COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES ANNUAL GENERAL DEBATE

24 April 1996

Press Release
HR/CN/748

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES ANNUAL GENERAL DEBATE

19960424 GENEVA, 24 April (UN Information Service) -- With a flurry of final pleas for greater respect for the human rights of children, the Commission on Human Rights this evening concluded five weeks of general debate. It will spend the remainder of the week voting on draft resolutions and reviewing and adopting its report.

At the marathon meeting, the Commission also elected 13 experts and several alternate members to its principal subsidiary body, the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.

Among those speaking on the subject of the human rights of children was a representative of Pakistan, who said his country realized it had a problem with child labour and was determined to eradicate the practice. He stressed that as long as economic conditions were not improved, it would be difficult to change societal attitudes in Pakistan and other countries, and urged developed nations to help poorer nations where child labour was endemic by providing financial and technical assistance and by giving higher priority to goods from developing countries.

The Commission then moved on to the issues of follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993) and the drafting of a declaration on the right and responsibility of individuals and society to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, also known as the draft declaration on the protection of human rights defenders. A number of country delegations and non-governmental organizations expressed disappointment that the Working Group on the drafting of the declaration had made no progress at its eleventh session this year.

Representatives of the following countries spoke: Madagascar, Russian Federation, Australia, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Peru, Brazil, Cameroon, Honduras, Switzerland, Poland, Morocco, Uruguay, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Kenya, Chile, Malaysia, Austria, United States, Ukraine, Mexico, China, United States, Canada, Norway and South Africa,

Representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the European Commission and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) gave statements, as did spokesmen for the following non-governmental organizations: Pax Christi International; Baha'i International; World Organization against Torture;

General Arab Women Federation; Christian Democrats International; Christian Solidarity International; Transnational Radical Party; International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty; Asian Women's Human Rights Council; International Federation of Human Rights; Indian Council of Education; World Peace Council; International Institute for Peace; International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies; American Association of Jurists; International Federation of Human Rights; and Amnesty International.

Representatives of the Philippines and China spoke in right of reply.

Election of Members of Subcommission

The Commission on Human Rights this afternoon elected the following human rights experts as members of its subsidiary body, the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities: Miguel Alfonso Martinez and alternate Marianela Ferriol Echevarria (Cuba); Clemencia Forero Ucros and alternate Alberto Diaz Uribe (Colombia); Mustapha Mehedi (Algeria); Ahmed Khalifa and alternate Ahmed Khalil (Egypt); Fisseha Yimer (Ethiopia); Halima Embarek Warzazi (Morocco); Ribot Hatano and alternate Yozo Yokota (Japan); Sang Yong Park and alternate Myung Chul Hahm (Republic of Korea); Ion Maxim and alternate Antoanella Iulia Matoc (Romania); Volodymyr G. Boutkevitch and alternate Oleg V. Shamshur (Ukraine); Marc Bossuyt and alternate Guy Genot (Belgium); Asbjorn Eide and alternate Jan Helgesen (Norway); and David Weissbrodt and alternate Gay J. McDougall (United States).

Reports before Commission

The Commission had before it the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, José Ayala-Lasso, entitled, "Making Human Rights a Reality"; and a report on the High Commissioner's visit to Indonesia and East Timor last December.

In his first report, the High Commissioner writes that during the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, Member States identified human rights as a central issue for the future agenda of the Organization and of the world community in general. Recent experience has confirmed that the human rights programme of the United Nations must be adapted to the realities of the post-Vienna period and respond to the increasing demands for more effective human rights promotion and protection around the world.

The report details the activities undertaken by the High Commissioner in the field of cooperation with governments, regional and national institutions, non-governmental organizations and the media, among others. It contains accounts of his visit to Indonesia and East Timor, as well as information on ongoing efforts to promote human rights in Chechnya and in Cambodia. The report also addresses the human rights field operations in the former

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Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Burundi. It also details efforts to establish a human rights presence in Zaire and in Abkhazia, Georgia.

The High Commissioner's report reflects the activities undertaken by his office to strengthen advisory service and technical cooperation programmes, including the promotion of democratic institutions, development and human rights, human rights support to parliaments, constitutional assistance, and human rights training for peace-keeping operations and international civil servants. The document also enumerates efforts on behalf of non-governmental organizations and civil society, legislative reform, the administration of justice and assistance for the conduct of free and fair elections.

The report of the High Commissioner on his visit to Indonesia and East Timor recalls that Mr. Ayala-Lasso met, among others, the President of Indonesia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Defence Minister. The High Commissioner also met Xanana Gusmao, the jailed East Timorese leader of the Revolutionary Front for the Independence of East Timor (FRETILIN).

According to the report, the High Commissioner had very frank talks with the Government of Indonesia on key human rights issues and considered that his visit was an important step for the promotion and protection of human rights in Indonesia and East Timor. During his visit, the High Commissioner gave the Government a memorandum containing a list of issues that have been raised by thematic special rapporteurs and other mechanisms of the Commission and by relevant human rights treaty bodies. He stressed the importance for Indonesia of ensuring full cooperation with all the instruments and mechanisms of the United Nations human rights programme. He made reference to the importance of ratifying international human rights instruments and asked the Government of Indonesia to give international human rights non-governmental organizations full access to Indonesia and East Timor.

With respect to the incident that occurred in Dili on 12 November 1991, the High Commissioner asked the Government of Indonesia to pay compensation to the families of the victims. He stressed the need to continue the search for the disappeared and dead.

The High Commissioner recognized that progress has been made in the field of human rights in Indonesia, most notably through the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission. Furthermore, the Government of Indonesia expressed its determination to further the cooperation with the mechanisms of the Commission and continue to implement their recommendations. The Government publicly indicated that it would extend invitations to United Nations human rights rapporteurs and working groups "in due time". The Government also informed the High Commissioner that it had adopted a policy of acceding to United Nations human rights instruments on a priority basis. Ratification of the Convention against Torture had been set as the first priority.

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With respect to the 12 November 1991 incident in Dili, the Government of Indonesia agreed to continue the search for the missing. The Government would make available to the High Commissioner any new information on the Dili incident and the persons who were unaccounted for. The National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia, for its part, might decide to investigate the Dili incident if "new elements emerge".

It was agreed that the Memorandum of Intent between the Government of Indonesia and the High Commissioner for Human Rights/Centre for Human Rights (signed on 24 October 1994) would be upgraded to a memorandum of understanding. In that context, a human rights presence would be established in Jakarta within the United Nations office there.

The Commission also discussed the report of the eleventh session of the Working Group to draft a declaration on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, also known as the declaration on the protection of human rights defenders. During 11 meetings from 4 to 8 and on 28 March 1996, the Working Group, established in 1985, continued the second reading of the draft declaration, concentrating on articles 1 and 3 of chapter III and article 2 of chapter IV, as contained in an annex to the report. The Working Group was unable to adopt any of those articles on second reading.

Statements

FARALALAO RAKOTONIAINA (Madagascar) said his country was continuing to make efforts in the area of human rights despite economic constraints. Progress towards democracy in Madagascar had allowed those efforts to be more concrete. The Committee on the Rights of the Child had concluded that there were certain gaps in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the country, although the Government had exerted efforts in order to give children better living conditions. The State had made protecting the health of mothers and children a priority. Also, programmes had been elaborated to lower the number of drop-outs. But despite all those efforts, much remained to be done, and resources were scarce.

SERGUEI TCHUMAREV (Russian Federation) said that issues concerned with the rights of the child were now considered a high priority in the Russian Federation. Because of the size and scope of the problem, the presence of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the country should be reinforced. The Russian Federation welcomed the international efforts on the rights of the child and sought an early conclusion to the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child relating to children involved in armed conflict. There was also need for international cooperation concerning the protection of children from sexual exploitation; the Russian Federation welcomed the holding of a conference in Stockholm on the commercial

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exploitation of children. The proposal for an optional protocol dealing with the sale of children, prostitution and pornography was also to be welcomed.

DAMIR IVKOVIC (Australia) said the 1996 UNICEF report, State of the World's Children, documented significant progress over the last 50 years in combating epidemic diseases, improving child nutrition and education and protecting children in difficult circumstances. But the document had also brought to the world's attention massive violations of children's human rights, particularly in areas of armed conflict. "Today's problems of poverty and violence will never subside unless we invest in the physical, mental and emotional development of the next generation", he added, quoting from the UNICEF report. However, despite the challenge presented by demographic trends and structural constraints, real progress was possible. The UNICEF had estimated that expenditure of $30 billion and $40 billion was required over and above what was currently being spent to achieve the goals adopted at the World Summit for Children. That was a sobering thought, given the current expenditure for military purposes quoted by UNICEF.

MOUNIR ZAHRAN (Egypt) said the Egyptian Parliament recently had passed a new law on child protection that more closely paralleled international instruments. Egypt also was working to eradicate child labour. The importance of the Committee on the Rights of the Child justified enlarging its membership. It also was necessary to find supplementary funding for the child-rights activities, especially for technical assistance to countries.

Egypt, he went on, was concerned with the condition of Arab and Palestinian children in the Israeli-occupied territories. It was necessary to take greater steps to halt Israeli aggression in southern Lebanon. African children, who had problems with armed conflict and furthermore faced extreme poverty in many situations, also should be the focus of greater international concern.

HEMANT KRISHAN SINGH (India) said India had placed emphasis on the rights of the girl child in view of the traditional mindset which gave preference to the male child and encouraged the abhorrent practice of female infanticide. Among other measures, the Government had enacted legislation to regulate and prevent the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques.

The problem of child labour was a symptom of poverty that could only be addressed through a comprehensive approach involving legislation, development programmes and project-based action plans in areas where child labour tended to concentrate, he continued. At the international level, the growing phenomenon of child sex tourism, to which the children of developing countries were particularly vulnerable, was closely linked in practice with prostitution and should rightly form part of the mandate of the working group on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. There was an urgent need for the working group to set definitions, provide for punishment of

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offences and outline a framework for international cooperation to bring an end to all practices related to the sexual exploitation of children.

IQBAL HAIDER (Pakistan) said it had to be realized that child labour was a socio-economic phenomenon; as long as economic conditions were not improved, it would be difficult to change societal attitudes. It was, therefore, imperative that the developed countries should help poorer countries where child labour was endemic. They could provide financial and technical assistance for establishing parallel educational and vocational institutions to absorb children released from the workplace, and they could give higher priority to goods from developing countries, such as with tariff concessions, to help reduce the material need for child labour.

He said that Pakistan had been in the forefront of promoting child rights within the constraints it had to work under; as a poor country with many problems, it had problems with child labour yet was determined to eradicate the practice. It now was undertaking an extensive review of its national laws on the subject. In addition, 35 centres had been established for rehabilitation of child labourers; a media campaign on the rights of children had been set up; and schools were being built and penal and criminal laws relating to children were being revised.

ANTONIO GARCIA (Peru) said 60 per cent of the 600,000 displaced persons in Peru were children or adolescents. Moreover, children who lived in rural areas had high mortality rates, and displaced children were at even greater risk. The Government had established 400 feeding centres, as well as a number of health centres, to provide assistance to them. The plight of orphaned children was even worse: the Government had commenced the process of identifying over 4,000 such children within its programme of assistance to the displaced person. Despite scarce resources, the Government was doing everything possible to provide support for displaced children. For example, it had increased vaccination programmes, had eradicated polio and had established programmes throughout the country for the control of acute respiratory disease.

The Government of Peru welcomed the work undertaken on the protection of the child against prostitution and pornography, he went on. Those States which had in their territories enterprises involved in sex tourism or pornography bore a heavy responsibility.

HELENA PENNA (Brazil) said expressed full support for the work undertaken by the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and commended the recommendations contained in her report. As a means to assure the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government had strengthened its dialogue and partnership with active groups in civil society, an exercise that had produced significant results in developing innovative and fruitful initiatives aimed at

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the promotion of children's rights. A national campaign had also been launched to increase public awareness as to the need of curbing sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in Brazil. A very popular Brazilian television series was also being used as a vehicle to locate disappeared children.

FRANCOIS-XAVIER NGOBEYOU (Cameroon) said his country, by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child, had demonstrated its political will to look after the best interests of the child, particularly through the means of education. The constitutional revision of 18 January had provided for mandatory primary education, a veritable challenge to Cameroon itself. In order to raise the quality of education, the quality of teachers had been increased and the post of educational inspector created. The reform of the educational system was inspired by traditional values and aimed at ensuring that all citizens were able to participate fully and in a responsible manner in the political, social and cultural life of the nation. In order to attain the objective of providing the fundamental right of schooling to children, the Government had allocated 15 per cent of the annual budget to education for a number of years now.

GRACIBEL BU FIGUEROA (Honduras) said the Honduran Constitution acknowledged the duty to protect the child as established by international agreement. Moreover, Honduras was a country determined to defend the rights of the child and was proud to have been among the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Honduras had adopted legislative measures which recognized those rights in so far as economic resources allowed. For example, a Commission for the Rights of the Child had been established comprising organs of the Government and non-governmental organizations. A draft Code on the Rights of the Child was currently being debated in the Congress. The Government had established a special fiscal system for children and handicapped minors.

ANDREA AEBY (Switzerland) said it was with deep concern that she had learned of the growing number of reports concerning the violation of the elementary rights of children in the context of armed conflicts, particularly the acts of violence which made children either victims or instrument of violence. The international community today had at its disposal a number of norms, programmes of actions and mechanisms to combat the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography involving children. Switzerland was convinced that all those various instruments constituted a strong base for action. It also felt that the international community should avail itself rapidly of a precise legal instrument aimed at preventing the exploitation of children and to punish those responsible effectively. The Working Group on the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution, whose mandate should be renewed, should focus on the practice of the sale of children for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

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JACEK TYSZKO (Poland) said the Convention had broken all records as the most widely accepted human rights treaty in history. But the hard part remained ensuring that the rights recognized in the Convention were exercised and practised. In that connection, there should be a further session of the open-ended intersessional working group to complete the draft on the involvement of children in armed conflicts. It should also consider, under the protocol, the establishment of a mechanism of rapid reaction to the violation of its provisions.

He said that despite progress and growing prosperity in Poland, not all children enjoyed equal opportunities for development. However, at the end of 1995, the Government had adopted a document setting out measures for strengthening the coordination between different governmental mechanisms for the implementation of policies for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. The Government had also recommended to the Parliament the withdrawal of the reservations and declarations made when Poland ratified the Convention.

ANNE SKATVEDT, of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the UNCHR had actively participated in the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and in the Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children. The UNHCR was also following closely the Working Group on the draft optional protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflicts. The UNHCR strongly advocated the drafting of an optional protocol that offered the broadest protection to children; children needed protection from direct and indirect involvement in hostilities. The Commission and all its bodies were urged to take the special vulnerabilities of refugee children into account in their work and seek ways and means to address them.

NACER BENJELLOUN TOUIMI (Morocco), speaking on behalf of the member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said the large-scale Israeli military aggression against Lebanon had taken a tremendous toll on innocent civilians, inflicting numerous casualties among the population. It had led to the exodus of over half a million people from southern Lebanon and the Western Bekaa region. Israel could not justify its brutal military campaign against Lebanon. Under such circumstances, national resistance was a legitimate right in accordance with international law. The members of the Conference strongly condemned the Israeli military aggression, in particular the massacre of civilians, and demanded an immediate cessation to that aggression. They also called upon the Commission to condemn the massive and gross violations of the fundamental human rights of the Lebanese people by Israel. Speaking on behalf of Morocco, the representative said children were victims of nefarious practices of all types. The trade in children had new and disturbing dimensions. Legal texts existed for the protection of children, but there were gaps which must be filled in order to fulfil provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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LAURA DEPUY (Uruguay) said her Government was committed to the protection of children, implementing a number of measures in that direction at the national level. With regard to the draft optional protocol to the Convention concerning the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, she believed that the instrument should be comprehensive and not limit itself to the sale of children and exploitation. With regard to the draft optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflicts, she welcomed the fact that the draft increased the age at which children could take part in armed conflicts.

PAVEL SKOOA (Czech Republic) emphasized the significance of the initiative taken by the Commission in establishing the intersessional working group for the elaboration of a draft optional protocol to the Convention concerning the sale of children. It was important that the Convention should be supplemented by a specific text setting out concrete measures in that regard. The Czech Republic believed that governments should find the political will to accord top priority to action against sexual exploitation of children, ensuring that such exploitation was criminalized, condemned and penalized. There was also a need to develop educational and social programmes that could contribute to a change of attitudes and practices in connection with the rights of the child.

DUSAN DACHO (Slovak Republic) said his country had taken appropriate measures to implement the rights of children in accordance with national law. The Government's policy on children was aimed at assisting parents and other persons with material help. The State provided funding for child-care institutions and consultation or advice services. It also supported the physical and psychological reintegration of neglected or abused children. The benefits in the sphere of legislative protection came in various forms, including the provision of legal representation for juveniles on trial.

AMINA C. MOHAMED (Kenya) said in Kenya the exploitation of the prostitution of others was illegal and punishable by law. Notwithstanding that fact, Kenya had recently discovered a booming prostitution racket involving young girls in the major urban centre of Kenya. The Government was committed to rooting out that practice. The sale of children was a form of slave trade and should be condemned.

Another matter of concern for the Government of Kenya was the plight of children in armed conflicts, she added. Armed conflicts had left more than 2 million dead, 4 million to 5 million mutilated, and over 12 million orphaned, all in one decade and most of it in Africa. An issue that seemed to have escaped the limelight was the rape of minors, especially the girl child. That question should be included in next year's report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution.

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ALESSANDRA AULA, of Pax Christi International, said that in Angola, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Chechnya children were confronted with the tragic consequences of anti-personnel land-mines. In Afghanistan, some 10 million anti-personnel land-mines had been laid since 1979, 10 per cent of the world's total.

Children all over the world also faced other problems, the speaker said. In the refugee camps of Tipura, India, children were often deprived of food and health care. No measures had been taken to provide them with an education in their mother tongue, as required by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

MACHIO FATIO, of the Baha'i International Community, speaking on behalf of 34 non-governmental organizations, said educational programmes that fostered the development of moral qualities and capabilities were the strongest force both to protect children from destructive behaviour and to help create a just and harmonious society in which the rights of the child were upheld. Moral qualities, sometimes referred to as spiritual qualities or human values, were the building blocks of the human personality. They were the endowments of every human being and the adornments of the human spirit.

The full power of those fundamental qualities could be released, however, only when they were acquired in the context of an understanding of the oneness of humanity and with attention to their application in action for the better of society as a whole, he went on. Training programmes for parents, educators, counsellors and others who served as role models and mentors for children and youth were also essential. Such programmes would address both the process of assisting children and youth to build moral capabilities and the skills necessary for specific capabilities, such as creating a non-violent and harmonious family, consultation and building unity.

BEN SCHONVELD, of the World Organization against Torture, said that in Bahrain, on 26 March, following a demonstration against government repression, many young girls had been arrested by the authorities and then made to strip, with the incident captured on video-tape. Male security guards had been brought in to punch the girls and threaten them with rape. The authorities were fully aware of the inflammatory nature of such behaviour in a devout Muslim country. The Commission was urged to act before the situation deteriorated further.

JULIETTE SAYEGH, of the General Arab Women Federation, said the embargo against Iraq had massively affected the population. The latest data showed that the nutritional status of children under the age of five years was alarming. The number of severe malnutrition cases and related syndromes now totalled more than 4 million cases. She called on the Commission to do everything in its power to bring about an end to the embargo against Iraq. In Lebanon, hundreds of innocent families were being killed and many thousands

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being chased from their homes, losing what they had acquired over many years of hard labour.

HECTOR GATTI, of Christian Democrat International, said trafficking in children in the developing countries had been caused in part by irregularities in inter-country adoptions; the formalities were often not carried out properly. Children of developing countries had also fallen victim to the commercialization of human organs. Children were often assassinated for the purposes of organ transplantation.

GUNNAR INIEBACK, of Christian Solidarity International, said the institution of slavery was experiencing a revival on a large scale in government-controlled areas of the Sudan. The number of chattel slaves held in northern Sudan was estimated to be in the tens of thousands. Moreover, government-backed militias regularly raided black African communities for slaves and other forms of booty. The slaves, in most cases children and young women, were taken north where they were forced to provide domestic and agricultural labour and to provide sexual services against their will -- for nothing other than a minimum of food for survival. Human rights monitors should be able to visit all areas of the Sudan to investigate the extent of slavery.

ZARETKHAN KHAMKHOEVA, of the Transnational Radical Party, said Ingush children living in the Russian Federation needed protection from the violence that had plagued the people of Ingushetia over the last three years. Under a constitutional reform, the Ingush people had voted in 1991 to become a republic within the Russian Federation, partly owing to assurances from the President that their land in the district of Northern Ossetia would be returned to them. Since 1992, countless children in Ingushetia had been denied the most basic right -- the right to life.

WILFRED WONG, of the International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty, said the documentary "The Dying Rooms" had recently exposed the horrific neglect to which children in State orphanages were subjected in China. As corroboration of the terrible neglect highlighted by the film, Dr. Zhang Shuyun, together with Human Rights Watch, had exposed the horrific treatment of children in the Shanghai Children's Welfare Institute. According to Dr. Zhang, the great majority of the deaths that occurred during her period of employment from 1988 and 1993 were the deliberate result of a policy known as "summary resolution". The policy's purpose was apparently to limit the number of children on a given ward in order to maintain the workload at a fairly constant level. The international community and the Commission should put pressure on the Government of China to withdraw birth control policies which fixed quotas on the number of babies allowed per family; and to raise the standard of care in all State orphanages.

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NELIA SANCHO, of Asian Women's Human Rights Council, said the case of the victims of military sexual slavery at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War had been brought to the attention of the Commission by at least 25 non-governmental organizations. It was noted that many of the "comfort women" were still girls when they were raped by Japanese soldiers for prolonged periods of time. Japan was requested to acknowledge its legal and moral responsibilities towards those women.

BEATRICE LAROCHE, of the International Federation of Human Rights, said restrictions on what could be reported in the Chinese domestic media, such as prohibitions on "negative" news, as well as controls on individual freedom of expression and association, meant that there was little independent monitoring of children's rights in that country. Children of families who had "out of plan" births were subjected to discriminatory treatment; they might not be given a "residence registration", which made them ineligible for free education, health benefits and other subsidies. Without that registration, such children did not have a legal identity, as required by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Reports of very late abortions performed in the execution of China's population policies continued to reach the Federation, she said. In some cases, such abortions constituted an officially sanctioned form of infanticide. In the former Yugoslavia, meanwhile, children had been left homeless and suffered psychological problems associated with the war. For that reason, the Federation strongly supported the adoption of the optional protocol to the Convention concerned with children involved in armed conflicts.

A.S. KOHLI, of the Indian Council of Education, said the Indian Government was making all efforts to comply with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Non-governmental organizations had been partners of the Government in implementing programmes related to the welfare and development of children. It had been realized that for creating awareness and getting input from non-governmental organizations for that endeavour, special orientation programmes should be organized at the national level with the help of United National agencies and international organizations working in the field of child welfare.

GENEI SHIMOJI, of the World Peace Council, said child abuse, whether as a result of child labour or of prostitution, was, in many developing countries, a consequence of rapid population growth, poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. Atrocities against children, particularly in the form of sale for the purpose of begging or prostitution, were common phenomena. In Pakistan, Christian and Hindu girls had been converted to Islam; rape and violence against young girls there was common. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, one in two rape victims was a juvenile.

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He went on to say that in some other countries of the region with high income, young girls from poor countries seeking employment often ended up as targets of sexual abuse. The Commission must devise fail-safe mechanisms to ensure that the practices that deprived children and women of a life of dignity and freedom were curbed and States made accountable to the international community for the welfare of their youth.

HARISH GUPTA, of the International Institute for Peace, said Pakistan had been sponsoring terrorism in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir for the past several years. The activities of the terrorists backed by Pakistan seriously violated the human rights of the innocent children of both Muslims and Hindus who, along with their parents, were constantly living in conditions of fear and alarm. They were faced with the threat of being kidnapped on the way to their schools and then forcibly inducted into the ranks of the terrorists.

S.K. SAHNI, of the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, said the children of South Asia, for a variety of reasons completely beyond their control, were increasingly being deprived of their basic needs. Child labour was a disease that particularly affected developing countries, where feudal traditions often led to children of a family working off the debts contracted by earlier generations. And economic bondage was just one of the afflictions that children faced in developing countries. The resurgence of religious fundamentalism had created a new form of bondage.

Pakistani schools run by the fundamentalists routinely chained their students while imparting to them only one form of teaching, the delegate continued. Despite extensive media coverage of such practices and expressions of concern for the children's welfare, the practice continued. As for the sale of children for pornography, that was not limited to developing countries alone -- child pornography was prevalent in some developed countries.

J.A. LINDEREN ALVES (Brazil) said that, among the most relevant achievements of 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights in the field of concepts, foremost stood the reaffirmation of the universality of human rights. While it was true that in 1948 two thirds of humankind, still living under colonial domination, were prevented from participating in the elaboration of the Universal Declaration, in 1993 the whole international community sovereignly adhered to the consensus that held that the universal nature of human rights and freedoms was beyond question. Yet, many States seemed to have forgotten what they had agreed to. They still referred to international monitoring as a violation of the principle of non-interference in internal matters. Certain governments still insisted on the interpretation that human rights were a kind of imposition from one part of the world on the rest of humanity. While Brazil understood that States were entitled to justify and value their policies, creeds and traditions, no difference whatsoever could warrant or shield violations of human rights.

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NAFISAH MOHAMED (Malaysia) said the creation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was one of the achievements of Vienna. His efforts to restructure the Centre for Human Rights to meet the demands of the agreed human rights programme was welcomed, but the circumstances forcing him to do so should be deplored. It was disturbing that he was forced to focus his attention on a plan for the Centre encompassing its restructuring, management of finances, human resources and information, as well as managing the transition of a difficult period not only for the Centre but for the whole United Nations Secretariat. The Plan, while needed, certainly ran counter to the notion of empowering the United Nations human rights programme.

The current financial crisis and the lack of voluntary contributions would further erode the effectiveness of the United Nations' human rights field operations programme, he continued. All Member States should honour their financial commitments to the United Nations and make an honest and impartial effort to assist in the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms worldwide.

LUIS LILLO (Chile) said the implementation of the Vienna Declaration was not without its difficulties. The development of human rights after the Vienna Conference remained a challenge to the international community. With regard to cooperation, the process needed reciprocity and transparency. It should also mean active partnership among States. It was useful to remember the principal concept of the Conference, which was the universality and inalienability of human rights. The Conference had also recognized the important right to development; realization of that right was a great challenge to the developing countries, which had no adequate resources to enjoy that right.

CHRISTIAN STROHAL (Austria) said the High Commissioner for Human Rights continued to show his dedication to the elements of dialogue, consensus and solidarity in responding to acute human rights violations, as well as with regard to their prevention. Austria encouraged the High Commissioner in his efforts to devise a system-wide policy for preventing serious human rights violations and to deepen his cooperation with other United Nations departments and offices in that area.

One of the most important tools for the fulfilment of the High Commissioner's mandate was the provision of advisory services and technical assistance, he added. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action identified the main priorities for the future orientation of his programme: assistance for legal reform, the protection of vulnerable groups, the strengthening of the rule of law and of democratic institutions and the administration of justice. A significant development was the strengthening of a human rights presence in the field.

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JOHN SHATTUCK (United States) said that three years ago the nations of the world reaffirmed their solemn commitment to fulfil all their human rights obligations under the United Nations Charter and international law. Yet, some countries continued to act as if human rights were merely minor inconveniences claiming that their records should be exempt from the Commission's scrutiny. No country should deny the reasonable and non-intrusive mandate of the Commission by blocking an appropriate resolution. Any efforts to do so should be rejected by the members as an attack on the very existence and integrity of the body.

VOLODYMYR VASSYLENKO (Ukraine) said the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine had prepared a conceptual document on State policy in the field of human rights which should serve as the basis for the elaboration of the State programme defining concrete steps aimed at improving the relevant Ukrainian legislation, as well as national institutions and mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights.

Ukraine also attached special attention to the dissemination of public information and education in the field of human rights, he said. Every individual should be aware of his human rights, as well as his obligations to respect those of others. Without such knowledge, international and national human rights standards could hardly be implemented effectively.

BILL BARKER (Australia) said that in accordance with the recommendation of the World Conference on the desirability of drawing up national human rights action plans, Australia had already presented its first National Action Plan on Human Rights, as well as a progress report. The Plan set out government measures across the full range of human rights. It also highlighted the challenges ahead in promoting domestic human rights observance and future action. Australia believed the surest way to improve the observance of human rights was intensified action at national level, involving both Government and civil society.

Australia also strongly supported the proposed restructuring of the Centre for Human Rights and hoped that the new arrangements would be set in place at the earliest opportunity, he continued. But although restructuring was an important step, it had to be accompanied by better personnel practices and modern management techniques. The credibility of the Centre was at stake if it was to enjoy the support of the international community in obtaining additional resources. The additional contribution of A$ 200,000 to the Centre for its field operation in Rwanda had been made only after Australia had looked very carefully at the performance of the Centre. Hopefully, it would not be too long before adverse experiences relating to the management of the Centre would be a thing of the past.

LUCIANO JOUBLANC (Mexico) said that since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations mechanisms in the protection and promotion of

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human rights had gradually evolved by addressing the priority needs of States. The Mexican delegation felt that one of the principal objectives of the Vienna Conference had been its consideration of the functioning of the mechanisms of the United Nations human rights system. It had also evaluated the mechanisms used in the field of human rights since the Declaration. In addition, the Conference had seen the creation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mexico had supported the appointment of the High Commissioner and had pledged to support him in his efforts to promote and protect human rights.

ZHANG YISHAN (China) asked: How should the world respond after the end of the Cold War to the challenges posed by human rights? The world today was colourful, with many different cultures, he said. It was only sensible that countries had different approaches to human rights. The West did not have the right to ask other countries to copy their models of human rights and democracy; today it was highly important to recognize that principle, as it had not been strictly implemented in the past, and those who claimed to have the best human rights records had in fact failed to distinguish themselves.

Cooperation, not confrontation, should be the right approach to human rights, he said. But some countries were so carried away by their so-called triumph in the cold war that they thought it opportune to peddle their own values and expand their spheres of influence -- the developing countries had become their targets, and the Commission had been turned into a tribunal. The right approach to differences was to have exchange and cooperation based on mutual respect and equality, so that countries could draw on their strong points and help each other.

DANIELA NAPOLI, of the European Commission, said foremost among priorities must be a mutual strengthening of human rights, development, and democracy. Last year, the European Commission had earmarked some 200 million European Currency Units (ECUs) programmes aimed at the realization and promotion of human rights and democracy. Another priority was the promotion of equality, dignity, and tolerance -- all points cogently raised at the World Conference on Human Rights. Among vulnerable groups, children took priority, and the European Commission supported the efforts of States through specific actions to promote assistance, protection, and well-being for children; there also was support for the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples. Other efforts focused on national minorities, women, journalists and media professionals, independence of the judiciary, administration of justice, and education of police, armed forces, and prison personnel in international human rights standards.

PIAREA LAL MALHOTRA, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said UNESCO, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for Human Rights were developing joint programmes for ensuring the most effective implementation of the Plan of Action of the United

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Nations Decade for Human Rights Education. The activities included assisting in the implementation and evaluation of national policies, programmes and strategies, the establishment of national focal points and strengthening of existing networks, and the development of educational material. They were also uniting their efforts to disseminate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in as many language versions and countries as possible.

A. TEITELBAUM, of the American Association of Jurists, speaking on behalf of three other non-governmental organizations, said democracy, development, and respect for human rights were interdependent and mutually reinforcing concepts. The basic interest of concern for life and the destiny of people were held in the fists of a powerful few, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Vienna Declaration had fallen into abeyance and had been forgotten. Further, the financial crisis of the United Nations persisted, and its current budget was trivial compared to the problems the Organization tackled and the needs of the world. Political criteria selected by a few rich countries determined who got aid. In various regions of the world, there had been protests against the Bretton Woods principles; the IMF and World Bank needed to be democratized, and the interests of the world's poorer countries taken more into account. Giving the privileged the right to decide what were human rights was like giving Mobutu or Pinochet the right to decide what were human rights. It was time to take into account the rights and privileges of those other than the rich.

BEATRICE LAROCHE, of the International Federation of Human Rights, said the group welcomed the call for international cooperation in the elimination of violence against women and the girl child contained in the Vienna Declaration. It was to be recalled that it was only after the Vienna Declaration that the Commission had decided to consider fully the question of violence against women, although the question had been placed on the agenda long before the Vienna Conference.

Ms. AULA, of Pax Christi International, speaking on behalf of two other non-governmental organizations, said that to make human rights a reality, it was necessary to surmount several obstacles. There was the question of impunity, for example; impunity hindered democratic order and human rights were weakened if violations of human rights were not punished. More needed to be done to combat impunity, especially where there had been grave violations of human rights. In the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, for example, there would be no establishment of a climate of confidence if impunity was tolerated. The international community and the United Nations must break the vicious cycle of violations, impunity, and authoritarianism and substitute instead the virtuous cycle of democracy, development, and respect for human rights. The High Commissioner should incorporate the question of impunity as one of the most fundamental subjects to be pursued over the coming years.

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EWA BRANTLEY, of the Transnational Radical Party, said the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action recognized not only existing standards, but also the importance of United Nations human rights machinery in protecting human rights and the role of non-governmental organizations in fostering improvements in human rights. For the whole system to function effectively, the rights of non-governmental organizations must be expanded and defended by the Commission. The High Commissioner for Human Rights had written of the importance of cooperation with several actors in the human rights field, but had not mentioned cooperation with non-governmental organizations.

To create a better world, the Commission must consider what role non- governmental organizations could play in the proper implementation of human rights, the delegate continued. It should also recognize that that role was an important one and that non-governmental organizations had rights that should be sacrosanct. It should make it clear that no government could imprison members of non-governmental organizations solely because they sought to further the cause of human rights.

KAUSER PARVEEN, of the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, said the children in Jammu and Kashmir had been suffering for the past six years. Their schools had been destroyed and their teachers had been killed; children were being given only the education of violence. The children in Kashmir are living in the fear of death. The Pakistani-trained militants motivated them to take up arms. The militants are using all the methods to engage children in conflict. If the Commission really wished to achieve results in improving the welfare of children in all countries, then the first step to take was to force governments and groups of people to give up violence.

DAVID LITTMANN, of Christian Solidarity International, said that of all human rights issues, the most fundamental was the right to life. Yet, the Iranian Government still supported the fatwa against the writer Salman Rushdie. In Egypt, the murder of writer Faraq Fouda in 1992, following a fatwa by the Islamic Jihad Movement, had been justified in a Cairo court by the late Sheikh Muhammad Ghazali, an influential preacher who had taught most of Algeria's militant Front Islamique du Salut leaders at Constantine University.

There had been other murders or threatened murders based on fatwas or on pronunciations from other religious fanatics, including Jews and Christians, he said. The international community was now paying a heavy price for its neglect to follow up on such clear terrorist crimes against humanity, justified by religious precepts. A call to kill in the name of God, or religion, was a universal evil and must be utterly condemned, as the High Commissioner for Human Rights had done last month.

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JAN HELGESEN, Chairman-Rapporteur of the working group on the right and responsibility to protect and promote human rights, said it was a challenge to defend the work of the working group -- in its one-week session last month, the group had been unable to adopt new texts or make progress. He regretted the lack of progress, and knew the members of the group shared that regret. On the other hand, the subjects with which the group was struggling were complex as seen from a legal point of view and sensitive as seen from a political point of view.

He asked not for patience, but for constructive impatience from the Commission. On the last evening of the session, the group had discussed how to speed up the drafting exercise; many thought it would help to do useful work between the sessions, which only took place once or twice a year. The suggestion was to mandate the Chairman to carry out certain activities between the sessions. He could not promise success, but he would do his utmost to comply with the wishes of the Commission and the Working Group, relying on everyone's cooperation and flexibility.

Over the years he had listened to extensive debates on the subject of human rights defenders, he went on. There were two essentially different positions in the working group, but the real conflict was not within the Working Group, but between "us" and "them" -- those in the working group and those out in the world who even now were suffering because they were defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. Helping them meant that people here conducted diplomacy in beautiful Geneva; but for the human rights defenders it meant brutal poverty, torture in dark prisons, or the grief of a six-year-old girl whose father had, in the cold language of the United Nations, "disappeared". It was most important of all to remember those human rights defenders as the work of the group continued.

PAOLO TORELLA DI ROMAGNANO (Italy), speaking on behalf of the European Union and countries associated with the statement, said 12 years had passed since the Commission's decision to establish an open-ended working group to draft a declaration on the rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms. The disagreement that existed among delegations in the working group had led to a situation where certain countries year after year were able to block progress. The Union called on those countries to reconsider their attitude and to open the way for a solution that responded effectively to the situation of human rights defenders.

The European Union considered that the purpose of the draft declaration was to clarify and reinforce existing human rights as they applied to defenders of human rights and not place new limitations on peaceful human rights activities by individuals and groups, he said. The Union reaffirmed that restrictive references to national legislation were unacceptable if they

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circumvented or did not meet obligations incurred by states under already existing international instruments.

CARMEN HERTZ (Chile) said human rights defenders played an irreplaceable role sustained by respect for human rights and love of the weak and the vulnerable; such people sometimes paid for their valuable work with their lives. Human rights defenders and their families must be protected. It was paradox that after 10 years of work it was becoming more difficult to finalize the draft declaration. No one should accept failure, however; in the midst of the negotiations, there had been a great variety of opinions that nonetheless had almost resulted in consensus -- only a few had kept consensus from being reached. It was important to continue the work; all those who saw the declaration as a danger for the internal affairs of their States should not see the Commission and the group admit failure.

JAONA RAVALOSON (Madagascar) said improvement of the work of the Commission required rebalancing and greater use of the work of non-governmental organizations; the importance of non-governmental organizations was increasing, and that was a good trend. Non-governmental organizations and civil society must be integrated still further into the work of the Commission. The effectiveness of non-governmental organizations' contributions required protection of the leaders of those organizations; Madagascar called for wisdom, mercy and fairness from all States in relation to human-rights defenders -- often such people returned to their home countries after participating in the work of the Commission and faced mortal danger in the form of reprisals. Monitoring of their rights and vigilance from the Commission was necessary.

VIVIAN DERRYCK (United States) said when great issues of human rights were debated by the nations of the world, it often was because individual men and women outside the halls of Government had led them to it. Some won international acclaim or a Nobel Prize; some ended up in prison cells, while others were beaten, tortured, raped, or made to "disappear". Human rights defenders could be of any age -- a thirteen-year-old from Toronto had started an effective international campaign to eradicate child labour. However, another boy, Iqbal Masih, who had escaped the chains of bonded labour in Asia to campaign for children like him, had been murdered.

The United States strongly supported the work to elaborate the draft declaration on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups, and organs of society to promote and protect human rights, and was disappointed that certain countries continued to block progress, she said. Despite those obstacles, the Working Group should continue its efforts.

CRISPIN CONROY (Australia) said Amnesty International had noted that human rights defenders were men and women on the front lines of the struggle to realize the ideal proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

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they included lawyers, journalists, trade unionists, students, relatives of victims of human-rights violations, and others. Defenders often paid a high price for their courage. It was deeply disappointing that no new text had come out of the latest meeting of the working group trying to fashion a declaration to protect human rights defenders.

Australia believed that the declaration must contain certain minimum elements: that individuals should not be hindered in setting up human rights organizations; that those organizations should be free to meet and communicate with like groups; that they should be free to raise and receive contributions; and that they should be free to publish and make known their views, including drawing public attention to general or specific cases of human rights violations.

PETER SPLINTER (Canada) said everyone was obligated to strive for protection and promotion of human rights -- it was in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. And yet, when the Commission reviewed situations in countries around the world, it was reminded all too clearly that decent men and women around the world suffered dearly for doing what the Universal Declaration said everyone must do. Closer to home, it was clear that many who came to Commission meetings and participated often paid a price when they went home afterward.

He said that was why Canada supported the efforts to draft a declaration to protect human-rights defenders; the declaration would not establish new rights and freedoms -- those were well-established everywhere, and included freedom of expression and freedom of association and the right to fair and public trials. It was only that such rights need specific affirmation for those who battled for the rights and freedoms of others. The working group had not concluded its work, but Canada looked forward to a prompt completion.

ROMAN KUZNIAR (Poland) said non-governmental organizations were a vital cornerstone of the international community. They constituted one of the three pillars of the universal system for the promotion and protection of human rights, along with Governments and inter-governmental bodies. They performed three critical functions: standard-setting, promotion, and implementation. Their importance to the functioning of the international human rights system notwithstanding, non-governmental organizations should have responsibilities. Non-governmental organizations were run by human beings; they were not free from mistakes or foibles. Still, their dedication to and tireless efforts in the promotion and protection of human rights were undeniable and deserved recognition.

How better could one show the appreciation than by adopting a declaration on the protection of human rights defenders in a timely manner? he asked. The Polish delegation would not tolerate any further delay in the adoption of the draft declaration of individuals, and it would not accept the

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imposition of conditions on its acceptance or the dilution of its language. The Commission should ensure the approval of a declaration by the General Assembly no later than the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1998.

PER HAUGESTAD (Norway) said every society needed human rights defenders, yet, the real defender of human rights, most often at the local or national levels, all too often risked suffering of all kinds, discrimination, harassment, discrimination, and even death. There clearly was a need to address the problems and risks facing those who were willing to speak up and point out violations of human rights; the work of the working group in general was directed at more effective achievement of rights already recognized in existing international instruments, and Norway was pleased that the Chairman- Rapporteur had been entrusted with the task of preparing a consolidated and refined text for consideration at the next meeting.

JACK CHRISTOFIDES (South Africa) said the objective before the working group to draft a declaration on the rights and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms was reasonably modest, essentially to define existing rights and responsibilities of human rights defenders. That it had failed to do so was a sad indictment of all.

For South Africa, the drafting of a declaration on defenders was no abstract exercise, he said. Anti-apartheid activists had paid with their lives for the rights that should be enshrined in such a declaration. For that reason, South Africa deemed it entirely unacceptable that a small group of countries blocked progress on that important question every year. One had moved from a situation of trying to protect human rights defenders's rights to the ironic, if not laughable situation of protecting States from human rights defenders. Eleven fruitless sessions was much too long to have spent on that theme.

ARTURO CARRILLO SUAREZ, of Amnesty International, speaking on behalf of five other organizations, said it was painful to recall the harassment, persecution, torture and execution that colleagues around the world had suffered; the Commission must take the measures necessary to protect human rights defenders everywhere. Three weeks ago, across the hall, experienced human rights workers had described the obstacles they had faced in Egypt, India, Turkey, Nigeria, and Colombia. How could such people advance the cause of human rights when they remained so vulnerable? The recent meeting of the working group on the draft declaration was a failure -- debates within the group were increasingly political and less and less technical and legal; there was a division between those trying to defend human rights defenders and those trying to defend their States against human rights defenders. Some States clearly hoped the working group would die a slow death, but that must not be allowed to happen; the mandate of the group must be renewed unconditionally

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and a resolution passed to bolster immediately the situation of human rights defenders.

FERNANDO MEJIA, of the World Organization against Torture, said certain States wanted to block the draft declaration on human rights defenders; that was not a surprise because some States had long intimidated human rights organizations or prohibited them entirely when they disagreed with prevailing governments. The World Organization against Torture was particularly concerned by the violence suffered by human rights defenders; it had provided a list of violations committed against such people in 49 countries. Clearly there were many more victims no one ever heard about. The draft declaration should remind States of their duty to ensure human rights and to guarantee the protection of those who defended human rights.

Right of Reply

JAIME S. BAUTISTA (Philippines) said the representative of the Asian Women's Human Rights Council had mentioned the Philippines in passing while discussing children and armed conflicts. But since the re-establishment of democracy in the Philippines, high priority had been given to the Philippine peace process. Many steps had been taken to reduce conflict, enhance development, and promote human rights, including those of children, and UNESCO had reported that great progress had been made.

WANG JINGYIN (China) said a few non-governmental organizations had attacked the situation of children in China, claiming that children in Chinese institutions were ill-treated; all those were attempts to distort the image of China. In China, children were thought of as fragile and valuable flowers, and the Government had many laws and had made great efforts to protect children's rights, including the rights of girl children. State organs had been established and perfected for protecting children. The situation of children in China was good, and no other State with a comparable per capita income had done as much for children; criticism heard at the Commission of China consisted of fabrications and empty rhetoric. Non-governmental organizations should do tangible things to protect children instead of making unsubstantiated and distorted attacks on countries.

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