For background, see Press Releases GA/SHC/3333 and GA/SHC/3334 of 27 November.)
The Secretary-General's report on the recommendations made by his Special Representative for human rights in Cambodia (document A/50/681), submitted in accordance with General Assembly resolution 49/199 of 23 December 1994, states that the Special Representative, in accordance with the previous practice, took the occasion of his sixth mission to Cambodia (5-16 August) to visit, in addition to the capital Phnom Penh, the provinces of Kampot and Kampong Cham and the Municipality of Kep.
As requested by the General Assembly and by the Commission on Human Rights, he paid particular attention to vulnerable groups, including children, squatters and other homeless people.
The report details the findings of the Special Representative, his ongoing observations, as well as information provided to him by the Government of Cambodia, the Centre for Human Rights and other sources.
It states that during the period since his last report to the General Assembly, the Special Representative has regularly submitted to the Government of Cambodia confidential letters containing recommendations on human rights issues. Although receipt of recommendations has been acknowledged in some cases, the Special Representative is unaware of any action taken on most of them. He suggests that the Government of Cambodia set in place a regular procedure for the reception, consideration and follow-up of the recommendations.
Also, on action taken on earlier reports, the Special Representative said that an initial assessment suggests that most remain to be implemented. In many cases, neither the Special Representative nor the Centre for Human Rights is aware of action which the Government has taken. In other cases, implementation of the recommendations require financial, technical and human resources which are not necessarily available to the Government.
The report also includes an update on selected human rights issues, including the right to health; to education; to work; to housing; and to sustainable development. It also reviews new laws and practices on human rights; independence of the judiciary; prisons and other custodial institutions; freedom of expression and the press law; right to be elected and to take part in government; and the situation of vulnerable groups, including women, children and minorities.
Also covered in the updates are the reporting obligations under international covenants and security measures.
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The report recommends that the highest priority be given to an increase by the Government of the Ministry of Health's budget as well as to campaigns directed at preventing the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The Special Representative also recommends that to improve the handling of the squatters' situation, in order to ensure respect for their basic human rights, the city of Phnom Penh and other relevant municipalities should develop and publish an urban plan clarifying proposed land use in areas currently used by squatters while squatters' representatives and communities should be consulted in respect of the orderly resumption of the use of land areas occupied by squatters. Land laws should be enforced in respect of the rights of persons who have continuously occupied land peacefully for many years.
Further, the report recommends that the Government should continue to enforce the prohibition of logging without reforestation and the ban on exports of such timber. At the same time, the Centre for Human Rights should continue to monitor draft laws and provide technical advice to the Government on the conformity of such laws with Cambodia's international human rights obligations. The Centre should alert the Special Representative to any draft laws that might raise serious human rights concerns.
Urgent attention should continue to be given to the state of Cambodia's prisons, the report continues. The Centre for Human Rights should provide assistance, as required, and closely monitor the introduction of a law to prohibit the use of land-mines in Cambodia.
Annexed to the report was the programme of the sixth mission of the Special Representative, human rights recommendations for 1994-1995 and a letter from the Government of Cambodia to the United Nations Centre for Human Rights.
In his report on the role of the United Nations Centre for Human Rights in assisting the Government and people of Cambodia in the promotion and protection of human rights (document A/50/681/Add.1), submitted in accordance with General Assembly resolution 49/199, the Secretary-General describes the activities and programmes implemented in Cambodia by the Centre for Human Rights from December 1994 to 31 July 1995.
He states that the Centre worked in close cooperation during that period with the ministries concerned, provincial authorities, the National Assembly, the judiciary, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, bilateral development agencies, the diplomatic corps, Cambodian human rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights defenders, the press, the monks, the school leaders and the public at large.
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The report notes that most of the activities to be carried out by the Centre in Cambodia are to be financed from voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund for the Human Rights Education Programme in Cambodia. Through the Fund, the Centre had provided direct financial assistance to Cambodian human rights non-governmental organizations. In 1994, it funded 32 projects at a cost of $442,225. A detailed procedure for the assignment of grants and criteria for reporting to the Centre on the use of the funds received has been elaborated and applied. In addition to financing the salaries of the staff and the operational expenses of the Centre's Cambodia office, the United Nations regular budget provided some funds to place, at the request of the Cambodian Government, a consultant at the Ministry of Interior for six months to advise on immigration and nationality matters ($24,000) and to provide a consultant to strengthen Cambodian non-governmental organizations working for children's rights ($8,750).
Through its office in Cambodia the Centre for Human Rights has carried out the activities for the creation and strengthening of national institutions and a legal framework consistent with international human rights norms. Also, it has provided financial assistance to the secretariat of the inter-ministerial committee on reporting obligations, chaired by the Minister of Justice and of the subcommittees preparing the reports of Cambodia to the Committees on Human Rights, on the Rights of the Child and on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the report continues, has also contributed financially to that secretariat to assist the subcommittee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. If the Government so requests, such assistance could be extended in 1996 to reporting obligations under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, to all of which Cambodia has also acceded.
In collaboration with the Cambodian Institute of Human Rights, the Centre has continued to support the development of human rights curricula for ages one to eleven in the Cambodian school system, according to the report. Meetings with human rights non-governmental organizations are taking place on a regular basis to discuss various issues, to exchange information and to find the appropriate way to deal with certain cases. That form of assistance to non-governmental organizations is also being provided in Battambang, Kampong Cham and Siem Reap through the Centre's provincial offices. Finally, the report also reviews the activities of the United Nations system in the field of human rights in Cambodia.
Annexed to the report are Contributions to the Trust Fund for a Human Rights Education Programme in Cambodia (as of 30 June), expenditures under the Fund and a listing of human rights conventions ratified by Cambodia.
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The Secretary-General's report on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (document A/50/452), prepared in accordance with General Assembly resolution 48/134, contains information on the various activities undertaken by the Centre for Human Rights to establish and strengthen national institutions and on the measures taken by governments.
In accordance with the Human Rights Commission's resolution 1992/54, the Centre for Human Rights, in cooperation with the Tunisian Higher Committee on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, organized the second International Workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, in Tunis from 13 to 17 December 1993. At the conclusion of their deliberations, the report goes on, the participants adopted recommendations for consideration by the Commission, including a recommendation that it should establish a coordination committee for national institutions. Also, the third International Workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was held at Manila, at the invitation of the Philippine Government, from 18 to 21 April.
Following a recommendation by the International Workshop held in Tunis, the Commission on Human Rights, in resolution 1993/55, endorsed the decision to set up a Coordination Committee for national institutions. That Committee is composed of representatives of the national institutions of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, Sweden, India, Cameroon, Tunisia, Mexico and the Philippines and its main objective is the promotion of the establishment and strengthening of national human rights mechanisms.
The report highlighted the need for a clearer definition of the framework for cooperation between national institutions and the international bodies responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights, by assigning a specific status to the national institutions in relation to those bodies.
The Secretary-General's report on the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social development (document A/50/670) notes that the summit was convened in Copenhagen at the level of heads of State or government from 6 to 12 March, following a decision by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/92 of 16 December 1992. The summit adopted the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and a Programme of Action and recommended their endorsement by the General Assembly at its fiftieth session. The Declaration includes a statement on the current social situation and the reasons for convening the summit, a set of principles, goals and 10 commitments, while the Programme of Action outlines policies and measures to fulfil the commitments enunciated in the Declaration.
According to the report, the main responsibility for the implementation rests with national governments, but all private and public institutions and
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organizations, as well as all citizens, are expected to share that responsibility.
Further, the report says that on 29 March, the Secretary-General sent a letter to heads of State or government who participated in the summit and stressed the political significance of the event and of the commitments taken. He indicated that he was initiating a process to ensure a coordinated response from the United Nations system, based on a clear division of labour.
In a second letter dated 28 July, he suggested the designation of a national focal point on the implementation of the summit's recommendations and asked for the personal views of heads of State or government on ways to maintain the momentum towards the summit's goals, and in other exchanges with governments, he emphasized that the situation of least developed countries would be fully taken into account. In their responses, governments stressed their determination to foster social development and to implement the objectives and commitments adopted in Copenhagen. Focal points are being designated in central ministries and some national committees, established in the context of the preparation of the summit, are being maintained, while in other cases new national committees are being put in place.
The report also said that in communications to executive heads, the Secretary-General has stressed that existing inter-agency efforts need to be especially reinforced in relation to national action at the country level.
Reviewing the role of the United Nations system in the implementation of the summit's proposals, the report covers the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies, United Nations programmes, regional commissions, agency programmes and the Secretariat, and gives details of the initiatives taken by those bodies since the summit.
The report recommends that the General Assembly should hold a special session in the year 2000 for an overall review and appraisal of the outcome of the summit. It should also include in its agenda, between 1996 and 2000, an item entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development", and consider the implications for the treatment of related items on its agenda. In addition, it should consider convening, in 1997, a meeting of high-level representatives to consider issues of social development, with particular emphasis on the 10 commitments adopted in Copenhagen.
Also, the report recommends that the Assembly should invite the Economic and Social Council to consider arrangements to maximize its contribution to the review of the implementation of the outcome of the summit and the preparations for the overall review and appraisal in the year 2000, including an assessment of the operational and other activities of technical assistance provided by the United Nations and its system. The possibility of convening a meeting of high-level representatives on the subject of international
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cooperation for social issues and policies, in 1999, should also be considered. In addition, the Assembly should invite the regional commissions, which have been requested in the Programme of Action to convene on a biennial basis, to convene such meetings, at a high political level, between 1996 and 1998, in order that the results could be used by the Economic and Social Council in 1999 and the Assembly itself in the year 2000.
It is recommended in the report that the Assembly encourage governments, in addition to fulfilling the commitments undertaken in Copenhagen, to prepare periodic national reports, outlining successes, problems and obstacles, as envisaged in the Programme of Action. It should also encourage public and private institutions to promote activities towards the summit's goals.
Draft Resolutions
The Committee is also expected to hear the introduction of two draft resolutions relating to the advancement of women. Under the terms of the 31- Power draft (document A/C.3/50/L.24), the Assembly would invite States to attach greater importance to improving the situation of rural women in their national development strategies, paying attention to both their practical and strategic needs. They would be asked to place higher priority on budgetary allocations relating to rural women's interests; strengthen national machineries and establish linkages among governmental and non-governmental bodies concerned with rural development; increase rural women's participation in decision-making; improve their access to productive resources and meet their basic requirements for water and sanitation; and invest in health and literacy programmes and social support measures for rural women.
Among other terms of the text, the Assembly would invite the 1996 World Food Summit to give due consideration to improving the situation of rural women. It would also invite the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (Istanbul, June 1996) to give due consideration to the gender aspects of rural-urban migration and its impact on rural women.
That draft resolution is sponsored by Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines and Viet Nam.
By a resolution on the role of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in eliminating violence against women (document A/C.3/50/L.25), the General Assembly would request the Fund, as one of the Organization's operational bodies, to take into account the need to strengthen its activities to eliminate violence against women as part of United Nations system-wide efforts towards that goal, in accordance with the measures set out in the
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Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.
It would also have the Assembly request the Fund to cooperate closely with the relevant organs and bodies of the United Nations, in particular the Division for the Advancement of Women, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, the Centre for Human Rights, the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch and UNICEF, in order to ensure that its activities form part of the system-wide efforts of the United Nations to eliminate violence against women.
Under other terms of the draft, the Fund would be requested to include in its regular reports information on its activities to eliminate violence against women and girls and to provide such information to the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Human Rights.
Also, the text would have the Assembly invite the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to consider the possibility of establishing a trust fund within the existing structure and management of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, in consultation with the relevant organs and bodies of the United Nations, in support of national, regional, international and non-governmental organizations actions to eliminate violence against women.
The draft text was sponsored by Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Bhutan, Botswana, Canada, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Panama, Romania, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Statements Made
PAOLO TORELLA DI ROMAGNANO (Italy) reiterated an appeal to ratify or accede to the Second Optional Protocol -- concerning abolition of the death penalty -- to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Since 1989, 24 States had abolished the death penalty, 22 of them for all crimes whether in peacetime or in wartime. "The abolition of the death penalty enhances human dignity and the progressive development of human rights", he said.
He renewed his country's call for a moratorium on application of the death penalty. In any case, if carried out, the death penalty should be applied only to the most serious crimes, and he hoped that juveniles, pregnant women, new mothers and insane persons would be exempted. Also, it should it be guaranteed that no unnecessary pain is inflicted on persons facing the last minutes of their lives.
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RENE CH. AQUARONE (Netherlands) said that it was central to the concept of human rights that only States and their agents could commit violations of human rights. Illegal acts committed by criminals or terrorists were criminal offences which should be dealt with under applicable criminal law. To accuse them of human rights violations weakened the concept and distracted attention from the core problem. It could also lead to a weakening of the obligation of States to promote and protect human rights, as they could be tempted to use the misconduct of others to condone their own violations. Not all illegal activities were human rights violations.
The Netherlands believed that the effective promotion and protection of human rights was one of the cornerstones of a democratic State, he went on. It had always endorsed the notion that the promotion and protection of all human rights was a legitimate concern of the international community.
He noted the proliferation of sweeping reservations entered by States in becoming party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Both in treaty law and under general principles of international law, he said, it had been understood that such reservations may not be contrary to the object and purpose of the treaty in question. The Netherlands, therefore, reiterated the call made at Vienna during the World Conference on Human Rights, inviting all States which had made reservations on human rights treaties to which they had become party to review those reservations on a regular basis with a view to restricting them and ultimately withdrawing them.
Protocols which could weaken the provisions of a convention should be rejected, he continued. On the draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture, the Netherlands did not believe that a procedure whereby visits to centres of detention could only take place after the authorization of the State concerned would reduce the use of torture. Such a protocol would weaken the implementation of the Convention.
V. YOOGALINGAM (Malaysia) said some of the alleged inadequacies in the promotion of civil and political rights were, in many instances, rooted in economic and social injustices. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action on Human Rights formed a good basis for strengthening cooperation in all human rights issues.
He said that despite the forceful portrayal of the tragedy in the former Yugoslavia documented by Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the former Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the former Yugoslavia, Europe in particular and the international community at large remained unable to stop such wanton violations of human rights. Malaysia found the lack of forceful actions to stop such carnage incomprehensible. As a result of that situation, thousands upon thousands were killed, brutalized, raped or maimed by Serbian soldiers. Malaysia called upon the international community to give its strongest support
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to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia so that it could carry out its task without any constraints.
He said that some 42,000 Bosnians and other non-Serbs were expelled from Srebrenica in July. Of that figure, the whereabouts of thousands of men of drafting age and some women were still unknown. The former Special Rapporteur had concluded that summary executions were carried out and that mass executions occurred. It was important that an investigation be carried out immediately to verify and identify all mass grave sites near Srebrenica and Vukovar and other mass grave sites and places where mass killings were reported to have taken place.
NINA KOVALSKA (Ukraine) said that since not a single country was ethnically homogenous, the issue of national minorities had a global character. "Any miscalculation in this sphere may lead to unpredictable situations", she cautioned. In her country, national minorities made up a quarter of the population and they were protected by international norms. Even though her Government was doing its utmost to preserve peace, it did not feel safe with conflicts taking place in neighbouring countries. Such conflicts had already brought to it 1 million refugees.
In the course of decades, she continued, the former Soviet Union had practised a policy of denationalization aimed at creating an artificial entity of people to benefit one nation in the political, economic and cultural spheres. Consequences of that policy had had a strong impact on shaping the approaches to issues relating to minorities. Each time the issue of extreme nationalism was raised, her country pointed to chauvinism as a root cause of extreme nationalism. Both of them needed to be combated by legal means. After the disintegration of the USSR, millions of people had found themselves in the status of minorities outside their kin-States, she said. However, as a result of the previous policy only one minority within the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) enjoyed conditions under which its ethnic needs were satisfied.
Domestic policy alone in the field of human rights and the rights of minorities was not sufficient to prevent a threat of ethnic tensions, she emphasized. Effective bilateral mechanisms could be of great help to provide legal means for kin-States to protect their minorities in neighbouring countries. "Constructive inter-State cooperation, based on international law will promote peaceful, step-by-step ways of settling minorities' problems and will contribute to preventing mass migration that may be caused by negligence of minorities' rights", she emphasized.
COLIN WILLIS (Australia) said his Government welcomed the recommendation made by the chairmen of the treaty bodies that the Secretariat should facilitate the exchange of information between non-governmental organizations and those bodies. He also supported the recommendation made
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that each treaty body consider how it could most effectively incorporate gender perspectives and consideration of the human rights of women into its practices.
States could better promote the observance of human rights standards through the establishment of independent national institutions, he continued. "It is through national human rights institutions that vulnerable individuals and groups can seek redress of violations of their human rights", he said. In addition, the work of such institutions could be strengthened through subregional and regional arrangements which provided a framework for exchanges of views and experiences.
He hoped that each State would consider the desirability of drawing up a national action plan, identifying steps whereby it could improve the promotion and protection of human rights. Also, the Centre for Human Rights could work closely with States wishing to improve their human rights performance. For example, in Cambodia the Centre was undertaking ground-breaking work in assisting that Government to meet its human rights obligations. He hoped that all States would cooperate fully with the United Nations human rights mechanisms.
The Dayton Agreement provided the first real hope that the horrific human rights abuses, which had characterized the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, would come to an end. "A lasting peace will depend crucially on the development of a culture of human rights", he said. He called attention to the human rights situation in Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Myanmar and Nigeria.
LI BAODONG (China) said that effectiveness and universality of human rights conventions were impaired because States were overburdened with too many reports. The periodic reports required of States parties under the conventions required large amounts of time, money and manpower to prepare. Also, effectiveness was impaired because treaty bodies overlapped and efficiency was low. At present, there were too many human rights monitoring bodies without good coordination among them. Furthermore, treaty bodies failed to strictly fulfil their mandated responsibility by either going beyond their terms of reference or repeating the work of other bodies.
China believed that increasing the number of meetings of treaty bodies alone could not solve the problem, he said. Effective implementation of various human rights instruments would be facilitated if reform of the reporting system were carried out, and it was ensured that treaty bodies fulfilled their responsibilities strictly within their respective spheres of competence.
He said China had participated in the drafting and formulation of many United Nations human rights instruments, as evidenced in its successive signing, ratifying and acceding to 15 international human rights conventions.
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China's national legal system had been strengthened, and laws had been formulated and promulgated in the field of protection of the rights and interests of women and children and national laws concerning the prohibition of torture had been further improved by the promulgation of laws.
MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT (United States) said that although the democratic trend had increased worldwide, it was still not universal. She said that Burma's desire for foreign investment, democratic reform, and its release of a number of political prisoners, including Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was encouraging. However, that Government's failure to begin serious political dialogues with Aung San Suu Kyi and other representatives of the democratic movement and ethnic groups was discouraging. She urged support in that country for democracy and respect for internationally recognized human rights.
"The lawlessness of the regime in Baghdad has claimed the lives of many abroad, but its more recent victims had been closer to home", she said. In addition, for years, the Iraqis had denied they ever possessed a programme to produce biological warfare agents. However, it had been reported that they had produced enough anthrax and botulinin to kill every person on earth.
She said she called on the Government of Iran to end its repression of the Iranian people. Cuba, she continued, was the only State in the western hemisphere which still forbade basic freedoms of association and speech. Furthermore, it did not allow the visit of a Human Rights Special Rapporteur. She also expressed her concern at the recent events that occurred in Nigeria as well as the human rights violations in the Sudan. Also, she hoped the Chinese Government would take specific steps to conform to international human rights norms.
Concerning the former Yugoslavia, she went on to say that if implemented, the peace agreement initialled last week would bring an end to the worst abuses of human rights seen in Europe since the end of the Second World War.
In concluding, she urged that "in respecting the distinctions of physiology, culture and history that separate us, let us never forget the common humanity that binds us".
FELIPE PORTALES (Chile) called for a significant increase in resources available to the Centre for Human Rights in order to provide advisory services to States. The Centre had been receiving requests which greatly exceeded its budget. The advisory services, he said, had not been established for concealing human rights abuses.
He welcomed the special support services of the Centre to the countries in transition. All specialized agencies of the United Nations should
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incorporate into their activities the development of programmes in countries working towards the promotion of human rights. Chile called for the strengthening of international cooperation in the area of human rights. It was also important that international credit bodies include the human rights variable in their activities, and those variables should also be promoted in regional forums.
DANILO TURK (Slovenia) said that efforts for tolerance should be accompanied by efforts for prevention and combating of intolerance. The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna had reaffirmed the universality of human rights norms.
He paid special tribute to Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the former Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Former Yugoslavia, saying that his work showed an exemplary level of objectivity and commitment to human rights. It was regrettable that the appeals contained in his report had not been heeded.
He said that what was needed was careful attention to the global dimension of minority issues. Studying the experiences in regions other than Europe should be among the priorities of the Working Group of the Sub- Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. The Sub-Commission should pay more attention to the issues of minorities.
Observance of human rights was an essential aspect of elimination of obstacles to the right to development, he said. A failure to observe the basic civil rights to a fair trial and to freedom of expression diminished and might destroy confidence in the judiciary. It frightened the people and impeded their empowerment with the result that conditions for the realization of the right to development were seriously undermined.
Introduction of Draft Resolutions
OCHIR ENKHTSETSEG (Mongolia) introduced a draft resolution on the improvement of the situation of women in rural areas. She made oral revisions to the draft. Joining in the draft's sponsorship were Cote d'Ivoire, Georgia, Jamaica, Kazakstan, Nigeria, Thailand, Sudan, Gambia, El Salvador, Liberia, Ghana, Botswana and the United Republic of Tanzania.
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