HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION EXAMINES IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES, REALIZATION OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
Press Release
HR/CN/771
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION EXAMINES IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES, REALIZATION OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
19970321 (Reproduced as received.)GENEVA, 18 March (UN Information Service) -- The abolition of capital punishment by each and every State would represent a major advance towards full and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the representative of Ireland told the Commission on Human Rights this afternoon.
The remarks from the delegate came as the Commission continued to debate the status of the international human rights instruments, including the second optional protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the abolition of capital punishment. The Irish representative also backed a proposal outlined by Italy earlier in the session against the death penalty. The representative of Brazil and Spain also expressed support for the Italian move.
Speaking on the effective functioning of bodies established pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments, the representative of India said they were important mechanisms for the periodic review of the fulfilment by States parties of obligations they had voluntarily undertaken. However, he added, those bodies could only fulfil their respective mandates by engaging in constructive dialogue with States, assisting them in identifying solutions to human rights problems and playing a supportive and promotional role.
Other delegations echoed recommendations made by independent expert Philip Alston, who, in a report to the Commission, called for proposals of concrete measures to achieve the goal of universal ratification of the core human rights treaties and consolidation or reduction of the number of treaty bodies, among other measures.
Also this afternoon, the Commission opened a debate on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, and the right to development, with the representative of Venezuela stating that 10 years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the international community was more than ever convinced of the inexorable growth of poverty and social
exclusion in the face of purely economic strategies. Economic growth was not automatically followed by development, he added.
The following observers also submitted statements: Honduras, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), Swaziland and Marshall Islands.
During the debate on the status of international human rights instruments, the Commission also heard statements by the delegations of the Russian Federation, Ireland, Republic of Korea, India, Belarus and Indonesia. The observer countries of Norway, Spain and Romania also submitted statements, as did the following non-governmental organizations: Pax Romana, Centre Europe - Tiers Monde, Human Rights Advocates, Minority Rights Group and the International Progress Organisation.
Statements
RIYAZ PUNJABI, of the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said it was amazing that after three decades, there were States that had not signed the International Covenants on Human Rights or any optional protocol. It was interesting to note that those States had the audacity of raising a cacophony regarding the violation of human rights in rival countries. Those States refused to be signatories to the covenants and protocols to evade their responsibilities, but utilized the Commission to promote their strategic and political interests. How long could this forum be allowed to be used in this way?
GILBERTO VERGNE SABOIA (Brazil) said that because of the independent and complex political processes that had led to their adoption, international human rights instruments did not form a unified and coherent system of norms. Moreover, overlaps and duplications of various instruments put a heavy burden on States parties in terms of reporting obligations, a task that few governments had managed to accomplish in a timely and satisfactory manner. Brazil, which had ratified all the most important human rights instruments, had made every effort to present its reports. The presentation of these reports had allowed a constructive and fruitful exchange of views between the committees concerned and the Brazilian Government. Brazil believed that a comprehensive reform of the present system regarding the presentation of reports was required. Rationalization should encompass the task of monitoring human rights. On the question of capital punishment, Brazil's Constitution prohibited it; the Brazilian delegation would support the draft resolution to be tabled by Italy on the question of the death penalty.
M. GORKUN-VOEVODA (Russia) said additional steps should be taken in order to achieve the aim of universal ratification of the main international treaties in the field of human rights. Russia was worried about the low
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number of States that had recognized the optional communications procedures, as it was convinced that the channel of individual communications raised the effectiveness of human rights treaties. Russia also believed no State should abuse its right to make reservations to those instruments, and it supported the idea of conducting, under the auspices of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, research on the problem of reservations and obstacles to the ratification of international human rights treaties. Furthermore, States needed to provide adequate resources for the functioning of each treaty body.
ANNE ANDERSON (Ireland) said the provisions of article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights reaffirmed the right to life and established significant safeguards and restrictions on the carrying out of the death penalty. However, it was clear from the terms of the article that those who had drafted it in the 1960s would have wished to prohibit capital punishment but had been obliged to settle for something less. For its part, Ireland did not believe that there was any credible empirical evidence to justify the claim made in favour of the death penalty, namely that it acts as an effective deterrent against serious crime. Rather, that sentence was applied disproportionately to those who were least able to defend themselves. The initiative of the Italian delegation offered a valuable opportunity for the international community to address the issue in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation.
TAE-YUL CHO (Republic of Korea) said the proliferation of requests for reports under a growing number of human rights instruments had placed an increasingly heavy burden on States parties, especially developing countries. Such a burden had been magnified by duplication and a lack of coordination among the different procedures and mechanisms of various treaty bodies. Reporting mechanisms had to be streamlined. Korea believed that far-reaching reforms were required to make the reporting system "viable as well as sustainable", and hoped the Commission would take further steps to turn that into reality. It was difficult to envision the effective functioning of the treaty bodies without appropriate support from the Centre for Human Rights which could play an important role in maintaining consistency and coherence in both substantive and procedural matters. Korea had contributed the equivalent of $500,000 to the computerization programme of the Office of the High Commissioner/Centre for Human Rights, in collaboration with the Samsung Group. That donation reflected Korea's firm commitment to the promotion of the universal cause of human rights.
H.K. SINGH (India) said the Covenants represented the collective view of the international community on the rights and duties that comprised universal human rights standards and served as benchmarks against which States could compare their domestic legislation and goals. Bodies established pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments were important mechanisms for the periodic review of the fulfilment by States parties of the obligations they
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had voluntarily undertaken. Those bodies could best fulfil their respective mandates by engaging in constructive dialogue with States, assisting them in identifying solutions to human rights problems and playing a supportive and promotional role. Instead, the treaty mechanisms had become cumbersome as a result of, among other things, excessive reporting obligations, overlap, lack of coordination, backlog in submission and examination of reports and lack of adequate resources. The Commission should initiate effective reforms. It should present a report consolidating the different ideas on reform and indicating the legal procedures by which these reforms could be given effect.
STANISLAU AGURTSOU (Belarus) said Belarus supported the adoption of the draft optional protocol on economic, social and cultural rights, as that would help in the implementation of the Covenant of economic, social and cultural rights. Belarus also attached great importance to cooperation with human rights treaty bodies, handing in its reports punctually. It was necessary to improve the procedure of submission of those reports, however. The agendas of all treaty bodies were seriously overloaded, with some committees having to consider more than 10 reports in one session. That affected the quality of the concluding recommendations the committees made and the communication between the different parties.
EDDY PRATOMO (Indonesia) said the effective functioning of United Nations human rights treaty bodies was indispensable for the full and effective implementation of the instruments pursuant to which they had been established. There was an immediate need to identify and implement ways to avoid duplication in the reporting procedures required of States parties, as well as to further streamline and rationalize them in line with overall United Nations restructuring. States parties to human rights instruments needed to address further the continuing backlog in the consideration of the reports they had submitted. Indonesia underlined the importance of technical assistance and advisory services by the United Nations in helping States comply with their reporting obligations. Indonesia also underlined the importance of ensuring that human rights treaty bodies functioned according to their respective mandates and were not unduly hindered by a lack of time or resources.
PETTER WILLE (Norway) said that despite the significant increase in the number of ratifications of the principal human rights instruments, almost one third of all States were still not parties to either of the International Covenants, and only half of all States had ratified or adhered to the Convention against Torture. Those were disappointing figures; renewed efforts were needed to ensure an increase in the number of ratifications. The establishment of treaty bodies, or committees, to monitor the implementation of human rights instruments had been a great achievement, but it had become obvious that the treaty-monitoring system was facing serious problems. The proliferation of reporting obligations over recent decades had imposed a
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considerable burden on States. In order for those reporting procedures to be truly meaningful, the recommendations contained in Philip Alston's report (document E/CN.4/1997/74) should be implemented, including: proposals of concrete measures to achieve the goal of universal ratification of the core human rights treaties; identification of measures to address the problems confronting the reporting system, including the problems of overdue reports, as well as the provision of assistance to States to prepare reports; elimination of comprehensive periodic reports in their present form and replacement by reporting guidelines tailored to each State's individual situation, and consolidation or reduction of the number of treaty bodies.
PAVEL GRECU (Romania) said the existence of a universal constructive and dynamic legal and institutional framework providing all States with a clear and definite programme for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms was one of the greatest achievements of our time. But it was disappointing that one still needed to call for universal accession to human rights instruments. The treaty bodies, with their reporting and communications systems, provided governments with information on how they could promote and implement human rights. His Government strongly supported the elaboration of optional protocols introducing reporting and communications procedures to United Nations conventions which were still not equipped with such an instrument.
JUAN GONZALEZ LINARES (Spain) said his country had abolished the death sentence some years ago and that the Spanish Parliament had recently voted to strike the death penalty from the code of military law, including in times of war. Spain was convinced that capital punishment did not constitute a suitable means to combat criminality in a state of law and that the right to life should be respected. Spain supported the resolution project proposed by Italy and described it as a step in the right direction deserving of discussion among all countries.
Statements on Realization of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
GRACIBEL BU (Honduras) said the World Bank referred to Honduras as a low-income country with heavy debt. Mechanisms had been set up to resolve debt problems with assistance from international financial institutions, but they had not been very successful. Honduras had had to make sacrifices because the external debt continued to be a "huge burden." Despite that, the country had still been able to organize a third settlement of its commitments with the Paris Club in 1996. Honduras favoured the special mention of the foreign debt and the burden of its servicing. Cancelling or rescheduling the debt were necessary steps. Honduras supported all initiatives to reduce the burden of external debt.
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WERNER CORRALES LEAL (Venezuela) said that in the 10 years that had elapsed since the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the international community had become more than ever convinced of the inexorable growth of poverty and social exclusion in the face of purely economic strategies. Economic growth was not automatically followed by development. Likewise, the idea that social policies needed to be formulated as simple palliatives to counter the effects of economic policies was increasingly seen as baseless; such social policies should be considered as complementary instruments which promoted development. Indeed, the World Bank had begun to require that infrastructure projects incorporate a social dimension. Major advances could be achieved within the United Nations system to promote the right to development -- the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was probably the most suitable organization to carry out that task.
MATHIAS HUNDSALZ, of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), said the Habitat Agenda adopted at the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) held in Istanbul in June 1996 contained several references to the human right to adequate housing and the steps to be taken for its progressive realization. Likewise, it clarified and reconfirmed the obligation of governments to enable people to obtain shelter and to protect and improve dwellings and neighbourhoods. The consensus obtained on that subject reflected the political will of the international community to take up the challenge of homelessness, poor and inhuman shelter conditions, inequities in housing availability, discrimination in the housing field and insecurity of tenure. A strategy aimed at assisting countries to provide adequate housing had been formulated by Habitat and consisted of, among other things, the promotion of national legislative programmes in support of housing rights; documentation and analysis of existing legislation on housing rights; and organization of seminars on practical aspects in implement the right to housing.
MOSES DLAMINI (Swaziland) said Swaziland was fully geared and committed to endow its citizens with economic, social and cultural rights. For Swaziland to achieve those goals, it was obvious that it required the support of its partners and friends in international development. Swaziland found "unacceptable" the activities of certain nations at the United Nations, which interrupted and sabotaged the efforts of small and developing nations in realizing the purposes and principles that guaranteed economic human rights for all people and nations. Those attempts included economic embargoes and blockades "which have obviously helped nothing but retarded the efforts of young nations to realize their endeavours". Swaziland appealed to the Commission to ensure that efforts towards the promotion and realization of global cultural rights were safeguarded under the principle of the United Nations, which afforded equal rights and sovereignty to all nations.
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ESPEN RONNEBERG (Marshall Islands) said his country, along with other small island developing States and low-lying coastal areas, was facing the invidious threat of climate change. At the Rio Summit, Pacific Island leaders had said that they "share a common aspiration for economic development and improved living standards for our people ... and are strongly committed to protecting the harmony which has characterized Pacific Island peoples with their environment; we do not want the pursuit of material benefits to undermine our cultural systems and values not to cause any permanent harm to the land and marine resources which have allowed us to sustain island life for many centuries". He called on the international community to look into the issue of human rights and the environment "before we are forced to add ecocide to the list of crimes against humanity".
ENCARNACION RICART, of Pax Romana, said the Commission should be aware of the cause of a serious humanitarian crisis hampering the right to development in 60 countries in the world -- anti-personnel mines. Those weapons caused thousands of victims daily. Countries had been forced to import crops which they formerly were able to grow because people could not work mined fields. In Angola, mines had caused 30,000 victims, and the figures were similar in other countries. But a prohibition on land mines was near. It was hoped that countries would agree on the need to reach an international agreement no later than the end of this year in Ottawa and not wait for the slow and lengthy negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament.
KIRK BOYD, of Human Rights Advocates, said he was deeply concerned about the growing linkage between human rights violations and environmental degradation. Nothing had been done following the report by Special Rapporteur Fatma Ksentini on the subject. Human Rights Advocates recommended the appointment of a special expert to look into ways the Commission could help international environmental institutions and other bodies address the human rights impact of environmental problems. There was indisputable evidence that there was a linkage between environmental degradation and human rights abuses. And there was an increasing international consensus that certain activities of transnational corporations, including their environmental practices, caused human rights abuses.
ANNE BOUVIER, of the Minority Rights Group, said her organization was publishing a new report on the plight of the Kurds in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and the former Soviet Union, places where the Kurds found themselves subject to "suppression, marginalisation, and assimilation policies". In Turkey, where half of the 26 million Kurds lived, they were hindered in their attempts to take part in political life and encountered serious limitations of their right to use their own language. Although Turkey claimed to be fighting terrorism, in fact there was an armed conflict going on between Turkish security forces and the Kurdish Workers' Party in the south-east of the country. Both Turkey and the Workers' Party had been guilty of breaches of
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the Geneva Conventions. The failure to recognize the rights of the Kurds resulted in increasing political opposition and guerrilla resistance. Turkey would only become a stable democracy when human and minority rights standards were implemented fully. Meanwhile, the deplorable situation of the Kurds in Iraq was ongoing. And in Iran, Syria and the former Soviet Union, Kurdish rights were being infringed upon.
NAZIMA FAUZIA KABIR, of International Progress Organisation, said wherever armed conflict occurred, be it Bosnia or Afghanistan or any nation in Africa, the net result was that whatever social and economic progress had been achieved in decades was quickly demolished. Poverty alleviation required the development of human resources. The first casualty of armed conflict, particularly if born of religious or ethnic ideologies, was the human resource. The only beneficiaries were those who sold the weapons to various armed groups and warring parties. Her own native Jammu and Kashmir had lost all it had achieved, while the rest of India was prospering as a consequence of liberalized and enlightened economic policies. The new elected government in the State was trying to rectify matters and kick start economic activity to make up for the ravages of the past seven years. It had sought and been given assistance by the Indian Government. But those who desecrated the State through violence were still targeting those who had been given the political mandate of the people. To alleviate poverty in the State, let it be ensured that no weapons, money or help would be forthcoming from any quarter to those who destroyed modernity and the fruits of enlightenment and economic development in the name of ideologies.
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