HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION CONDEMNS HOSTAGE TAKING IN LIMA, PERU
Press Release
HR/CN/762
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION CONDEMNS HOSTAGE TAKING IN LIMA, PERU
19970314GENEVA, 12 March (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights condemned this afternoon the hostage taking in Lima, Peru, and called for the immediate release of the hostages.
In a statement read out by Commission Chairman Miroslav Somol (Czech Republic), the Commission, meeting for its fifty-third session, expressed its solidarity with the Governments of Peru and Japan, as well as with the Governments of all countries concerned, and with the hostages and their families. It also strongly supported the efforts of both the Peruvian and Japanese Governments to resolve the situation in a peaceful manner and encouraged the continuation of talks between the representatives of the Peruvian Government and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA).
This afternoon the Commission also heard statements from the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and Finland, from the Secretary of State for Urgent Humanitarian Action of France and from the Under-Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs of Italy.
Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Hans Van Mierlo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands said human rights continued to be violated on the threshold of the twenty-first century. The European Union was willing to cooperate to promote overall development and prevent human rights violations, he said, but added that sometimes there was no alternative but to confront governments of other States with serious violations of human rights. The Union would table resolutions during this session on various country situations where people and their universal human rights were no longer secure, the Minister stated.
Tarja Halonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, said the international community had a legitimate interest in monitoring that States implemented human rights commitments. States among themselves must co-operate fully with international mechanisms established for this purpose. Allegations that the issue at stake was between developed and developing countries were "artificial", she added.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of State for Urgent Humanitarian Action of France, Xavier Emmanuelli, said he had just returned from Kisangani and Ubundu, in eastern Zaire, where he had seen some 35,000 refugees that had arrived from the Tingi Tingi camp. The protection of these refugees was an urgent and vital task -- if the cease-fire demanded by the Security Council was not respected, only the deployment of an multinational force would guarantee their security, he said.
Patrizia Toia, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Italy, sought to enlist the support of more countries for the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aimed at the abolition of the death penalty. She indicated that Italy would also put forward initiatives on Somalia, Afghanistan and on public information activities in the field of human rights.
The statements from the Ministers came as the Commission took up the question of the right of peoples to self-determination and continued to discuss the situation in the occupied Arab territories. During this discussion the Commission heard from the representatives of Egypt, the Republic of Korea, Zimbabwe, Jordan and Tunisia. The following non-governmental organisations also submitted statements: Fondation Danielle Mitterand/France-Libertés, Transnational Radical Party and Pax Christi International. China and Nigeria also exercised their right of reply.
The Commission will meet tomorrow at 10 a.m. to continue its general debate and listen to statements from the Minister of Justice of Benin and the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, among other speakers.
Statement on Hostage Situation in Lima, Peru
Following consultations among delegations, the Commission read the following Statement of the Chairman:
"The Commission on Human Rights:
"1. Vigorously condemns the occupation of the residence of the Ambassador of Japan in Lima, Peru, and hostage taking there by terrorist elements, as well as hostage taking all over world;
"2. Recalls that it has repeatedly and firmly condemned hostage taking as acts aimed at the destruction of human rights;
"3. Expresses its solidarity with the Governments of Peru and Japan, as well as with the Governments of all countries concerned, and with the hostages and their families;
- 3 - Press Release HR/CN/762 14 March 1997
"4. Strongly supports the efforts of both the Peruvian and Japanese Governments to resolve the situation in a peaceful manner and encourages the continuation of the conversations between the interlocutor of the Peruvian Government and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), to arrive at prompt results;
"5. Strongly demands that the hostages taken in the residence of the Ambassador in Lima and all other hostages held in any other country be released immediately".
Statement by Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of Netherlands
HANS VAN MIERLO, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said human rights continued to be violated on the threshold of the twenty-first century, most recently in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, where lives had been lost in greater numbers than could have been imagined. Impunity for perpetrators of such violations of human rights could not be accepted, but the international community had not been successful in ensuring that it was not. Human rights continued to need help from all regions and different actors at the national and international levels.
Mr. VAN MIERLO said the European Union reaffirmed its commitment to all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It was willing to cooperate to promote overall development and prevent human rights violations. Sometimes, there was no alternative but to confront governments of other States with serious violations of human rights. The Union would table resolutions during this session on various country situations where people and their universal human rights were no longer secure. States must not give violators of human rights and humanitarian law the impression that their deeds would not go unprosecuted or unrecorded.
The United Nations was another guardian of human rights, he said; the world should learn to use it more effectively. Timely assessment and cooperation for improvement of human rights situations was of utmost importance. Access of United Nations human rights mechanisms to States was crucial for the system of work. Civil society was another guardian and States should let it fulfil its role. States should let human rights defenders fulfil their crucial tasks -- human rights defenders deserved to be defended themselves. Wei Jingsheng, languishing in a prison in China; Moshood K.O. Abiola, held in Nigeria; and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, seriously hampered in her freedom of movement and expression in Burma, were symbolic of thousands whose only crime was that they spoke out in favour of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Human rights might have enemies, but their friends were bound to have the upper hand. Governments must allow the United Nations and civil society the leeway to help human rights forward.
- 4 - Press Release HR/CN/762 14 March 1997
Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland
TARJA HALONEN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, said she appreciated the valuable work done by the Commission to promote human rights universally. Regional mechanism were needed to complement work done by global mechanisms. In Europe, for instance, two key achievements of the Council of Europe were elaborated legal norms and an effective implementation mechanism in the field of human rights. The promotion of human rights within the Council of Europe was an on-going process.
Ms. HALONEN said the rights of women, children, indigenous peoples and minorities were the priority areas of Finnish human rights policy. In many countries men and women were still not equal. Traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation, were an example of outright discrimination against women. The Commission must strengthen its role in the promotion and protection of the human rights of women. There had been progress, "but unfortunately the mainstream was still largely gender-blind".
Persons belonging to national, ethnic or linguistic minorities continued to face discrimination in all parts of the world, and Europe was not blameless, the Minister continued. Minority rights and the rights of indigenous peoples had to be strengthened, not frozen at some absolute minimum level. It was sometimes claimed that the presence of ethnically or culturally distinct groups was the cause of tension in a society. But there was a positive connection between safeguarding minority rights and stability. The rights of persons belonging to sexual minorities should also be safeguarded; all persons should be equal before the law, regardless of sexual orientation.
Concerning the situations in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, she said she believed that if there had been "a high probability of punishment for those who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, there would have been less barbarism". Finland would continue to protest vigorously against any reservations incompatible with the letter and spirit of international human rights treaties. The international community had a legitimate interest in monitoring that States implemented human rights commitments. States among themselves must co-operate fully with international mechanisms established for this purpose. Allegations that the issue at stake was between developed and developing countries were "artificial". The Commission had to address serious and topical human rights violations wherever they occurred. Victims of human rights violations and human rights defenders demanded that it address human rights violations honestly and seriously.
Statement by State Secretary for Urgent Humanitarian Action of France
XAVIER EMMANUELLI, Minister for Urgent Humanitarian Action of France, said the massacres that had taken place in eastern Zaire had brought renewed bloodshed to the Great Lakes region of Africa. He had just returned from
- 5 - Press Release HR/CN/762 14 March 1997
Kisangani and Ubundu, where he had seen some 35,000 refugees that had arrived from the Tingi Tingi camp. They had fled the fighting and were exhausted by four months of trekking through the jungle. These people feared becoming the victims of a massacre if either of the parties in the conflict reached them. The protection of these refugees was an urgent and vital task -- if the cease-fire demanded by the Security Council was not respected, only the deployment of an multinational force would guarantee security for them.
Mr. EMMANUELLI said serious human rights violations should be denounced. However, this should be accompanied by dialogue and consensus. Human rights abuses were occurring in Afghanistan, where restrictions had been placed on the civilian population and women's rights had been infringed upon. In "forgotten conflicts" daily violations were also occurring, as demonstrated by attacks on Burmese ethnic minorities and by the situation in East Timor.
Turning to the report presented this morning at the Commission, Mr. EMMANUELLI said the study of the Expert of the Secretary-General on the impact of armed conflicts on children, Graça Machel, along with the Stockholm Conference on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, had mobilized public opinion in favour of this most vulnerable segment of society.
The official praised the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which, he said, had been accomplished in spite of insufficient human and financial resources. Racism was one of the threat to the respect of human rights. Other rights such as economic, social and cultural rights were too often neglected and the struggle against exclusion, poverty and the right to development should be considered as an integral part of fundamental human rights. Promoters of human rights around the world are often subjected to various forms of coercion in the course of their work, and called on the Commission to advance towards a declaration which uphold the rights of promoters of human rights.
Mr. EMMANUELLI said he considered that the Commission was the forum in which questions touching on human rights should be dealt with between States. There were limits which could not be crossed, but violations of human rights had to be denounced wherever they occurred. It was also important to convince as much as condemn. In this respect, consensus was not, in and of itself, a goal, although dialogue should become the rule.
Statement by Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Italy
PATRIZIA TOIA, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Italy, said the protection of human rights demanded coordinated action. As the Presidency of the European Union had emphasized, everyone must become guardians to ensure that these rights were fully respected. Non-governmental organizations must also make a vitally important contribution to this issue. Universality of human rights could not mean uniformity of language, emphasis,
- 6 - Press Release HR/CN/762 14 March 1997
or priorities. It was in the variety of contributions to the common cause of human rights that one must seek ways to achieve the highest and most effective level for defending the dignity and the sacredness of the human being.
On the issue of capital punishment, she said, Italy's goal was its abolition. Capital punishment should no longer be accepted. This aim could be achieved by the systematic enforcement of a set of existing rules and principles which imposed clearly identified restrictions and constraints on the application and implementation of the death penalty. Capital punishment should at least be inadmissible for certain categories of persons, including minors, pregnant women and the mentally ill. She sought to enlist the support of more countries for the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aimed at the abolition of the death penalty.
Ms. TOIA said Italy had chosen to take responsibility at the Commission for initiatives on Somalia and Afghanistan because although they were two different situations, in both cases there was a lack of an established government capable of exercising control over the whole territory. This was a grave and dramatic problem. There were obvious limitations on what could be done, and this called for prudence. Humanitarian issues and the very subsistence of unfortunate people who had to rebuild their countries must be an absolute priority. Equally, human rights could and must be integrated into this effort. It would be quite unrealistic to imagine that, in such extreme situations, any human rights field operation could possibly be launched at the present time. Neither must one sit back indifferently, passively looking on while other serious acts of discrimination were being perpetrated against women in some regions of Afghanistan. Human rights and peace; human rights and order, and human rights and development were one and the same thing. Italy would put forward an initiative on public information activities in the field of human rights.
Right to Self-Determination
At the fifty-second session, the Commission adopted resolution 1996/5 entitled "Situation in occupied Palestine". In this resolution, the Commission, among other things, called upon Israel to comply with its obligations under the charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, and to withdrawn from the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and the other Aran territories which it had occupied since 1967 by military force. It also requested the Secretary-General to bring the resolution to the attention of all governments, as well as to all concerned specialized agencies, and to report to the Commission. No reply had been received from Israel at the time of the preparation of the report (document E/CN.4/1997/23).
- 7 - Press Release HR/CN/762 14 March 1997
Statements in Debate
MOUNIR ZAHRAN (Egypt) said that in the final statement of the Arab summit held in Cairo last June Arab leaders had reaffirmed their commitment to peace based on the Madrid principles and the principle of land-for-peace. Israel must make the same commitment. The Arab leaders had decided not to accept any situation resulting from the illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Arab territories. The international community must carefully guarantee the complete implementation of the agreements according to their timetable. Arab States did not accept any going back on issues as serious and sensitive as establishing a just and permanent peace between the Palestinians and Israel. Israel must immediately stop its settlement policies as well as the closures of the territories. It must also stop starving the Palestinian people must fulfil its commitment to redeploy its troops according to the agreed timetable. Meanwhile, on the Syrian front, Syria had clearly announced its acceptance of continuing negotiations, based on the Madrid principles and the land-for-peace formula. Israel had to stay away from policies which would retract from principles that were basic to the peace process.
YONG-SHIK HWANG (Republic of Korea) said the redeployment of troops from Hebron was a significant step towards a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. As pointed out by Special Rapporteur Hannu Halinen in his report (document E/CN.4/1997/16), human rights could not be set aside to await the outcome of the peace process. Palestinian economic development was a critical factor for improving the human rights situation in the region. An enhanced quality of life through economic development would reduce the inclination of people to resort to violence as a means to vent their frustrations. Korea had contributed an assistance package of $12 million in 1993, and a further $3 million last year, to achieve these goals.
T.J.B. JOKONYA (Zimbabwe) said his country regretted the pervasive evils of military occupation revealed in the Special Rapporteur's report on Palestine. The oppression and repression should be dealt with at the root -- the occupation of foreign land by force should be abolished. Yesterday, the European Union's condemnation of the intransigence of the Israeli Government in relation to the implementation of the peace process had been an act of courage that should be demonstrated at all fora, including the Security Council. The decision to build new settlements and the closure of offices affiliated to the Palestine Liberation Organization in East Jerusalem should be unreservedly condemned.
ABDULLAH MADADHA (Jordan) said peace in the Middle East was again in danger. The fundamental human rights of Palestinians were jeopardized by the Israeli Government's illegal settlement policy. He wished to recall the authoritative legal opinion on the illegality of Israeli settlements issued by the United States State Department's legal adviser at the request of former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, which stated that: "a territory coming under
- 8 - Press Release HR/CN/762 14 March 1997
the control of a belligerent occupant does not thereby become its sovereign territory". Likewise, the settlement policy aimed at changing the demographic balance of Jerusalem and occupied Arab and Palestinian territories would only kill the prospects of a peaceful solution. Israel should assume its responsibility in evaluating the consequences of its policy on the future of peace in the region. He urged members of the Commission to condemn Israel's destructive settlement policies and the practices gravely affecting the fundamental human rights of the Arab population in the occupied territories.
KAMAL MORGAN (Tunisia) said that when Arab States had entered peace talks with Israel, their aim was a just and comprehensive peace based on the land-for-peace formula. Arab hopes had evaporated with the stalemate created by Israel. Israel's decision to build a new settlement in Jerusalem, and the opening of the tunnel under the al-Aqsa mosque, were moves aimed at negating Jerusalem's Arab identity. Israel continued to violate United Nations resolutions, paying no heed to international public opinion. The Arab group had strongly condemned the Israeli measures. They had reiterated their desire for a just and comprehensive peace and warned Israel of the serious effects on the peace process its actions had. The Arab group also urged the Commission to take quick and effective action to stop the expansion of settlements on occupied Arab territories. They urged countries who gave aid to Israel to stop this assistance if it continued its settlement building. The Arab group remained committed to the peace process.
ANITA TEXIER, of the Fondation Danielle Mitterand/France-Libertés, said that at the last session of the Commission, France-Libertés had intervened in favour of East Timor, occupied by neighbouring Indonesia. Since October 1996, a number of important events had taken place, including the joint attribution of the Nobel Peace Prize to Monsignor Carlos Ximènes Belo, Archbishop of Dili, and José Ramos Horta. France-Libertés supported the peace plan promoted by Mr. Horta, which also merited the attention of the Commission. The group also appealed again to the Commission and its Subcommission to uphold the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination. In spite of an unanimous Security Council resolution in 1991 laying the foundations for a peace plan for the Western Sahara region, no progress had been made in the past six years. The new United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, had recently declared that he was willing to invest himself personally to secure a referendum for the region.
CYNTHIA NEURY, of Centre Europe-Tiers Monde (CETIM), said that very little had changed for the Saharawi people in Western Sahara. Their humiliating life under occupation by Morocco continued, despite a United Nations approved peace plan. Morocco allowed limited access to the region, and travellers were interrogated and sometimes imprisoned. The international community was guilty of complete amnesia. States, due to their lack of political will, had also become violators of human rights in the area. Double-speak and murderous false hopes were killing the peace plan for the
- 9 - Press Release HR/CN/762 14 March 1997
Sahara approved by the Security Council seven years ago. The indifference of countries over this issue must be overcome. There must be new proposals to break the logic of the fait accompli reigning over the problem. The CETIM proposed that States and Moroccan, Saharawi and international NGOs serve as mediators between Morocco and the Polisario Front in order to allow a dynamic of peace to emerge.
MICHAEL VAN WALT VAN PRAAG, of the Transnational Radical Party, said that self-determination was of crucial importance in relation to human rights and the work of the Commission. More than 90 percent of all armed conflicts in the world today were, or originated from, conflicts between indigenous peoples or minorities and other population groups on the one hand, and the governments that ruled them on the other. The media called them "ethnic conflicts", which was misleading. Most threatened peoples or minorities sought some form of protection to guarantee that the oppression or discrimination they had been subjected to would stop or would not happen again. Violence was often a response to the refusal on the part of governments to take the legitimate grievances of a people seriously. The international community should not wait until non-violent self-determination movements escalated into armed confrontation before acting. But the sad truth was that governments, international organizations and the media only took serious notice when violence broke out.
ALESSANDRA AULA, of Pax Christi International, said her group supported the report by Special Rapporteur Hannu Halinen for his impartial and rigorous examination of the facts. The most serious breach of human rights referred to in the report was the decision by the Israeli High Court to authorize the use of force during interrogations. This action legalized torture and ill treatment of detainees, including the use of certain methods that could lead to death or permanent infirmity. Pax Christi International was also very concerned over the situation in Bougainville, where mercenaries were being used by the Papua New Guinea security forces in military operations on the island. In the former Yugoslavia, the autonomy enjoyed by the Kosovo Republic within the Yugoslav Federation had been abrogated in 1989. Since that time, the Albanian population -- which made up more than 90 per cent of this Republic -- had been deprived of individual and national rights. And the Saharawi people was still waiting to enjoy its inalienable right to self determination in accordance with United Nations resolution 1514/1960. In Asia, the invasion of East Timor by Indonesian forces had heralded the violation of the fundamental rights of the Timorese population.
- 10 - Press Release HR/CN/762 14 March 1997
Right of Reply
LI BAODONG (China) said Mr. van Mierlo's address reflected that developed countries had turned a deaf ear to sincere appeals for cooperation and against confrontation. Mr. van Mierlo had probably overlooked that the Netherlands had by no means had a glorious human rights record during its period as a colonial power. Mr. van Mierlo had chosen to harangue developing countries, a violation of the first and foremost principle of the United Nations Charter, namely that of sovereign equality.
EJOH ABUAH (Nigeria) said, in response to the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, that the 1993 elections in Nigeria had been inconclusive, with no winner and no loser. No one could claim he should be president. The minister had referred to Moshood K. O. Abiola as being held in captivity in Nigeria -- in fact, Mr. Abiola was in custody awaiting trial for breaking a Nigerian law.
* *** *