MINISTERS FROM BANGLADESH, UGANDA, RWANDA AND SLOVENIA ADDRESS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

14 March 1997

Press Release
HR/CN/761

MINISTERS FROM BANGLADESH, UGANDA, RWANDA AND SLOVENIA ADDRESS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

19970314 Discussion Continues On Situation in Occupied Territories, Organization of Work

GENEVA, 12 March (UN Information Service) -- Government Ministers from Bangladesh, Uganda, Rwanda and Slovenia this morning outlined to the Commission on Human Rights their countries' efforts to promote and protect fundamental freedoms.

As the Commission continued to debate the situation in the occupied Arab territories and the organization of its work, Abdul Matin Khasru, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of Bangladesh, said his country had in the past experienced repression of genocidal proportions. That was behind the country's resolve that such violations of human rights should never occur again. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was "indomitably steadfast" in upholding human rights in every sphere of life, he added.

Uganda's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, said that while considerable achievements had been reached, "the challenge to ensure the effective implementation of human rights by integrating them in overall endeavours for democracy still remained". Promoting human rights was one of her Government's highest priorities, she said.

Meanwhile, Nteziryayo Faustin, Rwanda's Minister of Justice, recalled the genocide in which 1 million Rwandans had lost their lives and described efforts to rebuild the country's judicial system in order to ensure justice for victims and suspects.

The Slovenian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Zoran Thaler, said that countries were not cooperating satisfactorily with special rapporteurs of the Commission.

Also this morning the Commission heard a statement from Graça Machel, Expert of the Secretary-General, who presented her final report on the effect of armed conflicts on children.

The representatives of China, Morocco, Cuba, Yemen, Senegal, Sudan and Indonesia addressed the situation in the occupied Arab territories, as did the following non-governmental organizations: Women's International League for

Peace and Freedom, World Organization against Torture, and the Centre Europe-Tiers Monde. Swaziland's representative spoke on the question of the right of self-determination.

Regarding organization of work, the Commission heard comments from Germany and India. The German representative, speaking on behalf of the Western European and Other States Group, rejected calls to have the Commission adopt resolutions and decisions solely by consensus.

Statement by Bangladesh Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs

ABDUL MATIN KHASRU, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of Bangladesh, said his country had in the past experienced repression of genocidal proportions. That was behind the country's resolve that such violations of human rights should never occur again. The Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had been brutally murdered in August 1975. Today, his daughter, Sheikh Hasina, had assumed the Prime Minister's office and was "indomitably steadfast" in upholding human rights in every sphere of life. Human rights were linked to the practise of democracy, the respect for the rule of law and the pursuit of justice, peace and development. Bangladesh had adopted a number of bold measures immediately after Sheikh Hasina took power in June 1996 to advance the cause of human rights. They were not motivated by vengeance. The aim was to ensure speedy, easy, inexpensive and substantial justice for the common people.

Sheik Hasina had formally declared that Bangladesh would establish an independent National Human Rights Commission in Bangladesh, the Minister continued. Other measures included setting up a Judicial Training Institute and a Permanent Law Commission.

Turning to the issue of migrant workers, the Minister said they were often vulnerable and unprotected. That was especially the case for those forced into an irregular situation. The International Labour Organization's 1975 Convention on migrant workers furthered the principle of equality of treatment and laid down the obligation to respect the fundamental human rights of all such workers. But that had sadly not been translated into practice. Bangladesh urged that there should be equal pay for equal work for all.

Bangladesh's commitment to human rights related to its determination to implement measures pertaining to them, he went on. Constraints in Bangladesh were many and varied and the society was in rapid transformation. The desired objectives could be achieved, through cooperation and not confrontation among nations and cultures. Consensus must be achieved.

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Statement by Foreign Minister of Uganda

REBECCA KADAGA, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Uganda, recalled that 1998 would be the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the greatest achievements of the United Nations. The Universal Declaration and the United Nations Charter had provided a framework for a system of rights and obligations that underpinned governance both at the national and global levels. The anniversary gave countries a unique opportunity to take stock of developments and to draw a map for their future path in the field of human rights.

While considerable achievements had been made with regard to standard-setting, monitoring and advocacy, the challenge to ensure the effective implementation of human rights by integrating them in overall endeavours for democracy still remained, she continued. Uganda believed it was equally crucial to focus on preventive measures by putting in place appropriate institutions and mechanisms for this purpose. There was imperative need to establish and adequately equip national human rights institutions that could operate effectively right from the grass-roots level.

The defence and promotion of human rights was one of Uganda's highest priorities, said Ms. KADAGA. The Government had set up an independent human rights body and had been cooperative with both indigenous and international organizations monitoring human rights. In order to address the problem of abuse of power and violation of human rights, and to investigate corruption by officials, an independent office had been established and was operational. The Ugandan Constitution had also established a permanent independent Human Rights Commission to deal with human rights issues in a wider context. The Government appealed for the support of the Centre for Human Rights and of the international community to assist that Commission in fulfilling its mandate.

Uganda regretted that new forms of racism, xenophobia and ethnic conflict had emerged to fuel intolerance and violence in many countries, she went on. The genocides in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were clearly "a source of shame and embarrassment to the international community". Uganda was also deeply concerned about the increasing exploitation of children, in particular the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography and child labour. It followed the work of the working group for the elaboration of the draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on those issues. There was a need to integrate women and other disadvantaged groups in the mainstream of society. But the absence of development was an impediment to the advancement of human rights -- the opportunity to work and to have enough to eat was as critical to human dignity and democracy as was the opportunity to vote and speak freely. Therefore, the creation of conditions for sustainable development worldwide would contribute immensely to the promotion of all rights, including the right to development.

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Statement by Minister of Justice of Rwanda

NTEZIRYAYO FAUSTIN, Minister of Justice of Rwanda, said the genocide of 1994, which had resulted in the death of one million people and the flight of two million others, had led to the need to rebuild the judicial system and the socio-economic infrastructure of the country. Then, between November and December 1996, around 1.2 million Rwandan refugees who had fled to Zaire and the United Republic of Tanzania had returned to their homeland. That massive return posed new challenges, including in the area of human rights, to his country. On a security level, that return of refugees had resulted in the resurgence of criminal acts in regions where a large number of former soldiers and militiamen had returned to. Some of those former soldiers had re-entered Rwanda with the aim of destabilizing the country and intimidating local populations. Those criminals had attacked a number of expatriates working for the socio-economic reconstruction of the country. A number of civilians had been killed in exchanges of fire between the army and those criminals.

The judiciary system in Rwanda had found itself confronted with a titanic task following the 1994 events, the Minister went on. With the country in ruins, and large segments of the country's intelligentsia either dead or in flight, everything needed to be either rebuilt or rehabilitated in order to bring to justice the perpetrators of the genocide. To that end, measures aimed at improving the sanitary conditions in prisons, reduce the number of people held in detention and protect vulnerable groups had been put into place. Those measures had led to an improvement in prison conditions, which were however still not optimal.

Mr. FAUSTIN said the Rwandan Government adhered to the principles of respecting fundamental human rights and ensuring that both suspected participants in the genocide and victims of the genocide received a fair trial thanks to a transparent, equitable and impartial system of justice.

Statement by Foreign Minister of Slovenia

ZORAN THALER, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, said human rights remained a central source of inspiration for Slovenia and were at the heart of the country's aspirations when it gained independence. One of the fundamental aims of independent Slovenia was the protection of human rights and the creation of conditions for their implementation. That was also the main task of the Commission on Human Rights and was one of the important objectives of the United Nations as a whole. Slovenia believed that the concern of any country for the fate of human rights in other countries was a natural component of international cooperation and was compatible with the requirements of constructive dialogue.

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Slovenia supported the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and found it most disturbing that it did not enjoy proper support, he said. His country welcomed the action plan of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the implementation of the human rights of women. The implementation of human rights provided an important opportunity for preventive diplomacy.

Regarding the work of the Commission, the Foreign Minister said the increase in the number of United Nations resolutions did not constitute an effective response to human rights violations. Furthermore, the cooperation of States with special rapporteurs was not satisfactory; the reports of those investigators were not followed by effective decisions of the forum which had appointed them. Moreover, treaty-based mechanisms for the protection of human rights were facing serious difficulties, with the number of reports awaiting attention piling up. On another level, the United Nations had still not found a coherent and sufficiently widely shared approach to the relationship between economic, social and cultural rights on the one hand and civic and political rights on the other. Those problems could be overcome by understanding that every organ in the field of human rights had the primary responsibility for the improvement of its own work.

Statement by Expert on Impact of Armed Conflict on Children

GRAÇA MACHEL, Expert of the Secretary-General on the impact of armed conflict on children, presented the final report of her study, which she submitted to the General Assembly last year. She recalled that at the Assembly, 129 countries had co-sponsored a comprehensive child rights resolution (51/77), which was adopted without a vote, that contained 35 new recommendations to improve the situation of children affected by armed conflict. Those far reaching recommendations addressed both human rights and humanitarian concerns, as well as the peacemaking and peace-keeping policies of the United Nations.

Many of the today's conflicts lasted the length of a childhood, Ms. MACHEL said. The emotional and psychological impact on children who lived for years in fear of bombings, mutilation or death could not be measured quantitatively, nor could the loss and despair of a child forced to watch her family slaughtered. Children had increasingly become the targets of war, and not simply incidental victims. In contemporary armed conflicts, nothing was spared or held sacred, not hospitals, not schools, nor places of worship -- "there are no safe havens", she said.

The Expert recalled that her report recommended that all parties in conflicts immediately demobilize children in their ranks and ensure their psychological and social reintegration. She called for a conclusion to the drafting process of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of

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the Child to protect children from armed conflicts. A global consensus must be reached to renounce the callous manipulation of children and to incorporate their needs into peace agreements, demobilization mandates and humanitarian assistance.

The report (document A/51/306 and Add. 1) was the final one of the Expert's study, which was undertaken with the support of the Centre for Human Rights and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). It recommends action Member States and the international community can take to improve the protection and care of children in conflicts and prevent them from occurring.

In the Expert's mandate, the Assembly asked for recommendations in five areas: participation of children in armed conflict; reinforcement of preventive measures; relevance and adequacy of existing standards; measures required to improve protection of children affected by armed conflict; and, actions needed to promote the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of children affected by armed conflict.

In her report, which was the result of extensive and wide-ranging consultations, Ms. Machel identified a number of additional concerns, including: changing patterns of conflict; specific impacts on girls and the children of minority and indigenous groups; economic embargoes; rape and other forms of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation; torture; inadequate provision of education, health and nutrition and psychological programmes; the protection and care of refugee and internally displaced children and other children at particular risk; and the inadequate implementation of international human rights and humanitarian law.

In the last 10 years, the report recounts, an estimated 2 million children have been killed in conflict and three times as many have been seriously injured or permanently disabled, many of them maimed by land-mines. Countless others have been forced to witness or take part in horrifying acts of violence. The patterns and characteristics of contemporary armed conflict have increased the risks for children. Distinctions between combatants and civilians disappear in battles fought from village to village or from street to street. When any tactics are employed and all standards abandoned, human rights violations against children and women occur in unprecedented numbers. In recent years, the proportion of civilian war victims has leapt from 5 to 90 per cent, and struggles that claim more civilians have been marked by horrific levels of violence and brutality. Increasingly, children have become the targets and even the perpetrators of violence and atrocities.

Stressing that governments bear the primary responsibility for protecting children from the impact of armed conflict, and indeed, for preventing conflicts from occurring, Ms. Machel recommends, among other measures, that all governments should adopt national legislative measures to ensure the effective implementation of relevant standards. They must train

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and educate the legal and military authorities. Humanitarian organizations should train their staff in human rights and humanitarian law; they should assist governments in educating children and seek agreements with non-State entities.

In addition, the report offers recommendations in the areas of reconstruction and reconciliation following conflicts, as well as in conflict prevention. In the area of overall implementation, Ms. Machel recommends the establishment of a special representative of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict. The representative would act as a standing observer, assessing progress achieved and difficulties encountered in the implementation of the recommendations in the study.

The addendum to the report contains statements (Annexes I-VI) from the six regional consultations on the impact of armed conflict on children (the Horn, Eastern, Central and Southern regions of Africa; Arab region; West and Central Africa; Asia and the Pacific; Latin America and the Caribbean; and Europe.)

Ms. Machel concludes by saying that "the present report has set forth recommendations for the protection of children during armed conflict. It has concentrated on what is practical and what is possible, but this cannot be enough. In considering the future of children, we must be daring." She goes on to say, "the flagrant abuse and exploitation of children during armed conflict can and must be eliminated. For too long, we have given ground to spurious claims that the involvement of children in armed conflict is regrettable but inevitable. It is not. Children are regularly caught up in warfare as a result of conscious and deliberate decisions made by adults. We must challenge each of these decisions and we must refute the flawed political and military reasoning and the protests of impotence." But above all else, she concludes, "the present report is a call to action".

Statements on Situation in Occupied Territories

LI BAODONG (China) expressed China's satisfaction with significant progress made in the peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The Palestinian people were however entitled to civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to self-determination, and that had not yet materialized. There were also incidents disruptive to the peace process, like Israel's latest decision to build new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.

China believed the issue of the Middle East should be resolved through peaceful negotiations based on United Nations resolutions, he said. The consideration by the Commission of violations of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, and resolutions adopted on that issue had provided great encouragement and support to the just cause. The Commission should take as a

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task of high priority the consideration of, and solution to, the problem of serious human rights violations caused by colonialism, racism, foreign aggression, occupation and alien rule, and should safeguard the sovereignty and national independence of States. China firmly supported the Palestinians just struggle for the restoration of their legitimate national rights and would make its effort for the comprehensive restoration of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people and for the realization of peace in the Middle East.

NACER BENJELLOUN-TOUIMI (Morocco) said the Israeli-Palestinian peace accord of 1993 had given rise to renewed hope in the region. But the dramatic events surrounding the opening of the tunnel under the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of the venerated sanctuaries of Islam, had undermined the laborious and fragile work which had called for courage and wisdom on both sides. The El-Khalil agreement was an important step on the path of confidence-building, mutual respect, and cooperation leading to global peace.

However, the decision by the Israeli authorities to build a new Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem had undermined the trust needed to continue on the path to peace, he said. The re-launch of a constructive dialogue between the Israeli's and Palestinians could only occur after the abandonment of dogmatic positions and as the result of the scrupulous respect of the Oslo agreements, which foresaw a freeze on the implantation of Israeli settlements and the maintenance of the status quo on Jerusalem; the final status of the city would be decided at a later stage of negotiations.

JUAN ANTONIO FERNANDEZ PALACIOS (Cuba) said the situation in the occupied Arab territories had been discussed since 1968. In recent years, negotiations had reached a decisive stage and there had been grounds for the international community to feel that developments were taking a positive turn. However, the recent decision by the Israeli authorities to build new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem was a threat to peace, as it went against the essence of the Oslo agreements and reflected the strategic decision to change the demographic balance of East Jerusalem to assimilate by force the occupied Palestinian territories. The increase of tension in the region was extremely worrying. There should be total withdrawal from all the occupied territories, including the Golan and southern Lebanon. A just, genuine and lasting solution entailed the establishment of a Palestinian State

MOSES M. DLAMINI (Swaziland) said that in considering the question of self-determination, the Commission should, in addition to looking at the situation in the Middle East, also turn to other regions where the exercise of that right was being hampered by foreign interference and war. In Africa, such interference was responsible for the total disregard of the United Nations Charter and its provisions allowing sovereign nations to determine their future development and political determination. Interference in

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domestic matters had become the order of the day. The Commission had to defend developing countries from that.

Developed countries forced developing countries to emulate patters of democracy deemed acceptable to the developed world, he said. Most of the interference came in the guise of democracy and human rights, and disregarded sovereign law. All nations of the world were still trying to improve their human rights standards. Yet Africa was being told it fell short of the acceptable norm. Developed nations should allow developing nations, especially in Africa, to develop democracies that would suit their national circumstances and preserve their cultures.

ABDELMONEIM HASSAN (Sudan) said the situation in Palestine and the occupied Arab territories was getting worse under the Israeli occupation. Israel continued to refuse to comply to resolutions of the international community. Although a number of agreements had been signed between the Palestinians and Israel, Israeli violations of human rights continued in the form of violence, detention of thousands of Palestinians without trial and expansion of settlements. His country strongly condemned the Israeli actions which included building settlements in Jerusalem and opening a tunnel underneath the Al-Aqsa mosque. It was the duty of the Commission to warn the international community, especially Israel, of the negative results of those aggressive acts on the Middle East peace process. The Arab peoples in the Golan, southern Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories had the right to self-determination. Israel had to realize that land for peace was the last hope to establish a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

ABDUL RHMAH AL-MUSIBILI (Yemen) said the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories constituted a grave threat to peace. It was also the main cause for the violation of human rights of Arabs in the region. Such violations included: the closure of the territories, a form of collective punishment; the policy of expansion of settlements and appropriation of Palestinian land; the attempts to change the demographic composition of Jerusalem; the terrorist actions of Jewish settlers and Israeli military forces, and the torture of Palestinian prisoners. There would be no comprehensive and just peace in the region without Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, the Golan and southern Lebanon; or without the creation of an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital.

ABSA CLAUDE DIALLO (Senegal) said the international community had expected less tension in the Middle East after the progress registered in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in 1993 and 1994. But serious obstacles still remained and gave rise to feelings of frustration and fear of the future. There had been tragic events in 1996 following Israel's opening of a tunnel beneath the Al-Aqsa mosque and problems following Israel's announcement that it would build another settlement in Jerusalem. Israeli settlement building continued in Palestinian territories, as did the closure of those

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areas. Palestinians continued to suffer in Israeli jails. Only the implementation of agreement and the land-for-peace formula, as well as self- determination for Palestinians, could bring about a just and comprehensive peace. The Palestinian economic and social infrastructure must be built and the Palestinian economy integrated into the region's economy. Safeguarding peace was linked to safeguarding the take-off of the Palestinian economy; the international community must help with that. Human rights in the occupied territories must be protected and respected.

AGUS TARMIDZI (Indonesia), speaking on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said he wished to express solidarity with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in its just struggle for removing the effects of Israeli occupation, building Palestinian institutions and safeguarding the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people. The continued violations of human rights in the Palestinian territories was exemplified by the recent Israeli decision to build new settlements in Al-Quds Al-Sharif. That was a brazen attempt to preempt the outcome of negotiations on the final status of the city by changing its legal status and demographic composition. Those moves were in clear violation of Security Council, General Assembly and Commission resolutions.

He said the twenty-fourth session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Jakarta from 9 to 13 December 1996 had reaffirmed its support for the Middle East peace process and the implementation of all agreements since its launching in Madrid. The session had also called for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the occupied Syrian Golan, the occupied Lebanese territory; and for the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

ANNE GA'L LESCORNEL, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said she wished to convey to the Commission the anguish and dismay of the group's Jewish and Palestinian members in Israel and of Palestinian members in the occupied territories who faced constant obstacles in the way of the peace process. The decision by Israel to build a new settlement on Palestinian lands had provoked the condemnation of almost all the international community. If implemented, that decision would jeopardize the ongoing peace negotiations, perhaps fatally. Meanwhile, Israeli human rights violations continued in the occupied territories, including Israel's "frenetic" confiscation of land, which was a source of livelihood for thousands of Palestinians.

She said Israel had clearly not understood that Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories were totally incompatible with the realization of peace. Israel's economic and military closure of Jerusalem had greatly damaged the life of the city. The closure was an intolerable abuse of human rights, including the right to freedom of movement and freedom of

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worship. It also was be a denial of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. The Commission should do all possible to help bring Israel to adhere to international law and United Nations resolutions.

BEN SCHONVELD, of the World Organization Against Torture, said a detainee, Yussef Ismail al Baba, had died from wounds inflicted during interrogation by Palestinian military intelligence. Another man, Abed al Khalim Bilbisi, had been arrested on 6 December 1996 and interrogated by Israeli security forces for 18 days. On 11 January 1996, the Israeli High Court had ordered the annulment of a temporary injunction lodged by his attorney asking the court to order the authorities to cease the use of physical force during interrogation. His organization and many others had repeatedly intervened in a number of cases in Israeli detention centres. He called on the Commission to insist that Israel should take immediate and appropriate measures to outlaw the use of physical and psychological force, both de facto and de jure in the country.

CYNTHIA NEURY, of the Centre Europe-Tiers Monde, said Israel's plans for a new settlement in East Jerusalem were unacceptable and an attempt to muzzle Palestinians there. Israel was responsible for the evolution of the Palestinian conflict. The group was shocked by the American veto in the Security Council of a draft to censure the planned settlement. The group wondered what hopes the Palestinians could harbour with the United Nations as long as Israel ignored United Nations resolutions and the United States continually used its veto to prevent the condemnation of Israel. The international community could not allow double standards to prevail, as that could have catastrophic results.

Statements on Organization of Work

WILHELM HÖYNK (Germany), speaking on behalf of the Western European and Other States, said there should be timely and ample opportunities for informal consultations among interested delegations on draft resolutions, which would then stand a better chance of being adopted. None the less, voting was a legitimate and well-established democratic practice. The group opposed any effort aimed at introducing new rules of procedure which would be inconsistent with general United Nations rules and practices.

ARUNDHATI GHOSE (India) said she wished to see a reduction in the number of resolutions and a rationalization of the calendar. An expanded bureau meeting could discuss time management reforms and other issues. It would be useful to compare different approaches on their substance in order to identify common objectives. She welcomed the statement by Germany.

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