COLOMBIAN VICE-FOREIGN MINISTER APPEALS TO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION FOR GREATER SUPPORT IN FIGHT AGAINST ARMED GROUPS
Press Release
HR/CN/778
COLOMBIAN VICE-FOREIGN MINISTER APPEALS TO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION FOR GREATER SUPPORT IN FIGHT AGAINST ARMED GROUPS
19970402 (Reproduced as received; delayed in transmission.)GENEVA, 25 March (UN Information Service) -- The Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Colombia told the Commission on Human Rights this morning that the international community should condemn armed non-State actors and their efforts to impose their ideologies on peoples and nations through barbaric acts.
The Vice-Minister, Camilo Reyes, said lack of international support in the battle against terrorism could be confused with complacency in countries experiencing such activities. This fiftieth anniversary year of the Commission should serve as an occasion to further strengthen international cooperation in human rights, he added, pointing to the opening of a human-rights office in Bogotá as a concrete example of such cooperation.
Also this morning, the Director of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Pierre-Henri Imbert, said the Council had worked alongside the United Nations at the regional level to promote and protect human rights for almost 50 years. The organization's most renowned achievement in this area was undoubtedly the European Convention on Human Rights, he said, but added that tragic events and human suffering over the last few years in former Yugoslavia, Chechnya and Albania meant there was a long way to go.
The Commission then continued debate on issues related to the rights of migrant workers, minorities and religious intolerance. A report submitted to the Commission last week indicates that the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families has been ratified or acceded to only by Morocco, the Philippines, Egypt, Colombia, Kuwait, Seychelles and Sierra Leone; and signed by Chile and Mexico. The Convention will enter into force after it is ratified or acceded to by 20 countries. This morning, the representative of Egypt called on countries that have not done so to accept the Convention.
Taking the floor this morning were the representatives of Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Russian Federation, Belarus, China, Bangladesh, Chile and Sri Lanka, as well as representatives of the following observer countries, Iran, Turkey, Hungary, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Greece and Sudan. The Director of Human Rights of the Council of Europe also delivered statements.
Statement by Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Colombia
CAMILO REYES, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Colombia, said the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action stated that it be impossible to realize the ideal of the human being able to enjoy civil and political freedoms and free from fear and poverty if the conditions to enjoy all human rights were not created. States had the inescapable obligation of protecting and defending the nucleus of all rights -- the right to life, integrity and liberty -- and to provide access to all their citizens to all the basic necessities. But in fulfilling their responsibilities, States often found that a great distance separated the will to give their nationals the guarantee to fully enjoy all their rights from the actual capability of doing so. Violence and poverty were two enormous obstacles on the path to the enjoyment of rights.
The right to development was a human right which States needed to work to realize, both internally and internationally, Mr. REYES continued. The Movement of Non-Aligned States had been working to have the United Nations take steps in search of a consensus on what needed to be done to make this right possible for all countries. He was confident that this session of the Commission would take a step in this direction.
The United Nations had been founded to protect humanity from the scourge of war, giving itself the ability to take collective action to prevent and eliminate threats to peace, he said. Such threats came not only in the form of wars between countries, but also as a result of internal armed conflicts. The international community should condemn armed non-State actors, who persisted in imposing their ideologies on peoples and nations through barbaric acts. The Commission had moved in this direction, but voices were still predominant which held that, in applying the mechanisms and special procedures available for the protection of human rights, only the responsibility of States should be engaged. International silence in the face of acts by subversive or terrorist groups was sometimes confused inside countries suffering from such acts with international complacency. Efficient international cooperation to free humanity from the scourge of human rights violations required the condemnation of all violent groups.
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Mr. REYES said the fiftieth anniversary of the Commission this year presented an opportunity to improve existing cooperation mechanisms in the field of human rights. In this connection, he wished to point out that an agreement between the Colombian Government and the High Commissioner for Human Rights had led to the opening of a human-rights office in Bogotá that would begin operating on 6 April.
Statements in Debate
MUSA HITAM (Malaysia) said human rights and fundamental freedoms would be meaningless if a country was devastated by social, political and economic instability. He concurred with the views expressed by the Special Rapporteur in his report on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief that: "Sects, whether their religion is real or a fiction, are not above the law. The State must ensure that the law -- particularly on the maintenance of public order ... is respected". The members of the Al-Arqam Sect in Malaysia referred to in the Special Rapporteur's report had been released in 1996. Islam has been equated with radicalism, terrorism, and intolerance and, at the same time, Muslim communities living in certain parts of the world have increasingly been violated. The perception by the West that Islam was synonymous with terrorism, extremism and intolerance was obviously wrong and did not reflect the true teachings of Islam and its tradition, which promoted peace and solidarity irrespective of race or religion.
SYRUS QAZI (Pakistan) said that in many parts of the world, migrants continued to be treated as second-class citizens; it was necessary to promote cooperation to develop national and international legislation to protect the rights of migrant workers. Pakistan had an elaborate institutional framework for promoting and protecting the rights of minorities, including a National Commission for Minorities, a Federal Advisory Council for Minorities' Affairs, and other bodies. Pakistan had welcomed the visit of the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor, in June 1995; he had recommended among other things the amendment of the separate electoral system so that minority communities could participate directly in the electoral process, and the system had since been amended. Tolerance and respect for pluralism were positive values, but they should not be used by vested interests to cover for foreign occupation or alien domination -- Pakistan was a victim of extremism and terrorism incited from outside the country, and playing on incitements to religious and ethnic hatred. Discrimination against minorities in Pakistan was not systematic and was not sanctioned by social mores, but was an aberration of Islam, the Constitution, the law, and the norms of Pakistani society.
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B. KRYLOV (Russian Federation) said the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Russian laws protected the right of minorities to develop their culture and their right to receive education in their mother language. It followed then that Russian society could not be indifferent to the destiny of the 25 million Russians who had found themselves living in the new independent States after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia was concerned with the dangerous policy of granting priority to the title nation at the expense of infringement of the right of national minorities, as well as with different manifestations of aggressive nationalism. The Government could not keep silent about a decline of Russian informational and cultural space, with imposed limits for receiving education in the Russian language. These tendencies might result in a crisis and should attract close attention from the international community. The standpoint of Russia was derived from the necessity of protection of human rights and not from some imperialistic aspirations. It was based on Russia's rejection of any form of discrimination and double standards in human rights issues.
ARUNDHATI GHOSE (India) said extremism and intolerance in the name of religion, and the rise of so-called religious fundamentalism, was a challenge that confronted almost all nations and religions. This problem carried the danger of lapsing into militancy, violence and even terrorism. India's society was faced with these challenges, but its Government attached the highest importance to the promotion of religious tolerance and elimination of religion-based discrimination at home and abroad. The Special Rapporteur had visited India last year; Indian officials had benefited from Mr. Amor's expertise and hoped to continue a fruitful relationship. India's diversity, religious and otherwise, continued to thrive as the present demographic and socio-economic indicators showed. This would not have been possible without a deep and shared commitment to pluralism and tolerance. India was happy the Special Rapporteur found the situation in India in the area of religious tolerance and non-discrimination satisfactory. The Special Rapporteur had pointed out that India's democratic structure, which was conducive to tolerance and religious harmony, was also susceptible to attack on account of factors connected with extremism and with international relations. India agreed with the Special Rapporteur's call on all parties to refrain from exacerbating problems in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
ALENA KUPCHYNA (Belarus) said the country was multi-national and clearly aware of the injustice of discrimination; purposeful efforts were being made to implement the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities on the rights of minorities. The country was moving to democracy and a market economy, and doing so with serious attention to human rights, as that was good for its own sake and also promoted social stability. The country was also acting to accede to the Council of Europe's Framework Convention on protecting minorities; it already had signed the Commonwealth of Independent States' Convention for protecting minorities. Also, a State Committee on Religion and
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Nationality had been set up, and the country was working actively with more than 10 national cultural associations of such groups as Russians, Moldavians, Jews, and others living in the country. There were more than 100,000 illegal immigrants in Belarus, who mostly had fled problems in their own countries; greater protection of minorities and of human rights by all nations would greatly reduce the problems posed by refugees and migrants around the world. There had been a rapid growth in religious activities in the country in the post-Soviet era, and major efforts were being made to enable citizens to exercise their right to freedom of religion and to avoid any hostility or violence on the basis of religion.
WANG ZUOAN (China) said China was a multi-religious country: there were believers in Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Catholicism, or Christianity. The Government had always pursued respect for and protection of religious freedom as its fundamental policy in dealing with religious affairs. And it paid special attention to the protection of the rights of believers with a view to avoid the emergence of any inequality in rights and duties caused by the difference of religious beliefs. Furthermore, the State protected normal religious activities, and it pursued the policy of separation of religion and politics. China attached great importance to the respect for and protection of religious freedom through legal means, having set up two important special regulations on religious affairs. The Government protected all religious activities carried out within the scope of the Constitution and the law; citizens should also fulfil their obligations as provided by law.
NAELA GABR (Egypt) said participants in the round-table discussion organized by the United Nations on 21 March to discuss the fight against racism and xenophobia had stressed the importance of integrating foreigners in their new communities. The participants in the meeting had called on the international community to join the International Convention on the rights of migrants and their families, which only 10 countries, including Egypt, had ratified or acceded to. The acceptance by countries of this agreement would signal the beginning of efforts to reduce contemporary forms of racism. Similarly, implementing the Declaration on ending all religious discrimination would be a positive development for human rights. Religious discrimination had become a disease which threatened contemporary society. Taking preventive steps to stop racism was one of the important policies that Egypt had implemented, mainly through education in schools. Accepting different people would, in coming years, be the main criterion in gaging progress at the international level in the area of human rights.
IFTEKHAR AHMED CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said his country had observed a disturbing growth in negative attitudes towards migrants and other foreigners in various parts of the world. This augured ill for global stability. As the movement of people increased, migrants had become the targets of unacceptable behaviour and scapegoats for the ills of host societies. Increasing public hostility in many countries translated into individual and collective acts of
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violence and abuse against migrants. The globalization and liberalization of the economy entailed free cross-border movement of the factors of production. This process would remain grossly incomplete and severely impeded as long as labour was not included. The non-recognition of the value of movement of people in the context of production had resulted in the adoption of restrictive policies and contributed to the flourishing of trafficking in illegal migrants. Bangladesh called for the initiation of a dialogue on the whole range of questions related to migration, including migrants' rights. The message of tolerance, which could only be mutually beneficial, must be spread.
LUIS LILLO (Chile) said migrant workers continued to be victims of a disturbing human-rights situation -- a situation that deserved to be taken up by the Commission. Migrants were increasingly vulnerable and subject to serious violations of their human rights, and prey to attitudes and acts that undermined their dignity; they were treated as second-class citizens and even exposed to violence. In fact, migrant workers made important contributions to the development of their host countries, both economic and social, and were symptoms moreover of economic difficulties in their home countries. More restrictive and repressive policies against migrants enacted by some States were a cause of concern -- they did not necessarily decrease migration, and tended to encourage xenophobia and racist behaviour; they could lead to greater marginalization of some sectors of society. The problem was complex and could not be approached successfully with such reductive, negative means. More international support was needed for the Convention on protection of migrant workers.
BERNARD GOONETILLEKE (Sri Lanka) said the Declaration on the rights of minorities referred to the tenets of other international human rights instruments, including the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. Article 20 of that Covenant clearly prohibited any advocacy of national, racial or ethnic hatred that constituted incitement or discrimination, hostility or violence. This made it clear that minorities also had certain obligations towards society as a whole, and acts of violence or terrorism were not an admissible means of realizing minority rights. The Commission had declared in a resolution last year that tolerance and pluralism were indivisible elements in the promotion and protection of human rights and that any group that sought to achieve ethnic exclusiveness through the practice of ethnic cleansing should be seen as adopting extremes of intolerance. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Act, which had begun its work this month, and the Fundamental Rights chapter of the country's Constitution, were a reflection of the rights enjoyed for a long time by minorities in Sri Lanka.
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A. R. GHANAVI (Iran) said the tide of religious intolerance showed no signs of receding. At the centre of this trend was "Islamophobia", the perception of Islam and its followers as threats to the West. Muslims were often labelled as fundamentalists and were subject to unacceptable political and religious restrictions. Politically, they were perceived as a security threat and any political, social, or judicial actions against them were justified and permitted. This had in turn given rise to violence, arson and vandalism aimed at Muslims and their properties in the West. And yet, while there was an established mechanism for anti-Semitic sentiments, there was nothing to protect the rights of Muslim minorities. The conclusions of Special Rapporteur Abdelfattah Amor were a "piecemeal approach" to the question of religious freedom and religious intolerance. The Special Rapporteur seemed to view religion as the main source of intolerance and accordingly lent credibility to intolerance of religion. Iran hoped that the Special Rapporteur would address this phenomenon in detail next time.
NECIP EGÜZ (Turkey) said the issues facing migrant workers were among the most complex human rights questions before the international community. Migrant workers lived without proper protection from international or domestic legal instruments. About 3 million Turkish citizens were migrant workers, almost all of them in Western Europe. A statement by the International Labour Organisation on this item had concluded that "marginalization and exclusion (of migrant workers) foster and reinforce xenophobic tendencies among the national population in migrant-receiving countries and result in a sub-optimum use of human resources". Host countries were urged to pursue policies of integration, but not of assimilation. The participation of migrant workers in the political, social and cultural life of the host country was the prerequisite for their integration. However, host countries usually followed the opposite tendency. This resulted in the resurgence of racism and xenophobia, especially in Western Europe. Many Turks in Europe were harassed, attacked and even killed by racists. Discrimination on the basis of race and ethnic background did not help to promote tolerance and mutual understanding. Turkey hoped the international community would mobilize all possible efforts to remedy this complex problem.
PETER NARAY (Hungary) said the Hungarian Government was convinced that the existence of minorities in any country which respected their rights was an important economic, social, and cultural asset that benefited the whole country; such minorities did not constitute any threat against the integrity of the State. Hungary recently had signed treaties with Romania and Slovakia to provide basic protections for the rights of minorities, and in the case of Romania the terms of the agreement already were being put into effect. Hungary welcomed the growing attention paid to minority-related questions by international and regional fora -- the 1995 establishment of a Working Group on Minorities by the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities was a significant step, and Hungary wished to encourage the Group to engage itself along the lines of exploring possible
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ways of setting up and reinforcing monitoring mechanisms at national, regional, and international levels. It also remained convinced of the necessity of appointing an expert or representative of the Commission with a mandate for focusing on the rights of minorities.
JEAN-DANIEL VIGNY, observer for Switzerland, said the Working Group on Minorities, in its second session, had held an open dialogue with more than 50 NGOs, along with attendees from many States, most of whom, unfortunately, restricted themselves to attentive silence. It was to be hoped that States would in future use the Working Group for actual, open communication with representatives of minorities; there should in future be better exchanges on such matters as legislation affecting minorities. One important recommendation of the Working Group was to determine the content and scope of the provisions of the 1992 Declaration on the rights of minorities. The Group's intention to hold a seminar on intercultural education later this spring also was a valuable idea; as finance for the seminar had not yet been assured, others were urged to contribute. Switzerland sought in general to cooperate with international treaty bodies and other organizations to put recommendations for helping minorities into action; countries really could try to participate in this process, and provide prompt, accurate information when it was requested. The group's mandate should be renewed through the year 200.
TOFIK MOUSSAEV (Azerbaijan) said neither majorities nor minorities should be entitled to assert their identity in ways which denied the possibility for others to do the same. There was a growing threat from the forces of aggressive nationalism, religious and political extremism, terrorism and separatism. Massive "ethnic cleansing" and massacres which bordered on genocide and resulted in huge numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons were being observed. There was growing concern in the world due to a tendency to misinterpret the right to self-determination as a right of any ethnic community to create its own State. Members of minorities should recognize and respect their duties to society at large. Minorities should also abstain from incitement to acts of violence against members of other groups. Azerbaijan considered the decision accepted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe at its recent Lisbon Summit regarding a settlement of the armed conflict in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as a valuable and important contribution to a peaceful solution. That decision was based on respect for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons, including those belonging to ethnic minorities.
PIERRE-HENRI IMBERT, Director of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, said the Council had worked alongside the United Nations at the regional level to promote and protect the human rights of every person for almost 50 years. The organization's most renowned achievement in this area was undoubtedly the European Convention on Human Rights. As Europe struggled with unemployment, homelessness, and lack of access to adequate health care, economic, social and
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cultural rights must be high on the Council's agenda. In other areas visits had been set up under the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; there was a Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities; and structures had been established to monitor compliance with commitments undertaken by member States. But one had only to look at tragic events and human suffering over the last few years in former Yugoslavia, Chechnya, and more recently Albania to see that there was a long way to go. The tragic resurgence of racism and intolerance in Europe in recent years had prompted heads of State an Government to attend a Summit in 1993 to commit themselves to efforts to fight this scourge. Other challenges addressed in the region were equality between women and men, where, with the exception of a few countries, there had not been any progress, at least in terms of women's presence in positions of political leadership; and such matters as abolition of capital punishment and promotion of awareness and understanding of human rights across all sectors of society.
ELEFTERIOS DOUVOS (Greece) said the country's Constitution and laws were deeply attached to the respect of religious freedoms. Greece had made a political commitment to fight religious discrimination, and it co-sponsored a resolution in the General Assembly each year on the elimination of all forms of religious discrimination. The Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance said in his report that article 13 of the Constitution, when it referred to "known religions", appeared to be prejudicial in relation to the Declaration on the elimination of religious discrimination. This was not justified. The aim of the article was to establish a distinction between religious beliefs everyone could hold and sects of a clandestine or dangerous nature. The Special Rapporteur also highlighted the Greek law against proselytism. That measure sanctioned proselytism by fraudulent means and promises of material gain. It aimed at protecting religions against dishonest influences and not to limit religious education. The European Court of Human Rights had not, in a 1993 case, brought into question the compatibility of that law with provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights.
ABDEL MONEIM HASSAN (Sudan) said the Sudan was a mixture of a large number of cultures, religions and ethnic groups. Its citizens -- Muslims, Christians and those following traditional religions -- lived in peace and harmony. Moreover, the federal system of law allowed each region and ethnic group to govern and develop itself using the rules and laws best suited to it. Sudanese laws gave all citizens the right to their own religious beliefs, and they banned discrimination. The Government had also decided not to apply Islamic Shariah laws on non-Muslims, especially in the South. The evangelism law had also been removed and the Christian religion was taught in complete freedom in schools in Sudan . Foreign countries and non-governmental organizations had been spreading rumours that the war that had been forced on Sudan in the south was of a religious nature. The aim behind this was the aim to split Sudan. The repeated foreign attacks on Sudan's southern and eastern borders was proof of this. * *** *