MASSIVE REFUGEE FLOWS TO RWANDA WOULD NOT END REGION'S HUMAN RIGHTS PROBLEMS NORWAY TELLS THIRD COMMITTEE

19 November 1996

Press Release
GA/SHC/3395

MASSIVE REFUGEE FLOWS TO RWANDA WOULD NOT END REGION'S HUMAN RIGHTS PROBLEMS NORWAY TELLS THIRD COMMITTEE

19961119 Committee Continues Human Rights Discussion, Hears Introduction of Two Draft Texts on Human Rights Issues

The international community should not be under the illusion that the massive flow of refugees from eastern Zaire back to Rwanda would bring an end to the human rights problems in the region, the representative of Norway told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this morning in its continuing discussion of human rights questions.

Securing a safe repatriation for the refugees, as well as solving the problems of justice and reconciliation, still remained, he continued. The Rwandan authorities would need international assistance to cope with those legal processes and solve the problems of already overcrowded prison conditions in the country.

Several speakers this morning addressed the relation between development and the protection and promotion of human rights. The representative of Venezuela said her Government supported the establishment of a group of inter- governmental experts with a mandate to promote the right to development. The group would work to identify difficulties and define specific measures and activities which would enable States to overcome obstacles to social development.

The representative of Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said the most important human rights development was the recent acknowledgement in the United Nations that the right to development was a human right. The eradication of poverty was fundamental to reinforcing peace and achieving sustainable development, which were the prerequisites for the proper enjoyment of basic human rights.

Repression was not the price to be paid for development, according to the representative of Canada. Some governments maintained that human rights were a luxury that only wealthy countries could afford, but that was not so. Human rights and fundamental freedoms were inalienable for rich and poor alike, and they were the only sure foundation for stability and long-term economic development.

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Also this morning, the representative of Poland introduced a draft resolution on the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the representative of Canada introduced a draft resolution on the implementation of human rights.

Statements were also made by Iraq, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, Bahrain and Malta. The Observer for the Holy See also spoke.

The Committee will meet again today at 3 p.m. to continue its general debate on human rights issues.

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to continue its general debate on human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. (For further background information, see Press Releases GA/SHC/3388 of 13 November, 3390 of 14 November, 3391 and 3392 of 15 November and 3393 of 18 November.)

A draft resolution on the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration on Human Rights and another text on the implementation of human rights instruments were scheduled to be introduced.

The Committee has before it the Secretary-General's report on the situation of human rights in southern Lebanon and Western Bekaa (document A/51/507) which concerns Commission on Human Rights resolution 1996/68 of 23 April 1996. In paragraph 6 of that resolution, the Commission requests the Secretary-General to bring the resolution to the attention of the Government of Israel and to invite it to provide information concerning the extent of its implementation thereof. On 28 May 1996, the Secretary-General addressed a note verbale to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel. No reply had been received at the time of the preparation of the report.

The report of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in Kosovo (document A/51/556) recalls General Assembly resolution 50/190 of December 1995 by which the Secretary-General was requested to seek ways to establish an adequate international monitoring presence in the province of Kosovo in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). In April 1996, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1996/71 by which it called on that country to ensure full access to its territory and institutions concerning implementation of the resolution. The Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities had in 1996 adopted resolution 1996/8 which reiterates the above-mentioned request by the Assembly.

The report states that the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia declined repeated requests for the establishment of a United Nations human rights field presence in the territory, because of the "one- sided, unbalanced and tendentious" reports of the Special Rapporteur. With the appointment of a new Special Rapporteur in September 1995, upon the resignation of the former, the Government approved the request and the Centre for Human Rights opened in Belgrade in March 1996.

According to the report, the Special Rapporteur, Elisabeth Rehn, has visited the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia four times, and travelled to the area of Kosovo twice. Also, the staff of the Centre visited Kosovo to gather information for the Special Rapporteur's use. The Special Rapporteur met with

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the President of the Republic of Serbia and other senior governmental officials, as well as persons and non-governmental organizations concerned with human rights issues. The Special Rapporteur reported cooperation from all parties, and that neither she nor the Centre's staff had noted significant problems during the last year in moving throughout the country to gather human rights information.

The report then turns to access by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)/Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In 1992, the CSCE established a long-term mission. Its mandate was to promote dialogue between authorities and community representatives in the regions of Kosovo, Sandjak, and Vojvodina; collect information about violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and promote solutions to such problems; establish contact points for solving newly identified problems; and assist in providing information on legislation relevant to the protection of human rights, minorities, free media and democratic elections.

For 10 months the mission in Kosovo carried out its mandate with the formal consent and support of the authorities, according to the report. However, following the elections in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of December 1992, and its exclusion from the CSCE membership, the Government withdrew its formal consent for the mandate. The mission therefore departed in July 1993. Despite repeated requests by the CSCE/OSCE and the Assembly to reinstate the monitoring mission, the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has consistently denied access.

By the terms of a draft resolution before the Committee on the effective implementation of international instruments of human rights, including reporting obligations under international instruments on human rights, (document A/C.3/51/L.34), the General Assembly would emphasize the need to ensure financing, adequate staff and information resources for the treaty bodies. It would call on the Secretary-General to seek resources to give them adequate administrative support, technical expertise and appropriate databases and on-line information services.

The Assembly would urge treaty bodies to continue examining ways to reduce the duplication of reporting and generally reduce the reporting burden on Member States. In order to identify duplication, the Assembly would ask the Secretary-General to prepare, within existing resources, a study comparing the provisions of the following treaties: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

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The Assembly would also express concern about the large number of overdue reports, the increasing backlog of States parties' reports and delays in considering them. It would urge States parties to make every effort to meet their reporting obligations. It would also urge States parties to give priority to addressing non-compliance with reporting obligations. The Assembly would also urge States parties whose reports have been examined to provide adequate follow-up. The High Commissioner for Human Rights would be asked to ensure the revised Manual on Human Rights Reporting was available in all official languages at the earliest opportunity.

A text on the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (document A/C.3/51/L.35) would have the Assembly decide to convene, during its fifty-third session, a ceremonial one-day meeting on 10 December and to review during its fifty-second session preparations for the anniversary. The High Commissioner would be asked to continue coordinating preparations.

The Assembly would call on United Nations organs and agencies to mark the anniversary by intensifying their contributions to system-wide efforts to promote and protect human rights. It would also invite governments to assess progress in the field of human rights since the Declaration's adoption and develop educational and information programmes. It would invite non- governmental organizations and national institutions to participate in anniversary preparations and to intensify their campaign for greater understanding and better use of the Declaration.

Statements

MOHAMMED ABDULLA M. AL-HUMAIMIDI (Iraq) said there was no doubt that the object in presenting the human rights reports currently before the Committee was to arrive at the best means to promote the enjoyment of human rights everywhere in the world. The mechanisms set forward by the United Nations for the promotion and protection of human rights, including working groups and special rapporteurs, must lead to the same objective. For these mechanisms to undertake their work effectively, those involved must address human rights with objectivity, neutrality and free from political motives. Unfortunately, some special rapporteurs did not meet these requirements and fell victim to unreliable information or depended on non-objective information. The special rapporteurs needed to be committed to specific, objective criteria when undertaking responsibilities under their special mandate.

The no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq were imposed, it was said at the time, to protect human rights, he said. However, the situation on the ground ran counter to this statement. Recent events in northern Iraq, the missile attack waged by the United States on 3 and 4 September and the expansion of the no-fly zone, had exposed the falsehoods of these declarations. They were intended to protect the interests of the United

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States. The no-fly zone and the economic embargo had nothing to do with human rights and did not depend on any legal justification, let alone an international decision. They represented an obstacle to realization of tangible democratic national progress in Iraq.

The suffering inflicted upon Iraqi citizens because of the embargo had arrived at a certain point that could no longer be ignored and was infringing on their political, social and cultural rights, he said. International organizations had provided documented reports about the human suffering inflicted on the people of Iraq by the continuing embargo. Some of the States who insisted on maintaining the embargo tried to forgo their responsibility by raising allegations which held the Government of Iraq responsible for the suffering of its people. But these allegations have been exposed as nothing but falsehoods. The basic needs of the civilian population were not being met and would worsen as the embargo continued, and this ran counter to the promotion of basic human rights and to the Charter and the two human rights covenants.

BETTY RUSSELL (Barbados), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said perhaps the most important development in the field of human rights in the United Nations was the acknowledgement that the right to development was a human right. The emphasis on development had revitalized efforts on the part of the international community to tackle poverty and its causes, and the 1990s had seen poverty eradication become a major goal of the United Nations. Extreme poverty offended the most basic values of the Charter of the United Nations, and it was now widely recognized that the eradication of poverty was fundamental to reinforcing peace and achieving sustainable development, which were the basic prerequisites for the proper enjoyment of human rights.

Similarly, she saw the importance of ensuring the equal status of women and of the girl-child had been defined in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the Beijing Platform for Action. The implementation of these instruments should further create the atmosphere for the global practice of human rights. The CARICOM countries reaffirmed their commitment to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action which urged the universal ratification of human rights treaties.

Several reports by special rapporteurs and representatives sadly attested to the fact that human rights violations still existed in many parts of the world, she said. Recently, global attention had been focused on the horrendous situation developing in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The CARICOM countries hoped that the international community would remain vigilant until order and normalcy were restored in that part of the world. In their part of the world, CARICOM continued to closely monitor events in Haiti. The CARICOM was pleased with the considerable improvement in the situation of human rights in Haiti and the policy statements by Haitian authorities that

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they remained committed to upholding human rights and improving accountability. It would be a tragedy if the gains made in Haiti were lost through a premature curtailment of the International Civilian Mission to Haiti. Haiti would continue to need the international community's support, particularly in the areas of training the Haitian police force and strengthening the judicial system.

CARLOS MOREIRA GARCIA (Brazil) said the reaffirmation in Vienna in 1993 of the universality of human rights was an extraordinary example of international cooperation. However, some democratic and autocratic governments had resorted to shielding their countries from international monitoring, invoking national traditions and creeds, while others attached importance mainly to political and civil rights. National governments would continue to play an essential role in implementing international human rights standards. Nevertheless, some lacked the material and human resources to enforce those standards. The United Nations had a key role in channelling international technical and financial cooperation to those Member States in an effort to build effective institutions for strengthening democracy, the rule of law and the administration of justice. His Government attached great importance to the work of the Centre for Human Rights and to enhancing its capacity to provide assistance. Its proposed restructuring by the High Commissioner for Human Rights would enable the Centre to respond effectively to its growing challenges.

Brazil was the only country, after Australia, to comply with a recommendation of the Vienna Conference that countries should discuss and adopt a national plan of action on human rights, he continued. Its plan, which was adopted on 13 March, included 168 proposals, from legislation to law enforcement guidelines to social programmes. Its objective was to identify obstacles to the enjoyment of human rights, possible ways to overcome them and concrete steps such as renewed police training methods, a witness protection programme and assistance to victims of violent crimes. Other measures included the transfer of competence to civilian judges to try military police crimes and federal investigation of human rights violations. The special protection of the most vulnerable groups was given priority, as in the campaign against sexual exploitation and the forced labour of children, the programme of integrated health care for the indigenous population, and the initiatives on special health concerns of the Black population. State responsibility for the death of persons under detention in the 1960s and 1970s was formally recognized by law. Many cases had already been examined by a commission in charge of reviewing them, and indemnities paid to the surviving relatives.

ADRIANA PULIDO-SANTANA (Venezuela) said the intensive and fruitful activity by the United Nations in the field of rights was a major contribution to peace and development. In Venezuela, there had been efforts to strengthen national institutions to respond to various violations of human rights. In

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order to promote close cooperation in this area, the Government sent formal invitations to governmental and non-governmental organizations to visit various penitentiaries in the country and to witness the various difficulties. There was a clear awareness of the difficulties that had arisen in the current climate of economic and social crises which could lead to violations of human rights. However, there was also a true determination in the State to develop mechanisms that would prevent those violations, including reforms in the legal and penal organizations. Some positive results had been seen, although the process would ultimately be a slow one. Recently, the Government established the National Commission on Human Rights to make recommendations to the national executive branch on matters to further improve the internal human rights situations.

While her Government realized that no development model was universally applicable to all cultures and peoples, any model must be adapted to universal instruments and standards, she said. To this end, cooperation must be established between the Government and the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Health Organization (WHO), whose work was essential to the enjoyment of human rights. Venezuela supported the establishment of a group of inter- governmental experts with a mandate to promote the right to development. It was hoped that this group would work to identify difficulties and define specific measures and activities which would enable States to overcome obstacles to social development.

RENATO R. MARTINO, Observer for the Holy See, said progress had been made in many countries following the vast political changes that had occurred during the last five years in Central and Eastern Europe. The number of countries holding official, ideologically inspired policies of religious persecution or repression had notably diminished. It was hoped that such progress would extend to all other parts of the world. The Holy See reminded the international community that it was the special duty of governments to promote and protect the freedom of religion. In doing so, government must not act in arbitrary fashion or in an unfair spirit of partisanship. Freedom of religion should not be confused with freedom from religion, which was the result of an exaggerated and distorted separation of Church and State.

One of the principal causes of intolerance was the fear of differences, he said. The Holy See regretted that in too many religions believers were still subjected to discrimination, often at the hands of officials whose countries' constitutions recognized the right to liberty and to freedom of conscience. There also existed instances where some governments, professing a particular religion, and whose co-believers enjoyed full freedom of worship and religious education within their boundaries and abroad, had denied similar rights to members of other religions who lived in their country. Tolerance acknowledged that the search for truth, and specifically religious truth, was a fundamental right and duty of every person. And, in keeping with the very nature of the human being, this search for truth must enjoy immunity from all forms of coercion.

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PER HAUGESTAD (Norway) said the international community should be under no illusion that the massive flow of refugees from eastern Zaire back to Rwanda would bring an end to the huge human rights problems in the region. There was still the problem of securing a safe repatriation for the refugees, as well as the questions of justice and reconciliation after the genocide of two years ago. The Rwandan authorities would certainly need major international assistance to cope with those legal processes and solve the problems of already overcrowded prison conditions in the country. The military coup in Burundi last summer obviously had not improved the human rights security situation there. Quite the contrary, it had only caused the people in that country even more pain and suffering.

The world community was faced with the victims of a human rights system that had failed partly because the responsible governments were incapable of upholding their obligations and partly because the atrocities were carried out by non-governmental organizations who refused to pay heed to the fundamental rights of individuals. A recent international workshop held in Cape Town, South Africa, on minimum humanitarian standards concluded that there was an urgent need to protect those who were exposed to extreme sufferings from lack of sufficient protection. The numerous ongoing conflicts throughout the world bore witness to the urgent need for basic human rights protection. Neither the human rights instruments nor international humanitarian law -- separately or jointly -- could provide individuals or groups of people full protection from violence, assault, disgrace, hunger and lack of shelter. There should be a compilation of standards of humanity which were applicable in all circumstances and which must be respected by all parties to conflicts -- by individuals and groups, as well as governments.

LEONARD LEGAULT (Canada) said human rights violations did not occur in a vacuum. They occurred in specific countries and, unhappily, in all too many countries. The commitment to human rights meant nothing if the situations in these countries were not addressed, and Member States failed in their obligations if they did not do so. He then addressed the human rights situations in Burma, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Burundi, the former Yugoslavia, Cuba, China, Indonesia, East Timor, Sri Lanka, Chechnya, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, Rwanda, Zaire, Pakistan, India, Haiti and El Salvador.

Some governments maintained that human rights were a luxury that only wealthy countries could afford, but that was not so, he said. Repression was not the price to be paid for development. Human rights and fundamental freedoms were inalienable for rich and poor alike, and they were the only sure foundation for stability and long-term economic development.

Human rights abuses were committed not only by States, but also by guerilla or rebel forces or paramilitary organizations, he said. Difficult internal situations, however, did not absolve States of their responsibility to comply with human rights standards. It was the duty of States to break the destructive cycles of violence and to foster a climate of respect for human rights. His Government did not mean to play politics, nor did it intend to interfere in the affairs of others. The dignity of the human person was

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beyond politics, and human rights everywhere were everyone's affair. Canada's only objective was to promote universal respect for universal standards.

TRIVIMI VELLISTE (Estonia) said while the Russian Federation had informed the Committee yesterday of its intention to table a resolution on Estonia and Latvia, it was his Government's understanding that neither the Commission on Human Rights nor the Economic and Social Council had made any decisions concerning this question or directed the attention of the Committee to this matter. Furthermore, several delegations had expressed their understanding that the question had received adequate coverage and that no further consideration was necessary. While Estonia certainly recognized the right of any Member State to bring to the attention of the Committee issues of concern, it was surprised that the only issue of concern of the Russian Federation appeared to be the situation in two small countries. It appeared that the entire thrust of the allegations made by the Russian Federation was based upon the fundamental premise that Estonia was a successor State to the former Soviet Union. However, that premise was false, and everything in its statement that followed that premise was equally false.

Estonia prided itself on being an open and democratic civil society and, therefore, viewed the allegations against it as part of a cynical campaign to preserve the Russian influence in these areas. The times had passed when unfounded allegations could be used for such purposes. If one's domestic legislation conformed to international norms and standards, then a campaign to have it changed was a gross interference in the internal affairs of a State and had nothing to do with human rights. His Government's openness and transparency to outside critical examination had been amply demonstrated by the fact that over two dozen fact-finding missions had visited Estonia to investigate the allegations of human rights violations. The Government had welcomed all missions in order to insure that its legislation and human rights practices conformed to international standards to demonstrate the fallacy of the allegations.

Mr. AL-DOUSERI (Bahrain), referring to the remarks by the representative of Australia last week, said the United Nations human rights machinery must be guided by impartiality and accusations should not be levelled at States. He said Member States should avoid mentioning the names of countries sent to the Special Rapporteur and alleged to have committed human rights violations. He hoped there would not be a precedent set in the sound argument on which those principles were based.

VICTOR PACE (Malta) said he wished to associate his delegation with the comments made yesterday by Ireland on behalf of the European Union.

Introduction of Draft Resolutions

The representative of Canada introduced the draft resolution and read out the following revisions:

-- In operative paragraph 4, second line, insert "render more transparent" after the word "rationalizing";

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-- In operative paragraph 6, the words "in accordance with his mandate" should be inserted after "United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees";

-- In operative paragraph 15, "to be provided at the request of the State concerned" should be added after the words "assistance of";

-- In operative paragraph 18, "coordination and" should be inserted between the words "enhance" and "cooperation";

-- A new operative paragraph 19 (bis) should read as follows:

"recalls, with regard to the election of the members of the human treaty bodies, the importance of giving consideration to the equitable geographical distribution of membership and to the representation of the principal legal systems, and of bearing in mind that the members shall be elected and serve in their personal capacity and shall be of high moral character and recognized competence in the fields of human rights";

-- In operative paragraph 21, the words "taking measures that would facilitate" should be replaced by "opportunities for".

The representative of Poland introduced a resolution on the effective implementation of international instruments on human rights, including reporting obligations, and read out the following revisions:

-- In the third preambular paragraph, the rest of the paragraph after "human rights" should be deleted;

-- In the fourth preambular paragraph, the words "fundamental human rights" should be replaced by "human rights and fundamental freedoms";

-- A fifth preambular paragraph (bis) should read: "recalling its decision of 48/416 of 10 December 1993 in which the General Assembly decided to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-third session an item entitled "Fiftieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights";

-- A new operative paragraph 6 (bis) should read: "requests the Secretary-General to include in his proposed programme budget for the biennium 1998-1999 appropriate activities to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration";

-- Operative paragraph 7 is divided into two separate paragraphs. In operative paragraph 7, replace the words "a ceremonial" by "plenary" and after "1998" add the words "to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights";

-- Operative paragraph 7 (bis) should read "decides to review during the fifty-second session the state of preparations for the anniversary and to consider appropriate measures in this regard, including its own contributions".

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