HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, ADDRESSING HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, APPEALS FOR INTERNATIONAL HELP TO EASTERN ZAIRE
Press Release
HR/CN/784
HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, ADDRESSING HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, APPEALS FOR INTERNATIONAL HELP TO EASTERN ZAIRE
19970402 United States Representative Says Commission Should Scrutinize Records of Number of Countries(Reproduced as received.)
GENEVA, 1 April (UN Information Service) -- Sadako Ogata, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), this morning appealed to the international community to help with the ordeal of Zairian civilians and Rwandan refugees caught in the war in eastern Zaire.
In an address to the Commission on Human Rights, Mrs. Ogata said that "insecurity, politics and enormous logistical constraints" continued to make work there more difficult than it had been in any other refugee situation since she became High Commissioner.
"I would like to use this opportunity to appeal for action by the international community on the most pressing asylum issue currently facing my Office", Mrs. Ogata said, lamenting the lack of international attention to the problem. She requested support for investigation of allegations of serious human rights violations in eastern Zaire.
Mrs. Ogata stressed that human rights field activities were important in solving refugee problems. She warned that any weakening of the institution of asylum was a weakening of the world's evolving system of human rights protection.
Another guest speaker at the morning session was Bill Richardson, the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, who urged the Commission to scrutinize the records of countries he said were guilty of human rights violations. Mr. Richardson, who holds a Cabinet-level post in his Government, mentioned Cuba, saying human rights were "the last thing" on Havana's mind. In Burma, he said the "despotic rulers of that poor, beleaguered land" insisted that their own need for power had to take precedence over the rights and choices of the Burmese people.
Regarding Sudan, the American representative accused both the Government and insurgent forces of serious abuses. He said Government forces were responsible for a "massive and unacceptable" list of human rights violations. He added that there were ongoing human rights abuses in Iran and Iraq, Central Africa, the former Yugoslavia and China.
Also this morning the Commission continued discussions on torture and related questions, listening to statements from Sri Lanka, the Russian Federation, Uganda, India, the Republic of Korea, Uruguay, Mexico, Pakistan and Indonesia. The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, the World Muslim Congress, the Asian Cultural Forum on Development and the Society for Threatened Peoples also took the floor.
The Commission will continue to debate questions related to the rights of detainees and torture this afternoon at 3 p.m. It is also scheduled to begin a discussion on the rights of indigenous people.
Statement by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
SADAKO OGATA, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said human rights field activities such as those established under the outgoing High Commissioner for Human Rights, José Ayala-Lasso, in Rwanda were important for finding comprehensive solutions to refugee problems. There had to be cooperation to uphold respect for human rights and tackle the root causes of displacement. Indeed, the system of refugee protection was an indispensable part of the global human rights regime.
Ms. OGATA said that while she was grateful to governments around the world for offering sanctuary to millions of victims of persecution and conflict, there was a growing threat to asylum. Access to territory was becoming more and more difficult, and safety during asylum was also seriously threatened through deadly attacks on refugee camps. Moreover, the voluntary nature of repatriation was increasingly being undermined by a mounting number of forcible returns in situations which were far from safe.
Addressing the causes for these threats to asylum, Mrs. OGATA said the first problem was the staggering rise in the number of refugees: from 1.5 million in 1951 to 13.2 million in 1996. The problem was compounded by an equally large increase in the number of internally displaced persons. There were also problems posed by mixed movements of genuine asylum-seekers and of people escaping from economic hardship. In Zaire, refugees were mixed with armed elements and people who had committed crimes against humanity who were exploiting the asylum system for political purposes. The exodus from Albania showed yet another combination: people seeking protection from violence, people fleeing from poverty and even a small number of people escaping from
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prisons. These mixed patterns posed enormous challenges for receiving States, which were under increasing pressure from domestic public opinion.
Faced with those problems, Ms. OGATA said, her Office had tried to help develop innovative and new opportunities for solutions to refugee problems and their prevention. Attempts to tackle the root causes of refugee flows were indispensable for solving refugee crises. But as long as people could not have their basic human rights protected in their own country, and as long as their "right to remain" could not be guaranteed, asylum remained the most effective means for protection and its door had to remain open. The refugee protection regime provided crucial roles to be played by all actors in the process and the international community was required to support those efforts and share the burden, both financial and moral, of caring for refugees.
New ways must be found to effectively implement this in the face of political obstruction, she continued. For example, the Dayton Peace Agreement was not being adequately implemented in regards to the right to return. Only very few refugees and internally displaced persons had been able to return to their homes, where they were now a minority. They were blocked by unacceptable political obstruction, by distrust and by the destruction and occupation of their houses. The High Commissioner's Office needed "the concerted political and economic backing of the international community" to achieve with its partners tangible progress on the right to return of these refugees.
Mrs. OGATA appealed for action by the international community on "the most pressing asylum issue" currently facing her Office: the ordeal of Zairian civilians and of the large number of Rwandan refugees caught in the war in eastern Zaire. Insecurity, politics and enormous logistical constraints continued to make work there more difficult than it had been in any other refugee situation she had seen since becoming High Commissioner, yet that drama had not received the international attention it deserved. She urged the Commission to support the requests for the investigation of allegations of serious human rights violations in eastern Zaire.
Statements by United States Permanent Representative
BILL RICHARDSON, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, said human rights and respect for the fundamental dignity of people everywhere lay at the heart of the American idea, even as they underpinned the hopes and aspirations of the peoples of the United Nations across the planet. The United States had always believed that those rights and freedoms were universal in their application and a fundamental reflection of the hopes of people everywhere. The United States had seen the veracity of those propositions, and the costs imposed and the damage caused when they were scorned.
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If there was a defining trend in our progress towards the millennium, it was the increasing empowerment of ordinary people through democracy to shape their destiny, Mr. RICHARDSON. Democracy had moved from aspiration to reality in Europe, Southern Africa and Northeast Asia. However, there were unfortunately, a number of regimes that had not changed at all and appeared archaic in a world that was steadily more free. The Commission should draw attention to countries like Cuba, since human rights were the last thing on Havana's mind. Another "perpetual disappointment" was Burma, where the despotic rulers of that poor, beleaguered land insisted that their own need for power must take precedence over the rights and choices of the Burmese people. In Sudan, both the regime and insurgent forces had committed serious abuses, and the Government was responsible for "a massive and unacceptable list of human rights violations". Meanwhile, human rights abuses in Iran and Iraq were "all too clear".
The United States also had concerns about human rights in other areas, particularly central Africa and the former Yugoslavia, he continued. The human rights situation in China was also an appropriate subject for the Commission to address. The Chinese Government continued to commit widespread and well-documented human rights abuses and to severely restrict fundamental freedoms. The United States did not seek confrontation over this issue, but it firmly believed that the People's Republic should be held accountable, and certainly at the Commission, to the international standards China itself had endorsed.
Mr. RICHARDSON said the Commission had to operate as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible. It needed to find better ways to provide more services directly to the people who needed them and waste less time on outdated and meaningless resolutions. The promotion and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms was the Commission's raison d'etre.
Statements in Debate
SHAMIM SHAWL, of the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, said she wanted to draw the attention of the Commission to the human rights situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir, where her people had suffered killings, torture, rape, abduction and other indignities. The defenders of human rights also had been silenced; it was very hazardous for a Kashmiri to expose the atrocities committed by Indian occupation forces. The Commission could not ignore the appalling conditions of the inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir. The dispute in Kashmir remained a tinderbox in South Asia -- this great human tragedy for 13 million Kashmiris could lead to renewed warfare between India and Pakistan, both which possessed nuclear-weapons capability.
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IBRAHIM ZIA, of the World Muslim Congress, said the Commission must bring an end to the undeclared war of 700,000 Indian troops against Kashmiris -- a war where prisoners of conscience were tortured and killed in custody, in staged encounters, and in their homes and workplaces. Torture was part of a systematic pattern of human-rights abuses used to intimidate and subjugate Kashmiris: figures released by the Kashmir Bar Association for 1996 alone showed 113 civilians, 98 political activists, and 7 Government officials killed by Indian forces while in custody. And while courts had ordered the release of 3,000 detainees, only 697 were let go. Among specific victims were 18-year-old Fida Hussain of Srinagar -- nephew of Tahir Masood, a delegate to the Commission -- who was tortured to death; and Kashmiri jurist and human-rights activist Jaleel Andrabi, who paid with his life for coming to the Commission to expose Indian barbarism in Kashmir. The Commission must take effective steps to protect Kashmiris from among the worst of the human-rights violations taking place anywhere in the world.
SUHAS GHAKMA, of the Asian Cultural Forum on Development, said his organization was disturbed by the systematic pattern of torture practised with impunity in Pakistan. That the Special Rapporteur on torture had received no information to demonstrate the Pakistani Government's efforts to reform the police and judicial systems or prosecute those responsible for torture was equally of concern. But the problem was not exclusive to Pakistan: torture had been used as an administrative tool across South Asia to suppress democratic dissent and to extract confessions from suspects. The Forum was also seriously concerned about the systematic pattern of disappearances in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The problem also existed in Bangladesh, where Kalpana Chakma, General Secretary of the Hill Women's Federation of Bangladesh had disappeared. The response of some governments to the Special Rapporteur and other United Nations human-rights bodies had been disdainful to say the least. At the same time, these governments felt over-burdened by reporting procedures. Without the allocation of substantial financial resources from the regular budget of the United Nations for human rights, the attempt at micro-management could only mean political control over mechanisms of the Organization's human-rights programme.
NGAWANG CHOEPHEL, of the Society for Threatened Peoples, said the denial of rights for detainees was one of the most serious violations because it caused unimaginable physical and mental suffering, and ultimately suppressed the dignity of a person. According to Nigel Rodley, Special Rapporteur on torture, the practice of torture was endemic in police stations and in detention centres in Tibet. Furthermore, the report of the working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances had listed cases in Tibet. He was optimistic that a future visit by this working group would focus on the situation of arbitrary detentions in Tibet, Eastern Turkistan (Xinjiang) and Inner Mongolia, where thousands of prisoners were languishing in jails.
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JANAKA NAKKAWITA (Sri Lanka) said the Government was committed to freedom of expression, but due to the severity of the insurgency and terrorism prevailing in the north and east, it had not been possible for journalists to travel freely to those areas. Authorities made every effort to provide facilities for journalists and independent observers to go there when possible. In a number of cases, victims of torture had obtained redress through the courts; but while the Government had taken steps to observe internationally recognized norms on preventing torture, it was regrettable that irregular groups did not -- that particularly was true of the terrorist LTTE group. Three commissions had been established to inquire into reports of involuntary disappearances, a major step to ensure accountability of law-enforcement officers and members of the armed forces; the outcomes of the investigations would be communicated to the relevant Commission Working Group. It was unfortunate that allegations had been made recently that returning Sri Lankan asylum-seekers had been subjected to arbitrary detention and maltreatment -- the delegation referred the Commission to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report which noted that such returnees were "treated in a fair and humane manner".
V. A. KARTASHKIN (Russian Federation) said that without an independent and impartial judicial system, democracy, the rule of law and human rights would have no meaning. Every person had to be firmly convinced that if his or her human rights were violated, they would be able to defend them by means of a court order. This was the key to the ongoing judicial reform in Russia. Unfortunately, all the aims of that reform had not been achieved. This reform was directly linked to the problem of changing the conditions of executing sentences, particularly those that implied the deprivation of liberty. The overcrowding in pre-trial detention centres mentioned in the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture should be viewed as more of a problem than as a fault of Russia. A more realistic approach towards the situation should be adopted: it had to be understood that it was impossible to solve all the problems of the reform of the criminal-executive system within one hour. It was impossible to solve all the problems related to the violation of the rights of detainees without sufficient financing. Russia intended to continue its dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on reforming Russia's penitentiary system and was actively contributing to the drafting of an Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture to allow international inspection visits to places of detention.
JOSEPH ETIMA (Uganda) said article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights called for all persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with dignity and humanity and that the places where these persons were detained should aim at their reformation and social rehabilitation. Yet, the perception that these persons were no longer fit to live with society was still all too pervasive. In this era of democracy and the rule of law, the perception should be that these persons, while not exactly in the same position as others, should not be regarded as unworthy merely for having been
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accused or convicted of an offence. This guarantee of human dignity was necessary for three reasons: it facilitated the task of reforming prisoners and smooth their return to society; it provided a ready measure with which to judge actions inconsistent with article 10 or even the Standard Minimum Rules on the treatment of detainees, and lastly it provided a platform from which to question concerns -- notably those related to reformation and re-socialization -- not specifically enumerated in article 10 or the Standard Minimum Rules. In an attempt to fulfil the requirements of this minimum standard of human dignity, the Government of Uganda had established a training programme in human rights within its system of administration of justice.
ARUNDHATI GHOSE (India) said several Special Rapporteurs had complained of a lack of resources to fulfil their mandates effectively. The Commission had to either ensure adequate funding for its some 32 mechanisms or consider rationalizing their number. As for the agenda item in question, there was a tendency for delegations to utilize the discussion on rights of detainees to promote foreign policy agendas of individual countries. This did not reflect well on how members of the Commission fulfilled their responsibility to examine the reports of the mechanisms set up and to evaluate their work. Notwithstanding, India welcomed the fact that the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of opinion and expression had said there was increased cooperation from governments. On the other hand, India regretted the controversy over the interpretation of the mandate of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Commission had to clarify that the Working Group had no jurisdiction of any nature, supranational or national. India was also disappointed that the Special Rapporteurs on the independence of the judiciary and on arbitrary executions had not found it convenient to go on mission to Nigeria: Special Rapporteurs should not lay down conditions for their visits. With regard to the Special Rapporteur on human rights and states of emergency, he should restrict his reports to current situations. India, for its part, was considering acceding to the Convention against Torture.
YONG-SHIK HWANG (Republic of Korea) said his Government had welcomed the report of Abid Hussain, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom and opinion, who had visited the Republic of Korea in 1995 and had provided in his report some useful guidance on the country's continued efforts to protect and promote human rights and the right to freedom and expression. Following certain allegations against his country contained in the report of Nigel Rodley, Special Rapporteur on torture, and discussed by the Committee against Torture, the Republic of Korea intended to ensure that the Committee's recommendations would be reflected in his Government's policies and legislative measures. He did not agree with the findings of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that the detention of persons referred to in their report were arbitrary in nature. Those people had been convicted of crimes such as espionage, formation of anti-State organizations and illegal strikes.
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SILVIA IZQUIERDO (Uruguay) said the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had contributed decisively to the information and knowledge of the international community; if detention was arbitrary, even after a sentence had been passed, it was arbitrary, and represented a violation of human rights; the concept of "arbitrariness" had been extensively developed in international law; what was important was safeguarding the right not to be detained or exiled arbitrarily, whenever that might occur. Arbitrary deprivation of freedom masked in a majority of cases violations of other human rights, such as of expression or the right to a fair trial; the end of a trial did not provide an automatic justification for abuses committed during a trial. Uruguay looked forward to a decision by the Commission extending and strengthening the working group's mandate.
ALICIA PÉREZ DUARTE Y NOROÑA (Mexico) said detention of juvenile offenders was being given special consideration by the Mexico, as it was recognized that such children were highly vulnerable; efforts were being made to avoid situations that led children to commit criminal offenses in the first place, and to extend protections such as guidance and treatment to those who had come into conflict with the law. As for involuntary disappearances, the cooperation of Governments was integral to effectiveness of the relevant Working Group; Mexico was ready to continue to cooperate, as it had always done, in investigating cases referred to it by that and other monitoring bodies; the disappearance of a person in Mexico was tackled from several angles, and such an approach had produced positive results and shed light in a number of cases. Independence of the judiciary was a major item on the Government's agenda; one focus was on a real separation of powers; another was on reforms to strengthen the federal judiciary, including establishment of a clear system of selection of judges and a uniform system of education for legal officials. Mexico's political will was strong to combat problems compromising in any way a just state of law; some 2,567 public civil servants had been punished in recent years for offenses linked to torture, for example -- the country was dedicated to establishing a culture of human rights.
MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan) said the country's President, shortly after assuming office, had announced a series of measures to eliminate torture and ill-treatment, including increased monitoring of police departments and punishment of police officials found to be committing violations; reform of State institutions with monitoring responsibilities; more severe sanctions against those committing violence against women; and redress at the grass-roots level. The Special Rapporteur on torture had visited Pakistan; Pakistan would like to maintain an interactive dialogue with him on a number of cases he had cited, and would consider his recommendations with an open mind. The Special Rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers had welcomed the Pakistan Supreme Court's landmark decision on the constitutionality of appointment of ad hoc judges, and the higher judiciary of the country had been encouraged to move suo moto on complaints received concerning detainees. Special Rapporteurs continued to furnish fresh evidence
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of torture and other offenses in Indian-held Kashmir, and the Commission must act to stop such violations; meanwhile some had sought to exploit Pakistan's problems by attempting to destabilize the country through urban terrorism in various cities in Pakistan; the country was determined to combat this phenomenon.
SAODOH SYAHRUDDIN (Indonesia) said her country had faithfully responded to the communications by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. However, the Working Group had nevertheless taken the arbitrary decision to classify the cases concerned as cases of arbitrary detention. At the same time, Indonesia was astounded that not a single case of arbitrary detention was attributed to developed countries. Indonesia viewed this kind of development with a high degree of concern -- abuse of discretion by the Working Group could not be condoned. If nothing was done to rectify the situation, the Working Group was in danger of falling prey to a type of behaviour that could only be called tyrannical. Another report, that of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, was far from reliable and credible in its portrayal of the situation in East Timor. Indonesia questioned the reliability of the information given in the report; this seriously jeopardized the credibility of the Working Group. The situation in East Timor had improved and hence Indonesia urged that fabricated statements not be used to justify declaring that the situation had become worse.
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