HUMAN RIGHTS DAY OBSERVED AT HEADQUARTERS WITH DAY-LONG PANEL DISCUSSION ON WIDE RANGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
Press Release
HR/4318
PI/984
HUMAN RIGHTS DAY OBSERVED AT HEADQUARTERS WITH DAY-LONG PANEL DISCUSSION ON WIDE RANGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
19961212 Secretary-General, High Commissioner for Human Rights Address Session; Panel Themes: Accountability, Impunity in Civil Strife; Right to DevelopmentThe fight against poverty should be an integral part of development, democratization and human rights efforts, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros- Ghali said today, as he opened a Headquarters observance of Human Rights Day organized by the Department of Public Information, in cooperation with the Centre for Human Rights, which featured two panel discussions.
Every human being, regardless of race, sex, language, religion or class, was entitled to the full enjoyment of human rights, the Secretary-General said. Such rights, however, extended beyond the political and legal. The commitment of the United Nations to lasting development required that the international community upheld and promoted fundamental economic and social rights, such as the right to food, shelter, employment, education and health care.
In a statement delivered on his behalf, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala-Lasso, said more than 1 billion people continued to live in poverty, while some 500 million children had no access to primary education. Stressing that widespread poverty inhibited the effective enjoyment of human rights, he asked for the constructive engagement of States, intergovernmental organizations, academic communities, as well as non-governmental organizations in the effective promotion of human rights. It was a moral obligation to ensure that all human beings enjoyed their basic rights to food, health, shelter, education and social services, he said.
Speaking in the morning panel on "Accountability and Impunity in Civil Strife", a Judge on the International Tribunal for Rwanda, Navanethem Pillay, said if the process of establishing accountability for human rights violations through international tribunals succeeded, a clear message would be sent that war crimes would not be tolerated. The Counsel for the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, Binaifer Nowrojee, however, expressed concern that the International Tribunal for Rwanda had overlooked rape as a crime, which would send a devastating message to African women. Also participating in the
morning panel discussion were: the Assistant Secretary-General, Department of Political Affairs, Alvaro de Soto; and the Special Rapporteur on the elimination of contemporary forms of racism, Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo.
In the afternoon panel, on "The right to development: Is poverty an abuse of human rights?", the Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Ofelia Calcetas-Santos, drew attention to the sexual exploitation of children, which she said could most often be traced to poverty. The Director, Asia Division of Human Rights Watch, Sydney Jones, said extreme abuse was experienced by migrants working as domestics and construction labourers since they did not belong to unions and were not protected by rights, and she stressed the need for ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers. Also participating in the panel were: the Director, Office of Development Studies of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Inge Kaul; and the Programme Coordinator for Africa, Committee to Protect Journalists, Kakuna Kerina.
The panel discussions were moderated by Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the National Correspondent for the "News Hour with Jim Lehrer". Introductory remarks were made by the Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information, Samir Sanbar, who introduced the Secretary-General and the panelists.
Statement by Secretary-General
In an opening statement, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said that the noble goals of a desire to live in peace, enjoy basic freedoms and to live in dignity, free from government coercion and interference remained remote and unattainable for too many of the world's citizens. In too many parts of the world, human rights were threatened by war, civil strife and repression. Abuse of government authority was not simply a problem confined to countries in the least developed world. Established democracies should be permanently on their guard against the loss of liberties and the erosion of individual rights.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi and Rwanda, the world had watched in horror as the grim reality of modern civil conflict unfolded daily on television screens, he continued. The victims were too often the innocent, the old, the sick and children. The Graca Machel report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children had brought to the world's attention the growing plight of the youngest victims of war. The report emphasized what had been known at the United Nations for many years, that war robbed children of the right to life, to be with family and community, to health and the right to proper physical and psychological development. In short, it robbed them of their right to childhood.
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The challenge facing the international community today was to do more to raise the profile of human rights issues around the world, and to meet the concerns raised in the Machel report, he said. That goal would not be easy. There would always be those who sought to sacrifice individual freedoms in the name of collective advance and progress; those who rode roughshod over human rights in the pursuit or exercise of power. There would always be those for whom racial, tribal or religious enmity provided justification for gross human rights abuses, war and even genocide.
Despite the best intentions and efforts, rights and freedoms would continue to be threatened by war and armed conflict, he said. The task today was to ensure that those challenges were addressed swiftly and effectively. The United Nations, for its part, had worked hard over the last 50 years to develop a comprehensive framework for the protection of human rights. It had established precise international human rights standards and had created ways and means of improving respect for human rights within its Member States. Where necessary and possible, it had intervened to protect victims of human rights abuses and violations.
One principle remained of overriding importance, the Secretary-General said. Every human being, regardless of race, sex, language, religion or class, was entitled to enjoy their human rights to the full. Those rights extended beyond the political and legal. The commitment of the United Nations to lasting development required that the international community upheld and promoted fundamental economic and social rights. Those included the right to food, shelter, employment, education and health care. More should be done to ensure that the fight against poverty was an integral part of international development, democratization and human rights efforts.
Noting that human rights were at the very centre of the concerns of the world Organization, he said success did not depend on the United Nations alone. Other international and national actors such as the media, parliamentarians and non-governmental organizations had a vital role to play. The media could promote the free flow of ideas within and between nations. Parliamentarians could give effective voice to legitimate concerns, while non- governmental organizations could provide vital information and exert real influence in defence of human rights at the local, national and international levels.
Human rights should be looked upon as the common inheritance of mankind and States should adopt the existing covenants and effectively implement them, the Secretary-General said. Public opinion had a role to play in mobilizing governments to do so. The struggle for human rights went hand-in-hand with the right to democratize human life. On the occasion of the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, he stressed the importance of
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vigilance. With mobilization, human rights could become a reality for all peoples and all nationalities, he said.
Statement of High Commissioner for Human Rights
In a keynote statement at the start of the afternoon session, read on his behalf by Purificacion V. Quisumbing, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala-Lasso, said that since the adoption by the General Assembly of the Declaration of the Right to Development 10 years ago, the international community had continued to attach great importance to that right. Significant progress had been made on work done on the right to development as a human right. Universal participation in development continued to be a great challenge and a focus should be placed on concrete and practical measures to implement and promote it.
Whether expressed in the language of a State's responsibility or that of international human rights, he said development required a competent governmental leadership, coherent national policy and strong popular commitment. It was a means of ensuring democracy at the national and international levels and the improvement of living conditions. International cooperation was needed to facilitate and support activities to that end. His office, together with the regional economic commissions, was planning regional seminars dedicated to the implementation of the right to development. The seminars were scheduled for next year and the first would be held in Santiago de Chile. The seminars would concentrate on the practical aspects of the domestic implementation of the right to development. The seminars would bring together representatives of national planning institutions, the United Nations and programmes, non-governmental organizations and academia.
He said the existence of widespread poverty inhibited the full and effective enjoyment of human rights. More than 1 billion people lived in poverty, and more than 1.5 billion lacked access to clean drinking water and sanitation. Some 500 million children did not have access to even primary education, and approximately 1 billion adults remained illiterate. Unemployment stood at 120 million people worldwide and about 700 million people were underemployed. It was a moral obligation to ensure that all human beings enjoyed their basic rights to food, health, shelter, education and social services. Today, more than ever, the United Nations needed the constructive engagement of States, intergovernmental organizations, academic communities, as well as non-governmental organizations in the effective and efficient promotion and protection of all human rights.
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Accountability and Impunity in Civil Strife
In the morning panel discussion with the theme "Accountability and Impunity in Civil Strife", a Judge on the International Tribunal for Rwanda, Navanethem Pillay, spoke on "War crimes tribunals, a deterrent to human rights violations?" She said the establishment of war crimes tribunals in the case of former Yugoslavia and Rwanda was a historic step. If the new process of accountability was successful, the clear message would be that international law had to be respected and war crimes would not be tolerated. The Yugoslav Tribunal had so far indicted 74 persons and the Rwanda tribunal had indicted 21 persons. It was important to ensure that all indicted individuals were arrested and tried. However, that would depend on whether individual governments respected the Tribunals and expedited extraditions.
Speaking on "Truth Commissions: A success?" Assistant Secretary- General, Department of Political Affairs, Alvaro de Soto, said over the last 20 years, 16 different commissions had been established that could be pigeonholed as truth commissions. The United Nations had played no role in the creation of most of those, with the exception of the commissions in Ecuador and Guatemala. Conflict resolution at the present time was largely a matter of internal or civil strife and in such situations mediators had to frequently find ways of reconciling peace with justice. Within the United Nations Charter, there was a strong imperative to place peace before justice. Sustainable peace required not merely a cease-fire, but the reintegration of former combatants, reconstruction, rehabilitation and the building of institutions that would allow peaceful settlement of disputes. The temptation to solve problems by amnesty posed a dilemma between justice and amnesty. As to the success of truth commissions, they could not bring the dead back to life, but they could bring them out of silence.
Responding to a question on whether the United Nations had failed to provide adequate support to the Rwanda Tribunal, he stressed that the creation of the tribunals had been unprecedented. The mandate of the United Nations had been expanding even as the Organization itself had been shrinking. Moreover, it had experienced difficulty in collecting dues from Member States for the tribunals. However, the Secretariat was committed to assisting the tribunals.
Speaking on "Prosecuting rape as a war crime", Binaifer Nowrojee, Counsel, Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, said the issue of rape and other forms of sexual violence had been overlooked by the International Tribunal for Rwanda. The lessons learned in the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia which brought up rape cases, had not been applied by the Rwanda Tribunal. Many of the thousands of women killed in Rwanda had been raped and sexually mutilated. Most survivors had experienced some form of sexual violence. However, it was unlikely that any of the rape victims would
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get justice. Rape had been regarded as an incidental crime and the prosecutorial team and investigators considered the killings as the more important crime. Many rape victims had expressed the desire to give evidence about their experiences, but the techniques and approaches used by investigators did not encourage them to come forward. It was a challenge before the international community to ensure that the crime of rape was brought before the Rwandan Tribunal. A devastating message would be sent to African women if the plight of rape victims was ignored.
The Special Rapporteur on the Elimination of Contemporary Forms of Racism, Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo, spoke on "Racism, including in the press". He said while the defeat of apartheid was a triumph for the international community, insidious forms of racism against indigenous populations still existed. Anti-semitism, racial exclusivity, national preferences, and ethnic cleansing as in the case of former Yugoslavia and Rwanda were on the rise. He drew attention to the unjust treatment of migrant workers and their families and asylum seekers who, in some countries, were kept in detention centres for years. Moreover, neo-nazi propaganda was surfacing in the airwaves. The media had a role in the fanning of racism and ethnic superiority in some countries.
Right to Development: Is Poverty an Abuse of Human Rights?
In the afternoon panel discussion with the theme "Right to Development: Is Poverty an Abuse of Human Rights?", the Director of the Office of Development Studies, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Inge Kaul, spoke on "Does the private sector have responsibility for poverty reduction?" She said the private sector did not have a direct responsibility for poverty eradication. However, it could help eradicate poverty if people used their purchasing powers more pro-actively. Purchasing power could be used to buy products that did not exploit children or help destroy the environment. People could use their voting power by supporting governments that stood for poverty eradication and cutting arms subsidies. A change in values was also critical for poverty eradication. If indeed there was a demand for socially responsible businesses, more such businesses would emerge. However, there would always be the risk of people being tempted to buy cheaper products for which the minimum wage had not been paid. To that end, social legislation was required.
Speaking on "The Problems of Migrant Workers", the Director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch, Sydney Jones, said there were 55 million migrant workers worldwide and their number was increasing, due to a number of factors, including globalization. Migration provided opportunities for migrant workers to improve the living conditions of their families, and both sending and receiving countries benefited from migrant workers. However, corrupt and illegal practices connected with the recruitment and dispatch of
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migrant workers were also rampant. Such workers generally did not belong to unions and were not protected by any rights. To that end, it was important for countries to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers. There was also the need for some kind of non-governmental body to oversee the problems of such workers.
Speaking on "Information exchange and technological transfer: Impact on individual human rights", the Programme Coordinator for Africa, Committee to Protect Journalists, Kakuna Kerina, said ideally information technology should enable people avoid marginalization. However, the way such technology had developed, it had become more a tool in the hands of elites. Although in the past few months, 20 African countries had got access to the Internet, in practice access to information in developing countries was restricted to capital cities. Telecommunication infrastructure had emerged as a problem, with limited access to such things as telephones. She stressed the need for a more integrationist approach in information technology. Connecting the Internet to radio would make it more accessible. However, many governments were not interested in making such technology more accessible. She stressed that the Internet was a prospective tool for the protection of human rights.
Speaking on "Commercial sexual exploitation of children", Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Ofelia Calcetas-Santos, said while the causes for such exploitative activities were many, poverty was the most common. The increasing need for two incomes per family often meant a concomitant deprivation of guidance and companionship for the child, and the perception of a deprivation of love. When parents migrated, new problems emerged, as it led to dislocation from familiar surroundings and introduction to a new and often hostile environment. Children were politically negligible and therefore their rights received low political priority. She called for strict enforcement of laws to prevent exploitation of children. However, in poor countries, law enforcers were years behind the technology being used for syndicated operations for the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Corruption of public officials was another dilemma.
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