NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS' PARTICIPATION IN COMMISSION'S DEBATES WELCOME INITIATIVE, AUSTRALIA TELLS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Press Release
HR/CN/735
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS' PARTICIPATION IN COMMISSION'S DEBATES WELCOME INITIATIVE, AUSTRALIA TELLS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
19960412 Panel Hears Statements of Six Experts, RapporteursGENEVA, 10 April (UN Information Service) -- The arrangement to allow national human rights institutions in their own right to participate in the deliberations of the Commission on Human Rights was a significant and welcome initiative, the Federal Human Rights Commissioner of Australia said this afternoon.
Speaking as the Commission continued a general discussion of the further promotion and encouragement of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Chris Sidoti, of Australia's Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, said the move gave meaning within the very structures and workings of the pre-eminent international human rights forum to the United Nations frequent expressions of support for the development of national institutions. This view was reflected in a statement by the representative of Canada, who declared that national institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights were the practical link between international standards and their concrete application. They must be supported internationally and regionally, he added.
The Commission also heard from representatives of the national human rights institutions of Cameroon, France, Algeria and Togo.
This evening's extended meeting also saw the Commission continue to discuss the programme of technical cooperation in the field of human rights. Five human rights experts spoke on topics related to the provision of advisory services to governments in the field of human rights, while the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Radhika Coomaraswamy, presented her report.
According to Ms. Coomaraswamy, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the battering of women would only be dealt with as a serious issue if there was specific domestic violence legislation which recognized that such a phenomenon was a crime and created a broad range of flexible and speedy remedies, both penal and civil.
Francis M. Deng, Representative of the Secretary-General for internally displaced persons, said that behind statistics, concepts, and operational schemes involving the internally displaced were individual human beings, clustering in camps in large numbers, dispersed in the wilderness, submerged in communities of the equally needy, or otherwise hidden away from the limelight of international media attention and suffering silently in degrading isolation.
The independent expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti, Adama Dieng, said that while some violations of human rights had certainly diminished considerably in the country, other forms of violence had now taken their place as a result of galloping criminality.
The independent expert on the situation of human rights in Guatemala, Monica Pinto, indicated that the human rights situation in that country had deteriorated, and underlined that without the demilitarization of the society, human development and peace could not be sustained.
Mohamed Charfi, independent expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, said the current situation in that country was that of a State without a firm authority in charge, and that although civil war no longer prevailed, peace and security were far from being established.
Another featured speaker, Anne-Marie Lizzin, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights, said the Board was engaged in the realization of 42 projects in more than 30 countries to foster sustained human development.
Participating in the debate during the afternoon meeting were the representatives of India, Colombia, Cameroon, Hungary, France, Venezuela, Australia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Algeria, Nepal, United States, Canada, Malta, Libya and Togo. Also speaking were representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Medecins Sans Frontieres.
The United States, Cuba, Bangladesh, and Brazil spoke in exercise of the right of reply.
Advisory Services in Human Rights Field
The Commission on Human Rights continued this afternoon to discuss the provision of advisory services in the field of human rights and the further promotion and encouragement of human rights and fundamental freedom.
While examining assistance to Guatemala in the field of human rights, a subject on the agenda since 1983, the Commission will have the report by independent expert Mónica Pinto on the situation of human rights in that country (document E/CN.4/1996/15). According to the report, the situation in
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Guatemala has worsened during the period covered. As in the previous year, the right to life was the right most frequently violated in 1995. The period has been marked by extrajudicial executions, murders indicative of a kind of social cleansing, and an unfortunate return to the massacres of recent years, as evidenced by the exhumations carried out in secret burial grounds. The period under review has also seen acts of physical violence accompanied by torture, with the simultaneous development of a culture of intimidation that undermines the security of all the more-or-less organized civil sectors, which have generally shown support for the peace negotiation process.
The unusually frequent occurrence of abductions throughout the country and the lack of forthright judicial action to restore the status quo with respect to the victims and punish the culprits have made this a particularly virulent violation of human rights during 1995, according to the report. Among her recommendations, the independent expert calls for the scaling down of the military to match the country's actual size, taking into account the extent of the essential commitment which it must make to the operation of a democratic system, i.e. total subordination to the civil power. The newly elected President must also ensure that effect was given to his decision to disband the civilian "military commissioners" dependent on the army, in order to help tear down a barrier of impunity generated by their activities over time. Also, the Civilian Self-Defence Patrols, which had disrupted implementation of the agreements of 8 October 1992 on the return of refugees and arbitrarily deprived Guatemalan and international officials of their freedom, must be kept under control until they were disbanded.
Ms. Pinto also points out that the letter of the law ignores the existence of the indigenous population, and social attitudes relegate it to the margins. Ways must therefore be found of securing the adoption of rules which encourage integration, including measures of positive discrimination. She concludes that the work of the United Nations Mission for Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA) was having an undeniable deterrent effect while carrying out the functions assigned to it in the Comprehensive Agreement both by the Government and by the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG). The Government and the URNG had pledged to take measures to enable the Guatemalan people to hold elections in peace and security.
The Commission will also examine assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights with the aid of a report from independent expert Mohamed Charfi (document E/CN.4/1996/14). Mr. Charfi was charged last year by the Commission with studying ways and means of how best to implement a programme of advisory services for Somalia, aimed at re-establishing respect for human rights and the rule of law and strengthening the police and the judicial and prison systems in Somalia. He writes in the report that, "against the background of high tension between rival clans, continued violence and banditry, and in the
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absence of any form of legitimate effective governmental authority", it had been, until recently, extremely difficult for him to fulfil his mandate.
Mr. Charfi recalls that since the withdrawal of the United Nations Operation in Somalia in March of 1995, there was evidence of a cautious move away from the emergency phase towards one of recovery and reconstruction. Nevertheless, the situation was still far short of security and peace, and the potential for a return to full-scale civil war remained a serious threat. Concerning the current situation regarding human rights, he observes, among other things, that:
-- hundreds of unarmed civilians, including women and children, have been deliberately killed on account of their membership of a particular clan and there was also frequent, indiscriminate use of heavy weapons, resulting in heavy civilian casualties;
-- extrajudicial executions were widely reported to be used as a political tool to remove particular opposition leaders and of grave concern was the apparently deliberate targeting of those clan elders involved in moves towards reconciliation;
-- there have been reports of forced displacements as victorious clans burn the homes of conquered villages, although more often people leave their homes voluntarily for fear of more serious human rights violations;
-- and a persistent feature of the inter-clan conflict has been the rape and sexual abuse of women, particularly the displaced, by members of militia, or moryan bandit raiders.
Mr. Charfi recommends that the United Nations should continue to monitor human rights violations in Somalia, to draw the attention of the international community to the continued need for action, and to formulate proposals on possible remedies to the situation.
In considering the further promotion and encouragement of human rights and fundamental freedom, the Commission will examine the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women (document E/CN.4/1996/53). The document focuses on all forms of violence against women in the family. The Special Rapporteur writes that throughout a woman's life cycle, there exist various forms of gender-based violence that manifest themselves at different stages. Most of the violence is domestic, perpetrated by those to whom the woman is closest. Even before birth, females in cultures where son preference is prevalent were targeted by the violent discriminatory practices of sex-selective abortion and female infanticide. Violence against the girl- child manifests itself in enforced malnutrition, unequal access to medical care, as well as physical and emotional abuse. Incest, female genital mutilation, early childhood marriage and other harmful traditional practices,
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and the sale of children by their parents for prostitution or bonded labour, were all forms of violence inflicted on girl children.
But the violence was not only physical, the Special Rapporteur states. Many victim-survivors of battering report that the psychological violence was worse than the physical brutality. The Special Rapporteur concludes that there is a need for detailed research regarding the incidences of domestic violence. Although research has been undertaken all over the world, more data is available from northern countries. None the less, the documentation leaves little doubt regarding the extent or seriousness of the problem.
The Special Rapporteur recommends in her report that, among other things, States must develop expansive strategies in order to fulfil their international obligations with regard to the protection of women effectively. At the international level, the international community should adopt and ratify an optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women which would allow women to seek redress for the violation of their human rights.
The Special Rapporteur has also submitted a report on the mission to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea and Japan on the issue of military sexual slavery in wartime (document E/CN.4/1996/53/Add. 1). The report reviews the history of the use of Asian women, mostly Korean, as sexual slaves ("comfort women") by Japanese forces in the 1930s and 1940s. Among her recommendations, the Special Rapporteur writes that the Government of Japan should: acknowledge that the system of comfort stations set up by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War was a violation of its obligation under international law and accept legal responsibility for that violation; and pay compensation to individual victims of Japanese military sexual slavery. A special administrative tribunal for that purpose should be set up with a limited time-frame, since may of the victims were of advanced age. Also a full disclosure of documents and materials in its possession should be made with regard to comfort stations and other related activities of the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War.
Other questions to be examined in considering the further promotion and encouragement of human rights and fundamental freedoms are: national institutions for the protection of human rights; the effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights; human rights and HIV/AIDS; human rights and unilateral coercive measures; arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asian and Pacific region; the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education; internally displaced persons, and human rights and mass exoduses.
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Statements
ANNE-MARIE LIZZIN, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights, said the Board was engaged in the realization of 42 projects in more than 30 countries. Those activities consisted mainly of: projects of a development nature initiated in collaboration with the authorities of the recipient countries; projects of particular regional interests; and projects aimed at reinforcing national institutions involved in the promotion and protection of human rights. Other projects concerned support for the development of a human rights culture among the military personnel of the interested countries. The cost incurred in the realization of these projects was estimated to be $15 million.
The projects under way responded to the procedures of technical cooperation developed by the United Nations Development Programme, she stated. As the Secretary-General had often underlined, the promotion and protection of human rights, the reinforcement of the democratic process, and the state of law constituted the keys to peace. The respect for those rights depended on the sustained human development.
FRANCIS M. DENG, Representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons, introducing his report (E/CN.4/1996/52 and Add. 1 and 2), said the issue of standards in internal law to address the problem of the internally displaced had been one of the principal concerns of his mandate. While existing law covered many aspects of particular relevance to internally displaced persons, there were important areas in which the law failed to provide sufficient protection. Weaknesses related, for instance, to the need for an expressed right not to be unlawfully displaced, evicted or relocated, access to protection and assistance during displacement and ensuring a secure return and reintegration.
Controversy existed among legal experts and specialized agencies as to whether or not legal reform was necessary, he added. Some believed that the problem lay in the lack of implementation. Others held the view that quite apart from areas where there were obvious weaknesses there was a need to consolidate the existing norms which, while providing a basis for protection and assistance, were currently too diffuse to be adequate or effective. He favoured the development of a legal framework that would consolidate the norms, focus attention and, by so doing, serve an educational purpose.
The challenges to the mandate were enormous, he continued. In the mix of functions it covered, it was important to remember that behind statistics, concepts, and operational schemes were individual human beings, clustering in camps in large numbers, dispersed in the wilderness, submerged in communities of the equally needy, or otherwise hidden away from the limelight of international media attention and suffering silently in degrading isolation.
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RADHIKA COOMARASWAMY, Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, introducing her report, said women-battering would only be dealt with as a serious issue if there was specific domestic violence legislation which recognized that such a phenomenon was a crime and created a broad range of flexible and speedy remedies, both penal and civil. The legislation should guide the police on how to act when faced with domestic violence complaints and, moreover, it should legitimize the filing of domestic violence reports in their records. In addition, a broad array of judicial orders must be made available for the victims, including temporary restraining orders and protection orders. Apart from these measures, there was an absolute need for the development of community services offering support and sustenance for women during the pre-legal and legal process. Hospitals should also have special services ready to support the victim.
A resolution should be passed by the Commission requesting States to adopt special domestic violence legislation and set up support services for woman victims of domestic violence, she continued. Given the faith and confidence that women victims placed in the Commission, she urged members to support efforts that prevented, prosecuted and punished cases of violence against women. To effectively combat violence against women, it was important that States favourably considered the enactment of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and worked towards a Convention on the Elimination of Violence against Women.
ADAMA DIENG, independent expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti, introducing his report, said Haiti was going through a delicate stage in its history. While violations of human rights had certainly diminished considerably, other forms of violence had now taken their place. Galloping criminality was not only the consequence of outrageous socio-economic conditions, but was linked to failures in the judicial system.
The new Prime Minister of Haiti had now been confirmed in office, but his task was enormous, he went on. A new Directorate of Police had been created and a new style of security management was now perceptible. Efforts were now required to educate the public in such matters as how to bring a case before the courts and what kind of cases might be brought. It was also necessary to establish a programme of legal services and a system of "barefoot" lawyers. Other programmes were also necessary, not least the training of community leaders in mediation and conflict matters. The rights of the child continued to be a major preoccupation, particularly the odious practice of juvenile domestic workers. He called upon the international community and the Bretton Woods institutions to redouble their efforts to assist the Haitian people, who although tired, wished to exorcise the demons of dictatorship.
MONICA PINTO, independent expert on the situation of human rights in Guatemala, said in introducing her report that the number of complaints of
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human rights violations lodged with the country's Prosecutor-General had gone from 14,156 in 1994 to 17,204 in 1995. Violations came from different forces. The United Nations Committee against Torture had concluded that torture was endemic in the country.
She said most human rights violations in Guatemala were rooted in the armed conflict which had afflicted the country for decades now. The full enjoyment of human rights could only be achieved when peace prevailed. The demilitarization of the Guatemalan society was essential to enhance the democratization process being conducted by the new Government.
MOHAMED CHARFI, independent expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, said the current situation in that country was that of a State without a firm authority in charge. There was no true, law-based system of justice, although there were some so-called "Islamic" tribunals. However, those who administered justice were not thoroughly trained, either in religion or in the law. In fact, it was unfair to the Islamic religion to call those courts, as they rendered verdicts that did not sufficiently take account of legal protections and often decreed brutal punishments.
In general, he continued, the situation of civil war had eased, and life had somewhat stabilized, although it would be an exaggeration to say that order and security reigned in the country. Too many crimes from the civil war period remained unpunished. Only the people of Somalia could reconstruct a political State on their territory, but the United Nations could help. One way to assist Somalis would be perhaps by helping with the creation of a consensual base for re-establishment of a national government.
HEMANT KRISHAN SINGH (India) said his Government regarded pluralism as a dynamic phenomenon encompassing the willingness of the human mind to respect diversity and promote tolerance. If the cause of human rights was to be advanced, those values needed to be stressed and strongly supported by all United Nations organs and bodies dealing with human rights. They needed to be given a central place in the work programmes of the Centre for Human Rights. The mechanisms of the Commission should also reinforce the consideration and promotion of those values under their respective mandates. In the area of providing assistance and encouragement to states for strengthening human rights, the Centre should attach priority to integrated technical cooperation programmes designed to address the specific requirements of requesting countries.
Concerning the rights of women, he said India attached great significance to the role of progressive affirmative action in the elimination of discrimination. Among the far-reaching initiatives taken by India in that regard was the adoption of a constitutional amendment providing for the reservation of one-third of all seats for women in grass roots and district- level bodies.
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CARLOS VICENTE DE ROUX, Presidential Counsellor for Human Rights of Colombia, said he wished to bring to the attention of the Commission some aspects of the human rights situation in his country and to outline the international cooperation required to overcome existing problems. In 1995, the Government had made intensive efforts to improve the human rights situation. The Public Prosecutor's office had established a special unit to investigate allegations of serious human rights violations. Also, a commission made up of representatives of different institutions had elaborated a draft reform of the Military Penal Justice Code that was to be presented to the Congress. Furthermore, the regional system of justice, comprising the so-called "faceless judges", had undergone additional reforms to bring into line with the requirements of due process. Among other measures, an inter- ministerial commission had been formed to implement the recommendations of international human rights treaty bodies.
He said the reforms in Colombia had already borne fruit, as evidenced by the reduction in the number of human rights violations committed by members of the military and police forces. However, the second half of 1995 had seen an increase of activity by "self-defence" groups. And the guerilla groups active in the country were responsible for at least half of the humanitarian problem. It was clear that if the Government was to eliminate human rights violations, it was necessary to mobilize the entire civil society and the State. But it was also necessary that the relevant international organs carry out a balanced and objective review.
SOLOMON NFOR GWEI (Cameroon) said Cameroon's National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, which he chaired, had been striving diligently to carry out its mandate of promoting and protecting human rights. At the regional level, other African human rights national institutions had entrusted Cameroon's National Commission with the task of planning, preparing and hosting the first ever African Regional Conference of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights with the objective, among others, of encouraging States in the region to create their own national institutions. During the past year, a number of human rights training seminars had been held targeted at administrative personnel, law enforcement officers and jurists. Participants had been drawn from the police, the gendarmerie, the military, the civil and prison administrations.
In its continuous search for new channels for promoting and protecting human rights, he said the National Commission had initiated contacts with religious bodies; and it had become deeply involved in investigating inter-ethnic land conflicts, which had suddenly taken on alarming dimensions. A Coordinating Committee of African Human Rights Institutions, had now been created, but lack of resources had curtailed its effective functioning. He appealed to the international community for support in that regard.
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ISTVAN LAKATOS (Hungary) said the flight and exile of millions of refugees from their homes and their countries was a tragic consequence of the inability or the unwillingness of their governments to fulfil their responsibility of ensuring respect for their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Prevention was the most effective form of protection for people in danger of becoming refugees. Preventive protection as part of preventive peace-building should be directed at the root causes which would go far beyond the scope of humanitarian concerns. It involved the whole of the human rights agenda, with particular emphasis on the accountability of States to care for all their people without discrimination and distinction and on bringing those individuals who committed serious human rights violations to justice. However, the emphasis on prevention, repatriation and the responsibilities of states of origin did not in any way detract from the core principle of "non-refoulement", for prevention was not prevention of movement, but the prevention of compulsion to move. The most reliable method for anticipating problems was through direct human rights monitoring in the field.
JEAN KAHN (France), speaking as Chairman of the Consultative National Commission on Human Rights of France, said the role and function of national institutions had been recognized by successive resolutions of the Commission and by the General Assembly. Moreover, the World Conference in Vienna had accorded them a very special place. Thus, there was a case for permitting such bodies to participate in the work of the Commission and its bodies with observer status. Some 44 such institutions now existed throughout the world, and States wishing to create similar bodies could benefit from the programme of technical assistance proposed by the Centre for Human Rights.
He then highlighted the work carried out by the Consultative National Commission within the framework of combating racism and xenophobia in France. He also recalled that the Consultative Commission on racism and xenophobia of the European Union, which he presided, had made a number of recommendations that had been incorporated in a programme of joint action against racism to be followed in all 15 countries of the Union.
ALFREDO TARRE MURZI (Venezuela) said much had to be done with regard to human rights and public freedoms in several countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia. On the other hand, one watched deplorable acts in the countries of the western world which claimed to be civilized democracies. The Commission should not allow States and governments to violate the most elementary human rights of their citizens. Moral sanction should be imposed on those countries that did not respect human rights. Certain human rights values having their roots in the traditions of the developing countries should be accepted as universal.
ZHANG YISHAN (China) said the sovereign equality of States and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States were guiding principles set forth in the United Nations Charter. States were equal in the
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family of the United Nations. No country had as its prerogative to interfere in the internal affairs of others or to impose its will on others. As different countries had different political, economic and social systems, the implementation of human rights principles could not be divorced from a country's actual situation. To promote human rights, governments and peoples were entitled to adopt realistic measures suited to their national situations. Political and civil rights were as important as economic, social and cultural rights. Any lopsided stress on a certain set of rights was undesirable. The Commission should adopt measures to promote the comprehensive enjoyment of human rights.
CHRIS SIDOTI, Federal Human Rights Commissioner of Australia, said the fact national institutions could now participate in their own right in the very structures and workings of the pre-eminent international human rights forum gave meaning to the United Nations's frequent expressions of support for the development of national institutions. The Commission should confirm and continue arrangements for the future participation of national institutions in the Commission and its subsidiary organs. Australia strongly supported the participation of independent national human rights institutions as separate entities with observer status. National institutions clearly were not governments, as they were independent, and at the same time, they were different than standard non-governmental organizations. Appropriate status for national institutions was needed. Regional initiatives among national commissions also were laudable, and efforts would continue to be made to establish a regional mechanism in the Asia-Pacific area.
LILIA R. BAUTISTA (Philippines) said her country had responded to the declaration of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education as early as December 1994, when it held a multi-sectoral consultative workshop on the national agenda for the Decade. In addition, two more events had marked the promotion of human rights education in 1995: the international workshop of national human rights institutions, held in April 1995, with the assistance of the Centre for Human Rights, and the conference workshop on Asia-Pacific human rights education for development in December 1995.
JOUN YUNG SUN (Republic of Korea) said violence against women persisted, although significant progress had been made in recent years. The position of the Korean Government on the issue of the "comfort women" reflected the fact that it was a matter of deep concern, as Korean women accounted for the vast majority of the innumerable victims of sexual slavery under the Japanese Imperial Army from 1932 through the end of the Second World War. The term "military sexual slavery in wartime" recommended by the Special Rapporteur was indeed better and more accurate than "comfort women". The apology made by the Japanese Government was a positive step forward, as was its admission that the women were recruited and transferred against their own will and that they had lived in misery under a coercive atmosphere. But if the Japanese Government was really determined to squarely face the issue, it also must assume due
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responsibilities in a straightforward manner -- it should take the necessary steps to implement the Special Rapporteur's recommendations voluntarily and quickly.
AREZKI MEZARI, of the National Observatory for Human Rights of Algeria, said the Observatory was based on the principle of institutional and cultural pluralism. The Observatory had been operating since 1992 in a socio-political context of rising armed terrorist violence. It had to focus its efforts on the human rights implications of security measures and on the basic issue of the right to life, but none the less was trying also to pay attention to other human rights matters. The rising tide of violence was a danger to the democratic transition now taking place in the country, but had its roots in the early 1980s when Islamic armed groups began to establish themselves. There were a number of such terrorist groups, and rivalries between them now complicated the situation. All social segments of the country had suffered. Even women and children had been victims of indescribable crimes. Security forces were investigated by the Observatory whenever there were complaints of human rights violations attributed to them, including complaints of arbitrary detention.
BANMALI PRASAD LACOUL (Nepal), speaking on behalf of the Asian Group, said Nepal had hosted a fourth workshop on regional human rights arrangements in the Asian and Pacific region. The workshop had been attended by 31 countries and a number of non-governmental organizations, and marked the first time that West Asian countries had taken part. Common principles and enabling strategies had been discussed, as it was felt that the diversity and complexities of the region would require extensive consultations and progress of a step-by-step nature. The workshop envisaged steps for a regional arrangement for promotion and protection of human rights by inviting States to undertake such actions as human rights education, ratification of instruments, and support for the development of national action plans. Participants also considered shared problems, inter-relationships between development, human rights, and democracy, and obstacles to realization of the right to development. The Asian Group requested further assistance in the workshop process from the Centre for Human Rights.
GERALDINE FERRARO (United States) said violence against women was an attack on the fundamental human rights of everyone, men and women. Yet, at every moment of the day, women continued to be beaten and abused, baby girls were abandoned because their families wanted a boy, young girls were mutilated in the name of ancient custom, and teenagers were sold into sexual slavery. Too often, the law, which should protect women, turned its face away. The international community had tolerated this for far too long, as if rape, beatings and abuse were somehow natural adjuncts to womanhood. Another kind of violence which threatened was the violence of deprivation; the denial to
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women and girls of food, education, health care or property, as if a woman had less value in society than her brother. The politics of powerlessness still held most of the women of the world in an economic vice.
ANDREW MCALISTER (Canada) said national institutions for human rights were the practical link between international standards and their concrete application, the bridge between the ideal and its implementation. National institutions had created a coordinating committee, and the network and committee were up and running but would need continued support from the Commission and the Centre for Human Rights if they were to be successful over the long term. Essentially, that meant that funds must be found to support their activities internationally and regionally. It also meant that the Centre's advisory services would have to make greater use of the expertise and talents of the national agencies. National institutions must be given a distinct status independent of their State delegations so that they could deal directly and in their own right with the Commission. The institutions could not continue to be part of the debate on a hit-or-miss basis, nor could they achieve their true potential as monitors of human rights situations in countries without sustained United Nations support.
JACQUELINE AQUILINA (Malta) said the reason existing United Nations machinery in human rights was not more efficient was because of a lack of coordination. It was important for the High Commissioner to pursue and ensure such coordination. Also, human rights organs could not perform their important functions without sufficient resources. Prevention, too, deserved greater emphasis, and a rapid-response system should be established. Other measures such as technical assistance and education programmes should continue to be a priority area of work, while the monitoring system for human rights violations needed to be strengthened. Malta felt that membership in the Commission on Human Rights should be open to all United Nations Member States. Malta had taken necessary measures at the national level to promote and protect human rights, and recently had created an Office of Ombudsman to ensure that individuals were protected against any possible abuses.
H. MARKUS (Libya) said the question of human rights and women was an inseparable whole, as all human beings must be able to enjoy their human rights. Women had seen their rights under Islam treated equally with those of men, as Islamic Sharia law gave women full equality with men. As a Muslim Arab Libyan woman, she enjoyed all rights and could participate in political life and decision-making. Libya hoped the High Commissioner would cooperate to protect and promote women's rights, particularly in poor developing countries. Also needing attention were women caught up in armed conflicts. Women increasingly were joining the labour force, and their rights there needed attention and respect. Libya had suffered from sanctions as a result of unfairly imposed Security Council resolutions. It should be pointed out that such unreasonable acts hurt human rights in all fields of life.
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JEAN-PHILIPPE LAVAGER/MARIA THERESA DUTLI, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said armed conflicts were unquestionably the main cause of displacement in the world. The 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols, of which the ICRC was both the custodian and the promoter, contained detailed provisions that covered the specific needs arising in wartime. To afford the best possible protection to victims in a conflict, humanitarian law protected the civilian population as a whole. Its numerous rules therefore also covered people displaced within their own country. In 1995 more than 30 armed conflicts had raged throughout the world, a situation made all the worse by the fact that those confrontations were characterized by an ever-increasing number of violations of the most basic rules of human rights and international humanitarian law. The search for more effective mechanisms to ensure compliance with the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols was at the centre of current discussions in the field of humanitarian law.
ASSOUMA ABOUDOU (Togo) said the National Commission for Human Rights of Togo, which he represented, considered that each people had to find its own mechanism suited for promoting human rights. Togo had started on that process. The National Commission was charged with protecting citizens from abuse by government agencies and bodies of the State. Since 1993, following a dark period of conflict in the country, the National Commission had resumed its work in earnest. The National Commission had carried out regular but unannounced visits to police stations and places of detention. In some cases, persons detained arbitrarily had been freed, and improvements in prison conditions had been made. Discussions also had been held with officials of Benin to consider conditions of Togolese citizens in exile in that country. The National Commission had participated in and encouraged regional meetings of national human rights bodies.
NANNA NOLAN, of Medecins Sans Frontieres, said the problems of internally displaced persons needed greater attention from the Commission. Her organization tried to meet the needs of such people, but often was blocked by governments that claimed the organization was interfering in internal affairs. As a result, many had died unnecessarily. In Sudan, there were thousands of displaced persons who had migrated to Khartoum, where the Islamic-based Government continued to abuse their rights, even going so far as to demolish their homes, often without warning. Families were sometimes relocated as many as four times, and many ended up in official camps in the desert, where as many as 200,000 lived in very poor conditions. There were alarmingly high rates of malnutrition among young children in the camps, and women struggled desperately to find food for their families. Her organization had repeatedly tried to offer help to those camps, but had been unable to expand its efforts as much as needed because of non-cooperation by Sudanese authorities.
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Right of Reply
Ms. FERRARO (United States) said the Cuban Foreign Minister had had nothing to say at the morning session and so he had resorted to banging on the table. What could one say about a Government that shot down unarmed civilian aircraft over international waters? The speaker had made it sound as if the Helms Burton Act had come out of nowhere. Perhaps the Cuban Government did not feel the same way everyone else did about cold-blooded murder, about blowing unarmed civilians to bits. Had the Cuban people chosen to advance through socialism, as he had said? Who honestly believed the Cuban people were free to choose their government? The issue was not about Cuba versus the United States. It was about human rights. It was about Cuba versus Cubans. The speech was a blatant attempt to divert attention from Cuba's own human rights violations.
AYMEE HERNANDEZ QUESADA (Cuba) said the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs had not banged on the table. He had given Cuba's vision of human rights, and had spoken of the effects of the Helms Burton Act on the human rights of 11 million Cuban citizens, who had been living according to the way of life they had chosen. The decision to continue to defend Cuban socialism, which had been under construction for more than 30 years, was a legitimate decision taken by the entire Cuban people. The question of the downed aircraft was being considered by another body. It was not for the Commission to assess the facts, but as Cuba had stated in other fora, those aircraft had been shot down in Cuban territorial waters because they had violated Cuban airspace. The United States had been previously and repeatedly notified of occasions when those aircraft had violated Cuban airspace without any response from the Cuban Government.
MIJARUL QUAYES (Bangladesh) said the nongovernmental organization "Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace" had spoken at length of the "indigenous peoples" of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. His delegation's disquiet stemmed from the interesting way in which that non-governmental organization's statements had been directed at certain countries in a particular region. The people of Bangladesh traced their ancestry back thousands of years. There were some ethnic tribal groups who were distinct from the ethnic, non-tribal, majority. The distinctiveness of those groups in terms of culture and lifestyle did not give them an indigenous status vis-a-vis the rest of the nation, who were more indigenous by thousands of years than the tribal groups of the hill tracts. There was no dichotomy of indigenous-exogenous in the ethnic composition of Bangladesh.
ANTONIO OTAVIO SA RICARTE (Brazil) said the International Indian Treaty Council had directed harsh remarks against Brazil. That particular observer had made offensive and unsubstantiated claims that infringed on the nature of consultative status for non-governmental organizations. The Brazilian delegation condemned such behaviour because it recognized the importance of
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appropriate dialogue with non-governmental organizations; there was much such successful dialogue between Brazil and indigenous non-governmental organizations. The statement by the representative of that group did not create a positive atmosphere, and Brazil hoped that such conduct would not be repeated. Brazil would be willing to provide the non-governmental organization representative with accurate information, despite his offensive attitude toward Brazil and the Commission.
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