SUBCOMMISSION ON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES TO MEET IN GENEVA FROM 5 TO 30 AUGUST
Press Release
HR/CN/753
SUBCOMMISSION ON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES TO MEET IN GENEVA FROM 5 TO 30 AUGUST
19960731 Background Release GENEVA, 31 July (UN Information Service) -- Impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations, the effects of extreme poverty on the enjoyment of human rights and traditional practices affecting the health of women and children will be among the issues to be examined by the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities when it convenes its forty-eighth session in Geneva from 5 to 30 August.At the forefront of research into human rights issues, the Subcommission will also examine at this session country situations, taking into account texts it adopted last year concerning Burundi, Rwanda, Iran, the Middle East, Kosovo, the former Yugoslavia, the Palestinian and other Israeli-occupied Arab territories, Iraq and Colombia. Texts of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights on those and other countries and territories may also be examined.
Established in 1947 to undertake studies and make recommendations to the Commission concerning the prevention of discrimination and the protection of national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, the Subcommission's work is often at the root of international standards for the protection of human rights. Debate at the Subcommission is largely based on the studies and reports prepared by its 26 members, who are independent experts elected by the Human Rights Commission.
Other issues to be taken up by the expert body at the forthcoming session include the human rights of women, the elimination of racism and the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. Much discussion will also be devoted to the rights of indigenous populations and to a set of basic principles and guidelines on the right to reparation for victims of gross human rights violations.
As at previous sessions, the Subcommission will consider communications -- from individuals, non-governmental organizations or other sources -- alleging a consistent pattern of gross and reliably attested human rights violations so as to determine whether to refer them to the Commission on Human Rights for further action. The Working Group on Communications, which considers the merits of those allegations before transmitting them to the Subcommission, started meeting on 22 July and will continue until to 2 August.
The Subcommission will also examine issues related to contemporary forms of slavery; sexual slavery during wartime; discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS; human rights and disability; discrimination against indigenous people; and the implications of humanitarian activities for the enjoyment of human rights.
The Working Group on Minorities, a relatively new Subcommission organ that meets between sessions to study ways of promoting the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, will also present a report. The Working Group held its second session from 29 April to 3 May.
Among the long-standing items on the Subcommission's agenda are the administration of justice and the human rights of detainees; the independence and impartiality of the judiciary; the new international economic order, including women's participation in development; income distribution and human rights; human rights and the realization of economic, social and cultural rights; and human rights and scientific and technological developments.
The Subcommission will also consider reports or notes on the questions of income distribution; elimination of extreme poverty; the right to adequate housing; exploitation of child labour; protection of the heritage of indigenous people; and the injurious effects of anti-personnel land-mines.
Review of Developments in Fields of Concern to Subcommission
During the review of recent developments in the field of human rights, the Subcommission will have before it the final report of Special Rapporteur Halima Embarek Warzazi on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/6). The Special Rapporteur has been studying that issue for the Subcommission since 1988.
The Subcommission also has before it a note by the Secretary-General on that matter (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/3). Also to be considered are reports of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/4) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) relating to matters dealt with by the Subcommission (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/5).
Another issue before the session is HIV/AIDS-related discrimination and human rights violations. At its last session, the Subcommission decided, in resolution 1995/21, to keep that matter under continuous review, and to give consideration to it under all relevant agenda items.
The Subcommission will also discuss the matter of obstacles to the establishment of a democratic society. In 1995, the Human Rights Commission recommended, in resolution 1995/60, that the Subcommission consider ways and
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means to overcome obstacles to the consolidation of democratic societies, taking into account the relation between democracy, development and human rights. The Subcommission subsequently requested expert Osman El-Hajje to prepare a working paper on democracy and the establishment of a democratic society, which is now before it (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/7).
Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Under this item, the Subcommission is expected to consider reports of the Commission's Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (documents E/CN.4/1996/72 and Add.1). The attention of the Subcommission is also drawn to the report of the Secretary-General and a note by the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, which began in 1993 (documents E/CN.4/1996/71 and E/CN.4/1996/71/Add.1, respectively).
Violation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Under that item, the Subcommission will examine measures to prevent human rights violations in Iran, with the help of a note by the Secretary-General (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/9).
The Subcommission might also examine texts it adopted at its last session on the situations in Rwanda, Kosovo, Iraq, Iran, Burundi, Haiti, Guatemala, the former Yugoslavia, the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied by Israel, Turkey and the Middle East. It may also consider resolutions adopted by the Assembly and the Commission on the situation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Myanmar, Sudan, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Kosovo, Rwanda, Afghanistan, occupied Syrian Golan, Togo, southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa, Zaire, the Papua New Guinea Island of Bougainville, Equatorial Guinea and Burundi. In addition, the Subcommission will have before it statements by the Chairman of the Commission concerning Colombia, East Timor, the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian Federation and Liberia.
New International Economic Order
Under that item, the Subcommission will consider the role and equal participation of women in development, an item that has been on its agenda since 1989. It will have before it the latest reports of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and of the Commission on the Status of Women.
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Realization of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The Subcommission has traditionally devoted a great deal of attention to matters related to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. Following the extensive work of its Special Rapporteur on the subject from 1989 to 1992, the Subcommission, in resolution 1992/29, urged the international financial institutions, in particular the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to take greater account of the adverse impacts of their policies and programmes of structural adjustment on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
In considering those rights, the Subcommission has devoted particular attention to the right to adequate housing. Last year, the human rights body endorsed the recommendations contained in the report of its Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1995/12). At the forthcoming session, the Subcommission will have before it an analytical commentary from the Secretary-General on views and comments received from States, United Nations bodies, specialized agencies, international, regional, non-governmental and community-based organizations on all aspects of the right to adequate housing (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/10), further to the analysis contained in the final report of the Special Rapporteur regarding the use of indicators in monitoring compliance with that right.
Human rights and extreme poverty will also be examined on the basis of the final report of the Special Rapporteur on the subject (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/13). The report focuses on the results of the Special Rapporteur's consultation with persons living in extreme poverty and persons working alongside them. It takes account of the conclusions and relevant data emerging from the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995) and the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), as well as of activities to be undertaken in connection with the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty, which is being observed this year.
Concerning forced evictions, the Subcommission will have before it a report of the Secretary-General on guidelines on international events and forced evictions (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/11).
In addition, the Subcommission will continue to study the question of income distribution and the realization of economic, social and cultural rights and the issue of justiciability of those rights.
At its forty-seventh session, the Subcommission endorsed the conclusion of experts Asbjorn Eide and Jose Bengoa (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1995/14) that the concentration of wealth constitutes a serious obstacle to the realization of human rights, and that equality of opportunity is an essential element for participating effectively in the development process and for obtaining a just share of the benefits deriving from it. At the present session, the
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Subcommission will have before it a progress report from the Special Rapporteur (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/14).
The Subcommission will also examine the working methods and activities of transnational corporations, based on a report of the Secretary-General (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/12).
Expected to be before the session is the final report of the Special Rapporteur on the impunity of perpetrators of violations of economic, social and cultural rights (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/15). Consideration of that matter may also take into account resolutions adopted by the Human Rights Commission at its last session concerning the realization of economic, social and cultural rights (resolutions 1996/9, 1996/11, 1996/12, 1996/13, 1996/14, and 1996/15).
Administration of Justice and Human Rights of Detainees
The administration of justice and the human rights of detainees will also be the focus of attention during the session. A revised set of basic principles and guidelines on the right to reparation for victims of gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law prepared by member Theo van Boven (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/17) is scheduled to be considered.
With regard to the question of impunity of perpetrators of violations of human rights, the Subcommission decided in 1991 to request experts El Hadji Guisse and Louis Joinet to study the subject. It subsequently requested the Special Rapporteurs to draft a study on the impunity of perpetrators of violations of human rights in order, in particular, to determine the scale of the phenomenon of impunity and to propose measures to combat that practice. Mr. Joinet, who has concentrated on impunity for violators of civil and political rights, has submitted his final report (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/18).
Other related topics to be examined by the Subcommission during the session are the privatization of prisons; the right to a fair trial; individualization of prosecution and penalties, and repercussions of violations of human rights on families, and independence and impartiality of the judiciary, jurors and assessors and the independence of lawyers. The forum will also have before it a list, updated annually, of countries which proclaim or terminate a state of emergency; and an annual report to the Commission containing reliably attested information on compliance with the rules, internal and international, guaranteeing the legality of the introduction of a state of emergency (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/19).
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Human Rights of Women
In 1994, the Subcommission decided to create a new agenda item entitled "The implementation of the human rights of women". Last year, it requested the Secretary-General to ask the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Commission on the Status of Women whether it would be desirable to have an advisory opinion on the value and legal effects of reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Secretary-General has submitted a report related to that request (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/20).
Human Rights and Scientific and Technological Developments
At its forty-fourth session, the Subcommission decided to consider the possibility of elaborating new human rights standards relating to scientific developments which could affect the mental condition or the genetic structure of human beings. The Commission, at its fifty-first session, considered a report of the Secretary-General on human rights and bioethics (document E/CN.4/1995/74) and requested the Sub-Commission to consider ways of ensuring that the life sciences develop in a manner fully respectful of human rights and to make recommendations to that effect. At the forthcoming session, the Subcommission will have before it a note by the Secretary-General (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1995/23) transmitting his report on rights and bioethics.
Discrimination against Indigenous People
The Subcommission will have before it the report of the fourteenth session of its Working Group on Indigenous Populations (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/21), which is focusing on health and indigenous people. The Working Group has met annually since its creation in 1982 to review developments relating to the promotion of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people and to give special attention to the evolution of standards concerning those rights. The Subcommission has adopted a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples which is being elaborated by an open-ended intersessional working group established by the Commission (see document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/84).
A related item also to be considered concerns protection of the heritage of indigenous people. A supplementary report of the Special Rapporteur is to be found in document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/22. The third progress report on the significance of treaties concluded between indigenous people and States will be issued as document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/23.
After proclaiming the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, which began on 10 December 1994, the General Assembly, in resolution 50/157, adopted a programme of activities for the Decade. The Commission welcomed the adoption of the programme, as well as the establishment by the
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Coordinator of the Decade, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ibrahima Fall, of an advisory body to provide guidance with regard to the projects and programmes financed from the Voluntary Fund for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. The first session of the advisory body was held from 29 April to 1 May.
The Subcommission will also continue to study the question of the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people within the United Nations system and the status of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations.
Contemporary Forms of Slavery
At its last session, the Subcommission adopted resolution 1995/16 on the report of its Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, which included a recommendation that the Commission designate an expert to investigate and prepare a study on allegations regarding the removal of organs and tissues of children and adults for commercial purposes.
The Human Rights Commission then requested the Secretary-General to examine the reliability of allegations regarding organ removal in order to enable it, at its fifty-third session, to decide upon possible follow-up on that matter, taking into account the recommendation of the Subcommission. The Commission also approved the draft programme of action for the prevention of the traffic in persons and the exploitation of the prostitution of others (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1995/28/Add.1). At this session the Subcommission will have before it the report of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery on its twenty-first session (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/24), which was held from 17 to 26 June.
The issue of sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography will also be considered during the session. Last year, the panel requested the Secretary-General to invite all States to continue to inform the Working Group on the matter of measures adopted to implement the Programme of Action for the Prevention of the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.
As for the exploitation of child labour and debt bondage, the Subcommission will have before it a report of the Secretary-General on measures taken by States to implement the Programme of Action on the Elimination of the Exploitation of Child Labour (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/25). The Subcommission may also consider a preliminary report from its newly appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of systematic rape, sexual slavery and slave-like practices during wartime, including internal conflict (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/26). The work of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, established in 1991, may also be discussed.
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Promotion, Protection and Restoration of Human Rights
Under its consideration of promotion, protection and restoration of human rights, the Subcommission is studying the prevention of discrimination against children. Last year it considered a report by the Secretary-General on the situation of children deprived of their liberty (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1995/30).
A report of the Secretary-General on human rights and disability is contained in document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/27. It concerns the coordination of activities of United Nations organizations and bodies which deal with alleged violations of the legal obligations of States under the International Bill of Rights and United Nations treaties that protect disabled persons.
Protection of Minorities
In 1995, the Commission decided to authorize the Subcommission to establish, initially for a three-year period, an intersessional working group to promote the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, as set out in the Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. The five-person working group on minorities has held two sessions so far: from 28 August to 1 September 1995 and from 29 April to 3 May this year. The Subcommission will have before it reports on both sessions (documents E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/2 and E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/28).
Other Items
In addition, the Subcommission will also conduct a comprehensive examination of thematic issues relating to racism, xenophobia, minorities and migrant workers (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/30); and discuss international peace and security as an essential condition for the enjoyment of human rights and implications of humanitarian activities for enjoyment of human rights.
Subcommission Membership
The following are members and alternates (*) of the Subcommission: Miguel Alfonso Martínez, *Marianela Ferriol Echevarría (Cuba); Mohammed Sardar Ali Khan (India); Judith Sefi Attah, *Christy Ezim Mbonu (Nigeria); José Bengoa (Chile); Marc Bossuyt, *Guy Genot (Belgium); Volodymr Boutkevitch, *Oleg Shamshur (Ukraine); Stanislav V. Chernichenko, *Teimuraz O. Ramishvili (Russian Federation); Erica-Irene A. Daes, *Kalliopi Koufa (Greece); Asbjorn Eide, *Jan Helgesen (Norway); Osman El-Hajje (Lebanon); Fan Guoxiang, *Zhong Shukong (China); Clemencia Forero Ucros, *Alberto Díaz Uribe (Colombia); El Hadji Guissé, *Ndary Toure (Senegal); Lucy Gwanmesia (Cameroon); Ribot Hatano, *Yozo Yokota (Japan); Louis Joinet, *Emmanuel Decaux (France); Ahmed Khalifa, *Ahmed Khalil (Egypt); Miguel Limón Rojas, *Héctor Fix Zamudio (Mexico); José
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Augusto Lindgren Alves, *Marília S. Zelner Gonçalves (Brazil); Ioan Maxim, *Antoanella Iulia Motoc (Romania); Mustapha Mehedi (Algeria); Claire Palley, *John Merrills (United Kingdom); Sang Yong Park, *Myung Chul Hahm (Republic of Korea); Halima Embarek Warzazi (Morocco); David Weissbrodt, *Gay J. McDougall (United States); and Fisseha Yimer (Ethiopia).
Subcommission Working Groups and Chairpersons
The Subcommission's working groups are the following: Working Group on Indigenous Populations (Erica-Irene Daes, Chairman); Working Group on Minorities (Asbjorn Eide, Chairman); Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (Halima E. Warzazi, Chairman); Working Group on Communications; and Working Group on the Administration of Justice and the Question of Compensation.
Subcommission Special Rapporteurs
The Subcommission has the following special rapporteurs:
-- Special Rapporteur on the ownership and control of the cultural property of indigenous peoples: Erica-Irene Daes;
-- Special Rapporteur on the significance of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous peoples: Miguel Alfonso Martínez;
-- Special Rapporteur on slavery and slavery-like practices during wartime: Linda Chavez;
-- Special Rapporteur on the impunity of perpetrators of human rights violations (civil and political rights): Louis Joinet;
-- Special Rapporteur on the impunity of perpetrators of human rights violations (economic, social and cultural rights): El-Hadj Guissé;
-- Special Rapporteur on human rights and states of emergency: Leandro Despouy;
-- Special Rapporteur on human rights and extreme poverty: Mr. Despouy;
-- Special Rapporteur on the relationship between the enjoyment of human rights and income distribution: José Bengoa; and
-- Special Rapporteur on human rights and population transfers: Awn Al-Khasawneh.
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