SUDAN'S JUSTICE MINISTER WARNS AGAINST SELECTIVITY IN DISCUSSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Press Release
HR/CN/793
SUDAN'S JUSTICE MINISTER WARNS AGAINST SELECTIVITY IN DISCUSSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
19970410 Human Rights Commission Begins Debate On Violations of Human Rights Throughout World(Reproduced as received.)
GENEVA, 8 April (UN Information Service) -- Sudan's Justice Minister warned this morning against "selectivity" and "double standards" in the treatment of human-rights situations around the world.
Speaking before the Commission on Human Rights, Abdul Bassit Sebderat said "a thorough examination and rectification" was needed to prevent the utilization of human rights as a weapon in the settlement of political disputes.
Mr. Sebderat said his country's reservations about this selectivity had not hindered its unconditional cooperation with international community mechanisms operating in the field of human rights, particularly those of the Commission. He warned that human rights in Sudan faced "incalculable and serious deterioration" if the Security Council decreed a ban on Sudan Airways Flights, and added that the process of human rights was also endangered by internal armed conflicts. Foreign aggression in southern and eastern Sudan had caused serious human rights violations, he said.
The address by Sudan's Justice Minister came as the Commission started its general debate on the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world, with particular reference to colonial and other dependent countries and territories. During this discussion, the Special Rapporteurs on Rwanda, Zaire and Burundi presented their reports for 1996. The experts highlighted the need for concerted international action to settle the crisis in the Great Lakes region of Africa.
The Commission also continued to hear statements from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the further promotion and encouragement of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the question of the programmes and methods of work of the Commission and advisory services in the field of human
rights. The NGOS addressed subjects ranging from violence against women to the situation of internally displaced persons throughout the world.
The International Association of Democratic Lawyers, International Fellowship of Reconciliation, Anti-Slavery International, World Society of Victimology, African Association of Education and Development, Franciscans International, International Falcon Movement-Socialist Educational International, Friends World Committee for Consultation, World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, International Islamic Federation of Student Organisations and International Association Against Torture addressed the Commission. In addition, Nepal exercised its right of reply.
This afternoon, the Commission will continue to discuss the incidence of human-rights violations around the world.
Statement by Minister of Justice of Sudan
ABDUL BASSIT SEBDERAT, Minister of Justice of the Sudan, said his country, in spite of the scarcity of resources and the lack of adequate technical expertise, had been keen on the fulfilment of its international obligations in the field of human rights. It provided periodical reports and followed up the implementation of recommendations and observations made by the competent bodies. But a "thorough examination and rectification" was needed to prevent the utilization of human rights as a weapon in the settlement of political disputes. Through a process of selectivity, concern over human rights was focused on very few States; that had to be rectified to prevent the application of double standards. The present situation made some political systems the focus of attention while leaving human beings vulnerable to atrocious violations committed by political regimes that enjoyed acceptance, approval and support of the big powers.
Mr. SEBDERAT said the solidarity of efforts to combat selectivity in all its forms and images was a matter that required the immediate revision of the mechanisms and procedures of work in this area, so that the international Community could harness the limited resources available in a rational way aimed at the protection of human beings everywhere. His country's reservations about this selectivity had not hindered its unconditional cooperation with international community mechanisms operating in the field of human rights, particularly the mechanisms of the Commission. Sudan had twice hosted the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Sudan, Gaspar Biro, and was conducting numerous investigations he had requested.
While dealing with issues of human rights at the international level was indispensable, he continued, dealing with them at the national level was equally important and could be accomplished through constitutional, legal, administrative and social arrangements that created an appropriate atmosphere
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for the protection and observance of human rights. To create such an atmosphere, Sudan had held presidential and parliamentary elections in the first half of 1996.
But, Mr. SEBDERAT said, the human-rights situation in Sudan could be set back, given recent deliberations in the Security Council about the possibility of banning Sudan Airways flights. Such a ban would lead to "an incalculable and serious deterioration" of the human rights of the Sudanese. Vital medical treatment and supplies, freedom of movement and the transport of humanitarian aid to remote areas depended totally on Sudan Airways.
The process of human rights would not be totally protected unless internal armed disputes were ended through peaceful solutions, he said. He condemned the military aggression against Sudan being conducted by external opposition forces in Sudan's eastern and southern borders. This aggression had led to serious violations of human rights, including summary executions, mass killings, rape of women and mass migration and displacement. Some voluntary organizations operating in the field of human rights, and who regularly attended the meetings of the Commission, were involved in supporting and planning this foreign aggression. It was up the Commission and the Special Rapporteur on Sudan to take necessary measures to stop this situation.
Violations of Human Rights in Specific Countries
As the Commission began its discussion of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world, with particular reference to colonial and other dependent countries and territories, it received the reports of its Special Rapporteurs on Rwanda, Zaire and Burundi.
The report of Special Rapporteur Rene Degni-Segui (document E/CN.4/1997/61) states that between the publication of the last report (E/CN.4/1996/68) and the fifty-second session of the Commission on Human Rights in March-April 1996, there was a slight improvement in the human rights situation, which was unfortunately offset by a fresh outbreak of violations in June, July and August, owing to the prevailing insecurity in the country during that period. The situation varies, however, according to whether the right to own property, the right to personal security, the right to freedom of expression, the right to physical integrity or the right to life is involved. Violations of freedom of expression take the form of censure, intimidation and even violations of physical integrity, kidnapping and murders of individuals who belong to professional categories with the common feature of being able to express their opinions orally or in writing and who take the risk of practising their profession with complete independence. These violations are aimed in particular at journalists, the religious community, judges and human rights workers.
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Despite a period of relative calm, the report continues, violations of the right to personal security continue to be disturbing, given the Government's determination to enact emergency measures at all costs. Violations of the rights to physical integrity and life, which had slowed down somewhat during 1996, started up again in June 1996, and were committed both by infiltrators and by Government army elements.
The Special Rapporteur writes that the Rwandan refugee crisis has become increasingly more complicated and has degenerated into an armed conflict that threatens the security and stability of the Great Lakes region and involves the risk of causing an "implosion". In his recommendations, Mr. Degni-Segui lists measures relating primarily to the prosecution of persons suspected of genocide, the cessation of human rights violations, social rehabilitation and a political settlement of the Great Lakes crisis. Among other things, he calls on the United Nations to provide the International Tribunal with sufficient human and material resources for it to be able to carry out its mission as effectively as possible. The United Nations should also call on the Rwandan Government to take appropriate steps to ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Regarding a comprehensive settlement of the Great Lakes crisis, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the United Nations should urgently convene, in agreement with the Organization of African Unity, an international conference on the Great Lakes with a view to solving the problems of the region as a whole and, if necessary, arrange for a special session of the Commission on Human Rights to consider the specific dimension of the protection and promotion of human rights; and adopt a comprehensive strategy based on an integrated approach to the problems of the subregion.
In his report (document E/CN.4/1997/6 and Add.1), the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Zaire concludes that the greater part of the recommendations contained in earlier reports have not been adopted by the Government, including: the effective separation of police and defence forces; an end to the irritating impunity enjoyed by members of both forces; adequate training; respect for the independence of the judiciary; acceptance of and respect for the work of NGOs; and the institution of a climate of respect for all the country's inhabitants, free of any ethnic discrimination, in the enjoyment of their human rights.
Mr. Garretón writes that the year's events confirmed what the Special Rapporteur had stated in his reports regarding the need effectively to curtail the powers of President Mobutu Sese Seko. Owing to his absolute control of the Zairean Armed Forces (FAZ), while he was away the armed forces lacked the necessary leadership to deal with the emergency in the east, with the inevitable results. What is remarkable, he continues, is that although Zaire is losing on the battlefield, the head of State has emerged stronger: stronger with the armed forces, which call for his leadership; stronger in
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international affairs, since he is seen as the only person capable of resolving a regional crisis; and stronger in politics, since even his most critical opponents have joined him in the effort of national reconciliation.
Furthermore, writes the Special Rapporteur, no solution has been sought to the problem, an artificial one, of the nationality of the Banyarwanda. On the contrary, the Batutsi of North Kivu have been persecuted and expelled. The conflict in Kivu could have been avoided through dialogue, according to the Special Rapporteur. None of the parties to the conflict has fulfilled the obligations arising from article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions, and serious violations of its provisions have occurred, including attempts on life and physical integrity, homicide, torture, taking of hostages, outrages upon personal dignity and arbitrary arrests, including arrests of wounded and sick people, without the justification of military necessity. The conflict, moreover, has served as an excuse for the violation of the human rights of persons not involved in the conflict.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that despite the seriousness of developments in the armed conflict in the east, the democratization process cannot be paralyzed, but on the contrary should be speeded up and extended, with political circles becoming aware that "the crisis occurring in Zaire will only begin to resolve itself when democracy is introduced, free of the influence of Messiahs of another age".
In his report (document E/CN.4/1997/12 and Add.1), the Special Rapporteur on Burundi writes that the situation in the country has been greatly exacerbated by the crisis which has ravaged the eastern region of Zaire. There has been an escalation of the conflict and fighting which was frequently violent, partly as a result of the activity of the Banyamulenge rebels, which resulted in the movements or flight of the population towards Uvira and other parts of Southern and Northern Kivu in Zaire. It is believed that, during these population movements, large numbers of Hutu rebels, including their general staff, made for the Tanzania via the provinces of south and south-west Burundi.
The recent crises and outbreaks of rebellion in Zaire have directly affected Burundi and diverted the attention of the international community from the country's affairs. As might be expected, the two main parties in the conflict, the armed forces and the rebels, took advantage of the respite afforded by the deterioration of the situation in Zaire to launch new offensives, the former to put an end to the rebellion and the latter to make their presence in Burundi felt even more, while at the same time seeking to establish new bases in Tanzania. The intensification of fighting in November and December 1996 fuelled the constant stream of killings and massacres, targeted assassinations, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, looting and acts of banditry and the destruction of private property by both parties to the conflict. Although final responsibility for
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these gross violations of human rights very often devolves, according to the allegations received, on the armed forces, it is also clear that the rebels are frequently implicated in these acts.
The Special Rapporteur recalls that in his report to the General Assembly, he stressed the importance of democracy as a condition sine qua non of respect for and enjoyment of human rights (see A/51/459). On the basis of this principle, the Special Rapporteur wishes to reiterate that a new institutional regime, even a transitional one, cannot be defined unilaterally by the new de facto authorities, but requires a genuine democratic dialogue extending to all political parties and components of Burundi society. The Special Rapporteur believes that it is now more necessary than ever to ask the United Nations to convene a regional conference on peace, security and development in the Great Lakes region. In view of the accelerated deterioration of the situation in Burundi and the current crisis afflicting the Great Lakes region, the Special Rapporteur strongly recommends that, during the fifty-third session of the Commission on Human Rights, a special day should be devoted to considering all the problems confronting the subregion, culminating in the adoption of a joint resolution, in accordance with the wish expressed by the three Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Burundi, Rwanda and Zaire.
RENE DEGNI-SEGUI, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Rwanda, said the authors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda remained free. Some steps had been taken by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, but still rather limited ones. Rwanda had also adopted an organic law to pursue the perpetrators of the genocide and the country's courts had started trials. But there were some institutional and procedural problems to that.
Mr. DEGNI-SEGUI said that although for a while human rights violations had seemed to die out somewhat, they had increased recently. Along with violations of the rights to property, to freedom of expression and to physical safety, there had been 444 summary executions in Rwanda in January of 1997. The renewed outbreak of violence was in part related to the recent massive return of refugees. Another new factor was the crisis in Zaire.
Mr. DEGNI-SEGUI urged the United Nations to make appropriate provisions to ensure emergency aid for refugees and to arrange their repatriation. The United Nations should also organize a conference on the Great Lakes region and take steps to stop a new outbreak of violence and conflict there. The International Tribunal should also be given human and financial resources to allow it to carry out its role in trying the perpetrators of the genocide. And the Rwandan Government should be assisted to help it pursue genocide and to ensure fundamental human rights and freedoms.
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ROBERTO GARRETON, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Zaire, presenting his third annual report, said the situation in 1996 had obliged to make two unforeseen field missions: in July to North Kivu, upon the outbreak of the Masisi war; and just a few days ago to investigate allegations of massive human-rights violations in rebel-occupied areas.
Regretting the lack of cooperation from the Government of Zaire, the Special Rapporteur said the human-rights situation in the country had remained unchanged in 1996. Fundamental human rights were violated; torture and mistreatment continued; economic, social and political rights and the rights of children were ignored, and prison conditions had seen no improvement. NGOs faced especially delicate circumstances. The only note of progress was the establishment of an office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Kinshasa last December.
There had also been no progress with regard to the right to live in a democracy, continued the Special Rapporteur. It was now impossible that the seven-year-old democratic transition process would lead to the establishment of democracy on 9 July as scheduled. This was not because of the conflict in the east of the country nor was it due to the lack of foreign aid. The only positive development in this area had been the creation of a National Elections Commission. But it seemed that the Commission, and the political class in general, saw the democratic process as a response to external pressures rather than as the recognition of the human right to live in the rule of law.
Concerning the conflict in Kivu, Mr. GARRETON said he remained convinced that it could have been avoided and that its solution lay in dialogue. Once the conflict had started, the presence of foreign military elements, particularly Rwandans, had become evident, as he had himself observed while in Goma during his last mission. In the report, he listed grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the FAZ and told of the participation in acts of the same nature by rebel forces and by former Forces Armées Rwandaises soldiers and Interahamwe militiamen.
PAULO SERGIO PINHEIRO, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi, introducing his report, said the serious state of affairs in the Great Lakes region required a major response from the international community. Refugees and displaced persons must be provided minimum conditions of safety so that they could return to their homes.
Mr. PINHEIRO said he was concerned that despite all the statements made by the Government since taking power in July 1996, conditions for transition to a democratic state of law still had not been established; the various contending parties and the army were militarizing Burundian society to an increasing extent; more and more, the country was falling into a state of war, with the usual victims among women, children, and the elderly. It was
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inconceivable to talk about a democratic transition in Burundi as long as the logic of violence continued to prevail there -- democracy would not be possible without an end to armed conflict in the field and responsible negotiations among the belligerents. Relaunching economic development would not be possible, either. A cease-fire and negotiations were a prerequisite for any real progress.
Those who criticized or opposed Burundian authorities in recent months had been harassed or placed under house arrest, Mr. PINHEIRO said; under those circumstances it was hard to see how a national debate on democracy and resolution of problems could take place. The efforts at pacification undertaken by the Government, such as they were, did not seem to have borne fruit. The military strategy of the Burundian authorities had had inhuman consequences, moreover, despite statements that the measures were designed to ensure the safety of the populace -- it was causing malnutrition in the camps into which people had been herded, some 200,000 strong; another 300,000 had been displaced; all told, some 800,000 had had to leave their homes out of a total population of 6 million.
The Government's resettlement programme did not reflect the population's wishes -- it was a military policy, and was not resulting in tangible signs of peace or reconciliation, and international agencies and NGOs helping the displaced were faced with a complex moral dilemma, as they were cooperating with a Government policy that was highly questionable in human-rights terms, the Special Rapporteur said. In his opinion such support should stop until it was clear that human rights would be respected.
Some trials had been held for those accused of grave human-rights violations, and severe sentences handed down, including sentencing of four persons for carrying out massacres, Mr. PINHEIRO said. However, impunity in Burundi would not be overcome until an international court was established to try those who had carried out massacres and acts of genocide; at the moment there was deteriorating security in the country, leaving citizens increasingly vulnerable to attacks by armed groups. Murders occurred frequently, rebels attacked civilians, conflicts between soldiers and rebels caused civilian casualties; he condemned such violence.
Arms traffic in the Great Lakes region was a great concern, despite various pledges by the international community to restrict it, the Special Rapporteur said; these weapons were only prolonging the conflict and making it more deadly; the international community must act without delay, or there would be chaos and massacres on a more widespread scale in the region; there should be a general, and adhered-to, ban on arms sales.
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Statements in Debate Promotion of Human Rights, Advisory Services
MARYAM MATINE-DAFTARY, of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, said the Beijing Platform of Action of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women had become a leverage for attaining women's human rights and had had an impact on the status of women worldwide. Even Governments that undermined the concept of equality tried to show changes with respect to the situation of women in their countries. But such changes could not be substantial as long as Governments like that of the Islamic Republic of Iran maintained that human rights were determined on the basis of culture and religion, and replaced equality with the notion of complementarity of sexes. In the guise of Islam, Iran had constrained the normal course of life and advancement for women in the society. The International Association of Democratic Lawyers said that stoning should be abolished and flogging should end. No act of passion, love and affection should be considered as a crime. Terms such as adultery should be deleted from penal codes. Segregation of sexes was a form of apartheid which should disappear. States such as Iran should be condemned for continuing such policies.
ETSURO TOTSUKA, of International Fellowship of Reconciliation, welcomed the significant progress made by the United Nations concerning violence against women, in particular the issue of military sexual slavery by Japan. The group also welcomed the International Labour Organisation's conclusion that Japan had violated the Convention on forced labour and that it should take measures to compensate the victims. At the Japanese Diet, many members were joining a movement for legislation on establishing an investigative committee on military sexual slavery as well as on State compensation to be granted directly to the victims. The Commission and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women should continue to address this issue; the Japanese Government, for its part, should cooperate with Japanese Diet members in their legislative efforts on behalf of victims.
SAMEENA NAZIR, of International Human Rights Law Group, speaking on behalf of two other NGOs, said it strongly supported renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. Women suffered violations during conflicts and faced additional obstacles in the wake of armed conflicts; they also confronted laws and practices that denied them equal rights. In Haiti, systematic violence against women under the military regime had been common, as a form of political repression; as the country built democratic institutions it must guarantee that women's rights were protected. Haiti's history of impunity for human-rights violators must end, as it had created an official tolerance for endemic violence against women. In Zaire, women struggled against de facto and de jure inequalities, and faced violence from all parties in the current armed conflict. In Afghanistan's ongoing conflict, most factions had engaged in violence against women as a weapon of war; all parties must respect internationally guaranteed rights. In East Timor, there were continuing reports of sexual assaults on women suspected of
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involvement in resistance struggles against Indonesia, and all such complaints must be investigated and prosecuted. Tribunals on the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda must end impunity for gross abuses of women's rights there.
V. BOONTINAND, of Anti-Slavery International, said there were legal and institutional inconsistencies in the manner individual States dealt with the issue of trafficking in women and prostitution. An international investigation carried out by the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women and the Foundation Against Trafficking in Women had reported that the ambiguity inherent in existing "anti-trafficking" measures essentially derived from the hidden State intention of using the violence of men as an excuse for the control of women, in particular, control of women's mobility and labour. Anti-trafficking strategies were aimed not only at punishing violators of women but also at catching and confining the benign facilitators of women's travel and paid labour, and more significantly, at catching and confining mobile, employment-seeking women. A new definition of trafficking based on international human-rights standards and aimed at targeting both abusive recruitment practices and abusive labour conditions was needed.
SYED NAZIR GILANI, of World Society of Victimology, said the United Nations machinery in Jammu and Kashmir was caught up in a conflict between a declaration of responsibility and the non-compliance of a member State; although the United Nations machinery had advised and warned the Indian State that "presence of troops should not afford any intimidation or appearance of intimidation to the inhabitants of the State, that as small a number as possible should be retained in forward areas", the number of Indian troops had far exceeded the United Nations ceiling and their behaviour had degenerated into repression. Over 2 million Kashmiri Muslims had ben displaced since 1948, and Kashmiri Pandits had suffered a major displacement in 1990. Had the United Nations pursued its commitment to the displaced people and had the Member State respected the right of refugees to return in safety and dignity? The answer was no. Another cause of displacement was the practice of "pass laws" in various parts of Kashmir which gave free access by security forces at any time into the privacy of households, denuding people of all respect and dignity; women were searched against all norms of religion and culture. The Commission must encourage India and Pakistan to agree on "common points of entry and exit" from the region to allow displaced persons to come and go in a reasonable manner.
GHENNET GIRMA, of African Association of Education for Development, said the plight of refugees and displaced persons required more serious and practical attention than ever, because Africans were increasingly being turned into refugees, both internally and across political borders. All faced immense and intractable difficulties, with the continent convulsed by vicious wars and civil strife; they were used as pawns in endless armed and political conflicts between Governments and their opponents; refugees in camps also were forcefully recruited into the armed forces of political movements supported by
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host countries, and increasingly there was confirmation of the use of children as combatants. Increasingly vulnerable were women -- of all ages, they were victims of rape by camp security officials as well as by the soldiers of host countries; forced and sudden evictions from the camps were particularly hazardous for the physically weak and morally unprotected. Such camps were where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Centre for Human Rights should empower women, as they had shown incredible patience, resilience, and practical initiative against overwhelming odds. Despite verbal concern for the safety and well-being of refugees in Africa, it was evident that most lacked effective protection by UNHCR and the Centre for Human Rights; these organizations showed themselves more accountable to Governments than to the refugees themselves.
JOHN QUIGLEY, of Franciscans International, said the suffering of the millions of internally displaced people worldwide often passed unrecorded and was hidden by Governments seeking to elude their responsibilities. Assistance to internally displaced persons should guarantee their protection, but attention also had to be paid to prevention. It was essential to consider and address directly the leading causes of internal displacement: internal political and military conflicts. The situation in Colombia was of special gravity. In that country, countrywide paramilitary activity and inefficient governmental policies for assistance and prevention had produced more than 1 million internally displaced persons during the last 10 years. Paramilitary activity was a key factor behind the violations of human rights in Colombia and the main reason for internal displacement. Paramilitary groups systematically destroyed rural communities from the inside throughout Colombia. Rural leaders were forced to flee or were killed; paramilitary groups had settled in most communities, making the return of those they had displaced impossible. As internal displacement for political reasons became increasingly common, the presence of United Nations human rights observers in the field had become necessary.
FARIN HASHEMI, of International Falcon Movement, said there had been a 300 per cent increase since 1995 in terrorist attacks against Iranian dissidents abroad, and some 32 opponents of the regime had been assassinated as a result. In January 1997, a mortar was fired at the Office of the Mujahedin in a residential area of Baghdad, with one innocent civilian killed and several more injured, and destruction of a hospital and laboratory; in 1996, there was the assassination of Zahra Rajabi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and her colleague, Ali Moradi, in Turkey, with responsibility pinned on an agent of Iran who was sentenced in Turkey to 33 years in prison; in Germany, five persons were on trial for killing four Iranian dissidents in Berlin, and in March 1996 the German judicial authorities had issued a warrant for the arrest of Ali Fallahian, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, probably the first time in European history that an arrest warrant had been issued for a serving minister of another Government. The United Nations ought to deal more decisively with a member State that
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deliberately and systematically carried its violations of the right to life into other countries where its exiles had sought refuge. The Commission was urged to strongly condemn Iran's use of terrorism and should refer the issue to the Security Council for adoption of binding measures.
TIMOTHY WICHERT, of Friends World Committee for Consultation Society of Friends (Quakers), said most internally displaced persons were forced to flee because of human rights violations. Durable solutions were therefore dependent on renewed respect for human rights and the prevention of future abuses. The set of legal norms being compiled by the Representative on internally displaced persons had to be published and disseminated widely and actually read and used by people. Some of the 12 countries which the Representative had visited had witnessed a deterioration of the situation of internally displaced persons and they had to redouble their efforts to help those people. More also needed to be done within the United Nations system to protect internally displaced people. Agencies needed to work together on information gathering and analysis; reports done for the Commission had to be focused and relevant, and the Commission should give future consideration to combining the resolutions it normally passed on mass exodus and internally displaced persons in one text, perhaps under the title of, "human rights and enforced displacement".
RENATE BLOEM, of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church, said the Commission should achieve the full integration of gender concerns into the agenda of its next and subsequent sessions. The five-year review of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights in 1998 would present a good opportunity to assess the achievements made and obstacles encountered in mainstreaming a gender perspective; and to introduce practical mechanisms and methodologies aimed at monitoring mainstreaming on a permanent basis. Such mechanisms could include performance indicators as well as features on accountability, impact analysis and identification of the best practices in this area. But the absence of a high-level advisor on gender issues in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was a source of disappointment. As for the practice of States, the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women pointed to the need for all countries to examine and revise their penal codes so that the full range of sexual violence was more clearly covered; to ensure that perpetrators of such offenses were adequately punished, and to provide victims with proper treatment and support.
MIR ABDUL AZIZ, of International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, said there were many Berlin walls left in the world, such as the one in Kashmir known as the cease-fire line, which stood in the way of freedom and unity of families on both sides; the line was guarded by troops from both India and Pakistan and had stood for 50 years. The needs of refugees and the task of reunifying families desperately needed to be addressed by the Commission; and it was well within the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the internally displaced to address the root cause of the displacements from Kashmir. He respectfully requested the resurrection of the Commission for India and Pakistan, or more properly, establishment of a United
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Nations Commission for Kashmir, that could coordinate a United Nations-wide effort to enable India and Pakistan to resolve the displacement problem while respecting the human rights of the Kashmiri population. The Commission must act to stop the atrocities being committed in Kashmir and listen to the cries and pain of the innocent people of Kashmir.
ROGER WAREHAM, of the International Association against Torture, said Japan had manoeuvred to avoid admitting its culpability and to not provide reparations to the victims of the heinous acts of violence that were committed against Asian women forced to become sexual slaves to the Japanese military. On the question of human rights, mass exoduses and displaced persons, the Welfare Reform Act of the United States limited, and in many cases denied, social welfare, health care and education to immigrants and their children. This was part of a war of attrition, of slow starvation, through denial of economic, social and cultural rights. This was a racist policy by the same Government whose Permanent Representative to the United Nations had last week criticized the creation of "exotic" human rights instruments and self-righteously told the Commission that his Government would not coddle human-rights violators in the world -- unless they themselves were the perpetrators.
Right of Reply
BALA RAM (Nepal) said a representative of the World Organization against Torture had referred to a rape of a refugee woman by seven individuals who reportedly had presented police cards by way of identification. Nepal's delegation had already responded to the allegation: an investigative team had been sent upon report of the crime, and to date no policeman had been implicated; others implicated were being sought. The statement also had alleged several cases of police maltreatment of prisoners and asylum seekers; but Nepal placed great emphasis on proper treatment of all. Compensation for victims of rape included half the property of the perpetrator, which was given to the victim upon conviction of the accused; punishment for rape was strict -- seven years in jail. On the matter of Bhutan, Nepal welcomed continued dialogue between Bhutan and Nepal in efforts to resolve the refugee crisis.
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