COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONTINUES DEBATE ON MIGRANT WORKERS, MINORITIES AND ELIMINATION OF RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION
Press Release
HR/CN/838
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONTINUES DEBATE ON MIGRANT WORKERS, MINORITIES AND ELIMINATION OF RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION
19980401 Commission Hears Calls for States to Ratify Convention On Rights of Migrant Workers, Warning against Politicization(Reissued as received.)
GENEVA, 30 March (UN Information Service) -- The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica warned this afternoon against double standards and the politicization of the Commission on Human Rights.
Speaking to the Commission as it continued its general debate on migrant workers, minorities and the elimination of religious discrimination, Fernando Naranjo said his country had observed with concern the politicization which on many occasions had influenced the way problems linked to human rights had been treated internationally. It was also of concern that in the Commission and elsewhere biased criteria and double standards had prevailed in relation to grave situations. The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was an auspicious opportunity to avoid politicization, he added.
During the general discussion, participants pointed to persistent religious intolerance and to ill-treatment of migrant workers in host countries. A number of non-governmental organizations and Government delegations, including those of the Philippines and Morocco, spoke of the need for States to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families in order to make it enter into force.
The delegations of Ukraine, United States, Romania, Slovakia, Afghanistan and Ethiopia addressed the meeting. The following non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also made statements: European Union of Public Relations, International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, Transnational Radical Party, Society for Threatened Peoples, Franciscans International, International Peace Bureau, North-South XXI, Movement against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples, General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, Baptist World Alliance, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and Asian Buddhists Conference for Peace.
Viet Nam and the Sudan exercised their right of reply.
Statement by Foreign Minister of Costa Rica
FERNANDO NARANJO, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, said Costa Rica was a country of peace with a long history of respect for human rights. It had ratified almost all the international and regional instruments pertaining to the respect and promotion of human rights; it was a country without a military; and it had been among those who had advocated for the establishment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
During the last 50 years, respect for human rights had significantly increased, said Mr. Naranjo. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights had widely contributed to the advancement of human rights. Costa Rica was honoured to participate in the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration. In those dispiriting days of 1948, at the height of the cold war and with the spectre of nuclear holocaust present, Costa Rica had firmly backed the Declaration against those who had considered it romantic rhetoric or part of a geopolitical game. None the less, Costa Rica was still concerned that there was still a lack of universality in the realization of human rights. The country urged those that had not done so to ratify the human rights instruments. In particular, Costa Rica wished to draw attention to the need to finalize the drafting of an optional protocol to the Convention against Torture to allow visits to places of detention. Costa Rica was proud that the working group drafting the optional protocol was chaired by a Costa Rican.
Turning to the work of the Commission, Mr. Naranjo said Costa Rica had observed with concern the politicization which on many occasions had influenced the way problems linked to human rights had been treated internationally. It was also of concern that in the Commission and elsewhere biased criteria and double standards had prevailed in relation to grave situations. The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was an auspicious opportunity to avoid politicization.
The Government and people of Costa Rica respected human rights on a daily basis, he said. International human rights instruments enjoyed the same position as constitutional standards. In addition, the Government had been promoting sustainable development, respecting fully the civil and political rights of the people as well as nature and the environment.
Statements in Debate
A.S. NARANG, of the European Union of Public Relations, said progress humankind had achieved particularly in the past five decades was threatened by the resurgence of intolerance based on religion. Faith had ceased to be a person's private concern and was used to classify people into acceptable or non-acceptable categories. Oppression of the non-acceptable category often took place with the sanction of States. Then, the tensions in society created by the overt use of religion in politics often spilled over into armed
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conflict and oppression. For example, in Pakistan today, religious instruction imparted by numerous seminaries was used not to enlighten but to create a cadre of extremist individuals determined to oppress those who did not subscribe to their ideology. That infectious disease of intolerance was also invading Western countries. Militant groups abused democratic freedoms to preach a doctrine of hate against Jews and other faiths in the United Kingdom; they used the Internet to spread hate in the guise of religion. Nations created on the basis of religion had a special responsibility to show the world that religion meant tolerance.
REENA MARWAH, of the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, said that minorities desired above all the preservation of their heritages, and looked to the State to provide the necessary protection for their rights and their lives; the onus was on nation States to provide the necessary framework within which the rights of those groups could be protected. The reality, however, was that it was often the States who were most culpable in denying minority rights; in most cases, majority communities, believing themselves to be masters of a nation State, sought to integrate and change the identities of minorities by constitutional, legal, and other means. Constitutional frameworks that accorded a predominant position to particular religions or groups ipso facto meant that the rights of minorities could not be preserved. That phenomenon, unfortunately, was being witnessed in most multi-ethnic societies; and if not suitably addressed, the frustration felt by minorities could translate into armed subnationalistic movements threatening the existence of the State. Since democracy was the best guarantor of the rights of minorities, it was imperative that the international community work towards strengthening democratic norms through example and education.
MARINA SIKORA, of the Transnational Radical Party, said in post-Communist countries with a multi-ethnic structure, there was a process of replacing ideological exclusivity with national exclusivity. National engineering was applied in a legal way by the social system to develop only one ethnic community and choke others. The former Yugoslavia had fallen apart because the idea of national engineering had met with serious obstacles. Now, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was experiencing the former Yugoslavia's disease. It had a multi-ethnic structure where, according to the latest reports, at least one third of the entire population were non-Slavic Macedonians, mainly ethnic Albanians. However, the constitution defined the country as the national State of Macedonians, while others were categorized as citizens to whom the State could not belong. For example, the Albanian language and its cyrillic alphabet were only used in the offices of the self-administration. The tendency for the marginalization of Albanians was also obvious in the spheres of politics, education, culture and information. The Transnational Radical Party urged the Commission to take all the necessary steps to encourage The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to put in law and practice the equal rights of all its citizens.
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NGAWANG CHOEPHEL, of the Society for Threatened Peoples, said the Society was concerned with the deteriorating situation in Tibet, in particular problems with religious freedoms there. Once again the Special Rapporteur had drawn the attention of the Commission to specific cases of religious figures in Tibet who remained in incommunicado detention . However, lack of response from the Chinese authorities on the whereabouts of the eight-year-old Panchen Lama was a clear indication that China was refusing to cooperate with the Commission. Other matters were cause for concern: interference in the re-incarnation procedures of Tibetan Buddhism; the call of Chinese authorities to turn Tibet into an "atheist" region; the policy that a "Buddhism must conform to socialism and not socialism to Buddhism"; politicization of Tibetan religious institutions, including "re-education" of monks; control of activities in monasteries. Six Tibetans had launched a hunger strike in New Delhi on 10 March; no one, including the Dalai Lama, had been successful in stopping the hunger strike, and the Society appealed to the Commission to appoint a Special Rapporteur in investigate the situation in Tibet to end this sacrifice.
JOHN QUIGLEY, of Franciscans International, said the group was concerned about the denial of the right to religious freedom and discrimination against religious minorities in many countries. Many of the serious wars in human history had been the result of religious intolerance. In the Penal Code of Pakistan, for example, an article on blasphemy had distressed a number of Muslims and Christians. It condemned any sign of disrespect for the Koran and called for punishment of innuendos. The application of such provisions was often arbitrary and vicious. Those particular sections of the penal code protected suspicion and retribution for personal grudges.
JULIA BASSAM, of the International Peace Bureau, said the linguistic and cultural rights of the Mapuches, a minority in Chile, were not recognized by that State. The Mapuches were also deprived of their land and of the right to physical integrity; they were suffering brutal repression. Despite the loss of national sovereignty and annexation to the Republic of Chile, the Mapuches had by no means renounced their claims to possession of their land and resources. Without these lands, the survival of the Mapuche communities and their culture was under threat. Despite the return to democracy and to the rule of law in Chile, the treatment of the Mapuche people had not improved. The demands of the Mapuche were not of a violent nature, although they reserved for themselves the right to self-determination.
JOAQUIN MBOMIO, of North-South XXI, said discrimination against certain religious communities continued in Sri Lanka: some 1,800 Hindu temples had been destroyed by Sri Lanka's military, and several Hindu priests had been arrested during the course of the war. In addition, there had been reports of Catholic and Protestant places of worship being destroyed and Christian priests being taken into custody. This targeting of non-Buddhist places of worship, and arrests and murder of priests underscored the pivotal role played
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by militant Buddhism in Sri Lanka's conflict; this clear case of religious discrimination and intolerance had first come into being shortly after Sri Lanka's independence. On 25 January this year, just ten days before the fiftieth anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence, the Buddhist shrine known as the Temple of the Tooth and of great symbolic value to the militant Buddhists had been bombed, and among the 13 people killed it was reported that there were three kamikaze bombers belonging to the Tamil rebel army. North-South XXI condemned the bombing of places of worship by all parties in the Sri Lankan conflict.
GIANFRANCO ROSSI of the International Association for Religious Freedom, said human beings had, for the first time in history, expressed the willingness, through the United Nations, to build a world of freedom, justice, fraternity and peace by affirming the rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights had confirmed the rights to freedom of opinion, conscience and religion. The Declaration could enable the international community to draw conclusions and draft a balance sheet of achievements in the field of fundamental freedoms. It was with joy that the international community could observe that in the legislations of many countries, the rights to freedom of conscience and religion was maintained. Millions of persons persecuted in the past because of their religious convictions were now able to enjoy their liberty.
JEAN-JACQUES KIRKYACHARIAN, of the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples, said citizens were persons who were capable of governing and being governed. However, migrant workers and their families were often denied that dual role -- they became objects of exploitation and hatred. It was unacceptable to treat humans as objects and not as subjects. The European Union continued to make distinctions between its citizens and others, and that was unacceptable. There was no longer any argument that States could use to avoid ratification of treaties on migrant workers.
MALTON BRAFF, of the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, said the group had always advocated freedom and the rule of law; every year in more than 200 countries, the group's members celebrated a special day for freedom of conscience and religion. The Universal Declaration was being flouted in many countries, and those countries included some democracies; it had to be emphasized that States must be guarantors of equality and freedom and should not mingle religion and politics. Religious minorities also had to be watched; bundling together of sects and religious extremist groups could lead to misinterpretations and trouble -- "sect" did not necessarily mean a dangerous minority, and was a vague term that could lead to abuse; members of "sects" were not necessarily violent extremists. The State must protect its citizens from all types of abuse; the penal code in most democracies provided for this without there being any need for new laws; it was necessary rather to implement laws protecting freedom and human rights; and new democracies must not succumb to religious and nationalist pressures and enact laws more stringent than those that existed in their predecessors; "transition"
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governments should try to have standards based in international human rights standards.
DENIS LEPATAN (Philippines) said many countries today owed their multi-racial and multi-ethnic societies to migrant workers who had come in search of work but who had settled. The Philippines was one of those countries whose societies and economies had been enriched by the toil of workers who came from other shores. As one of the countries that had taken on the cause of migrant workers and one of the few that had signed and ratified the convention on migrant workers' rights, the Philippines deeply appreciated the interest of the High Commissioner in the issue of the rights and dignity of migrant workers and their families. In the current session of the Commission, the Philippines would again co-sponsor or take the lead in introducing resolutions to promote and protect the rights and dignity of migrant workers. Moreover, the delegation hoped that members of the Commission would once again manifest their support to the resolution the Philippines would introduce on violence against women migrant workers and to the two other resolutions on migrant workers rights.
MOHAMED MAJDI (Morocco) said immigration did not happen spontaneously but was encouraged; it had increased with the economic growth of States and decolonization. Countries had opened their doors to immigrants who came to contribute to the economic growth of receiving States. However, starting in the 1970s, that policy was halted and many initiatives were taken to encourage immigrants to return to their countries. Immigrants were no longer officially welcome and were accused of being the cause of all the ills in their host societies. On the basis of these prejudices, some politicians started using the issue of immigrants at election time. At the same time, acts of aggression started against immigrants in Europe, with perpetrators feeling that they were protecting their society. That attitude was also present in other sectors of the society which covered up those aggressive acts. Morocco wondered sometimes about the courts and judicial procedures in those countries. Despite the liberalization of economies and the free movement of goods, human ingenuity was building up fortresses to stop the movement of persons. Morocco supported the renewal of the mandate of the Working Group on the rights of migrants and hoped States would reconsider their position on the Convention on the rights of migrant workers.
VLADYSLAV ZOZULYA (Ukraine) said Ukraine had constantly attached utmost importance to the rights of minorities and recently had ratified the European Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities; in spite of its difficult economic situation, Ukraine was promoting education in languages of minorities and acting to preserve their cultural traditions; there would be no room in the country for policies of forced assimilation, the superiority of one ethnic group over another, or for special privileges or status. At the same time, the country could not ignore the vital need for revival of the Ukrainian nation, culture and language, which had suffered much from adverse
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policies during the Soviet era; this renaissance was not occurring at the expense of any other minority or group, and therefore the country would strongly reject any attempts to exploit the ethnic issue for political gains or to the detriment of inter-ethnic accord in the Ukraine. The country supported the recommendation that the working group on migrant workers meet twice annually, and supported the extension of the mandate of the Subcommission's working group on minorities.
FELICE GAER (United States) said the fact that the freedom of thought, conscience and religion was a universal human right -- and thus should be universally applied -- might seem self-evident, except that it was so often violated. And that included not only that right to believe but freedom to "manifest his or her religions or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance". It was almost impossible to overstate the importance that religious freedom had played at every stage of American history. Many of the settlers to the American colonies came to escape persecution from the state religions of Europe and worship as they thought best. As part of the United States' effort to incorporate its commitment to religious freedom into international policies, diplomatic posts had been instructed to give greater attention to religious persecution in their reporting and advocacy.
The United States could not remain indifferent to the Sudanese Government's heavy-handed persecution of the largely non-Muslim south, she said. Nor could it look in the aside in the face of Irans persecution of Baha'is or Evangelical Christians; or Burma's persecution of its Buddhist majority and Christian and Rhingya minorities. In China the Government sought to restrict religious practice to Government-controlled and Government- sanctioned organizations. The United States was also concerned about Russia's new religion law, which could result in severe restrictions on minority religions; and about growing intolerance of Islam in expressed by certain elements of European society. At the same time, the United States could not accept those -- like Algerias Armed Islamic Group -- who invoked Islam or other religions as justification for atrocious human rights abuses.
ANTON PACURETU (Romania) said Romania was deeply attached to the idea that all persons must be encouraged to take part in all political, economic and public fields in the States they lived in. It was widely accepted that Governments and persons belonging to national minorities had common responsibilities in joining their efforts to preserve inter-ethnic peace as a major factor for social equilibrium. This dialogue must be open and sincere with the aim of eliminating obstacles that could arise. At the same time, States were obliged to offer specific and sufficient protection to the persons belonging to national minorities. Romania had established a web of institutions and mechanisms which showed how much importance it attached to ensuring the participation of national minorities in all aspects of its public life.
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JURAJ ZERVAN (Slovakia) said the Republic was firmly committed to protecting and supporting its citizens in their basic human rights and freedoms, including those who were members of minorities. The delegation appreciated and supported the work of the Working Group on Minorities and agreed that its mandate should be extended; it also supported the plan of the working group to submit the Hague recommendations regarding the education rights of minorities to Governments of member States for their comments. Slovakia had been among the first States to ratify the European Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities, and preparatory work on the first report on implementation of the Convention was under way; existing legislation on the use of minority languages was being reviewed with the help of experts from the Council of Europe, and a thorough evaluation would be made comparing Slovak legislation in this field with international legal standards and obligations. The Slovak Government was ready to accept and assess possible recommendations on the topic.
MOHAMED HASSAINE (Algeria) said religious intolerance had often reached a paroxysm of violence. Religious wars were in fact the most elaborate forms of religious intolerance because they aimed at the annihilation of the other. Today, the international community had become powerless before the growth of a new form of intolerance directed against a whole people -- terrorism. The groups committing atrocities believed they had a divine mission to punish "renegades" through blind and barbaric terrorism. That form of intolerance and religious extremism had been largely entertained, supported and manipulated by some in the great East-West confrontation. Religious extremism, which was not the monopoly of any religion, had increasingly espoused a nationalistic discourse and represented a danger not only for freedom and democracy, but also for stability and peace in the world.
HUMAYUN TANDAR (Afghanistan) said it was his duty to speak of Islam and the Taliban. Intolerance was alien to Islam, whose laws clearly stated that there were no constraints in the religion. In a few days, Muslims around the world would celebrate one of their two religious feasts, and many of them would carry out the pilgrimage. That was a symbol of Islam: men and women from all continents gathering together with common objectives. The Taliban were not qualified to represent Islam because their leader was illiterate and their reference was not the holy Koran, but books of the Middle Ages. The mission of the Taliban was to disfigure Islam with their practices, which were not allowed by Islam. The Taliban was not satisfied with the shame that it had inflicted on Islam: it was also attacking its history and culture. The regional silence and complacency towards the Taliban was evidence that the group was an instrument of policies and games being played in the region.
MINELIK ALEMU GETAHUN (Ethiopia) said the delegation was alarmed at the increasing number of attacks and violations of human rights of migrants. It welcomed the report of the working group and the cooperation it had received from Governments in its efforts to understand and cope with the problem. The
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relationships between sending, receiving, and transit countries, globalization and its impact on migration, the problems of trafficking, especially in women and children, and other topics needed greater attention and analysis. However, the group should take pains not to duplicate the work done by others. A permanent mechanism -- a clearinghouse for information on migrants -- was needed within the United Nations.
The delegation supported the recommendation of the Working Group on Minorities that a manual be prepared that would cover a number of topics related to proper treatment of minorities, he said. The delegation felt the idea was best implemented by the working group in accordance with its mandate. The group's existence should be extended to give it the opportunity to deal with that and other tasks, such as investigations of the issues of cultural autonomy, adequate representation in public institutions, and further promotion of minority rights.
EDDIE W. COX, of the Baptist World Alliance, said human rights issues had always been a major concern of the group, in particular issues dealing with the denial of religious rights to people, whatever their particular religious affiliation. Every year the Alliance sponsored a human rights visit to an area of the world where it believed that its advocacy could help alleviate suffering. Those visits were not only an encouragement to embattled Baptists, but also an attempt to highlight the plight of Baptists and non-Baptists in the countries concerned.
TANIA CONNAUGHTON ESPINO, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said migration was a complex issue which must be analysed by considering the root causes, as well as the obstacles, that prevented migrants from enjoying their full rights as human beings in the countries of destination. Both sending and receiving countries had responsibilities and must analyze the consequences of certain economic policies. Many people would not choose to migrate and they had the right to remain in their own country. Sending countries should ensure that International Labour Organization (ILO) standards were met by foreign companies. Receiving countries should also acknowledge their role in the process of economic liberalization and should sanction their national companies which did not meet ILO standards in their facilities abroad. Migrants were often the object of racism and xenophobia, and women migrants experienced the dual discrimination of racism and sexism. Countries should undertaken education campaigns to eliminate racism and xenophobia as part of the Third Decade to Combat Racism and it was of vital importance to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers.
RICCARDO PARADISO, of the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace, said social, economic, cultural, and political rights of ethno-linguistic minorities still suffered around the world. In Pakistan, for example, people who had been facing persistent and systematic economic genocide by way of denial of rights were the Mohajirs living there; over 30 million lived there,
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and had their own culture, language, and aesthetic values; having sacrificed 2 million lives for the creation of Pakistan, they had migrated there. Yet, they were never accepted as equal citizens; not only were they denied assimilation, but they were persistently and violently discriminated against in all walks of life through unwritten laws, written laws, and ordinances. Successive Governments had systematically weeded and continued to weed out Mohajir bureaucrats, police, and civil servants; the same situation persisted in other walks of life; even at the airport in Karachi, their city, the Mohajir employees could be counted on one's fingertips; the Commission should call for a political solution for the plight of the Mohajirs instead of any military solution, and should demand that their due rights be provided them in a peaceful manner and through negotiated settlement.
Right of Reply
HOANG HUU HAI (Viet Nam), referring to a statement by Pax Christi International, said his delegation was witness to a denigration and fallacious allegations concerning his country. The NGO in question could bring credible information to the Commission instead of spouting misleading and baseless arguments.
GASIM IDRIS (Sudan), in response to a statement by the International Association for Religious Freedom, said that according to the Sudanese penal code of 1983, religious conversion was a criminal offense. However, the current Penal Code, introduced by the present Government in 1991, held that conversion in itself was no longer a criminal offense, but that manifestations which caused disruption of public tranquillity -- a well-established principle recognized in all legal systems -- was. Sudan also was a signatory of many treaties and was bound to respect international instruments. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights gave States the right to put limitations to protect public safety. The Sudan had not violated its obligations; the representative of the organization was not well-informed about freedom of religion in the Sudan. If there had been persecution of non-Muslims in the south, 2 million southerners would not have fled from war zones in the south to the north.
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