STATES MUST BE HONEST ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, ACCEPT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, THIRD COMMITTEE TOLD IN RIGHTS DEBATE

Press Release
GA/SHC/3400

STATES MUST BE HONEST ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS, ACCEPT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, THIRD COMMITTEE TOLD IN RIGHTS DEBATE

States must be honest about their human rights situations and be willing to accept constructive criticism from others, such as the Special Rapporteurs on human rights and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, according to the representative of the Marshall Islands.

Addressing the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this morning as it continued its general debate on human rights issues, she said there could be no justification for the denial of basic human rights. Cultural or historical difference, lack of economic development, State sovereignty or any other circumstances could never be used as an excuse to deny individuals the basic precepts of human dignity.

Calling attention to human rights problems in developed countries, the representative of Cuba said the United States provided the most flagrant violation and disdain of human dignity in a developed and wealthy model. The "American dream" continued to be a tragic nightmare for vast sectors of its population. The country could not conceal the grave injustice, extreme inequality and open discrimination against millions of Afro-Americans, Latin Americans, Asians and its own indigenous people.

There was clear evidence of human rights violations in the United States judiciary and penal systems, he continued. According to information provided by the United States Justice Department, the incarceration of blacks was six times that of whites. If that trend continued, by the year 2010 the majority of Afro-American men between 18 and 40 years of age would be in prisons or re-education camps.

There was a tendency to confuse symptoms of underdevelopment with conscious human rights violations and a reluctance to address the root causes of underdevelopment, according to the representative of India. Developing countries, which safeguarded human rights and democracy, deserved to be supported and encouraged. He called for cooperative dialogue and assistance

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to build confidence, trust and impartiality amongst nations. Governments should eschew confrontation, self-serving criticism, coercion and the politicization of human rights.

The representatives of Syria and New Zealand and the observer for Palestine also made statements.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to conclude its joint consideration of human rights questions, including follow-up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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, 3393 of 18 November, 3395 of 19 November, 3397 of 20 November and 3399 of 21 November.)

Statements

PRAKASH SHAH (India) said he was disappointed that last year had not seen much improvement in the human rights situation in a large number of countries. Some countries continued to violate civil and political rights while some others refused to recognize economic rights. The principle of "universality, individuality, and interdependence and interrelatedness" so central to the Vienna Declaration were used to accentuate a partial or particular cluster of human rights concerns over others. Concretely, developing countries, particularly those who spoke for the right to development, were accused of emphasizing economic or developmental rights at the expense of civil and political rights when no such prioritization was intended. Countries in the developing world which practised and safeguarded democracy and human rights under much more difficult circumstances deserved to be supported and encouraged. There was a tendency to confuse symptoms of underdevelopment in developing countries with conscious human rights violations and a reluctance to address the root causes of such under- development by global structural reforms, financial flows, technological transfers and trade access for developing countries.

Development might not be a sufficient condition for the full enjoyment of human rights, but it was an enabling condition. In India, despite the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment, a vast population and a multi- religious, multilinguistic and multi-cultural society had pursued democracy and development hand in hand, and not one at the expense of the other.

He said in many multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies, the social fabric of coexistence and conviviality had been built up slowly and patiently over centuries. Care must be taken when pursuing the legitimate promotion of human rights not to disturb or disrupt the delicate balance. If common goals were to be achieved, the world must promote cooperation, dialogue and assistance to build trust and confidence in fairness and impartiality amongst nations and to eschew confrontation and self-serving criticism, coercion or the politicization of human rights. While democracy provided the best political framework to safeguard human rights, social and economic rights were essential to enable people to live a life of dignity. Democratization demanded development. The right to food, shelter and clothing was as

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important as the right to vote. Tolerance and the study of other cultures should be taught to children in all countries at an early age. Pluralism, another key concept, involved the willingness to treat all diversity and all individuals on the same footing in law and in political and economic life.

SOMAIA BARGHOUTI, Observer for Palestine, said the worst human rights violations were those committed collectively against a whole people or a group, race or ethnicity. In the forefront of that was the imposition of foreign occupation, deprivation of the right to self-determination, different forms of collective punishment and the seizure of a people's natural resources and wealth. All those abuses accurately described the violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people by Israel, the occupying Power.

There were also all kinds of individual human rights violations against the Palestinian people, including: detention, imprisonment, summary executions, assassination, obstruction of movement and obstruction of the means of livelihood. Such policies and practices only led to dangerous consequences adversely affecting the peace process and threatening its existence.

She said it was shameful that Israel had consistently refused to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory. It was imperative for the Rapporteur to remain within the mandate given to him by the Commission. Israel remains the occupying Power and the Fourth Geneva Convention was applicable to all the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem.

The Palestinian people had not given up on the peace process. They were committed to it and continued to hope that soon the impasse would end and the situation on the ground would change drastically and positively, so the Palestinian people would experience a genuine change in their human rights situation and their living conditions.

JUAN ANTONIO FERNANDEZ (Cuba) said it was amazing that some countries were trying to re-interpret the very essence of the right to development, as if the main obstacle to that right was not the persistence of an unfair international economic, political and social order. Could the wealthy countries speak, without embarrassment, of human rights while destroying food surpluses to defend prices and markets? Cuba reiterated its support to the work done by the High Commissioner and to the efforts he makes to strengthen, rationalize and simplify the United Nations human rights machinery. He hoped the General Assembly would have the opportunity to advance in considering the proposal on the restructuring of the Centre for Human Rights, taking account of the views of all Member States.

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Human rights situations by countries is still a scenario loaded with rhetoric, with unfair selectivity, undesired politicization, and lack of objectivity. According to some delegations of the North, the Committee's work had nothing to do with the current situation in that part of the world, whereas attempts were made to teach the countries of the South lessons of civility and politeness. There were human rights violations which were cause for concern in Europe, where there were more than 300,000 people in prison, among them political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. Those who intended to teach Cuba lessons of tolerance did not hesitate to apply severe sanctions for alleged jeopardy of the constitutional order and public security, while the situation of their prisons left much to be desired, with frequent denunciations of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading sanctions or treatment. Canada's impressive economic development had not benefited its native peoples who were at the bottom of the social scale, with the lowest national indices in such areas as education, employment opportunities, health and social security. In Japan and Australia, while there had been progress in their treatment of minority groups, he urged a closer cooperation with the United Nations mechanisms in human rights matters, particularly with the Sub-Committee for the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.

He said "closer to home", the United States provided the most flagrant violation and disdain of human dignity in a developed and wealthy model. The "American dream" continued to be a tragic nightmare for vast sectors of its population, in a society that could not conceal the gravest acts of injustice, extreme inequality, and open discrimination against millions of Afro- Americans, Latin Americans, Asians, and its own indigenous people, as well as other millions of people for whom the right to have food, to housing, to health and education was nothing but an unattainable chimera. But the most representative instance of the real situation of human rights in the United States is that offered by its judiciary and penal system. More than 1.2 million people fill its prisons, the highest incarceration rate and the largest juvenile penal system in the world.

According to information provided by the United States Justice Department, the incarceration rate of blacks is six times that of whites. If that trend continued by the year 2010 a majority of Afro-American men between 18 and 40 years of age would be in prisons or re-education camps. Experts have also denounced the existence of a different racial pattern in applying the death penalty. The United States judiciary system was one of the most repressive in the world. That repression is particularly strong upon minorities and upon the most unfavoured groups. But those realities were not denounced in the Committee, nor were they examined with the proper rigour by the so-called great media in developed countries.

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FAYSSAL MEKDAD (Syria) said each people had its history, and every country had its heritage and culture. Through dialogue and free cooperation, different peoples and nations could be brought together and their common concepts could be brought in line within an international framework. The international community should treat human rights in a comprehensive and just manner without double standards, and all national and regional peculiarities should be taken into consideration. His Government accorded special attention to guaranteeing economic, social and cultural rights for the human person, and this position was entrenched in the constitution. The democratic process in Syria, which was moving steadily, abided by international instruments, and its citizens exercised democratic rights within a system of economic, social and cultural pluralism. His Government also accorded special interest to the rights and role of women in society, because it could not prosper unless women were given the means to fulfil their role.

The utilization of human rights to achieve specific political interests, and without the slightest real interest in the promotion and protection of human rights, was one of the gravest threats to the world today, he said. Human rights were interdependent and interrelated, so it was strange that Israel could speak of human rights when it had occupied the territories of others for more than 30 years and had disrupted the human rights of millions of people. In addition to exercising the terror of State to repress the rights of Arab citizens in the occupied territories, Israel also insisted on using the word "terrorist" in describing those who resisted occupation and attempted to restore their fundamental freedoms. The occupying authorities violated the rights of Arab citizens to development, thought and expression.

NEIJON EDWARDS (Marshall Islands) said no State could claim perfection in its human rights record, and all States were equally aware that the path to guaranteeing the full range of human rights was often filled with obstacles. None the less, her Government felt strongly that there could be no justification for the denial of basic human rights. Cultural or historical difference, lack of economic development, State sovereignty or any other circumstances could never be used as an excuse to deny individuals the basic precepts of human dignity. States must be totally honest about their human rights situations and be willing to take a hard, critical look at the manner in which their governments were trying to make a positive difference in the observance of the human rights of all its citizens. It also meant that States must accept constructive criticism from others, such as the Special Rapporteurs on human rights and the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Democracy provided the best atmosphere for the promotion of human rights, she said. When citizens were given a voice, their conceptions of human rights ultimately rose and became institutionalized. This had taken place not only in the Marshall Islands but recently throughout many nations in the world. The Marshall Islands Constitution enshrined many of the principles contained in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Her Government

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believed that those principles were not imposed on it from the outside world, but rather they reflected the desires of its citizens. It was also the most effective way to combine human rights principles with tradition and culture, because citizens were the best judge of how international concepts could be applied to their particular circumstances.

MICHAEL POWLES (New Zealand) spoke about the human rights situation in Nigeria, Myanmar, Iraq, Afghanistan and Cambodia. He said his Government was concerned that the massive population movements in the Great Lakes region, as well as the continuing fighting, posed a threat to the human rights of citizens in Burundi, Rwanda and Zaire especially vulnerable groups such as refugees.

New Zealand welcomed the successful meeting of the First Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop of National Human Rights Institutions held in Darwin, Australia, this year which agreed to establish an informal human rights regional forum. The initiative was an important step towards developing regional human rights discussion and cooperation. New Zealand's involvement in the initiative illustrated its active interest in promoting strong national human rights institutions, especially in its own region.

He said his Government supported a constructive role for national human rights institutions at the Commission on Human Rights and saw the encouragement of strong national human rights institutions as a practical way to contribute to the wider promotion of human rights. A number of countries in the region had recently established institutions, or were in the process of doing so. New Zealand supported efforts to strengthen national human rights institutions through its financial contributions to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights. Also relevant was the increasing range of good governance projects and activities under our Overseas Development Assistance programme, which strengthened legal and administrative frameworks in regional countries in a way that encouraged fairness, justice and respect for human rights. It was New Zealand's aim that development of such human rights initiatives -- at the national, bilateral, regional and global levels -- would result in the subject of human rights becoming less an area of discord and disagreement, and increasingly one of cooperation and interaction.

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