ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL REJECTS ACCREDITATION OF TIBETAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN TO HABITAT II

Press Release
ECOSOC/5639

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL REJECTS ACCREDITATION OF TIBETAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN TO HABITAT II

The Economic and Social Council this morning rejected accreditation of the United States-based Tibetan Rights Campaign to the forthcoming second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), by a recorded vote of 21 in favour of rejection to 15 against, with 16 abstentions. (For details of the voting, see Annex.)

Without voting, the Council also rejected, on the recommendation of the Habitat II secretariat, the accreditation of two other non-governmental organizations seeking accreditation: the Taiwan International Alliance; and the Canada Tibet Committee.

The Council decided to vote on the matter following a report by Council Vice-President Karel Kovanda (Czech Republic), who expressed regret that the matter had not been resolved during informal consultations. He said the Council had the option of excluding the non-governmental organizations in question based on the secretariat's recommendation (as had been the case last year with respect to certain non-governmental organizations seeking accreditation to the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing), or to vote on the matter.

During a discussion preceding the vote, the representative of the United States said, "We keep referring to last year. Last year was last year, and if I may paraphrase Shakespeare, that was in another country". He expressed concern that the United States-based Tibetan Rights Campaign had originally been recommended for accreditation, but that recommendation had subsequently been revoked on the grounds that the organization had not been accredited to the Fourth World Conference on Women. That should in no way exclude accreditation to Habitat II. The organization in question had actively participated in preparations for Habitat II.

The only explanation for the exclusion, he said, was that an objection had been raised by one Member State. The secretariat's removal of the group from the list of recommended conferences had been highly irregular. "No single Member State on its own motion and without transparency should be the

sole arbiter by which organizations can be accepted or rejected from the secretariat's presumably objective list", he said. It was one thing for a host country to object to having an organization enter its territory, but it was quite another for the State to deny an organization's access to a conference in another country.

The representative of China said the issue being discussed today had been settled long ago. The only reason the United Nations had to deal with the issue -- at a time of financial constraints arising from the failure of one large State to pay its arrears -- was because of the United States. The Tibetan Rights Campaign aimed to split Tibet off from China. Clearly, that objective represented a challenge to China's sovereignty and to the principles of the United Nations Charter. The United States was pushing for the organization's accreditation to Habitat II -- a move which was totally unacceptable to China. The secretariat had not recommended accreditation because the organization did not meet the criteria for Habitat II. No organization aimed at sabotaging the territorial integrity of a State should be accredited to a United Nations conference.

Sudan's representative said the Council's decisions must be consistent, adding that no organization violating the principles of the Charter should be accredited to a conference held under the auspices of the United Nations.

The representatives of Italy (on behalf of the European Union), Australia and Canada sought further information on the matter.

The NGO Liaison Coordinator for Habitat II, Farouk Mawlawi, said decisions were based on information received from the organizations in question. The secretariat had taken its decisions based on practices employed for previous conferences. In its application, the Tibetan Rights Campaign had stated that it had participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women and that it had been recommended for accreditation to that Conference. However, when the secretariat checked that information against the relevant documents, it was found to be erroneous. It was a serious matter that the organization had not furnished accurate information, he said, adding that other information in the application had prompted the secretariat not to recommend its accreditation.

Speaking after the vote, the representative of China expressed happiness that justice had been served, stating that hegemonism should have no place in the United Nations. He thanked those who had supported China.

The representatives of Australia and Canada said they had abstained on the vote because of the lack of necessary information on the matter.

Also this morning, the Council continued to hold elections and nominations to various bodies within the United Nations system.

Economic and Social Council - 3 - Press Release ECOSOC/5639 Resumed Organizational Session (AM) 3 May 1996

Elected by acclamation to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were: Oscar Ceville, of Panama; María de los Angeles Jiminez Butragueño, of Spain; José Roberto Mejía Trabanino, of El Salvador; Kenneth Osborne Rattray, of Jamaica; and Philippe Texier, of France. By secret ballot, the following were elected to that body: Ivan Antanovich, of Belarus; Dumitru Ceausu, of Romania; Abdessatar Grissa, of Tunisia; and Ariranda Govindasamy Pillay, of Mauritius. On the second ballot, Walid Sa'adi of Jordan was elected.

To the International Narcotics Control Board, the Council elected, by secret ballot, the following: Nelia P. Cortes-Maramba, of the Philippines; Jacques Franquet, of France; A. Hamid Ghodse, of Iran; Dil Jan Khan, of Pakistan; Alfonso Gomez Mendez, of Colombia; and Herbert S. Okun, of the United States.

With respect to the Commission on Population and Development, the following were elected by acclamation: Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Germany, Hungary, Lesotho, Panama, Turkey, Uganda and Zambia.

Since the 47-member Commission on Population and Development was recently expanded to add 20 new members, it was necessary to draw lots to determine the length of their terms. The results were as follows:

-- For three-year terms: Algeria, Congo, El Salvador, Iran, Malta, Peru, Syria and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;

-- For two-year terms: Italy, Lesotho, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zambia; and

-- For one-year terms: Cuba, Finland, Nepal, Pakistan and Uganda.

To the Committee on Natural Resources, the Council elected, by acclamation, China, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Netherlands, Nigeria, Sweden and Zambia.

Elected by acclamation to the Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and on Energy for Development were Austria, China, Germany and the Netherlands.

The Economic and Social Council will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue holding elections to various bodies.

(annex follows)

Economic and Social Council - 4 - Press Release ECOSOC/5639 Resumed Organizational Session (AM) 3 May 1996

ANNEX

Vote on Accreditation of Tibetan Rights Campaign

The recommendation to reject the accreditation of the Tibetan Rights Campaign to the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) was approved by a recorded vote of 21 in favour to 15 against, with 16 abstentions, as follows:

In favour: Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, United Republic of Tanzania, Zimbabwe.

Against: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States.

Abstaining: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Greece, Jamaica, Japan, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand, Togo, Venezuela.

Absent: Central African Republic, Uganda.

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