HUMAN RIGHTS BODY TAKES UP REPORT OF SUBCOMMISSION ON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES

Press Release
HR/CN/779

HUMAN RIGHTS BODY TAKES UP REPORT OF SUBCOMMISSION ON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES

(Reproduced as received; delayed in transmission.)

GENEVA, 25 March (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights began consideration this afternoon of the report and activities of its principal subsidiary body, the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. Several national delegations and the International Committee of the Red Cross supported the idea of development -- under the Subcommission's auspices or elsewhere -- of a set of minimum humanitarian standards that somehow could be enforced in situations of internal conflict and public emergency.

A representative of the Red Cross said any such standards should be practical in nature and discussion of the issue should not be lost "in the meanders of insoluble theoretical questions".

Asbjorn Eide, Subcommission Chairman, introducing the report of the group's August 1996 session, said that in recent years the panel had devoted more attention to economic, social, and cultural rights and had spent a great deal of time and effort on issues related to the rights of indigenous peoples. He also reported that the Subcommission had extensively discussed and acted on a request by the Commission that it review its methods of work.

Several speakers questioned the tenor of the panel's activities: representatives of China and Bangladesh said the Subcommission should avoid political confrontation and reduce the number of country-specific resolutions it considered.

Over the course of an extended meeting which ended at 9 p.m., the Commission also concluded three days of discussion on agenda items related to religious freedom and the rights of minorities and of migrant workers.

Statements on freedom of religion included charges by the International Indian Treaty Council that in Canada and the United States the rights of indigenous peoples to their traditional religions were being violated through separation of the groups from their ancestral territories or through environmental damage to their sacred lands.

Speaking at the meeting were officials from the following countries: Israel, Slovenia, Ukraine, Ireland, Denmark, Brazil, Bangladesh, China, India, Philippines, Germany, United States, Pakistan, Mexico, Poland, Norway (on behalf of the Nordic countries), and Switzerland.

Representatives of the following non-governmental organizations and international agencies also delivered statements: International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education; International Educational Development; International Indian Treaty Council; United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation; International Association of Educators for World Peace; International Association Against Torture; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; World Peace Council; International Progress Organization; International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations; International Falcon Movement -- Socialist Educational International; International Organization on Migration; the United Nations Children's Fund; Women's International Democratic Federation; International League for Human Rights; Asian Cultural Forum on Development; Indian Law Resource Center; African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters, and International Progress Organization.

Speaking in exercise of the right of reply were the representatives of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mexico, Greece, Armenia, China, Azerbaijan, and Mauritania.

The Commission will convene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 26 March, in the form of an open-ended working group to elaborate a draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It will convene in plenary session when the working group session adjourns. The Minister of Justice of Bolivia will address the Commission at 11 a.m.

Statements on Minorities, Migrant Workers, Religious Intolerance

NIELS BOHR, of the International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education, said the question of minorities was still largely seen as problematic, judging by how one still heard such terms as "managing diversity" or "guaranteeing social cohesion". Cultural and religious diversity scared people -- the former was even considered a source of conflict. To guarantee unity, cohesion, and social peace, all forms of division, whether religious or cultural, had to be set aside. The State education system had been, since the last century, the one instrument to guarantee and impose this uniformity. The question of whether this model was compatible with human rights, and notably the rights of minorities and the right to education, remained. Diversity was rather a source of creativity and social progress. The "Delors Report on Education in the 21st Century" submitted to UNESCO stated that respect of diversity and the specificity of individuals constituted a fundamental principle which resulted in the proscription of all forms of standardized education.

KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said many of the 34 full-blown wars and 20 near-wars under way in the world involved the use and abuse of religion for political purposes; this was true in Afghanistan, Armenia/Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Burma, Burundi, Chechnya, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Israeli- Occupied Territories and Southern Lebanon, Kashmir, Mexico, Moluccas, Rwanda, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tibet, and Uganda, and in the near wars and violent social unrest in Algeria, China (the Uigars), India, Kosovo, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The manipulation of religion as part of a larger agenda was illustrated in the struggle of the Moluccan people since the Moluccas were seized by Indonesia. In Kashmir, the Government of India sought to portray the problem as one of Islamic fanaticism supported primarily from outside, but that could not be farther from the truth -- the war raged there because India refused, with 600,000 to 700,000 armed troops, to implement Security Council resolutions allowing self-determination for Kashmiris. Manipulation of religion and widespread violations by Chinese authorities in Tibet also needed greater attention -- Chinese policies there must be considered ethnocidal.

Representatives of the International Indian Treaty Council, said international monitoring and mediation was urgently needed to protect indigenous peoples' right to practice their religions, which often were directly connected to their natural surroundings; the Aazhoodenoo and Potowatami peoples of Canada, for example, were forcibly removed from their homelands in 1942 and had made peaceful attempts for 45 years to reclaim their ceremonial grounds and burial sites, only to be met with violence and repression from Government officials, including the murder of one young tribal member in 1995; military installations, commercial activities, and tourism industries in Guatemala and Mexico prevented indigenous peoples access to their sacred temples and sites. The delegation had listened to the interesting statement made earlier by the United States on supposed religious freedom in that country, and wanted the Commission to know the other side of the story -- that indigenous peoples there were the most persecuted and prosecuted when it came to maintaining their way of life and religion; among other things, the United States Government was pressing the Navajo Nation Tribal Council to sign an agreement which would effectively prevent future generations from practising their traditional Dineh religion; the Dineh had been informed that if they did not accept the terms, they would be subject to forcible removal as of 31 March 1997.

NGAWANG CHOEPHEL, of the United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation, said the failure to observe freedom of religion or belief and the encouragement of religious intolerance led to conflicts, including armed ones; this brought instability and created a major obstacle for the social, cultural and economic development of a country. In other situations, denial of religious freedom and attempts to destroy an ancient religious tradition slowly annihilated the cultural heritage of a people. That was what was now happening in Tibet, where in recent years the Chinese authorities had initiated a number of repressive measures to severely curtail religious freedom. Among other things, China had now declared that Tibet must be transformed into an atheist region. The six million Tibetan people, described as among the most religious on earth, were in danger. The Commission could stop this. Member States should take concrete steps to stop this "cultural genocide" from succeeding in Tibet.

MIGUEL ANGEL LOREDO, of the International Association of Educators for World Peace, said that in Cuba, the situation of churches had evolved with the 1991 decision of the Fourth Party Congress to define the country as a secular rather than an atheistic State; since then religious freedom had been officially guaranteed, although the guarantee was not applied very well in practice, especially when exercise of religion was seen to conflict with interests of state or constitute illicit association or amount to a case of "abuse of religious freedom"; those and other offenses were punishable. There was a ban on the construction of new churches and there were restrictions on public meetings that affected the practice of religion -- groups suffering in this case were the various evangelical denominations; prayer houses had been demolished with bulldozers. It was true that creation in 1988 of a Department of Religious Affairs had facilitated relations between the Government and established churches, but it also was true that progress resulting was slow; there were obstacles to religious education, and the statements of priests and ministers were under scrutiny, sometimes resulting in summons to "interviews" with State authorities and even threats. The practice of religious freedom in Cuba had improved considerably, although much remained to be done.

ROGER WAREHAM, of the International Association Against Torture, said there was no consensus on the definition of "minority" or of "national minority". Most observers categorized the population of African descent in the United States as a minority. This definition influenced and limited the approach and the solutions proposed to the problems faced by that population. Implicit in that definition was the assumption that the minority had some basic rights it shared with the majority but which fell short of a nation's right to self-determination. Yet there did exist in the United States two nations, one Black, one white, separate and unequal. The situation of Africans in the United States provided a case study of why the protection of the rights of national minorities must start from an objective analysis of their actual status in society. All situations of national minorities were not the same. In some circumstances, a "minority" became a "people" and in others a "people" became a "nation".

ANNA YRGARD, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said migration should be examined in conjunction with the present stage of international economic liberalization. In the light of the economic situation in most sending States, many people had no choice but to migrate to find work and survive. The present process of a globally borderless economy had put workers worldwide into competition and created a seemingly bottomless downward spiral of working conditions, leading to slavery-like situations; migrant workers were at the very end of this spiral. Globalization of the economy reduced the de facto power of the State in regulating labour through laws and guarantees of social supports. But this did not reduce the responsibilities that the sending and receiving States had in protecting the rights of workers. The League called on sending States to improve services to migrant workers, both before they left their home States by means of improved education and information; and after they reached the receiving States, by enhancing embassy and consular services.

REFAQAT ALI, of the World Peace Council, said that despite the fact that many countries described themselves as democracies, in practice their behaviour resembled that of theocratic or totalitarian States. Mature countries and societies have established norms that allowed minorities all the privileges and rights available to the majority. In many developing countries that had freed themselves from the shackles of colonialism, the founders of many democratic movements talked about liberty and freedom because they believed that democracy alone could fight bigotry. But the lessons from the past had been forgotten and the flames of bigotry were being been fanned once again. Implementing programmes designed to end intolerance based on religion and belief required the identification of those most guilty of such practices today. The danger did not come from nation States as much as from the rapidly growing extremist armed groups that had created States within States and were beginning to target the midwives of their own birth.

SHEENA JOICE, of the International Progress Organisation, said intolerance was not inherent in religions but was invented by man. This intolerance became far more dangerous when the State sanctioned such discrimination. The inevitable consequence of such a system of institutionalized prejudice was that while some segments of society prospered, others, notably the minorities, were deprived of their basic rights. Pakistan presented a unique example of how intolerance could get out of hand because when it had the sanction of a State. By allowing these laws to remain intact, Pakistan continued with its wanton violation of the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

GHULAM MOHAMMAD SAFI, of the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, aid it was necessary to repudiate the Indian thesis that Muslims living in-Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir were a minority; the people of Jammu and Kashmir did want protection of their rights, not as a minority but through exercise of their right to self-determination. Although Muslims had borne the brunt of Indian repression, the Kashmiri Pandits had been forced from Kashmir as part of a-well-calculated move to give a communal character to the uprising in Kashmir. Abdelfattah Amor, Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance, had visited India last December, including Srinagar and Jammu, taking note of the desecration and destruction of the Charar-I-Sharif Mosque and shrine, restrictions on worship and education of Muslims in Kashmir, and the repressive policies of the Indian Government in general. However, he was under the limitation of having his visit guided by the occupation authorities who had not facilitated his contact with the real leadership and people of Jammu and Kashmir. India was trying to portray the freedom movement in Kashmir as an extremist religious movement, but it had never been that. It was hoped that in his follow-up visit the Special Rapporteur would keep these points in mind.

IRAJ MESDAGHI, of the International Falcon Movement-Socialist Educational International, said freedom of religion and belief continued to be violated in many parts of the world. There was persecution and suppression of religious minorities in Iran; this treatment had been now extended from non-Muslims to Sunnis. The Iranian regime's operatives had eliminated religious Sunni personalities by abduction and extra judicial executions. Suppression and harassment of the Sunnis in Iran was rooted in the views of Khomeini, who had not recognized them as citizens with equal rights. And the persecution of Sunnis was not limited to their leaders. Moreover, the pressure against Iranian Muslim Sufis and other religious branches continued in the face of little international attention. The Commission was urged to put pressure on Iran to end this tragic situation.

ALEXANDER GALILEE (Israel) said he was very concerned over recent attempts to "rekindle the evil fires of division and hatred between peoples". Paradoxically, racist and divisive views had gained popularity just as the world was becoming more and more of a world village. In recent years, Israel had taken steps to strengthen its own legislation against racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, and it was proud of its treatment of Israel's non-Jewish citizens. Muslims, Christians, Druze and others enjoyed full personal, religious and civil rights in Israel. Meanwhile, the unrelenting anti-Semitism prevailing in countries in the Arab world was appalling. At times endemic, at times virulent, Israel-hatred and anti-Semitism never let up in the Arab press. He hoped the implementation of the Programme of Action of the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination would herald a new era in which peace would not be limited to a political agreement but to a willingness of people to share and implement the universal and everlasting values of solidarity, brotherhood and friendship.

Right of Reply

GORAN STEVCEVSKI (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said the representative of Greece had criticized the statement made by his delegation. He wished to remind the Greek representative that "the Constitutional name of his country is the Republic of Macedonia", and the country was fully entitled to use its proper name.

ALICIA PEREZ-DUARTE (Mexico) said Mexico congratulated the Special Rapporteur on the elimination of religious discrimination for his report. However, his reference to Mexico was, at the very least, imprecise. Reading the report, one could conclude erroneously that the Government of Mexico was against freedom of religion. Mexico had responded to the Special Rapporteur in a detailed way on efforts to promote reconciliation. But there was no mention of these important details in the body of the report. Mexicans enjoyed complete religious freedom, regardless of their religion. Also, the information the Special Rapporteur had on fanaticism in Mexico concerned a small part of the population in the west of the country.

EMMANUEL MANOUSSAKIS (Greece) said he was responding to the statement made by representative of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The text of the relevant Security Council resolution was acceptable to Greece and self-explanatory; if it could be interpreted to imply that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could be referred to otherwise, the resolution would have been devoid of any meaning. The two countries had agreed to establish friendly relations, but had left the question of the determination of the country's name open. That made it officially clear that it was accepted by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia that there was indeed a dispute over the country's name.

KAREN NAZARIAN (Armenia) said Armenia did not accept the elements of the statement of the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe at the group's recent Summit in Lisbon. This statement did not reflect the deliberations of the Minsk Conference; it pre-empted the results that might be produced by the Minsk Conference, and it reflected a hardening of Azerbaijan's position. Nagorno Karabakh had not been represented in Lisbon. Armenians were the majority in Nagorno Karabakh; they had the right to enjoy their freedom and their right to self-determination.

BI HUA (China) said the basic and consistent policy of the Government was freedom of religious belief and that the situation in Tibet was no exception. In that autonomous region, the efforts of the Government had allowed the renovation and opening to the public of 1,700 religious sites. There were nevertheless a few people in exile who, disregarding the people of Tibet, went so far as to go against the basic principles of Tibetans and carried out separatist activities.

GORAN STEVCESKI (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said the delegation considered that, regretfully, the text of Security Council resolution 817/93 had been again misinterpreted by the representative of Greece.

TOFIK MOUSSAEV (Azerbaijan) said there was no such thing as "the Karabakh people". Before the conflict, the Armenian community had enjoyed broad political, economic and cultural autonomy within Azerbaijan. As for the more than 200,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis in Armenia, the solution to the problem of their self-determination had been simple: they had been forcibly expelled from the lands they had inhabited for centuries. As a result of this ethnic cleansing, Armenia had become a State with practically no ethnic or religious minorities. The position of the Armenian delegation regarding the statement of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office at the Lisbon Summit was contradicted by the position of the international community, as reflected in well-known resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, as well as in the decisions of the OSCE and other international organizations.

KAREN NAZARIAN (Armenia) said he would give the historical background to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh. The Azeris had organized a mob which had begun programmes against Armenians in the Azeri city of Sumgat some nine years ago. This had been followed by killings and pillaging in Gianga in November 1988, and in Baku in 1990. In the Spring of 1991, the Azeri regime, assisted by the Soviet army, had organized the de-population of the Armenian regions of Northern Artzakh, and the deportation of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh and 24 surrounding regions. In a report, Helsinki Watch had stated that those events had been intended to exacerbate the fears of ethnic Armenians in other parts of Azerbaijan and had led to the deportation of more than 500,000 Armenians.

Statement by Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance

ABDELFATTAH AMOR, Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, praised the dialogue carried with Member States, observers and non-governmental organizations. It was not enough that the dialogue be free of harassment, threats and accusations. Most of all, dialogue had to be heard. He had carried out his mandate and written his report without any form of prejudice. Regretfully, he concluded, extremism and intolerance were not decreasing, but the means available to the Special Rapporteur to carry out his work effectively were. He believed the continual reduction of the assistance made available to the Special Rapporteur constituted a form of censorship. Moreover, promises of funds were never kept. There were urgent pending matters, including the need to open an in-depth file on sects.

Action of Subcommission at Forty-eighth Session

The Commission took up this afternoon the report of its Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities on its forty-eighth session (document E/CN.4/1997/2 - E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/41; see also E/CN.4/1997/79), held last August. At that session, which saw the Subcommission extensively debate its role in a changing world, the panel received and discussed the first instalment of an in-depth study on the situation of systematic rape, sexual slavery and slave-like practices during wartime, including internal conflict. It was also presented with a final report on the challenge posed to human rights by extreme poverty and heard calls for more attention to be paid to economic, social, and cultural rights, and especially to problems hindering economic development in much of the world.

Twelve draft decisions recommended to the Commission are presented at the beginning of the report, on topics ranging from traditional practices affecting the health of women and children to human rights during states of emergency.

As in previous years, the Subcommission in 1996 reviewed human rights situations in specific countries. It passed resolutions on the state of human rights in Kosovo, Rwanda, Burundi, Iraq, Iran, and the Israeli-occupied Arab territories. It approved Chairman's statements encouraging the "transition to peace" in Guatemala; deploring violent clashes in Cyprus; expressing its "strongest condemnation" of the kidnapping or murder of hostages anywhere; and it adopted -- by secret ballot -- a decision calling for an immediate end to hostilities in Chechnya, Russia Federation.

It also adopted without a vote a resolution expressing deep concern at reports of the serious consequences the international economic embargo imposed on Iraq was having on the civilian population, and appealed for a more effective supply of food and medicines to civilians.

In other resolutions, the Subcommission expressed support for the convening of a world conference to combat racism and racial discrimination; recommended that Governments prohibit the advertising or publicizing of sex tourism; recommended that relevant international fora, in particular the Conference on Disarmament, should immediately start negotiations on nuclear disarmament with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons; requested the Commission to establish a working group to examine the effects of the activities of transnational corporations on economic, social, and cultural rights and the right to development; and decided to entrust one of its members with the task of preparing a working paper on the "potentially adverse consequences of scientific progress and its applications for the integrity, dignity, and human rights of the individual".

Altogether, the panel adopted 36 resolutions, 19 decisions, and three Chairman's statements.

On the subject of indigenous peoples -- a matter of considerable concern to the Subcommission for a number of years -- several resolutions and decisions were adopted, including a recommendation that the Commission appoint expert Erica-Irene A. Daes as Special Rapporteur to conduct a comprehensive study of the problem of recognition of and respect for indigenous land rights.

At its 1996 session, the Subcommission devoted much of its time to a discussion of its methods of work, partly in response to requests for a review by the Commission. Among action taken on this question, the panel decided not to propose any new studies or reports at the forty-eighth session, with the exception of working papers without financial considerations and cases where studies or reports were specifically recommended by competent working groups of the Subcommission; and it decided to take no action at next year's session in respect of human rights situations which the Commission is already considering. The 1997 provisional agenda contains 13 items, compared to the 23 examined in 1996.

The Commission also has before it a document first submitted to the Subcommission at its last session, namely the final report of the Subcommission's Special Rapporteur on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, Halima Embarek Warzazi (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/6). The Special Rapporteur concludes that remedial action needs to be taken in the areas of ignorance, poverty, and women's lowly status, as they are associated with harmful traditional practices. Governments also should be motivated to combat harmful practices, not alone but with the aid of the international community. Mrs. Warzazi makes national recommendations ranging from: mobilizing communities to combat harmful traditional practices and setting up monitoring at their level; gathering information likely to work in publicity campaigns and for specific target groups; using publicity campaigns to stimulate awareness of human rights as they relate to women and directed against son preferences; to creating programmes for practitioners of female circumcision to change their attitudes combined with courses on alternative ways of earning a livelihood. At the international level, she recommends coordination between the Subcommission and the Committees responsible for implementation of the Conventions on the rights of women, on the rights of the child and on human rights; and financial support from the United Nations for training personnel responsible for enforcing laws against sex-related discrimination.

The Commission also took up a report of the Secretary-General summarizing replies received regarding the request made by the Commission last year that States consider reviewing their national legislation relevant to situations of public emergency with a view to ensuring that it meets the requirements of the rule of law and that it does not involve discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion or social origin (document E/CN.4/1997/77 and Add.1 and Add.2).

Among the other reports to be considered by the Commission as it examines the work of its Subcommission is a note by the Secretary-General (document E/CN.4/1997/78) containing information received from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization and the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch pursuant to Commission resolution 1996/61. That text requested the Secretary-General to examine, in cooperation with relevant United Nations and other agencies the reliability of allegations regarding the removal of organs and tissues of children and adults for commercial purposes. This would enable the Commission at this session to decide upon possible follow-up in this matter.

There is also a note by the Secretary-General (document E/CN.4/1997/80) transmitting to the Commission the latest report of the Special Rapporteur on disability of the Commission for Social Development on his monitoring of application of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (document A/52/56).

In addition, the Commission received yesterday the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (document E/CN.4/1997/76; see Press Release HR/CN/97/22). The report states that the difficult financial situation of the Fund, which is due to a lack of contributions, has meant that the Board of Trustees has only been able to meet once since it was appointed by the Secretary-General in 1993. Swami Agnivesh, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said while introducing the report yesterday that there were more than six million people in the most extreme forms of bonded labour and servitude today. Contemporary forms of slavery included the slave trade and debt servitude; the sale and traffic in human beings; forced prostitution of children and women; forced recruitment of child soldiers, and the exploitation of child labour.

ABJORNE EIDE (Norway) Chairman of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, introducing the report of the Subcommission on its 1996 session, said the panel had given considerable time to a request by the Commission that it rationalize its agenda, review its process for selecting studies, focus on implementation of existing human rights standards, consider alleged violation of human rights, and undertake enhanced cooperation with the mechanisms of the Commission and other human-rights bodies.

The agenda had been reduced from 23 to 13 items, Mr. EIDE said. The Subcommission had reviewed its methods of work extensively, but had not done one thing requested of it by the Commission -- prepare comprehensive report containing information on violations of human rights from all available sources. Opinions were divided on the issue, and more guidance was sought from the Commission. The panel had taken steps, however, as requested, to bring to the attention of the Commission particular situations which it had reasonable cause to believe revealed consistent patterns of gross violations of human rights.

In recent years the panel had devoted more attention to economic, social, and cultural rights, he said, and had spent a great deal of time and effort on issues related to the human rights of indigenous peoples.

It also had arranged for all outstanding studies to be completed by 1997, leaving it in a situation later this year to change course and reassess priorities in carrying out studies, Mr. EIDE said.

Statements in Debate

SHYLA VOHRA, of the International Organization for Migration, said one form of irregular migration which was widespread and particularly disturbing was trafficking in women, although reliable data on the phenomenon was not readily accessible. The problem had reached global proportions as women were being trafficked, at times half-way around the world, to be forced into prostitution or to be held in slavery-like conditions. Trafficking in women was potentially one of the most dangerous forms of violence against women migrants. The International Organization for Migration carried out information dissemination programmes in countries of origin, and assisted, on a case-by-case basis, migrant women vulnerable to abuse and women who had been subjected to this traffic. Trafficking in women, and the violence, discrimination and abuse faced by migrant women, was a growing threat to fundamental human values.

ANDREJ LOGAR (Slovenia), speaking on behalf of the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, said their delegations strongly supported the concept and further examination of minimum humanitarian standards. The report of the Secretary-General on this issue reflected increasing understanding and support for a draft Declaration of minimum humanitarian standards. International human rights and humanitarian law had generated a grey zone that allowed a lawful but deplorable inapplicability of basic standards of humanity in certain situations, particularly in those where they were most desperately needed, like internal violence, disturbances, tensions and public emergencies. For many States, the applicability of humanitarian and human rights standards in situations of internal disturbances did not pose a problem. There was a growing number of situations which constituted neither peace nor armed conflicts, situations which were characterized by a collapse of civil order and a resultant lack of responsibility for accelerated violations of human rights. The main idea behind the draft Declaration was to ensure applicability of minimum standards of humanity in all possible situations, irrespective of their legal status.

WILDA SPALDING, of the International Association of Educators for World Peace, said just as hope had begun to burst through the report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission for Social Development "one was abruptly plunged into dismay so full that it passes the realm of symbolism". This was not a question of finding fault, but rather an appeal for an answer on how that Commission and the Commission on Human Rights could work more effectively together. The Association again strongly appealed through the Commission to the Secretary-General to appoint a joint rapporteur to serve the two Commissions. The disabled needed the support of nations, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations Secretariat.

KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, welcomed the continued attention to the issue of human rights and disability. War caused immense physical and psychological harm; humanitarian law required that parties to war had to be prepared for the medical needs of both military and civilians with war-caused illnesses or disabilities. The use of weapons containing depleted uranium by the United States in the Gulf War had resulted in thousands of newly disabled persons in Iraq. Humanitarian Law Project appreciated the efforts made to define minimum humanitarian standards; short of wars or other national emergencies threatening the existence of a State, countries had to comply with the full array of human rights. This was not the case in Burma, where there was rampant slavery. The gravity of the slave labour situation there required special attention and remedies on an urgent basis.

M. Y. SEMASHKO (Ukraine) said the Subcommission had made important contributions in establishing standards and in the implementation of mechanisms for the protection of human rights. The number of questions under examination by the Subcommission indicated that its mandate had been extended. Of the 12 draft resolutions proposed by the Subcommission to the Commission for adoption, only a few fell within the Subcommission's mandate. Nevertheless, in recent years significant progress had been made in rationalizing the methods of work of that body; this included the restructuring of the agenda and improved coordination between the Subcommission and other human rights organs. Likewise, his delegation welcomed the decision taken at the last session of the Subcommission to limit the number of studies, other than those which did not imply a financial burden.

ANNE ANDERSON (Ireland) said the Special Rapporteur of the Subcommission, Leandro Despouy, had estimated that 10 per cent of the world's population was affected by some type of disability; clearly this was a global issue requiring a global response. A number of international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration, offered concrete and verifiable guarantees to persons with disabilities; the various international instruments conferred rights, not privileges to be withdrawn at the whim of Government or suspended or reduced on grounds of resource constraints. Two aspects of the disabilities issue were of concern to the Commission; the first related to causation -- the violations of human rights that resulted in disabling injuries, such as torture, malnutrition, lack of sanitation and of proper medical care; these must be dealt with under a number of Commission agenda items. The second aspect related to society's treatment of persons with disabilities -- there was widespread evidence of systematic and institutionalized discrimination; eliminating such violations would not take place overnight and required a consistent, committed approach with constant discussion and consciousness-raising.

TYGE LEHMANN (Denmark) reminded the Commission that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action had a special section devoted to the rights of disabled persons. And rightly so, he said. Disability issues should be seen in a human rights perspective and figure prominently in the work of the Commission, even if no resolution had been tabled this year on the issue. The Commission should invite to its next session the Special Rapporteur on disability of the Commission for Social Development to allow him to present the situation facing persons with disabilities in the world today. A resolution on the issue next year should, among other things, touch on the following elementary rights for persons with disabilities: independent living, meaning integration and active participation in all aspects of society; access to the physical environment and to information and communication; access to shelter, infrastructure and means of public transport; access to primary, secondary and tertiary education in integrated settings, and equal opportunities for productive and gainful employment in the labour market.

GILBERTO VERGNE SABOIA (Brazil) said the Subcommission had often been criticized, either as too tame, and thus not creative enough; or as too daring, and therefore undisciplined. But it did much valuable work and deserved to be discussed at more length and with more consideration by the Commission. The group had undertaken several reforms suggested by the Commission; it had not, as reported, undertaken the requested task of developing an annual report on violations of human rights wherever they occurred. Opinions in the Subcommission had been divided, and more guidance was sought from the Commission, and no wonder -- such a report would be difficult to produce without eliciting the very familiar criticism charging selectivity which was such a deep hindrance to the international system of protection of human rights. The Commission should indeed advise the Subcommission on this subject, and if anyone could produce such a report, it would be the Subcommission. The topic fell within its mandate and never had been seriously attempted by any other fora. The Subcommission was in need of reform and rationalization, but the process should be approached respectfully.

MIJARUL QUAYES (Bangladesh) said the Subcommission had reviewed its methods of work, as requested, and had taken positive steps; however, a more thorough discourse and more comprehensive response to the Commission's concerns had been hoped for. The Subcommission had moral authority and a kind of exalted status, although it was formally subsidiary to the Commission; its prime function was to undertake studies and make recommendations to the Commission. It had accomplished a great deal over the years; it needed to focus once again on its strengths in carrying out studies, and to spend less time on resolutions, which lately had taken on a political character. It should focus on new developments and emerging issues; perhaps it should consider a new generation of human-rights instruments, focusing on non-State actors; scrutiny also was needed on the more subtle-human-rights problems, such as racial discrimination. The Commission might consider setting up a working group to deal with the Subcommission and make recommendations. The Commission should consider carefully the request to extend the mandate of the panel's Working Group on Minorities, which perhaps needed to be reformed, considering discrepancies in its operations to date.

LIU XINSHENG (China) said he wished to praise the Subcommission for its work last year, especially in improving its working methods. China recommended that the Subcommission should avoid political confrontation and reduce the number of country resolutions it approved. Experts should strictly abide by their pledge to independence and abandon political bias. The Subcommission should strengthen its function as an expert and advisory organ devoted to human rights research and studies. If the Subcommission could effectively limit the time given to the statements by non-governmental organizations, avoid duplication of work with the Commission, reduce the number of agenda items and resolutions, and improve its efficiency with focus on the discussion of thematic subjects, there would be no need to prolong its annual sessions.

H. K. SINGH (India) said India attached importance to the Subcommission's Working Group on Minorities, on account of both substance and procedure. Regarding substance, ensuring the rights of minorities was of paramount importance to peace and harmony within and among nations. Regarding procedure, the Working Group had functioned on the basis of identifying constructive and practical solutions which could bring about meaningful change. India strongly supported the extension of the mandate of the Working Group for another two years. But in setting up a multiplicity of mechanisms, one frequently neglected to consider the availability of resources for their effective functioning. Such funds should be established only when there was demonstrated international interest. India urged the Subcommission to continue its debate on reform initiated last year and to further improve its methods of work so that it could usefully assist the Commission in its consideration of approaches towards human rights. This was important to ensure the effectiveness and relevance of the Subcommission to the efforts of the Commission to advance the cause of human rights.

RUTH S. LIMJUCO (Philippines) said the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography was one of the most de-humanizing form of human rights violations, as it removed from the victim all sense of dignity and self-worth. Trafficking in women and children, particularly for sexual purposes, was a contemporary form of slavery that translated into profits for the traffickers and into shame, disability, disease, violence and very often death for the victims. Trafficking in human beings was the third most serious illegal trade after drugs and weapons. The Commission should give priority to the ratification and effective and accelerated enforcement of existing conventions and instruments on the trafficking in persons and on slavery and slavery-like practices; to the updating of the 1949 Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others; to the explicit mention of the issue of the sale of children and child prostitution in the envisioned optional protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child; and to ensuring that the relevant recommendations of other conferences should be translated into concrete action. Member States should also consider strengthening existing legislation against trafficking and adopting new laws where none existed.

CHRISTIAN HELLBACH (Germany) said the Subcommission had a unique role within the human rights programme given its potential as a source of expertise for the Commission and other bodies. Critics of the Subcommission pointed to politicization and decreasing substantial contributions to the Commission's work. Germany did not want to ignore the reform efforts undertaken by the Subcommission since 1992, but it felt much more needed to be done to make it more relevant. Reform efforts should focus on re-establishing the Subcommission as a forum for reflection and research on topical human rights questions. The role of the Subcommission in the consideration of country situations needed most urgent review. Only in exceptional cases, such as when a new and particularly grave situation emerged which had not been considered by the Commission, should the Subcommission address an issue from a more political perspective.

ROBERT LOFTIS (United States) said the scourge of human bondage had ended in his country in 1865. However, there were still nations in which this abominable practice existed. In Sudan, the Government had done little to halt slavery, even though Sudanese law prohibited it. Reports suggested that this phenomenon was increasing and that the slave trade was alive and well in that country. Mauritania had a long history of tolerating servitude and should end all vestiges of the practice once and for all. Trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes, a practice that was particularly prevalent in southern and southeast Asia, was not restricted to those who conducted the sex trade -- it was also encouraged by those who engaged in sexual tourism. His country was one of a dozen to have enacted a statute prohibiting sex tourism.

TEHMINA JANJUA (Pakistan) said the Subcommission had carried out its assigned task with competence and dedication. Over the years, however, it had become overextended. This could be addressed in part by analysing some sub-items every two years, which would address the issue of insufficient time for carrying out in-depth examination of issues. The Subcommission was facing time constraints, and the solution lied in prioritization of the issues, greater exercise of restraint by Governments and non-governmental organizations, more concise documentation and strict enforcement of the limits on speaking time. Pakistan hoped the Subcommission would not take on tasks that belonged to the Commission, particularly with regard to country specific situations.

JUAN GOMEZ-ROBLEDO (Mexico) said his country had the greatest appreciation for the work of the Subcommission, which had, among other things, adopted resolutions on the need to make nuclear weapons illegitimate and to demonstrate the negative effects of the military doctrines that relied on them. Mexico backed the Subcommission's recommendation that nuclear disarmament negotiations begin immediately. In addition, the Subcommission dealt with the problem of the production and sale and use of weapons that did not make a distinction between civilians and combatants: it had requested the Secretary-General to ask countries to provide information on the use of nuclear and chemical weapons, napalm, cluster bombs, biological weapons and weapons using spent uranium. Mexico also welcomed the Subcommission's work on the effects of anti-personnel land mines; that work would help put an end to this human tragedy. More than 120,000 million land mines were laid in more than 60 countries, claiming 25,000 victims a year. The only real solution was the total abolition of anti-personnel mines. Mexico neither produced nor imported them, and it supported a legally binding agreement to ban them.

KRYSTINA ZUREK (Poland) said violence against women was a major obstacle on their full enjoyment of human right; this was an issue that deserved to be addressed in the context of an authoritative international forum. She welcomed the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women; Poland would actively work towards following up the recommendations contained in her report. In the context of the right to development, measures needed to be promoted to ensure that all individuals, including women, enjoyed equal opportunities to improve their well-being. The Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action recognized that women's empowerment and their full and equal participation were fundamental to the achievement of sustainable economic, social and democratic development; and that women's economic independence, their rights and their access to resources and power were essential to preventing them becoming the first victims of poverty.

PETTER WILLE (Norway), speaking on behalf of the Nordic countries, said the issue of minimum humanitarian standards was increasing in importance along with the dramatic rise in recent years of conflicts within States, rather than between them. Many of these situations and the violence they featured were causing tremendous suffering and had placed great strain on the international community. Also of concern were situations which were not as extreme, but nonetheless where violence had led to public emergencies where Governments suspended some obligations under human-rights law, although the General Assembly had on several occasions stressed the importance of avoiding the erosion of human rights by derogation. Nordic countries had offered to organize, in cooperation with the Red Cross, a workshop on minimum humanitarian standards, which was held in South Africa last September; the relevant report had been distributed. The Commission should request the Secretary-General to undertake an analytical study of the issues raised at the workshop, and Norway would introduce a resolution to that effect.

LESLEY MILLER, of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said the trafficking in women and children called for our urgent attention. It took many forms, including prostitution, pornography, bonded labour, mail-order bride services and commercial adoption of children. Increased attention had to be devoted to identifying and implementing effective solutions, including improved legislation and law enforcement; increased educational opportunities for disadvantaged children, particularly girls, and the setting-up of recovery and social reintegration programmes for children who had escaped trafficking. Other solutions were the training of police and judicial officials to better deal with the problem and awareness-raising among the media, communities and families. UNICEF urged the Commission to continue its examination of this issue and to ensure that full support was provided to the Special Rapporteurs on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on violence against women.

PAUL BONARD, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the organization wished to state again its support for all initiatives aimed at strengthening the protection of individuals in situations of internal violence; the ICRC had constantly endeavoured to develop new rules in areas where existing international law was inadequate. Any newly adopted rule must be something that could be realistically applied, however; that was why the ICRC fully endorsed the idea of having the Secretary-General draft an analytical report on the subject of minimum humanitarian standards; if this initiative was accepted, the ICRC would encourage the authors to focus on specific clearly identified areas of concern, especially those which were outside or insufficiently covered by existing law. Any effort to regulate violence and its effects in situations of internal disturbances and tensions risked getting lost in the meanders of insoluble theoretical questions, and this would be highly regrettable. An approach based on practice and centred on the needs of victims would be more likely to be effective and useful.

JEAN-DANIEL VIGNY, observer for Switzerland, said a workshop held in Capetown and organized by the Nordic countries and South Africa had brought to the attention of the international community the very serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed by State authorities, armed groups and individuals in a variety of crisis situations. The principal themes of the Capetown meeting had been the need to elaborate minimum humanitarian standards which would not weaken existing international law; the relation between such standards and humanitarian law; and the relation between international humanitarian law and human rights within the framework of a declaration on these standards. The Commission should request that the Centre of Human Rights, in collaboration with the ICRC, be entrusted with a mandate to study the issues related to minimum humanitarian standards.

WILDA SPALDING, of the United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation, said there were at least five Voluntary Trust Funds which were being facilitated within the United Nations system. The example of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other United Nations agencies, which had a fulltime fundraising person or department, would go a long way in meeting the financial challenges faced by such Funds. This could be combined with the-in-house streamlining of administration of funds. Also, several non-profit and profit groups were continuing to develop an option for a profit-sharing mechanism that they would make available for human rights work via the Voluntary Trust Funds.

AIDA AVELLO, of the Women's International Democratic Federation, said trafficking in women and girls did not receive enough attention from the Subcommission or Commission; the practice had become highly profitable; often women were misled into leaving their countries for promised jobs in other countries where the jobs did not materialize and they were not given working papers; instead they suffered physical, sexual, and psychological violence, were forced into prostitution, and kept in virtual slavery. It was important for States to carry out effective monitoring, to ratify relevant international human rights instruments, and to use the international networks available. More attention must also be paid to derogation of human rights during states of emergency and exception declared by some countries -- Colombia had done so twice in recent years; often the situations leading to declaring of states of exception were not sufficiently severe; the practice could become a crutch; people in Colombia had essentially spent 37 years in a state of siege. The practice of declaring states of exception by the Government was becoming a way of undermining the judiciary and the system of democracy; what was being created might be called a "Constitutional dictatorship".

BEATRICE LAROCHE, of the International League for Human Rights, said her group believed that trafficking in women was a gross violation of international laws against slavery, debt bondage and contract labour. Thousands of Russian women were being trafficked each year into Europe, Asia, the South Pacific, the Middle East, the United States and Canada. Because of the generally illegal nature of their work, the stigma attached to it and their illegal immigrant status, women trafficked and coerced into prostitution were subjected to numerous human rights abuses. The Commission should pass a resolution on sexual trafficking in women and girls and urge members to cease treating victims as illegal immigrants and instead establish international standards for the punishment of traffickers.

SUHAS CHAKMA, of the Asian Cultural Forum on Development, said the inability and unwillingness of governments to prosecute the perpetrators of human rights violations had been the single most important factor encouraging abuses across the world. In many countries, governments had also enacted legislation to provide immunity to law enforcement officials. In the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, the army and plains settlers had massacred around 40 indigenous Jumman people in 1993. The army personnel responsible had been given complete impunity. Population transfer and inducement of settlers was one serious form of human rights abuse; it should be considered a form of genocide. The Bangladesh Government had transferred thousands of settlers in the 1970s and 1980s to the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

KIRSTEN HAWKE of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said the group supported Subcommission resolution 1996/14 and its underlying thesis, namely that complete nuclear disarmament was a necessary precondition for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, peace and, above all, life. The use of nuclear weapons had a negative impact on the right to health and to a sustainable environment. The legacy of past nuclear use should be dealt with by governments. Victims of nuclear testing among the peoples of the Pacific Islands, Japan, the United States, Kazakstan and China should be compensated, and efforts should be made to rehabilitate their natural environments. The social, environmental, economic and public health implications of nuclear weapons production represented ongoing human rights violations and a major threat to life.

DALEE SAMBO DOROUGH, of the Indian Law Resource Center, said the organization, which provided legal assistance to indigenous peoples in North, Central, and South America, had seen at first hand the persistent and widespread patterns of discrimination and neglect of indigenous peoples by governments; many Member States of the United Nations faced highly serious indigenous land-rights issues that remained unresolved, some of which had resulted in genocide or cultural ethnocide; and it was safe to say that most social, economic, and cultural problems faced by indigenous peoples included land-rights dimensions. This subject had received relatively little study or analysis, although several studies had been carried out by the Subcommission's Erica-Irene A. Daes; they, and a study on treaties and other agreements between States and indigenous peoples, would be concluded by August, leaving the Subcommission open to pursue a Land Rights Study proposed in a resolution in 1996. The Commission was urged to support this resolution.

SA'DOU KANE, of the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters, said slavery in its old and contemporary forms still existed in Mauritania; reports put the number of slaves there at 100,000. Mauritanian non-governmental organizations had said there was a lack of will by the Government to stop slavery -- the Government had even produced a circular on the legal nature of slavery. People considered to be slaves were dispossessed of their property, while their children became the property of the master. The African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promotion had asked the United States to cease all aid to Mauritania as long as this ancient practise persisted. The Commission for its part should appoint a human rights monitor for Mauritania.

E. A. VIDYASEKER, of the International Progress Organization, said that in Pakistan, the Constitution in effect recognized only Muslims as true citizens, and was an example of what could go wrong when the constitutional and legal structures of a State provided the lead in discrimination; a succession of Constitutional amendments and legislation in effect had reduced the minorities of Pakistan to the status of second-class citizens in their own country. The legal basis provided enabled the more extreme elements of the majority community to consolidate and conduct a sustained campaign of oppression; their targets were Muslim sects like the Shias, defenceless sects like the Ahmediyas, and the largely defenceless minority communities of Hindus and Christians who found their places of worship destroyed on the flimsiest of pretexts, their women forced to convert to the majority religion, and their men and children accused of blasphemy, prosecuted, and killed. The resurgence of religious intolerance in South Asia, exemplified by recent happenings in Pakistan, was sounding a warning bell that a conscious effort must be made to curb the growth of such intolerance; the greatest test lay before the Organization of the Islamic Conference; what better service could this organization perform than to provide the compassion and tolerance for which Islam stood?

KEE WATCHMAN, of the International Indian Treaty Council, said his group welcomed the Subcommission resolution on discrimination against indigenous peoples and hoped that States and United Nations subsidiary bodies would cooperate fully with that effort. The International Indian Treaty Council had asked the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance to examine the situation of the sovereign Dine Nation and the relocation from their traditional lands of the Navajo Peoples. It was regrettable that the Special Rapporteur had not yet addressed this urgent appeal. The group urged that the Special Rapporteur address the special problems of land-based religions. Given the depth of problems faced by indigenous people around the world, a special rapporteur on the question should be appointed.

Right of Reply

OULD MOHAMED LEMINE (Mauritania) said Mauritania had nothing to conceal when it came to slavery, despite the allegations made by the United States; an international investigating team had visited years ago at the country's invitation and had found no problem; such offenses as slavery were outlawed and the Constitution guaranteed equality before the law; servile labour was illegal; the country had established democracy; much had been done to aid in the emancipation of former slaves. Mauritania had been surprised to hear these remarks coming from the United States, which usually was very well informed; the truth was that all such problems had long been resolved; it wished to point out that in the United States, meanwhile, many people continued to work in abject poverty. An NGO without scruples also had made inaccurate allegations; it seemed to be the way of life of NGOs.

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