HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CALLS FOR ACTION AGAINST 'NEW WALLS OF MISUNDERSTANDING' IN STATEMENT TO COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

19 March 1996

Press Release
HR/CN/705

HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CALLS FOR ACTION AGAINST 'NEW WALLS OF MISUNDERSTANDING' IN STATEMENT TO COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

19960319 Foreign Minister of Italy, Minister Of International Cooperation of Sweden Also Address Commission

GENEVA, 19 March (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala Lasso, said this morning that "new walls of misunderstanding" in the post-cold-war period had cast peoples of the same countries against one another, had brought an explosion of terrorist acts with their many civilian victims, and had led to genocide and other mind- boggling and reprehensible acts.

Addressing the Commission on Human Rights on the second day of its 1996 session, Mr. Ayala Lasso said the panel must find effective ways to respond to those threats, which otherwise could reverse hard-won progress over the last 50 years, which had been based on the concept of the universality of human rights. International measures to promote human rights should not be seen as an infringement on nations, he said, but as valuable assistance towards a common goal.

The Commission also heard addresses from the Foreign Minister of Italy and the Minister of International Cooperation of Sweden.

In addition, it began debate on its organization of work -- a discussion that evolved into a series of charges by a number of countries that the Commission's activities in recent years had become politicized and reflected, in China's words, "double standards" that acted against the interests of the world's poorer countries.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, Susanna Agnelli, speaking on behalf of the European Union and of central and eastern European countries associated with the Union, said the organization would continue to contribute substantially to the realization of the right to development through its cooperation policies, which included vigorous support for human rights and the strengthening of democracy. The Union rejected as unfounded any contention that an increase in funding for human rights programmes would be at the expense of development activities, as democracy and the promotion and protection of all human rights, including the right to development, were closely interconnected.

The Minister for International Cooperation and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Pierre Schori, told the Commission that where violations of human rights occurred, they must be denounced. The lack of fundamental freedoms, as well as of a fair and independent legal system, and the excessive use of the death penalty in China gave cause for concern. In Chechnya, the situation of the civilian population was intolerable. He went on to call for abolition of capital punishment and for the establishment "of basic humanitarian standards below which no player on the international stage should be allowed to fall".

Several delegations offered remarks under the Commission's agenda item on organization of work. A few were procedural in nature, but on occasion the statements became substantive. The representative of Bangladesh, for example, said that "politicization of human rights issues and selective targeting of countries for criticism and condemnation on charges of human rights violations would negate the principles set out in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action" adopted by the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights.

The representative of Sri Lanka noted "a feeling shared by some countries that polarization exists between developed and developing countries" and reported "a perception by some developing countries" that at least some resolutions adopted by the Commission in recent years were politically motivated. The Commission Chairman, Gilberto Vergne Saboia, eventually asked speakers to restrict their remarks to matters of procedure.

Addressing the meeting were representatives of Pakistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Bhutan, Angola, China, Indonesia, Cuba, Netherlands, Denmark and Mauritania.

Statements

JOSE AYALA LASSO, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that as the year 2000 approached, it was imperative to conduct a thorough review of human rights instruments and of human rights activities to determine how well they were working, how they could be improved, and what further steps could be taken in the cause of human rights.

History would soon forget words and declarations, but would bear witness to true and steady resolve that led to real progress, he said. Resolve was certainly needed to protect the idea of universality and indivisibility of human rights. All States, whatever their political, economic, social, or cultural regimes, were responsible for respecting and promoting human rights. That obligation must not be forgotten. National institutions were in the best position to further the cause of human rights.

New walls of misunderstanding in the post-cold-war period had cast peoples of the same countries against one another, had brought an explosion of

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terrorist acts with their many civilian victims, and had led to genocide and other mind-boggling and reprehensible acts. Had the time not come for the Commission to respond to those threats to the work and progress so hard-won over the last 50 years? he asked. Theory must be translated into practice, including extension of the cause of human rights into the process of development -- an integrated, balanced approach that included ratification of covenants and conventions and the adoption of thorough and wide-ranging human-rights standards. International measures to promote human rights should not be seen as an infringement on nations, but as valuable assistance towards a common goal.

He said he was in the process of reforming and restructuring the Centre for Human Rights to prepare it for the twenty-first century -- the first stage of a much broader process of reforming the human rights machinery within the United Nations. But all such human rights programmes were affected by the grave financial crisis facing the Organization, and improvements in such activities obviously depended on improved funding. Some $25 million per year in voluntary contributions would be needed to carry out current field activities.

SUSANNA AGNELLI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, speaking on behalf of the European Union and of central and eastern European countries associated with the Union (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, as well as Cyprus and Malta), said that notwithstanding the progress made, full enjoyment of rights and freedoms was still denied to millions of people throughout the world, especially in countries where political freedom was lacking.

The broad thrust of the European Union's human rights strategy must be to anticipate events rather than be controlled by them, she said. The focus must be on prevention rather than reaction, striving to support sound and coherent policies and solid democratic systems. Only a permanent international criminal court could deal with serious violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity perpetrated throughout the world. The European Union, therefore, welcomed the establishment of the preparatory committee for the convening of a diplomatic conference, which her Government had offered to host at the earliest date with a view to eventually adopting the statute of the court.

She said the European Union emphasized the urgent and inescapable need for the United Nations to step up its efforts to channel more adequate and substantial resources towards human-centred activities to meet the expanded human rights mandates of the United Nations and the priorities agreed upon in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The Union rejected as unfounded any contention that an increase in funding for human rights programmes would be at the expense of development activities, mindful that

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democracy and the promotion and protection of all human rights, including the right to development, were closely interconnected.

PIERRE SCHORI, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, said that where violations of human rights occurred, they must be denounced. The lack of fundamental freedoms, as well as of a fair and independent legal system, and the excessive use of the death penalty in China gave cause for concern. In Chechnya, the situation for the civilian population was intolerable.

His Government had fought vigorously against capital punishment and torture, he said. The world had been shocked by the intolerable suffering of millions of persons in tragedies such as Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. However, because such internal conflicts did not constitute war between States where international humanitarian law applied, it was vital that basic humanitarian standards should be established below which no player on the international stage should be allowed to fall. In that regard, Sweden emphasized the importance of the work of the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

With regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, his Government considered that in one provision it was outdated and that the fifteen-year age limit for recruitment into armed forces and direct participation in hostilities should be replaced by an eighteen-year limit. His Government would be hosting the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in August. The right to life was the most fundamental of all rights, and Sweden strongly condemned the use of the death penalty. It was an inhuman penalty which should not be used in any society, anywhere or at any time.

Statements in Organization of Work

SYRUS QAZI (Pakistan), speaking on behalf of the Asian Group, said that in previous years countries had faced a problem of lack of transparency in which initiatives and consultations on resolutions were not entirely open. The Asian Group believed that wider consultations on all draft resolutions prior to their introduction would be useful. The Commission might also wish to consider shortening future sessions to four or five weeks from six.

HOCINE MEGHLAOUI (Algeria) said the Commission should be a venue where universal conscience and cooperation were expressed through respect of all by all. With general agreement by all, only human rights should be promoted and better protected in the Commission. The Commission could overcome certain problems which had emanated from a lack of dialogue by launching a much-needed reorganization.

ANWAR HASHIM (Bangladesh) said that politicization of human rights issues and selective targeting of countries for criticism and condemnation on charges of human rights violations would negate the principles set out in the

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Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights. Bangladesh earnestly hoped that statements and resolutions would reflect objectivity, non-politicization, non-selectivity, and transparency. BERNARD GOONETILLEKE (Sri Lanka) said there was a feeling shared by some countries that polarization existed between developed and developing countries. That view had been strengthened by the increasing number of country-specific resolutions adopted in recent years targeting developing countries. There was a perception by some developing countries that at least some of those attempts were motivated politically. Friendly persuasion was the best way to make progress.

HEMANT KRISHAN SINGH (India) said the Commission should refuse to be an arena for sterile confrontation and political dispute. Sadly, the protection and promotion of human rights, instead of being a global and cooperative endeavour, was becoming a new arena of political and politicized confrontation -- a part of the foreign policy agendas of countries or groups of countries which had little to do with human rights. It was necessary to work by consensus, in a cooperative atmosphere.

JIGMI THINLEY (Bhutan) said the deliberate politicization of human rights in the Commission was a cause of much concern to everyone. Subjectivity, selectivity and partiality in the treatment of issues appeared to have become the norm, rather than the exception. Even more worrying was the feeling among an increasing number of countries that the Commission was being manipulated by certain countries to exert political pressures on others to promote national or group interests. A more cooperative spirit was needed.

ADRIANO PARREIRA (Angola) said his country strongly believed that the Commission could prevail as a place for dialogue, understanding, and consensus, as it had been conceived 50 years ago. All delegations should coordinate efforts to avoid by all means the futile exercise of confrontation. The Commission should strive to adopt decisions and resolutions based on consensus. WU JIANMIN (China) said politicization, double standards and confrontation were hindering the work of the Commission. China favoured cooperation and balance in efforts to improve human rights. Other speakers had pinpointed the very problems that were eroding the credibility of the Commission -- resolutions were almost always aimed at developing countries, and developed countries sat in judgment of developing countries as if the Commission were a court. The Commission must change its methods to reflect a positive spirit of cooperation.

SOODAH B.A. SYALMUDDIN (Indonesia) said her Government fully supported the statement of the Asian Group regarding the need to rationalize the work of the Commission. It was widely recognized that that should take place in a

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thorough, comprehensive and integrated manner. A mechanism could be agreed upon for the purpose of coordination for consultations on all draft resolutions prior to their introduction and adoption. Such a mechanism would allow any interested delegation to conduct consultations in a frank dialogue within a spirit of cooperation in order to achieve consensus. The agenda of the Commission needed to be restructured so that it fully reflected its main responsibilities and mandates in the field of promotion, protection, implementation, institutional coordination and standard setting. In that regard, the clustering of closely linked agenda items should be encouraged.

MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ (Cuba) said the delegation shared concerns that the activities of the Commission had been hurt by political bias and had led to a crisis of confidence. Perhaps the loss of credibility of the Commission was not apparent in the developed countries, but it was to the rest of the world. States did not want to give up their sovereignty or right to self-determination or submit to a new world order. The way work was now organized did not promote constructive dialogue.

PETER VAN WULFFTEN PALTHE (Netherlands), alluding to a point of order raised by the Chinese delegation, was of the opinion that the interruption of a guest speaker by a delegation was of political nature. He urged that such acts should be avoided in the future. He added that he was gratified by the many statements calling for refinement of the Commission's work. He felt he spoke for all developed countries in saying that they were always ready to discuss modifying the Commission's methods of work.

TYGE LEHMANN (Denmark) said he did not wish to prolong the discussion, and the country had forwarded its proposals concerning the work of the Commission, as requested, to the Bureau on Monday afternoon. The delegation felt that human rights matters relating to the 300 million indigenous peoples of the world should be dealt with under a separate agenda item on indigenous peoples' issues.

OULD MOHAMED LEMINE (Mauritania) stressed the necessity of streamlining the work of the Commission. Previously, unsuccessful efforts to improve procedures should not act as discouragement. His delegation supported the view that consensus on decisions and resolutions was preferable to voting.

MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan) said the sentiments expressed by many delegations reflected the views held by a large portion of developing countries. Some harsh perspectives, if not harsh realities, had been referred to in the discussion. Pakistan hoped the discussion could enable the Commission to resort for the rest of its session to an atmosphere of harmony and cooperation. The Commission should serve the objective of harmonizing the policies of States, through the mechanism of consultation aimed a promoting consensus, as far as possible, on all issues.

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