FOREIGN MINISTERS OF SWEDEN AND DENMARK ADDRESS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

Press Release
HR/CN/759

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF SWEDEN AND DENMARK ADDRESS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

GENEVA, 11 March (UN Information Service) -- Consensus must not become an end in itself when the subject was human rights violations, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden told the Commission on Human Rights this morning.

According to Lena Hjelm-Wallén, systematic violations of human rights continued in many parts of the world. In dealing with them, Sweden sought cooperation with governments involved in such situations -- it did not seek confrontation. But if a government failed to abide by a consensus, other ways must be found. The Commission must avoid selectivity. Its scrutiny of human rights situations in small or medium-sized countries would lack credibility unless it was prepared to tackle similar problems if and when they occurred in more powerful countries.

Ms. Hjelm-Wallén's statement came as the Commission began to consider the organization of its work for the session. Later in the morning, Denmark's Foreign Minister, Niels Helveg Petersen, said the essence of the work of the Commission was to measure actual performance against the standards which States themselves had undertaken to observe. That was a single standard, not a double one, he said, adding that that process could not reasonably be called confrontational -- it was a legitimate act to express concern about a human rights situation in any country with a view to assist in remedying that situation.

But a number of developing countries decried what they called a confrontational, selective and politicized approach in considering the human rights situations in certain States. The representative of China recalled that last year representatives from 11 developing countries had called for cooperation against confrontation. However, he added, representatives of some developed countries had turned a deaf ear to that appeal and stubbornly clung to confrontation. He appealed to developed countries to mend their ways and come back to dialogue and cooperation.

Meanwhile, the representative of Malaysia said the Asian Group believed consensus-building promoted effective decisions and avoided confrontation.

His country had been among the co-sponsors last year of draft resolution E/CN.4/1996/L.2, which aimed at ensuring that the adoption of resolutions and decisions was done by consensus, with voting being reserved as a final measure, he added.

The co-sponsors of the draft requested this morning that the text be tabled again at this session, according to the representative of Sri Lanka. Consideration of the draft had been deferred last year to enable the Commission Chairman to undertake consultations involving all interested parties.

Also taking part in the morning's debate were the representatives of Nigeria, Indonesia, Angola, Bangladesh, Algeria, Philippines, Pakistan, Egypt, India and Cuba.

Prior to opening the floor to statements this morning, the Commission adopted its agenda.

Statement by Foreign Minister of Sweden

LENA HJELM-WALLÉN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, said to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms was not only to improve the lot of individuals, it was also to improve prospects for peace and prosperity within and among nations. It was also a question of security, for systematic violations of human rights often led to national unrest and upheaval, forced migration and even to conflict between nations. Regrettably, such violations continued in many parts of the world. In dealing with them, Sweden sought cooperation with governments involved in such situations, it did not seek confrontation.

Consensus, however, must not become an end in itself, she said. If a government failed to abide by a consensus, other ways must be found. Furthermore, the Commission must avoid selectivity. Its scrutiny of human rights situations in small or medium-sized countries would lack credibility unless it was prepared to tackle similar problems if and when they occurred in more powerful countries. It was, therefore, the view of the Swedish Government that the human rights situation in China should be addressed in substance.

Ms. Hjelm-Wallén said that despite lofty declarations and international instruments, the crime of torture was still widespread. It was incomprehensible to her country that, in Israel, the Supreme Court had sanctioned what it termed "increased physical pressure" on a certain category of prisoners. Reports from Palestinian human rights organizations indicated the need for Palestinian authorities to improve conditions in Palestinian prisons as well. She also called on the Government of Turkey to show its determination to eradicate torture and ill treatment in the country's prisons once and for all.

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In many parts of the world, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression were being suppressed, continued Ms. Hjelm-Wallén. Individuals such as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar and, more recently, the Iranian writer Faraj Sarkoohi reminded one of that fact. She appealed to the Government of Iran to prevent the execution of two Iranian Baha'is, Musa Talibi and Zabihullah Mahrami, who had been sentenced to death for apostasy last year. Sweden considered the death penalty "inherently inhumane" and expressed concern about the high number of death penalties in China.

Statement by Foreign Minister of Denmark

NIELS HELVEG PETERSEN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, said further progress was needed on the key issues of rights of indigenous peoples, torture, development and effective functioning of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. With regard to indigenous people, Denmark urged the Commission to move decisively towards establishing a permanent forum for indigenous people within the United Nations system. Denmark also urged the Commission to speed up the process towards the adoption of the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. He announced that Denmark would contribute 1 million Danish kroner to the Voluntary Trust Fund for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.

Mr. Helveg Petersen also called for more work to eradicate torture. The work on a draft optional protocol on a global system of inspection of places of detention must be speeded up. The international community also needed to move decisively to eliminate poverty. An important step in that direction had been the universal recognition of the right to development.

The creation of the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights represented a breakthrough in common efforts to provide for international protection of those rights, he continued. An essential element in the High Commissioner's mandate was engaging in dialogue. There had been much debate during the last year about the working methods of the Commission, in particular over elements such as "consensus" versus "voting procedures", and "dialogue" versus "confrontation". The essence of the work of the Commission was to measure actual performance against the standards which States themselves had undertaken to observe. That was a single standard, not a double one. That process could not reasonably be called confrontational -- it was a legitimate act to express concern about a human rights situation in any country with a view to assist in remedying that situation. None the less, Denmark did not wish at that point to single out human rights in any particular country. But it did wish to make a strong appeal for the adoption of the draft declaration on human rights defenders.

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Statements in Debate

HAMIDON ALI (Malaysia), speaking as Coordinator of the Asian Group, said that previously introduced measures leading to the more effective functioning of the Commission would be continued. He reiterated the proposal made last year that the Commission should consider shortening future sessions to four or five weeks instead of the current six. The Asian Group believed that consensus-building was the preferred method of decision-making; that would promote effective decisions and avoid confrontation.

Speaking on behalf of his delegation, Mr. Ali said that last year his country had co-sponsored a draft resolution (document E/CN.4/1996/L.2) which aimed at ensuring that the adoption of resolutions and decisions was done by consensus, with voting being reserved as a final measure. He considered that the measures contained in that draft resolution represented a viable means of avoiding the petty squabbling and unwarranted anxiety witnessed in the past.

EJOH ABUAH (Nigeria) said measures aimed at rationalizing agenda items into clusters and cut back on the duration of the session should be introduced to ensure a fuller discussion of existing agenda items. Efficient time management was counteracted by long-winded statements. His country had supported the draft resolution submitted last year which sought to rationalize the work of the Commission.

BERNARD A.B. GOONETILLEKE (Sri Lanka) said his country attached great importance to the organization of the work of the Commission, and that in the light of current financial constraints, his country believed that there was no need for night meetings. Documentation and the length and number of resolutions submitted each year adversely affected the quality of work and overburdened the Secretariat. In conducting its work, the Commission should strictly follow the parameters of the United Nations Charter.

One should resist the temptation of adopting a selective approach, be it in choosing the countries whose human rights records should be scrutinized, or for that matter, in choosing between civil and political rights, on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights, on the other, he continued. Also important was the result of the work carried out where it really mattered. In its desire to adopt resolutions and decisions, the Commission should not mistakenly believe that such endeavours should be the first line of defence in the collective fight against human rights violations. Rather, they should be reserved as the last resort, after every other measure had failed. Delegates should exchange views and experiences on the basis of mutual respect, rather than accusing others in a highly selective way.

WU JIANMIN (China) said that, on 19 March last year, when the last session of the Commission considered the organization of its work, representatives from 11 developing countries had called for cooperation

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against confrontation. However, representatives of some developed countries had turned a deaf ear to that appeal and stubbornly clung to confrontation. The Chinese delegation appealed to developed countries to mend their ways and come back to dialogue and cooperation. Politicization of issues, practising double standards and opting for confrontation was in contradiction with the founding purposes of the Commission and the United Nations Charter. Name-calling in statements was intolerable and could not be tolerated. Developing countries represented 85 per cent of the world's population -- developed countries should not pass judgement on them.

SAODAH B.A. SYAHRUDDIN (Indonesia) said her country attached great importance to the work of the Commission. It was incumbent upon participants to create a solid ground for a leaner, more efficient and more effective Commission to allow it to better respond to the challenges and the opportunities before it. Maintaining a policy of unilateral pressure and coercion against targeted States in the post-World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993) era was meaningless and should be replaced by a policy of sustainable and constructive engagement. The work of the Commission should be depoliticized; consensus-building could be achieved through consultation, with voting being used only as a last measure.

ADRIANO PARREIRA (Angola) said the Commission had not been able to carry out its mandate because it had long been highly politicized. Confrontation, politicization, selectivity and double standards had dominated every one of its sessions. The Commission should be a forum for dialogue and cooperation, not a courtroom, and its members should exchange views and experiences on the basis of mutual respect.

IFTEKHAR CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said the initiative in the draft resolution contained in document E/CN.4/1996/L.2 did not aim to bind the Commission's hands nor to give delegations the veto. The initiative had been born of the spirit of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. It was the product of the realization that the protection and promotion of human rights required of the international community a commitment to cooperation and not confrontation. The Commission's track record last year testified to the success of consensus-building endeavours: of the 114 resolutions and decisions adopted, close to 87 per cent had been approved without a vote.

One major element of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action was the reaffirmation of the universal, indivisible and interdependent nature of all human rights, he said. It also called for treating human rights in a fair and equal manner. It was essential, therefore, to maintain objectivity, non-politicization, non-selectivity and transparency in the work of the Commission.

MOHAMED SALAH DEMBRI (Algeria) said his country had been part of informal consultations on the draft resolutions in document E/CN.4/1996/L.2

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and it supported the use of consensus as the most democratic way to deal with issues. Algeria disagreed with suggestions that the usage of consensus would mean a revision of the rules of the Commission. Rather, the search for consensus would give the Commission greater moral force.

LILIA BAUTISTA (Philippines) said her country strongly supported all measures aimed at improving the functioning of the work of the Commission and those proposed by the Asian Group coordinator. She suggested that the number of working groups should be limited; a clearing mechanism, such as the one adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO), would go a long way towards streamlining the work of the Commission. She concurred with the statement by the Malaysian delegation that "consensus-building is the preferred method of decision-making", and believed that greater transparency, dialogue, consultation and cooperation would be better tools in achieving the objective of consensus.

MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan) said better management of time and use of specific deadlines could make the Commission more effective. The clustering of items of the agenda had already streamlined the Commission's work; there should be further work on the agenda. The Commission was overloaded with resolutions and decisions, some of which could be done away with, "biennialized" or "triennialized". Pakistan wanted more use of consensus; voting should only be used as a last resort.

MOUNIR ZAHRAN (Egypt) said the Commission's overcrowded agenda, the increasing number of documents and the large number of draft resolutions and decisions invited delegations to consider the best way to cope with their responsibilities within the limited time and resources. The efficient management of time would be an essential prerequisite for maximizing the efficiency of the Commission. Consideration might also be given to shortening future sessions to four weeks. Furthermore, the Commission should not be divided into two opposing camps. The Commission must avoid confrontation and political conflicts and perform its work in a spirit of cooperation. The feeling must be dissipated that developing countries were increasingly being targeted out of political motivations. The politicization of human rights was a cause of much concern to many delegations. When gross violations of human rights occurred, the Commission should deal with them objectively and without selectivity.

ARUNDHATI GHOSE (India) said it was her delegation's firm belief that in order to ensure the effectiveness of the Commission's decision-making and to enhance its credibility and moral authority, the body must move away from confrontational approaches and pursue the path of identifying solutions. Her delegation had not been able to comprehend the hostility that the draft resolution contained in document E/CN.4/1996/L.2 had generated from certain quarters last year. That text sought to convey a political message, the essence of which was the shared commitment of all countries to work together

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for the promotion and protection of human rights. The question that arose was whether condemnation, criticism and pressure were effective instruments for doing that. The draft text sought to enhance tolerance and understanding at the international level so that States could devise a cooperative framework for the promotion of human rights.

ALFONSO MARTINEZ (Cuba) said the biggest problem plaguing the Commission resided in the obvious political manipulation of a number of aspects of the body's work. Furthermore, a quick reading of the agenda, at the documentation of the Commission and the decisions taken over the last few years would show the inadmissible treatment reserved for economic, social and cultural rights when compared to civil and political rights. It was right to ask, why had the Commission not been able to express the slightest concern over the violation of the right to work of which were victims the more than 20 million unemployed in this part of the world? Last year, the Cuban delegation, along with 21 others, had co-sponsored the draft resolution contained in document E/CN.4/1996/L.2, whose goal was none other than to favour the adoption of decisions by consensus. That initiative had elicited the opposition of a considerable number of delegations. The Cuban delegation considered that the Commission should continue to examine that text.

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