HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION CALLS ON ALL STATES TO PROTECT MINORITIES
Press Release
HR/CN/855
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION CALLS ON ALL STATES TO PROTECT MINORITIES
19980413 Continues Debate on Further Promotion Of Human Rights, Provision of Advisory Services(Reissued as received.)
GENEVA, 9 April (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights this evening called on States to protect effectively the human rights of all persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.
Through a resolution on tolerance and pluralism as individual elements in the promotion and protection of human rights, the Commission also called on States to take steps to counter all manifestations of hatred, intolerance and acts of violence and to promote and enhance tolerance. The resolution, adopted by consensus, was the last of a series of measures adopted throughout the day and dealing with such issues as religious intolerance, indigenous rights, the illicit dumping of toxic wastes and the imposition of coercive unilateral measures.
Following adoption of the resolution, the Commission resumed a general discussion on the further promotion and protection of human rights and the provision of advisory services, touching on questions including women's rights, internal displacement and human rights and terrorism. Over 60 delegations -- representing Commission members, observers international agencies and non-governmental organizations(NGOs) -- took part in the marathon session, which ended shortly after midnight.
The country delegations were the following: Cameroon, Afghanistan, Switzerland, Turkey, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Lithuania, Australia, Sweden, Cyprus, Iran, Togo, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Poland, Israel, Netherlands, Haiti, Armenia, Norway, China.
The following delegations exercised their right of reply: Turkey, Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Greece.
Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund and the
United Nations Development Fund for Women also delivered statements, as did spokespersons of the following NGOs: International League for Human Rights, Amnesty International, World Organization against Torture, American Association of Jurists, Pax Christi International, Franciscans International, African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters, Andean Commission of Jurists, International Federation of Women in Legal Careers, Lutheran World Federation, International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, Pax Romana, International Educational Development, International Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic and other Minorities, Asian Cultural Forum on Development, Parliamentarians for Global Action, Catholic Institute for International Relations, International Peace Bureau, International Right to Life Federation, World Federation for Mental Health, European Union of Public Relations and the International Institute for Non- Aligned Studies.
Also: International Institute for Peace, Caritas Internationalis and Friends World Committee for Consultation, The Canadian Council of Churches, World Federation of Trade Unions, Indian Movement "Tupaj Amaru", International Indian Treaty Council, Human Rights Watch, Movement against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, International Progress Organization, Human Rights Internet, Fédération des Associations pour la Défense et la Promotion des Droits de l'Homme, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees, Society for Threatened Peoples, International Human Rights Law Group, World Society of Victimology, Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, Asian Women's Human Rights Council and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
Action on Resolution
In a resolution on tolerance and pluralism as individual elements in the promotion and protection of human rights (document E/CN.4/1998/L.25), approved by consensus, the Commission called on States to protect effectively the human rights of all persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities without any discrimination and in full equality before the law; to take steps to counter all manifestations of hatred, intolerance and acts of violence; to promote and enhance tolerance; and to promote a culture conducive to human rights, fundamental freedoms, and tolerance; called upon the High Commissioner for Human Rights and her Office to include in its work programme, within overall existing resources, efforts to promote tolerance; to undertake specific educational initiatives and public awareness activities to that end; and to advise and assist countries, upon request, to put in place effective safeguards; and called upon mechanisms of the Commission to further study situations and conditions that promoted tolerance and to continue efforts aimed at identifying commonly accepted principles and best practices in the field.
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Statements
F.X. NGOUBEYOU (Cameroon) said to further encourage and develop human rights, activities of international scope needed to be synchronized with national ones. With a view to improving the mechanisms of the United Nations in the field of human rights, a diagnosis for weak areas was needed; then the international community could introduce new dynamics to perfect the means of action of the treaty bodies. There was also a need to strengthen technical assistance and advisory services to meet the various needs expressed. Almost all States violated human rights, but there was a need for dialogue, not as a panacea, but as the least worse approach to make States cease abuses without losing face.
HEIKKI MATTILA, of the International Organization of Migration (IOM), said the magnitude of the internal displacement crisis demanded urgent action from the international community. In countries around the world, men, women and children continued to be forced to flee their homes, often due to war, strife, disasters and abuse of human rights. Those people suffered from physical deprivation, the denial of their basic rights and other abuses. The work of the Commission on the issue of displacement, and especially the valued work of the Special Representative, had made clear that protection and assistance could not usually be separated, nor was it normally desirable to attempt to do so. Human rights components were integral to programmes designed to assist the internally displaced: violations of rights caused displacement, and preventing or remedying such violations could be central to finding lasting solutions.
HUMAYUN TANDAR (Afghanistan) said that in the part of his country controlled by the Taliban, violence against women was the law. The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a time for countries to take account of those rights. But how could one convince millions of women, or the little 10-year-old girl in Kabul whose finger had been cut off by the Taliban because she had been wearing nail polish, that the Universal Declaration guaranteed wonderful rights? Or when the Minister of Education of the Taliban closed schools for females, or when the Minister of Health closed clinics and hospitals for women? The world was entitled to wonder about the intentions of those who knew what was going on and remained silent.
DANIEL RIETIKER (Switzerland) said everybody knew the magnitude of the problem of people displaced within their own countries. According to recent estimates, there were some 30 million people in the world affected by displacement. The number of displaced had now surpassed the 13 million refugees in the world. The Swiss delegation welcomed the report of the Special Representative in that regard; the guiding principles on internal displacement elaborated by the representative constituted an important document. Switzerland had already highlighted the role of the rule of law in
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protecting the rights of displaced persons. Switzerland called upon all concerned by the problem of internal displacement to implement the guiding principles with a view to improving the situation.
BULENT MERIC (Turkey) said terrorism was an evil which was increasingly causing pain, anguish and concern all over the world; it was the scourge of our time. Terrorism could stem from different reasons, yet whatever its motivation, all terrorist acts must be unequivocally condemned by the international community. Up to now, the international community had failed to act with the required efficacy against terrorism. Despite all calls for intensive and extensive cooperation, terrorism continued to threaten territorial integrity and security of States. There was also a growing link between terrorism and other kinds of international crime. Turkey had been subject to a vicious terrorist campaign since the early 1980s. The Government resolutely fought this terrorism in strict conformity with the principles of the rule of law and international laws on human rights.
SO CHANG SIK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said the issue of liquidating the crimes committed by Japan against the Korean and other Asian peoples was not an issue which would be confined merely to eliminate the crime itself. That issue was also to eliminate Japan's past deep-rooted bad inclination and practice of discriminating against other nations and to establish conditions for genuine conciliation and good-neighbourliness in Asia. The Japanese Imperial Government had forced 200,000 women into the sexual slavery as "comfort women" during the illegal occupation of Asia. The pains and maltreatment suffered by the "comfort women" were far beyond expression, leaving a shameful stain on the history of mankind. The majority of those women had been killed mercilessly; the few survivors were passing away one by one, without and physical or mental rehabilitation or compensation.
JEAN-PHILIPPE LAVOYER, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said it was well known that the great majority of internal displacement occurred in the context of violence, be it internal disturbances or outright armed conflict. In such situations, ICRC had been given a mandate to protect and assist all victims. Recent conflicts had been characterized by an increasing targeting of civilians, either as a strategy of warfare, or even as the very objective of the parties involved. Consequently, the internally displaced now often constituted a considerable part of the affected populations. While a comprehensive approach was necessary to effectively address the needs of the victims, in accordance with the principles of neutrality and impartiality, there was a need to be sensitive to specific needs among vulnerable groups. The complexity and magnitude of internal displacement required a concerted effort by the international community. The ICRC was pleased to have been associated with the preparation of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, a useful tool to promote knowledge about
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relevant standards and could sensitize all actors involved to the specific problems that might arise.
EDVARDAS BORISOVAS (Lithuania) said his delegation fully supported the necessity to pay significant attention to the preparations to commemorate fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration. Its impact was far-reaching for human dignity and had become the basic inspiration for the development of political, economic, social and cultural rights. Lithuania recognized the progress made in the area of human rights and fully supported the efforts that contributed to further promotion and protection of human rights in different regions all over the world. Despite unavoidable failures and losses, the peaceful settlement of conflict gave hope that the efforts of international community were going in the right direction.
JOHN B. CAMPBELL (Australia) said it was a strong supporter of independent and pluralistic national human rights institutions. Australia welcomed the work done and considerable progress made in recent years on establishing and strengthening national institutions in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Australia noted that the work of national institutions in individual countries could be strengthened through regional and subregional arrangements. In its own region, Australia believed the international community had a continuing role to play in supporting the restoration of peace and political stability in Cambodia. Australia called on all the Cambodian parties to continue to cooperate in moving forward in an electoral process which was free from violence and intimidation. A major concern in Cambodia over the past year had been the issue of political violence and intimidation, and reports of extrajudicial executions. The issue of impunity also remained a matter of critical and urgent priority.
JAN ROMARE (Sweden) speaking on behalf of the Nordic countries, said the magnitude of mass displacement of persons remained a major preoccupation for the international community. Internal displacement was now estimated to affect around 25 million in some 40 countries, around 16 million of them in Africa. Over the past decade, the challenges presented by internal displacement had been aggravated by the complexity of causes, and, in particular, by the changing patterns of conflict. Today, the overwhelming number of conflicts threatening international and regional security and generating displacement were domestic. Besides political and military antagonism, today's conflicts were bred by social strife and economic divisions. Ethnic cleansing and other serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights were rampant. In many cases, conflicts had escalated to the point where the social structures of societies had collapsed. Those new multidimensional conflicts needed multidimensional responses.
ROXANNA CARRILLO, of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), said what women needed from the Commission could be summarized in four words: political will for implementation. UNIFEM wished to address two
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issues of long standing concern: gender integration into the human rights system and violence against women. Regarding gender integration, UNIFEM had sought to go beyond the groundbreaking work of the Special Rapporteur of violence against women and engage other rapporteurs and working groups in understanding the scope of their mandates and apply a gender lens to the task of examining, monitoring and reporting human rights situations. Concerning violence against women, UNIFEM had recently completed the first year of operations of the Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence Against Women, which was a small grants-funding facility. On the advocacy side, UNIFEM had also recently initiated in Latin America and the Caribbean a region-wide campaign for a life free from violence.
PETROS EFTYCHIOU (Cyprus) said it was essential and a matter of utmost priority to address the issue of the human rights of refugees and displaced persons by effectively tackling the causes of the problem. The enjoyment of their rights and freedoms would only be assured if their right to return to their homes in conditions of absolute safety was not only recognized but also practically ensured. With regard to Cyprus, the size of the calamity that befell that Country in 1974, and which remained unsolved until today, should be once again put in perspective. Almost 200,000 Greek Cypriots, living in the area occupied by Turkey, had been forced out of their homes and had sought refuge in the government-controlled area. Today, 24 years later, not only had there not been a single person allowed to return to his or her home, but on the contrary, their homes and properties continued to be parcelled out to settlers and colonizers from Turkey in clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
MUSTAFA ALAEE (Iran) said six regional arrangements workshops already held in the Asia and Pacific region had achieved remarkable progress towards finding common ground in human rights. Early this year, the sixth workshop on regional arrangements in the Asia and Pacific region had been held in Tehran. Asian countries had reviewed previous achievements and discussed new proposals to define and frame a regional programme on technical cooperation in the region. Iran strongly held that the continuation of this process would contribute significantly to the enhancement of regional cooperation in the field of human rights and further the involvement of the institutions of civil society in the promotion and protection of human rights. The Tehran workshop had been characterized by a renovative agenda; its conclusions had reaffirmed the principle of the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights. Iran was firmly determined to continue to strengthen the current defined processes towards establishing the regional arrangements in the region and would actively contribute to that end.
BILJANA STEFANOVSKA-SEKOVSKA (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said advisory services and technical cooperation constituted one of the most effective and efficient means of promoting and protecting human rights and democracy. The Macedonian Government commended the efforts of the
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international community and organizations in strengthening of the policy of respect for human rights and their promotion at the national and global levels. In implementing its policy, the Government attached great importance to building a broad-based, comprehensive approach in the development of human rights culture through education, advisory activities and economic support. The Government's policy and achievements had been widely recognized by the international community.
NAKPA POLO (Togo) said that on the eve of the twenty-first century, the United Nations was concerned to see all States adhering fully to a culture of human rights. States, however, faced many challenges. When Togo signed a technical assistance agreement with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 1996, it manifested its intention to build a genuine human rights culture. This project was intended to consolidate a climate of peace and change the approach of citizens to human rights laws. The democratic process was continuing and the human rights situation had markedly improved. Togo trusted that the Office of the High Commissioner would strengthen the technical assistance project and would focus on new areas of interest, including assistance to the new constitutional institutions created in 1997; assistance to the private and State media; assistance to non-governmental organizations working for women and children, and assistance to prison staff.
ALEXANARU FARCAS (Romania) said the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights had strongly reaffirmed that the promotion and protection of human rights was primarily a responsibility of governments. However, there was a need to get the civil society itself involved in the processes of promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The basic premise was to take all appropriate measures to ensure the full compliance with international obligations States adhered to in the field of human rights. For the enhancement of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, it was necessary that international mechanisms established be enforced though internal ones. In Romania, a National Plan of Action in the field of Education for Human Rights and Democracy, and a National Campaign for Information and Education with the participation of different social partners, had been implemented.
TEMINA JANJUA (Pakistan) said her country had engaged with the cosponsors of document L.25 in a constructive spirit to achieve consensus, and she wished that these consultations could have taken place earlier. Changes introduced by India did not respond to Pakistan's concerns, although Pakistan agreed to accept the changes. Pakistan hoped that in the future, transparency and consensus would inspire all in the Commission, especially the cosponsors of L.25.
TOUVIA ISRAELI (Israel) said his country had always been aware that the road to equality was through the field of employment, and that the more women were integrated in the workplace, the better their chances would be to achieve
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economic independence. The efforts to encourage the female labour force had been accompanied by the development of legislation relating to the rights of the working women. Today, women occupied 30 per cent of senior posts and government directorate positions. Last year, the Prime Minister's Office took upon itself two issues: the first related to the establishment of a government authority for the improvement of the status of women. The second was the promotion of public awareness regarding prevention of domestic violence.
HEDDA SAMSON (Netherlands) said it was estimated that over 120 million women had undergone some form of genital mutilation. Notwithstanding many laudable efforts undertaken by governments aimed at eradicating harmful traditional practices, in particular female genital mutilation, at least 2 million girls per year were still at risk of mutilation. Arguments against female genital mutilation were based on universally recognized rights, including the right to integrity of the person and the highest attainable level of physical and mental health. The large-scale existence of the practice, and the severe consequences it had on the health of women and girls, obliged the international community to enhance efforts to eliminate that harmful traditional practice. Governments should include in their national public health care policies appropriate strategies aimed at eradicating female genital mutilation.
FRITZNER GASPARD (Haiti) said that three-and-a-half years after the restoration of democracy in his country, some political progress had been made. There was a certain political stability and Parliament had just approved the choice of Mr. Hervé Denis as Prime Minister; that was a step towards normalizing the political situation. The economic situation was not encouraging, as poverty was on the increase. Haiti reiterated its call to the Bretton Woods financial institutions to evaluate the effect of structural adjustment policies on the country. Regarding human rights, despite the dysfunctioning of the judiciary, some progress had been made. There was still much to be done about human rights, particularly with regard to the rights of women and the fight against impunity. Haiti concluded by launching an appeal to the international community for cooperation to establish a society based on law and which combatted impunity.
KAREN NAZARIAN (Armenia) said the problem of mass exoduses and displaced persons was a major issue on the international agenda. Today, more than 13 million people were deprived of their basic rights and freedoms; had left their homes and properties; and were denied the exercise of their civil, political, social or economic rights. The Transcaucasus region presented a flagrant illustration of that problem. The first refugees on the former Soviet Union territory had been Armenians fleeing the massacres in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait in March 1988. Later, they were joined by 350,000 Armenians forced to leave other Azeri cities as a result of systematic pogroms.
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MERETE WILHELMSEN (Norway) said the situation in Afghanistan was a frightening illustration of the need for increased attention and even more increased implementation of the rights of women. The present conditions there amounted to gender apartheid that could not be tolerated under any circumstances. The High Commissioner for Human Rights was to be commended to establishing a gender team at her office; the role of treaty bodies was crucial to women's issues; governments were also encouraged to mainstream a gender perspective into national immigration and asylum policies. Norway did regret that the Commission on the Status of Women had not been able to reach agreement on a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women; such a protocol would strengthen the Convention and be instrumental in making women more aware of their rights.
EVA RIMSTEN, of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said wherever displacement occurred, it had a profound physical, emotional and development impact on children. Internally displaced children faced a significantly higher risk of dying. Moreover, the internally displaced existed in legal limbo and remained, despite the magnitude of the problem, relatively invisible. The conditions of displaced children put at high risk virtually the entire range of rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including survival, protection, and development without discrimination. The scale and severity of the crisis facing displaced children impelled UNICEF towards a clear focus on displaced children and a significantly enhanced response.
BASHIR MUNTASSER, of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said UNFPA had always contended that population policies should be consistent with international human rights standards. Related reproductive and sexual rights fit into the framework of human rights; they were implied by long-established rights to life and liberty, to equality, and to the highest attainable standards of well-being. The UNFPA recognized the rights of women to such high standards of life; and the Vienna Conference had reaffirmed the equality of women and men, and their right to determine the spacing of their children and related forms of control over their lives. Recognized human rights standards applied to all types of population programmes; the Commission, Subcommission, human rights treaty bodies, and related human rights instruments should keep population issues and rights in mind. The UNFPA supported establishment of a separate agenda item on the rights of women, which would include consideration of reproductive rights.
WE JINGSHENG, of the International League for Human Rights and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, said he had been a political prisoner in China for more than 18 years. In their struggle for their fundamental rights, the Chinese people had resorted to an impressive variety of means of resistance and had gained a certain amount of basic freedoms. For example, there were a growing number of publications on the Chinese market, many of which were illegal. That had become a reality, and those in power could not ignore it
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any longer. Those new freedoms were the result of a long, non-violent struggle. Western politicians and scholars claimed that China had now made significant progress, and that the Chinese Government should not be condemned for violating human rights. But last year, when the Commission failed to adopt a resolution on China, his prison guards had laughed at him and said: "Look at your so-called friends; they betrayed you". The Chinese people had learned from their own history that violent revolution did not necessarily guarantee democracy. That was why they would rather take the long but peaceful path to human rights and democracy. They were already on that path; they were already approaching their goals. But because of every step they take, they were exposed to further Government repression. That was precisely the time when support from the friends of the Chinese was most needed. And that was precisely the time that Western democracies had chosen to withdraw their support by deciding not to examine China's human rights record at the Commission.
LIVIO ZILLI, of Amnesty International, said the decline in willingness of States to protect refugees and asylum-seekers were evidenced by measures violating the fundamental principle of non-refoulement, including rejection at the frontier, restrictive interpretation of who was a refugee; the sending of asylum seekers to unsafe third countries; the use of detention as a deterrent to asylum seekers; and, under the guise of voluntary repatriation programmes, the forcible return of refugees to countries where they risked serious human rights violations. In the absence of an independent treaty-monitoring mechanism which could assess the human rights situation in countries of origin and the legal protection of refugees in countries of asylum, the Commission must assume a greater role in ensuring respect for the rights of refugees. All over the world -- for example, in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia -- the detention of asylum seekers had increased as a way of deterring refugees from seeking asylum. It was necessary for the working group on arbitrary detention to make a series of on-site visits and make specific recommendations to remedy the unjustified use of detention in such situations.
KARIN BENNNGER, of the World Organization against Torture, said in the name of culture, traditional or customary practices, or through religious extremism, women and girls were the victims of de jure and de facto inequalities. The universality of their human rights was thus under attack. In Afghanistan, women had become the victims of gender apartheid; their freedom of movement and expression was totally restricted, they did not have access to education or basic health structures. In addition, women were the victims of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. Afghan women were forced into subservience and isolation, and were therefore particularly vulnerable to violence.
ANA PENGITO, of the American Association of Jurists, said development did not necessarily result in human rights improvements. In Colombia each
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time there was an announcement of a large economic project, one saw pressure and even atrocities applied to routing populations from their land so that it could be used for development; paramilitaries often were involved, and massive displacements often resulted. Responses to these displacement almost always amounted to efforts afterward, and in fact State indifference was the rule; in some cases efforts even were made to keep human rights organizations from distributing aid. Abuses sometimes amounted to bombardment or indiscriminate machine-gunning. During 1997, there were forced displacements of 200,000 people, bringing Colombia's total to over 1.2 million. The Commission must bring Colombia to account on this catastrophe; it must be pressured to break up paramilitary groups and carry out punishment of those responsible for human rights violations, including public authorities. It was regrettable that the Chairman's statement on Colombia did not mention the Convivir associations, which carried out so many human rights violations on the population; the Commission should appoint a Special Rapporteur on Colombia.
DOMINGAS MARIA MONIZ, of Pax Christi International, said she was born in East Timor in 1972 but had left the region in 1997. Indonesian soldiers used to throw stones at the churches she used attend and often, young girls were taken from inside the church by Indonesian soldiers who would then rape them. That had happened to her many times. The soldiers had started to follow her when she was 15 years old. When she was 20 she was abducted from church for the first time and taken back to the soldiers' house and raped. That was the main reason why she had left East Timor.
RENATE BLOEM, of the World Federation of Methodist and United Church Women, speaking on behalf of 31 NGOs, said that while progress had been achieved, women still struggled against obstacles and were denied basic human rights; girls and women were the largest group of the population whose rights were systematically violated around the world; the Commission must help in this area; it was vital. Further steps were needed to implement existing international instruments; there was a great difference between the standards and the situation on the ground. All items on the Commission agenda must be considered from a gender perspective; there also should be a separate agenda item on the human rights of women. Regular meetings with special rapporteurs, thematic and other mechanisms, and chairpersons of the treaty bodies should be held regularly to ensure that gender considerations were being taken into account in their activities.
JOHN QUIGLEY, of Franciscans International, said in Burundi, according to United Nations reports, approximately 800,000 people were living scattered around the country, away from their homes. More than half lived in so-called "protected sites". The most appalling fact was that, according to a UNICEF statement, 100,000 were displaced children who received no assistance whatsoever. Also, in Brazil, less than 3 per cent of the population owned nearly two thirds of the country's half billion hectares of arable land, 60 per cent of which had never been utilized. At present, tens of thousands of
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Brazilians did not have a place to live. They left their homes due to economic forces or were forcefully evicted to make room for large macro-business farming enterprises that served the foreign market. In Colombia, meanwhile, more that 1 million displaced people had become refugees within their own country.
BINETA DIOP, of the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters, said the priority objective of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was to combat violence against women; in Africa, women caught up in armed violence were subject not only to the human rights abuses inflicted on most helpless populations, but also subjected to a range of sexual abuses that could be horrifying. Who in Rwanda was rebuilding the country, meanwhile? Who was collecting and raising the orphans, caring for the elderly, rebuilding the houses? Women were. They also were reactivating the peace process, pressuring officials, informing the press, marching in demonstrations; they were organizing among themselves, were observing elections and supporting Liberian women in their campaign for democracy; they had travelled to Burundi to help their Burundian sisters. But there was a huge shortage of financial resources; the international community must enhance access of such women to the resources they needed to continue to protect and promote women's rights in Africa.
MARIE-NOELLE LITTLE, of the Andean Commission of Jurists, said the experience of Latin America had shown that the institution of the defender of the people was important in the building of human rights and the rule of law. In Colombia and Peru, work for the consolidation of the institutions for the defence of human rights was being strengthened. In Ecuador, however, the office of the Ombudsman was not yet operational. Also, the country's Congress had dissolved the Constitutional Court and designated new members. Similarly in 1997, the Peruvian Congress had dismissed the members of the Constitutional Court to replace them with new ones. The Andean Commission of Jurists believed that the offices of Ombudsman and Constitutional Courts played important role in promoting democracy and human rights in Latin America. State interventions in their functioning hampered their activities and endangered their independence.
SOFEY SAIDI, of the International Federation of Women in Legal Careers, said that in her homeland of Iran, gender discrimination against women continued unabated. Women were not allowed to sit on the bench because they were viewed as too emotional; were not allowed to run for President; were barred from dozens of educational fields; were not allowed to choose their attire; were not allowed to travel abroad without their husbands' permission; were denied equal rights in inheritance and deprived of the right of divorce except under very special circumstances. The claim that there was a new approach toward the issue of Iranian women in the formal positions of the Government was absolutely baseless; the reported appointment of four women judges was not true; the appointment of Massoumeh Ebtekar as a Vice-President
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in no way reflected an improvement in the status of women in Iran. Some of the highest Iranian officials had made revealing remarks regarding their own gender bias. The Commission should condemn Iran in the strongest possible terms in a substantive resolution.
Rev. MARGARET ROBERTS, of the Lutheran World Federation, also speaking on behalf of the World Christian Life Community, said at present, 90,000 Bhutanese refugees continued to live in the camps of eastern Nepal, with no clear prospect of being allowed to return to their homeland of Bhutan. The Refugees were southern Bhutanese, almost exclusively of Nepali ethnicity -- one of the three main ethnic groups in Bhutan. They had fled the country from 1991 onwards because of ethnically discriminatory policies implemented by the Bhutanese Government, and because of the violent repression of the social protests which had ensued. The refugees remained in limbo after up to seven years of exile, with no certain future for their children, an increasing number of whom had never known any life other than that of a refugee.
YMER JAKA, of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, said it was regrettable that violations of the human rights of women, given their seriousness and scope in numerous States, had not been given a special agenda item by the Commission. It would be desirable for all special, thematic, or geographic procedures to include more systematic consideration of such violations. Violence against women occurred in many forms in Afghanistan. Women, especially those living in zones occupied by the Taliban, suffered especially. Women in those regions had literally disappeared from public life. They were not given the right to speak, health care, employment, or education; they were deprived of all their fundamental rights; their very humanity was being denied. Conjugal violence was essentially encouraged; torture and inhuman treatment were inflicted on those women alleged to have committed what the Taliban considered to be crimes. There was even stoning to death of women.
S.V. KIRUBAHARAN, of International Education Development, said the group was concerned that the important issue of mass movements of people lacked focus at the Commission, in part because its different aspects -- displaced persons, migrants, mass exoduses and refugees -- were currently addressed under three different agenda items. All movements of people -- whether internal or towards the exterior, whether motivated by war, famine, economic betterment, racism, incipient genocide or any other cause -- should be addressed together.
KYRIAKOS KALATTAS, of the International Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic and Other Minorities, said that in Cyprus, as a result of the 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation of 37 per cent of Cyprus's territory, one third of the Greek Cypriot indigenous population had been forced to abandon their ancestral homes and continued to be refugees in their own country. The demographics of the territory under the Turkish
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occupation had undergone a radical change, not only through expulsion of Greek Cypriots but through the mass exodus of Turkish Cypriots as well, and through the importation of thousands of Anatolian settlers. About 50,000 Turkish Cypriots had been forced to emigrate; the number of Turkish colonists was estimated at about 100,000; Turkey controlled and directed all that went on in the Turkish-occupied area of Cyprus. The Commission should no longer tolerate the continuation of this situation, as universal standards for human rights had been flouted in occupied Cyprus since 1945.
VANESSA LIELL, of The Asian Cultural Forum on Development, referring to the Commission's attention to the proposed Regional Arrangement for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific region, said NGOs were conscious of the pronounced particularities in the social, cultural, political and religious spheres of States in the region. Those differences were also found within many nation States. Yet, such difference among the Asian-Pacific States could not be obstacles to reaffirming the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights; nor should they be obstacles in reaching a consensus on a regional arrangement based on the Universal Declaration and other international human rights and humanitarian law instruments. The Asia-Pacific human rights NGOs had noted with dismay the attitude of some State in the region towards a host of international human rights instruments, including the negotiations on the draft declaration on human rights defenders. The inalienable right to development, however, was apparently an issue in which there was a larger concurrence of views in the region.
KHINHTIN HTAY KYU, of the Catholic Institute for International Relations, said women from Burma were forced to suffer numerous human rights abuses, frequently during ethnic cleansing operations known as the "Four Cuts Campaign" and infrastructure projects. Women and young girls were forced to work as porters in war zones to carry military supplies and suffered rape, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrest and torture. Women were considered more versatile as forced labour because, in addition to carrying goods, they could be raped by soldiers. Burmese people, including women and children, had also been forced to relocate because of infrastructure projects funded by foreign investments. More and more women and children were arriving in neighbouring countries to escape from such abuses, but even so they were often attacked by Burmese military and allied troops. The Commission must emphasize gender-based persecutions in its resolution on Myanmar, and must take steps to protect women there.
KOH TANAKA, of the Parliamentarians for Global Action, said that on 16 February, a family of Chinese war bereaved, a member of which had been sacrificed by the Japanese military for human-body experiments during the Second World War, sued Japan's Government for an apology and compensation. On 18 February, former sex slaves angrily returned a letter of apology from the Japanese Prime Minister. One month later, Korea's Foreign Affairs and Trade
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Minister asked Tokyo to "make historical facts exactly as they were" and the Korean President demanded compensation from Tokyo for war crimes. Koh Tanaka, a member of the Japanese Diet, planned to submit a bill to establish an organization to examine the process which led to the Second World War, and examine wartime atrocities committed by the Japanese, including sex slavery, forced labour, and the development and use of chemical and biological weapons. Compensation for victims would also be examined. It was to be hoped that the international community would continue to help Japan in its search for truth.
NGUN UK HNIN, of the International Peace Bureau, said the issue of internal displacement no longer considered as a sensitive internal problem. The scope of the crisis urgently called for international involvement, since internal displacement was a human tragedy of great magnitude and of global dimension. There were two causes of displacement: large-scale development projects -- involving the building of dams, gas pipelines, access roads and railway lines -- and the clearing of poor people living near tourist sights or prominent areas in the cities. As a result of such massive and widespread violations of human rights, hundreds of thousands of villagers took flight from their traditional habitats. The majority of them remained in hiding in deep jungles and hills.
A.S. KOHLI, of the European Union of Public Relations, said physical violations of human rights were visible, but when the spirit and psyche were hurt, the scars were far more painful. The Mohajirs had twice been victims of the misuse of religion for politics of intolerance based on communities. When India was partitioned in 1947, a section of Muslims migrated to newly created Pakistan. They were Muslims but were never accepted as equal citizens and were denied assimilation and persistently and violently discriminated against. Many had to leave Pakistan; and it had been estimated that at least 1 million Mohajirs had been rendered destitute because of measures taken by security forces. Another situation of displacement was of people living in the northern areas annexed by Pakistan in 1947. They had no control over government, courts, or other basic institutions of citizenship. It was high time that Special Rapporteurs, treaty bodies, and the representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons were asked to inquire into such situations.
REENA MARWAH, of the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, said recent developments necessitated a fresh look at the phenomenon of internal turmoil plaguing many countries and taking the form of violent uprisings directed against one or other community on the basis of religion of ethnicity. It was estimated that there were about 24 million people in the world today who fit the description of people having sought refuge in their own countries -- that far exceeded the number who fit traditional definitions of refugees. They had the same protection requirements as refugees, but only lately had their problem been taken cognizance of. No international organization had as yet the mandate or designated responsibility to deal with
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that category of unfortunate people, as that had traditionally been deemed to be the responsibility of the State.
BHARATI SILAWAL GIRI, of the International Institute for Peace, said that in Pakistan's northern areas there were around 2 million people from Gilgit and Baluchistan who were suffering internal displacement; the status of the areas was undefined and had been so for 50 years. If the people of these areas were not part of Pakistan or Kashmir, then who were they? The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the internally displaced should study the situation, and so should the Commission. The Commission also should pay attention to the situation of ethnic Nepalese who had fled from Bhutan and were now in refugee camps in Eastern Nepal; steps must be taken to allow those refugees to return to their homeland in dignity and with full guarantee of human rights and security.
MARY TOM, of Caritas Internationalis, said an important part of the work of the representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons had been the development of the legal framework for the protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons. She requested that the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement be published and widely disseminated as soon as possible; that the organizations concerned be encouraged to continue their work on the establishment of reliable and practical database on internal displacement; that regional frameworks should be used to address situations of internal displacement, where appropriate; and that focal points on internal displacement should be created, if they did not exist already, within the relevant organizations and agencies.
GENEI SHIMOJI, of the World Federation of Trade Unions, said the huge and disproportionate presence of United States military bases in the small Japanese island of Okinawa had caused great anxiety and disrupted the livelihood of local residents. Daily jet noise, parachute-drop exercises conducted in sight of civilian residential areas, and frequent military accidents, including fighter plane and helicopter crashes, were encroachments which the people had had to suffer interminably. From 1972 to 1996, crimes committed by United States military personnel and their dependents totalled 4,823, including 12 murders of Okinawan citizens and 509 particularly heinous crimes. The oppression of the bases was intolerable.
LAZARO PARY, of the Indian Movement "Tupaj Amaru", said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a source of inspiration for persons around the world who fought for rights and dignity. It was very important for minorities and indigenous peoples; but now human rights were subject to selective interpretation, despite their supposed universality. There was a dual morality, a double-standard policy, in an instrument that was supposed to be universal. The Declaration was applied in a discriminatory way against developing countries, minorities and indigenous peoples around the world. The balance sheet was very sombre; too many violations of human rights were being
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committed with impunity, especially against indigenous communities. Among the perpetrators were States. Was it really right to say that the international community could not interfere in State matters when such abuses were committed?
JUAN LEON, of the International Indian Treaty Council, said in Guatemala, despite the peace agreement and the end of the civil war, some human rights had continued to be violated. The military situation from 1954 to December 1996 had conditioned the people of Guatemala physically and ideologically; they still experienced trauma. The peace agreement was not yet fully consolidated and there were certain power groups who opposed it. However, the indigenous peoples were still wishful that the peace agreement could be implemented so that their rights could be promoted and protected. The indigenous peoples could no longer tolerate exclusion and exploitation -- they wanted to participate in the process of power and in the affairs of the country.
JENNIFER SCHENSE, of Human Rights Watch, said reports by the Commission's special procedures had over the years contributed to improvements in human rights practices of governments, but all too often, the findings and recommendations that resulted were not acted upon. The most dramatic example was the case of Rwanda. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions conducted a mission there a full year before the outset of the large-scale genocide, and called for immediate creation of a mechanism for protection of civilian populations against massacres, for a more effective response from the Government security service to reported acts of violence, and for a national reconciliation campaign. The world would never know how many lives would have been spared had the international community responded in a timely and appropriate manner to these recommendations. The international community must summon the political will to act in time; and the Commission at each session should review the progress of implementation of recommendations previously made by its mechanisms.
AIDA AVALLA, of the Women's International Democratic Federation, said that in some parts of the world, the rights of women were going backwards instead of forward. For example, women were constantly suffering discrimination under the Taliban Government in Afghanistan. Violence against women detainees also required immediate attention. When States assumed care of persons for punitive or rehabilitative reasons, they assumed greater responsibility. In Turkey, international agencies had been trying to gain access to prisoners and detainees for years without success. Among those subject to abuses were the Kurds, many of them women. In Peru, conditions continued to be unacceptable; torture and rape were common. Women were still suffering in Iran, despite contentions to the contrary by the new Government, and stonings still occurred. In Colombia, displaced women suffered immensely. The rapporteur on violence against women should visit and follow up on cases in these countries.
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DAN CUNNIAN, of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, said the Confederation, on behalf of its 127 million workers, drew the attention of the Commission to the major impact which globalization was having on women workers in the forms of psychological violence, discrimination, abuse, sexual harassment and denial of their right to just and favourable conditions of work. The increased demand for flexibility of production and organization of work meant poor and often exploitative working conditions. A large number of working women were not adequately covered by labour legislation and were not entitled to minimum labour standards, employment benefits or social security coverage. The globalization of the economy had gone hand-in-hand with deregulation of the labour market, leading to the growth of a dual labour market with a stable, skilled "core" labour force, usually male, and a "peripheral" workforce, usually female.
MASOOMA ALI, of the Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, said that in Pakistan, sectarian violence in 1997 had been the worst in several years. There was violence among various groups, and the Ahmadis remained subject to violence and discrimination. Also, two Christian settlements had been ransacked by fanatical mobs, while Ahmadis were still being convicted of blasphemy charges. In the name of religion, Pakistani women remained the most oppressed section of society, especially in feudal and tribal social systems in which hundreds of women were killed every year in the name of honour in ritual killing of both men and women caught in illicit relationships. Such killings were ordained by tribal elders and police connived in the cover-up; the vast majority of such murders went unpunished. In the northern areas of Pakistan, people did not know their constitutional or governmental status. The Commission must give thought to these problems.
LUDOVICA VERZEGNASSI, of the International Progress Organization, said Afghanistan today was witnessing the horrifying spectacle of thousands of displaced persons driven out from their homes by the Taliban. Very often, the Taliban had singled out people of particular ethnic groups for such treatment; women in particular had been denied all their freedoms and rights. Women had only two choices: either flee or get chained by laws and regulations that prevented them from meaningful occupations and education. The situation in Afghanistan had arisen as a result of political and ethnic animosities, and due to a neighbouring country's attempt to control Afghanistan's affairs. While in Afghanistan people were being made to flee, in the northern areas of Pakistan the inhabitants had been turned into displaced people by the denial of their identity and legal existence. The politicians of Pakistan claimed that the northern areas were part of Pakistan, but the country's Constitution did not say so.
SUHAS CHAKMA, of Human Rights Internet, said national human rights institutions could strengthen democratic institutions but also could be mere straw men -- part of a Government's administrative machinery to scuttle international scrutiny. A good test was whether or not they followed the
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Paris principles developed for such institutions. The Indonesian Human Rights Commission was set up under an executive ordinance, but if independence was to be safeguarded, it was essential that such bodies had constitutional or legislative mandates. In India, former members of the National Human Rights Commission had subsequently been appointed Governors of states, an act directly violating the Commission's enacting legislation and raising concern about undue government influence. The Indian Commission, moreover, and those in some other countries, was not empowered to investigate human rights abuses by the armed forces. The scope of the mandate of many human rights institutions, such as that in Sri Lanka, were based on restricted definitions of human rights as interpreted by their Governments. Governments also must show a willingness to abide by minimum standards for establishment of such institutions, or they would only be weak agencies which could do little for human rights.
FESTUS UFULLE GA-ARO, of the Canadian Council of Churches, said new measures were called for to support the cause of uprooted people and ensure that they benefited from human rights standards. The Council recommended, among other things, additional resources to support regional and international peace-building and conflict-resolution mechanisms of the Organization of African Unity and other organizations; measures leading to the cancellation of the debt of the world's poorest countries; measures to ensure that economic adjustment programmes respected essential economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights; and that all States review their legislation governing the treatment of asylum-seekers to ensure that procedures fully conformed with the full range of applicable human rights treaty standards.
MARIA PAT BERMEJO, of the Latin American Federation of Associations Relatives of Disappeared Detainees, said that in Colombia, massive exoduses of people from the land, including human rights activists subject to threats, had grown worse. The Government had done nothing to prevent the land of peasants from being taken over; those who went back took great risks; others were subject to grave violations of human rights by armed groups. Such groups operated with impunity; people were shot in the head while they were sleeping. In Guatemala, more remains in secret graves were constantly found -- mostly peasants -- and the Government really wasn't very eager in terms of exhuming and identifying the remains; there was little investigation of past abuses committed by the army and little had been done to make reparations to victims of State human rights violations. The Commission should press the Government to improve the administration of justice in Guatemala, especially for combatting impunity.
LORENA GONZALEZ ORTEGA, of the Transnational Radical Party, said the Taliban of Afghanistan was committing the most serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the region. The rights to life and to liberty and security of the person were frequently violated, as were the freedoms of opinion, expression, religion and association. Daily violations and abuses
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against women and children also occurred, especially in relation to access to basic education for girl children. It should be underlined that even though the Commission had approved a resolution on the subject, there had substantially been silence from the international community. It was thanks to the strong initiative of the European Union that one now had more information about the situation and the silence was not so absolute.
IN VUTHY, of the International Human Rights Law Group, said the situation in Cambodia was a cause of concern in light of upcoming elections. The violent July 1997 change in government had resulted in the disappearance of opposition political parties, and the recent announcement by the Second Prime Minister had contributed to an intimidating environment undermining free and fair elections. Although opposition parties had reappeared, their activities were limited and members were worried about their personal safety due to recent extrajudicial killings. The Government should be urged to create a safe atmosphere for free and safe elections. Women in Afghanistan were facing extreme discrimination and violence. Women during early phases of the armed conflict there had already suffered enough; countries should stop supplying weapons to various factions carrying out the fighting; women should benefit from aid efforts of the international community; and the High Commissioner for Human Rights should establish a field office in Afghanistan, including women staff.
ALTAF QADRI, of the World Society of Victimology, said his group condemned unequivocally terrorist acts, methods and practices in all their forms and manifestations, regardless of where or by whom they had been committed. His group also condemned State involvement in encouraging, supporting, funding and organizing terrorist acts against civilians under colonial rule or foreign occupation. One type of crime to which the Commission had not yet devoted sufficient attention was State-sponsored terrorism. The classic example of that was the direct and indirect acts of terrorism perpetrated by the Indian colonial power in Jammu and Kashmir.
RAVINDER KAUL, of the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said mass exoduses had reached serious proportions in parts of south and central Asia, due to involvement of mercenaries, terrorists, and Islamic extremists. More than 120,000 had fled Afghanistan to escape the fanatical Taliban regime. Some 300,000 displaced Kashmiri Hindus were suffering abysmally in camps after fleeing Islamist violence in Kashmir. The extremist and terrorist organizations had launched a religious crusade against this ethnic and religious minority, and had been publicly taking pride for "killing Hindus" in the name of jihad. The displacement of the Kashmiri pandits had resulted in loss of homes, property, land, education, employment, and had caused immense social, familial, and cultural damage. The few Kashmiri pandits who had remained in their homeland were now being targeted; the terrorists and mercenaries carrying out such carnage were supported by Pakistan, and the
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Commission must take serious note of such atrocities and must take serious action in response.
KOICHI YOSHIDA, of the Asian Women's Human Rights Council, said in Japan, there was a system of whereby the Ministry of Education approved all primary and secondary school textbooks In the past, the Ministry had used that power to carry out censorship, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Due to the requirement for Ministry approval, it had been impossible for many years to mention in those textbooks the war crimes that the Japanese Army had committed during the Second World War. Recently, however, as a result of pressure within Japan and from a number of Asian countries on the question of Japanese war crimes, the Japanese Government had retreated somewhat and it had now become possible to refer to such issues as "comfort women".
LEYLA PERVIZAT, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said the international community, in adopting the statute to create an international criminal court, should urge governments to include sexual violence in all three categories of international crimes -- genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity; to include trafficking in women and sexual slavery in the definition of crimes against humanity or as a separate treaty-based crime; to include specific language calling for effective investigation and prosecution of gender crimes; to establish a victims and witnesses protection unit; to incorporate the participation of victims and their representatives in the operation of the court; and to ensure that 50 per cent of all court staff at all levels were women. The court also should be independent of the Security Council. The Commission, meanwhile, should condemn and combat the practice of so-called "honour killings", in which women and girls were killed by male family members because, for certain behaviour, they were deemed to have damaged the family's honour; the practice should be exposed and stopped.
Right of Reply
ZEKI GAZIOGLU (Turkey) said the representative of a Government which had not been recognized by his Government, had made some accusations against Turkey about Cyprus. There was no Turkish invasion of Cyprus; if Turkey had not intervened in time as one of the guarantor powers of the treaty of 1960 following a Greek coup, it would have been impossible to stop the union of the island with Greece. Turkey had liberated the island to protect Turkish Cypriots, and Turkish forces were present today solely to protect civilians and to await final resolution of the Cyprus problem. The question of refugees and displaced persons had another side -- the suffering of the Turkish Cypriot people, who had to abandon their homes to avoid Greek Cypriot attacks. The question of displaced persons had been settled by the population exchange agreement negotiated in Vienna in 1975.
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PETROS EFTYCHIOU (Cyprus) said the Turkish statement had amazed him. Had Turkey removed its more than 35,000 heavily armed troops from Cyprus? Had it removed its more than 110,000 Turkish citizens established on the island? Had any of the more than 200,000 refugees forcibly removed from their homes been allowed to return? The Turkish military invasion of Cyprus could not be talked away with nice words. Further, he spoke as the legitimate representative of the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus. Only Turkey, in all the world, refused to recognize the existence of this sovereign country.
TOFIK MOUSSAEV (Azerbaijan) said the representative of Armenia in his statement had attempted as usual to justify, by the means of groundless, false and cynical allegations, the aggression against his country. The forcing of Azerbaijanis out or Armenia had been accompanied by flagrant discrimination against their constitutional rights and a refusal to cater to their national and cultural interest. In 1988, a fresh bout of ethnic cleansing had begun as the culmination of a deliberate policy to destroy all trace of the very existence of Azerbaijanis in Armenia. Under instructions from and with the blessing of the Armenian authorities, the remaining 200,000 Azerbaijanis had been forcibly expelled from their historical homelands within the present-day Armenian State.
ELEFTERIOS DOUVOS (Greece) asked when Turkey would implement Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. And when would it restore human rights in occupied Cyprus by implementing numerous Commission resolutions?
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