HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS, FROM 23 MARCH TO 9 APRIL
Press Release
HR/CT/501
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS, FROM 23 MARCH TO 9 APRIL
19980319 Background Release Reports submitted by the Governments of Cyprus, Ecuador, Finland, Uruguay and Zimbabwe on the measures they have adopted to implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights will be considered by the Human Rights Committee at its forthcoming session, to be held at Headquarters from 23 March to 9 April.The five countries presenting reports are among the 140 States parties to the International Covenant. The Committee, as a monitoring body, periodically examines reports submitted by States parties on their promotion and protection of civil and political rights. Representatives of those governments will introduce their country reports and respond to oral and written questions from the Committee's 18 members, who serve in their personal capacity.
According to a provisional timetable, the Committee will take up the third periodic report of Cyprus on 24 March, the initial periodic report of Zimbabwe on 25 March, and the fourth periodic report of Uruguay on 27 March. It will take up Ecuador's fourth periodic report on 30 April and the initial periodic report of Finland on 1 April.
Under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, the Committee will also consider confidential communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any of the rights proclaimed in the Covenant. Taking into account the deadlines for submission of further information by the parties, 44 cases may be considered for the adoption of final views and 96 cases for a decision on admissibility.
In addition, the Committee will have before it summaries of several recently registered communications and summaries of new communications registered after its last session, together with an indication of any action which might have been taken by the Special Rapporteur for new communications.
In accordance with provisions of the first Optional Protocol and the Committee's rules of procedures, all such communications are considered in closed meetings.
A list of pending reports by States parties which have been received by the Secretary-General, as well as of outstanding reports, is contained in the Committee's annotated provisional agenda (document CCPR/C/132).
States Parties' Reports
According to the report of Cyprus (document CCPR/C/94/Add.1), the Government has taken several steps in response to concerns expressed by the Committee during the examination of its second periodic report. Those steps included promulgation of a bill that would abolish the death sentence in all cases except for the offence of treason during wartime. A bill has also been prepared for the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant, on abolition of the death penalty. The law ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was recently amended to include a new section that established a number of offences relating to acts of racial discrimination.
Ecuador has made efforts to strengthen the functions of the State to guarantee the realization of civil and political rights, according to that country's report (document CCPR/C/84/Add.6). In particular, actions have been directed towards raising the standard of living of low-income sectors. That objective led to the creation of an emergency social investment fund in 1993, aimed at enabling the entire population to gain access to fundamental human rights and freedoms. Ecuador's new Constitution, adopted by the National Congress in May 1996, includes reforms to strengthen the full realization of human rights embodied in the international declarations and instruments. They include the establishment of an ombudsman's office, broadening the scope of judicial review, and a restructuring of the Constitutional Court.
The report of Finland (document CCPR/C/95/Add.6) focuses on amendments of the fundamental rights provisions in its Constitution Act, which entered into force on 1 August 1995. That general reform has modernized and defined Finland's system of fundamental rights more precisely and extended the scope of its application to new groups. It aims at increasing the direct applicability of fundamental rights in courts of law, as well as by public authorities. It also aims at tightening the conditions under which fundamental rights may be restricted, and includes basic provisions relating to those rights in the Constitution. In addition, the right to liberty guaranteed by the Constitution was extended in accordance with international human rights agreements.
Uruguay's report (document CCPR/C/95/Add.9) says that the country's criminal law system is undergoing a complete transformation, with the ultimate goal of consolidating fundamental human rights guarantees. The reform of criminal procedures includes specific rules to ensure that pre-trial detention reverts to its protective role, instead of serving as advance punishment. According to official statistics, defendants and accused persons comprised
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about 80 per cent of the detainees in Uruguay's penal institutions. In response to the Committee's observations on Uruguay's third periodic report, the Government adopted the Citizens Security Act, aimed at improving the training of law enforcement officers and wardens in detention centres.
The initial report of Zimbabwe (document CCPR/C/74/Add.3) states that there is adequate legislation promoting the equality of people in that country. The Constitution makes it unlawful to discriminate on the ground of race, colour, language, religion and political differences. Ignorance of an individual's rights and social and cultural inhibitions, especially regarding women, was the main hindrance to the full enjoyment of civil and political rights in Zimbabwe. While the Constitution did not expressly prohibit discrimination on the grounds of gender, the Government has enacted legislative and administrative measures to promote the status of women. It has also passed laws that remove discrimination against women, and established institutions to advance the equality of women in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres.
Background on Covenant
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was adopted by the General Assembly and opened for signature in 1966, together with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which entered into force in 1976.
The Civil and Political Rights Covenant begins by stating that all peoples have the right of self-determination. It recognizes that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. It prohibits torture, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment, and the arbitrary deprivation of life. Anyone arrested is to be informed of the reasons for the arrest, and anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge is to be brought promptly before a judge or other legally authorized person.
The Covenant also provides, among other things, for freedom of movement, and places limitations upon the expulsion of aliens present lawfully in the territory of a State party. In addition, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and to freedom of expression are recognized by the Covenant, which also prohibits any propaganda for war or any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred.
States Parties to Covenant
The following 140 States have ratified or acceded to the Covenant: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica,
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Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait and the Kyrgyz Republic.
Also: Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Optional Protocols to Covenant
The First Optional Protocol to the Covenant provides for the confidential consideration of communications from individuals who claim to be victims of a violation of any of the rights proclaimed in the Covenant. No communications can be received by the Committee if it concerns a State party to the Covenant that is not also a party to the Optional Protocol.
The following 93 States are parties to the First Optional Protocol: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, and the Kyrgyz Republic.
Also: Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Zambia.
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The Human Rights Committee is also mandated, under article 41 of the Covenant, to consider communications from a State party alleging violations of the Covenant's provisions by another State party. This procedure can be applied when both States recognize this competence of the Committee by a relevant declaration.
So far, 45 States have made the declaration under article 41. They are: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Congo, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Zimbabwe.
The Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant, which aims at the abolition of the death penalty, was adopted by the General Assembly on 15 December 1989 and entered into force on 11 July 1991. It has been ratified or acceded to by 31 States: Australia, Austria, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Portugal, Romania, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Membership of Committee
The Committee's 18 expert members, who serve in their individual capacity, are elected by the State parties to the Covenant for four-year terms. Article 28 of the Covenant requires that "they shall be persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights".
They are: Nisuke Ando, of Japan; Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati, of India; Thomas Buergenthal, of the United States; Christine Chanet, of France; Lord Colville, of the United Kingdom; Omran El Shafei, of Egypt; Elizabeth Evatt, of Australia; Eckart Klein, of Germany; David Kretzmer, of Israel; Pilar Gaitan de Pombo, of Colombia; Rajsoomer Lallah, of Mauritius; Cecilia Medina Quiroga, of Chile; Fausto Pocar, of Italy; Julio Prado Vallejo, of Ecuador; Martin Scheinin, of Finland; Danilo Türk of Slovenia; Maxwell Yalden, of Canada; and Abdallah Zakhia, of Lebanon.
The officers of the Committee are: Mo Chanet, Chairman; Mr. Bhagwati, Mr. El Shafei and Ms. Medina Quiroga, Vice-Chairmen; and Ms. Evatt, Rapporteur.
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