HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION HEARS FROM ITS EXPERTS ON TORTURE, JUDICIARY, DETAINEES AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES

4 April 1996

Press Release
HR/CN/728

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION HEARS FROM ITS EXPERTS ON TORTURE, JUDICIARY, DETAINEES AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES

19960404 Canadian Foreign Minister Announces Increased Aid To United Nations Human Rights Operations in Rwanda and Former Yugoslavia

GENEVA, 3 April (UN Information Service) -- Experts and investigators of the Commission on Human Rights dealing with questions of torture, the judiciary, the rights of detainees and enforced disappearances this morning provided a mixed assessment of the state of human rights around the world.

Speaking as the Commission continued to discuss the issue of the human rights of persons subjected to detention or imprisonment, the panel's Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Param Cumaraswamy, said attacks on the judiciary throughout the world were worrying. In 49 countries identified, 336 cases of attacks on judges and lawyers had been noted between January and December 1995. Turkey appeared to rank as the country with the largest number of lawyers detained, but threats to judicial independence appeared everywhere, even in a developed country like the United Kingdom.

Special Rapporteur on torture Nigel Rodley said that while he had tried to discharge all aspects of his mandate, the limited resources available had precluded his undertaking the required research and analysis. He told the Commission that a mission to Pakistan in late February of this year had, disturbingly, amply confirmed the concerns that had prompted the visit in the first place. And while a mission to Venezuela was scheduled for early May, no other invitations had been received from other governments listed in his report.

The Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Louis Joinet, said his group had received cooperation in arranging missions to Bhutan, Viet Nam, Nepal and Peru. A verbal agreement had been reached regarding a possible mission to China. The Working Group hoped an invitation for a visit would be forthcoming from Chinese authorities.

Ivan Tosevski, Chairman and Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, said the phenomenon of enforced disappearances had spread to all regions of the world, occurring, predominantly, in situations of social or ethnic tension or of internal armed conflict. None

the less, the situation had improved considerably in some countries, such as Cambodia and El Salvador.

The Commission also heard from Manfred Nowak, expert member of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances working on the Special Process on Missing Persons in the Territory of the former Yugoslavia, who said the fate of more than 30,000 missing persons in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina represented one of the most serious and largely unresolved human rights problems of the conflict there. During recent visits to the territory, he had for the first time received cooperation from Serb authorities in Eastern Slavonia and from representatives of the Republika Srpska. Unfortunately, the Government in Belgrade still refused to disclose relevant information or honour his repeated requests to visit that capital. He also expressed concern over the possible tainting of evidence from suspected mass graves.

Meanwhile, Lloyd Axworthy, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, told the Commission that if the conflict in Rwanda had taught the international community anything, it was the need for more effective coordination and for early warning, rapid reaction and prevention systems that would respond in time to impending large-scale human rights abuses. Canada would contribute a further $500,000 to the Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda and $300,000 to the Programme of Operations in the former Yugoslavia

Taking part in the discussion this morning were the representatives of Italy (on behalf of the European Union and others) and Cuba, as well as observers representing the International Committee of the Red Cross, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Bolivia and Cyprus.

Statements by Foreign Minister of Canada

LLOYD AXWORTHY, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the core commitment and the essential mission statement of Canada's participation in the community of nations. The celebration of its fiftieth anniversary in 1998 should not be an occasion for complacency or sentimentality, but a time for tough, concerted actions that would move the human rights agenda to the centre of a reformed and revitalized United Nations.

An effective and attainable human rights agenda for the United Nations, he said, would take into account as an important element the realization that real security could not be limited to the State's domain, but must also incorporate a growing civil society. Harnessing the energy of civil society could include appealing to businesses -- by their adoption of labour standards and human rights; to consumers -- who could choose products which did not involve exploited labour, particularly children; and to national institutions -- by monitoring performance against the standards of human rights they set.

- 3 - Press Release HR/CN/728 4 April 1996

Secondly, he added, two virulent forms of human rights needed to be confronted: terrorism and hate literature. Terrorists groups must be starved of money and arms and the international community must condemn armed opposition groups within many countries. Governments must also begin to stem the flow of hatred and prejudice being disseminated over the plethora of communication channels -- whether by cable channels or radio talk shows, the Internet or fax machines. Canada had two important contributions to make in fighting that new strain of human rights abuse: it had developed important jurisprudence about the definition of "hate" and had the technological expertise in the areas of Internet and telecommunications.

There was perhaps no greater injustice in the world than the violation of the rights of a child. Children's rights were massively violated daily around the globe. Creating new rules or laws to combat the exploitation of children was just one part of an effective strategy; laws without the means to enforce them were of limited use. Consequently, Canada had recently made a substantial financial donation to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to find ways of giving effect to international obligations in that regard.

He said if Rwanda had taught the international community anything, it was the need for more effective coordination among the different parts of the United Nations and for early warning, rapid reaction and prevention systems that would respond in time to impending large-scale human rights abuses. Canada would contribute a further $500,000 to the Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda and $300,000 to the Programme of Operations in the former Yugoslavia.

Human Rights of Persons Subjected to Detention or Imprisonment

The Commission on Human Rights continued this morning to discuss the human rights of persons subjected to detention or imprisonment. Under this item, the Commission pays particular attention to questions related to torture and other cruel, inhuman degrading treatment or punishment; the question of enforced or involuntary disappearances; and the drafting of a draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment that would permit visits by independent experts to places of detention in countries that accept the text.

Among the documents before the Commission under this item is the report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Param Cumaraswamy, of Malaysia. The report concludes that attacks on the independence of judges and lawyers remains a matter of serious concern. According to the report, the threat of judicial independence comes not just from the executive arm of government nor from the legislature, but also from organized crime, powerful businessmen, corporate giants and multinationals. However, there is now a greater awareness of the importance of judicial

- 4 - Press Release HR/CN/728 4 April 1996

independence for the maintenance of the rule of law and the protection of human rights.

The Commission also had before it the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture, Nigel S. Rodley, of the United Kingdom. The report urges Governments to do their utmost to provide the information sought so as to enable the Rapporteur to improve his capacity accurately to assess the situations with which he was called upon to deal. The Commission also has a report on the visit of the Special Rapporteur to Chile. That report concludes that there seems to be an extensive problem of brutal treatment, sometimes amounting to torture, carried out on suspected common criminals or witnesses. It recommends that the uniformed police should be brought under the authority of the Minister of the Interior, rather that the Minister of Defence.

The Commission also had before it the report of the working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, which states that the systematic practice of acts of enforced disappearance became known in the early 1970s as a phenomenon prevalent in a relatively small number of military dictatorships, above all in Latin America. From its inception in 1980, the working group has dealt with some 50,000 individual cases pertaining to more that 70 countries; only a very small fraction of those cases had been clarified, and the number of outstanding cases increased every year, it is concluded in the document.

Other Statements

PARAM CUMARASWAMY, Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, said he had established a positive dialogue with the Inter-Parliamentary Union to disseminate as widely as possible among law makers around the world of the importance of an independent judiciary and legal profession in full conformity with applicable standards contained in international human rights instruments. The World Bank had provided information which could be made available to needy countries to structure their judicial systems. Furthermore, several governments and non-governmental organizations had sought his assistance for training programmes for judges, something for which more resources would have to be channelled.

As for the issues he had examined during his tenure, the Special Rapporteur said the use of what had been described as "faceless judges" in Colombia and Peru, and of "secret witnesses" in Colombia, had been of serious concern to him. He had sought missions to Colombia and Peru to carry out investigations into those procedures.

Attacks on the judiciary were worrying, he said. In 49 countries identified, 336 cases of attacks on judges and lawyers had been noted between January and December 1995, including 23 killings -- mostly in Colombia; 36 instances of torture; 142 detentions; and four disappearances. Turkey appeared to rank as the country with the largest number of lawyers detained,

- 5 - Press Release HR/CN/728 4 April 1996

but threats to judicial independence appeared to be all-pervasive, even in a developed country like the United Kingdom. And just two days ago, the President of the United States was reported to have said through his spokesman that, "if the judge did not change his ruling, the President would call for the judge's resignation". These events showed how fragile judicial independence was, hence the need for closer international vigilance.

In the wider context, another issue of some importance which required attention was the corruption in the judiciary, he went on. The right to independent justice was the right of all consumers of justice. It was fundamental to a just rule of law in furtherance of political and civil rights or economic, social and cultural rights.

NIGEL RODLEY, Special Rapporteur on Torture, said that while he had tried to discharge all aspects of his mandate, the limited resources available had precluded his undertaking the required research and analysis.

Turning to the activities he had conducted, the Special Rapporteur said a mission to Pakistan in late February of this year had, disturbingly, amply confirmed the concerns that had prompted the visit in the first place. A mission to Venezuela would take place in early May. No other invitations to visit had been received from other Governments listed in his report, he said.

Sections of the report dealt with the problem of torture against women and children, and even though no individual cases or countries were identified in the way in which he dealt with the matter, the Special Rapporteur said, the passages did not make pleasant reading. The Governments concerned would doubtless be able to recognize themselves.

In addition to country-by-country entries dealing with 72 countries, there was material on follow-up from previous missions, namely those to Russia and Colombia, he went on. Despite information supplied by those two countries, the steps taken had not been sufficient to substantially alleviate the serious problems found there. Meanwhile, the country entry for Chile noted a substantial improvement since the end of the military dictatorship, but reported that torture and similar brutal ill-treatment, particularly of suspected common criminals, continued to occur.

His report concluded that governments' failure to implement recommendations by Special Rapporteurs made over the years had contributed to the persistence of most allegations of torture the Secretariat continued to receive, he said, although he noted that at least governments now tended to respond to communications from him.

MANFRED NOWAK, expert member of the working group on enforced or Involuntary Disappearances working on the special process on missing persons in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, said the fate of more than 30,000

- 6 - Press Release HR/CN/728 4 April 1996

missing persons in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina represented one of the most serious and largely unresolved human rights problems of the conflict. Relatives of those missing had the right to know the truth, and if their demands for truth about the fate and whereabouts of missing persons were not met, it would be difficult for the various ethnic and religious communities to start the process of reconciliation. Without reconciliation, no lasting peace would be achieved.

During recent visits, he said, he had for the first time received cooperation from Serb authorities in Eastern Slavonia and from high representatives of the Republika Srpska. Unfortunately, the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) still refused to disclose relevant information or honour his repeated requests to visit Belgrade. He urged the Commission to call upon that Government to extend its cooperation to the special process.

He said he also was concerned by the slow progress achieved so far by the bilateral commission for tracing of missing persons in Croatia established by the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). Repeatedly he had offered assistance to both Governments to break the ice, without success, owing to lack of cooperation from Belgrade.

More than 50 mass graves had been located in Croatia, and up to 300 might exist in Bosnia, he went on. It was important to ensure that evidence contained in those sites was not tainted by unrestricted access -- such graves must be located, guarded and excavated without further delay in a professional, impartial and well-coordinated matter. An expert group had been established to carry out this task, using professional teams of forensic experts, but the job was a huge one with financial implications clearly beyond the resources allocated to the special process. He requested the Commission to establish a voluntary fund for this purpose and call upon all governments, non-governmental organizations and private donors to contribute generously. Locating and identifying missing persons was a crucial task both for the sake of their living relatives and for the peace process in the region.

LOUIS JOINET, Chairman-Rapporteur of the working group on arbitrary Detention, said the group had examined 829 new allegations concerning 28 governments. The following Governments, among the 28, had cooperated actively with the group: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Republic of Korea, People's Democratic Republic of Korea, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. No response had been received, regrettably, from Ethiopia, Iran, Israel, Libya, Maldives, Pakistan, Rwanda, Turkey, Zaire and the Palestinian Authority. Other governments which had not responded had not exhausted the 90 days allowed for a response, and so would not be mentioned.

- 7 - Press Release HR/CN/728 4 April 1996

He said 62 urgent appeals had been made to 38 governments, of which the following had responded by freeing detainees: Bahrain, Bhutan, Brazil, China, India, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Thailand, Tunisia and Turkey.

The working group had agreed to improve its methods by developing a request-revision procedure, and improving its spirit of cooperation, he said. This kind of "safety valve" was critical given its limited resources and time available for its work, and its increasing workload. To avoid situations of constant questioning of the decisions of the group, strict conditions had been set for the reconsideration procedure.

As for field missions, he added, the Working Group's mandate related to the legality of the detention of prisoners, and not to their treatment. He recalled that the Commission had asked the Government of Indonesia to invite its Special Rapporteurs and working groups to visit the country, but even the appeal of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had not resulted in an invitation from Indonesian authorities to the working group. The High Commissioner had received a verbal agreement in principle for a visit by the working group to Cuba, but no invitation had been received to date. Colombia had issued an invitation, but the working group felt that, given the extent of violations there, it seemed more appropriate and efficient for a country rapporteur to be appointed by the Commission.

He added that there had been cooperation in arranging missions to Bhutan, Viet Nam, Nepal and Peru. And contrary to what was said in his report, Russia had followed up a request for a visit to labour camps run in the Russian Federation. As for China, a verbal agreement had been reached regarding a possible visit. He had heard there had been tension in the corridors concerning this agenda item. But the working group position was clear: no deals, no hostages. The group was outside such political games, and hoped that an invitation for a visit would be forthcoming from Chinese authorities.

IVAN TOSEVSKI, Chairman and Rapporteur of the working ground on enforced involuntary disappearances, said the phenomenon of enforced disappearances had spread to all regions of the world, occurring, predominantly, in situations of social or ethnic tension or of internal armed conflict.

The situation of human rights situations in Cambodia and El Salvador had improved considerably, he went on, and had included the strengthening and/or reform of national institutions. In El Salvador, no further cases of enforced disappearances had been verified in the last few years.

Unfortunately, all too few governments had established structures and mechanisms aimed at preventing the occurrence of involuntary disappearances in their countries or to clarify already existing cases of disappearances in

- 8 - Press Release HR/CN/728 4 April 1996

conformity with the directives issued by the working group, he added. However, efforts made by El Salvador and Mexico were examples of progress. The Government of Turkey had also renewed its efforts to investigate the whereabouts of individual cases of disappearance. A few countries, such as Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Mexico, had enacted special legislation in order to make the act of enforced disappearance a specific offence under criminal law.

P. TORELLA DI ROMAGNANO (Italy), speaking on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus and Malta, said that despite measures taken by the United Nations to encourage the implementation of rules for protection against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment there was ample evidence of systematic and widespread use of that evil practice as well as of other heinous acts of ill-treatment in many countries. The European Union noted with regret that despite the repeated appeal to governments expressed by the Commission, only a small number of States had taken the initiative of inviting the Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit their countries.

The European Union wished to reiterate its deep concern about the crucial issue of impunity, he continued. A fight against it must be waged by ensuring the establishment of sound, efficient and impartial judicial systems. The Union appealed for the adoption of an optional protocol to the Convention intended to establish a system of regular inspections to places of detention. Adequate rehabilitation and compensation for the victims of ill-treatment and for their families by means of medical, psychological, social, legal and economic aid must also be provided.

JEAN-PAUL FALLET, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said faster response was needed to acute humanitarian problems, but it was important in the planning stages not to give tasks to new actors that were already assigned to others, or to give tasks to organizations that lacked experience in them. Detention conditions had worsened in countries with armed conflicts, particularly in Africa -- there was a need for coordination and complementarity in dealing with detainees, so that no effort was wasted. The ICRC welcomed all measures aimed at stopping torture, including the draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The system of visits proposed in the draft needed to complement the mechanism of visits of the ICRC, rather than duplicate it, and those making visits should be independent experts. More efforts also were needed in the search for disappeared persons, especially in the former Yugoslavia.

NEVEN MADEY (Croatia) urged the Commission to exert more pressure on those who were in possession of information on the fate of the thousands of missing persons in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. He said horrifying

- 9 - Press Release HR/CN/728 4 April 1996

figures described the aggression against the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: an estimated 30,000 of persons were still unaccounted for, with some 2,800 cases in Croatia awaiting clarification, and about 27,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each case was one human destiny, collectively representing the guilt of those who had committed war crimes, and a reason for some, including organizations in the field, to search their souls for their possible responsibility.

He said many mass graves had recently been discovered, particularly around Srebrenica and the Prijedor area. It was necessary to prepare the excavation on all the mass graves, expensive work that also required great expertise, bearing in mind the mandates and requirements of different mechanisms, from the International Criminal Tribunal to the special process on missing persons. Funds would have to be provided generously from all sources, even private ones. As far as the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) was concerned, the special process was totally dead.

MUSTAFA BIJEDIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina) said that at the Commission people talked about missing persons in Bosnia without much emotion, but for the country itself the problem was of huge importance. Some 30,000 were missing, and even that figure was probably lower than the true number. Those who had planned and systematically carried out the executions of so many, unfortunately, were still in power in the occupied part of Bosnia, and in Serbia and Montenegro. Meanwhile, tracing those missing who were still alive was as difficult as locating and identifying the dead, since many had emigrated under pressure. In fact, some humanitarian organizations, ostensibly trying to help, had participated in these forced emigrations. Was that not a kind of participation in ethnic cleansing?

The Special Rapporteur had given no more than brief mention to 800 persons from Srebrenica and Zepa kept in protective custody, he went on. Apparently she wanted to avoid being accused of not being cooperative with all sides. But the strategy for searching for the missing should be clear, well-organized and impartial; families had the right to know what had happened. The Commission should support the special process and help the ICRC, which had limited resources, in its efforts to trace the missing.

JUAN FERNANDEZ PALACIO (Cuba) said clarification was needed on the Special Rapporteur's statement. Cuba did not feel affected by the group's work as it was focused on specific countries. The delegation would like to know what agreements supposedly had been reached for a visit. All visits in any case should be based on the sovereign will of Member States. To date, Cuba had not invited the working group, and in not inviting it was exercising its sovereignty.

- 10 - Press Release HR/CN/728 4 April 1996

ALAIN GUIDETTI (Switzerland) said it was disgusting that such barbarism as torture persisted. No less than 1,163 cases had been notified by the Rapporteur during the past year, of which 410 had resulted in urgent appeals. Even when replies were received, they often were incomplete or hid actual violations. The best way to investigate, clearly, was to go to countries concerned, and the delegation hoped that China, Mexico, and Turkey would respond positively to requests for visits. The draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture was progressing quickly; the mandate of the working group on the draft should be extended so that it could be completed soon. Forced disappearances continued around the world, and the delegation regretted that countries such as Iraq, Turkey and India had not invited the working group on that subject to make visits.

JORGE LEMA PATINO (Bolivia) said the country was making major economic and political transformations, and those included changes in the legal system to give greater protection for human rights. In the field of criminal justice, an agency for human rights had been included in the Ministry of Justice to make sure standards were respected. Imprisonment for failure to pay debts had been ended, and some 442 persons held for non-payment of debts had been released. Economic discrimination had been eliminated in the issuing of bail and parole; rigorous time limits for detention had been set; and steps had been taken to halt all forms of discrimination against women. In the matter of drug trafficking, the Government had eliminated unconstitutional aspects of its law. The Government's efforts to promote human rights had been recognized internationally.

LORIA MARKIDES (Cyprus) said slow progress in domestic implementation of the Declaration of the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance was regrettable. In Cyprus, the problem of missing persons was still unresolved. The Government of Cyprus fully cooperated with the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus working under United Nations auspices. The hope was that progress would be made at last on the cases of some 1,493 missing Greek Cypriots and 500 Turkish Cypriots before the Committee. Progress had been made in cases of missing Turkish Cypriots, and it was the expectation and wish of the Government of Cyprus that concrete information of convincing value would be presented to the Committee in the cases of the missing Greek Cypriots. The recent statements of Rauf Denktash that Greek Cypriots listed as missing had been killed in cold blood after the Turkish Army had surrendered them to Turkish Cypriot "fighters" could not be considered helpful at this critical stage. Only convincing evidence would be acceptable. The cooperation of the Government of Turkey was essential in resolving those cases.

* *** *