CHAIRMAN OF HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION EXPRESSES CONCERN AT KILLING OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER IN BOGOTA
Press Release
HR/CN/868
CHAIRMAN OF HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION EXPRESSES CONCERN AT KILLING OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER IN BOGOTA
19980423 Commission Concludes General Debate on Rights of Child, Begins Discussion on Follow-up to World Conference on Human Rights(Reissued as received.)
GENEVA, 20 April (UN Information Service) -- The Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights this afternoon expressed concern about the killing last Saturday of one of Colombia's leading human rights activists, the lawyer Eduardo Umaña Mendoza.
In the statement, the Chairman said the killing of human rights defenders was always to be deplored. It was especially so now that the Commission had just adopted a declaration on the subject. It was clear that the simple adoption of the declaration was not sufficient to bring about change for the protection of human rights defenders.
On 2 April, the Commission agreed on the draft text of a declaration on the rights and responsibilities of human rights defenders, after 13 years of work.
Also this afternoon, Miguel Oyono Ndong Mifumu, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Equatorial Guinea, told the Commission that his country considered its cooperation with the United Nations as a means of improving and consolidating its democratic process and educating its people in human rights.
Mr. Mifumu said Equatorial Guinea had come to the Commission not only to take note of recommendations but also to receive more United Nations support and assistance to buttress efforts to protect human rights. He said Equatorial Guinea hoped its friends and critics within the Commission would give it technical assistance so that its work on human rights would be lasting and permanent.
Mr. Mifumu's statement came as the Commission concluded discussions on children's rights and conscientious objection to military service. Singapore said it would dissociate itself from a draft resolution on the latter, saying
national defence was a fundamental sovereign right under international law; where individual beliefs or actions ran counter to such a right, the right of a State to preserve its security must prevail. Meanwhile, several non-governmental organizations urged States to provide fair alternative service for conscientious objectors.
In addition, the Commission began discussing the follow-up to the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights.
Australia, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Holy See, Thailand, Norway, Switzerland, Iran, Israel, Nicaragua, Kenya, Slovakia, Singapore, Brazil, Colombia, China, Chile, Denmark, and Austria addressed the Commission.
The following non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also made statements at the meeting: International Progress Organization, North South XXI, Organisation Tunisienne de l'Education et de la Famille, Christian Solidarity International, Fraternite Notre-Dame, Pax Romana, Friends World Committee for Consultation, War Resisters International, Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees, International Institute for Peace, Pax Christi International, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and World Organization Against Torture.
The representative of Brazil spoke in exercise of the right of reply.
Statement by Foreign Minister of Equatorial Guinea
MIGUEL OYONDO NDONG MIFUMU, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Equatorial Guinea, said his country was determined to continue its cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the total restoration of human rights in Equatorial Guinea. The Government had been cooperating with the Special Rapporteur of the Commission for several years; the Government considered its cooperation with the United Nations as a means of improving and consolidating its democratic process and educating its people in human rights. The Government had accepted criticism and had taken measures within its means to justify any shortcomings, and it would continue that process.
Mr. Mifumu said it was not enough for the international community and the Commission to merely respond to Equatorial Guinea's basic needs for technical assistance and send the Special Rapporteur to the country: they had to look at the country's requests and respond to them. The Government was participating in the Commission, not as a defendant, but as a State party to the international human rights conventions. The Government's commitment was to the people of Equatorial Guinea and not to the political, economic, social or cultural interests of other States which ignored the realities and needs of the country. Equatorial Guinea had come to the Commission not only to take
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note of its recommendations, but to receive more United Nations support and assistance to buttress its efforts to protect human rights.
The Government rejected any attempt to extend any sovereignty over States, Mr. Mifumu said. It had created a human rights culture to eradicate or alleviate colonial attitudes dating back 200 years and through 11 years of dictatorship. He hoped Equatorial Guinea would receive international assistance, despite the hostile activities which had resulted in instability in the country. Such conspiracies, terrorist acts and plots had resulted in war and genocide and grave violations of human rights in other parts of Africa. Equatorial Guinea itself had been the victim of two attempts at armed destabilization. The first was in May 1997 by a group of mercenaries; the second was in January on the island of Bioko -- historically a part of Equatorial Guinea. Those involved in the latter were being held pending a public trial.
The Government hoped its friends and critics within the Commission would give it technical assistance, so that its work on human rights could be lasting, he said.
Statement on Killing of Colombian Human Rights Activist
LUIS GALLEGOS CHIRIBOGA (Ecuador), Vice-Chairman of the Commission, read out a statement by the Chairman stating that a few weeks ago, the Commission had adopted the report of the working group set up to draft a declaration on human rights defenders. Everyone had been gratified at that achievement. However, the mere adoption of the declaration was not enough to bring about a change for those who risked their lives in the defense of human rights. He was concerned at the killing of human rights defender Eduardo Umaña Mendoza in Bogota on 18 April. Mr. Mendoza had taken an active part in many sessions of the Commission. The killing of human rights defenders was always to be deplored, but even more so now that the Commission had just adopted a declaration on the subject. The Commission was asked to observe a minute of silence in honour of Mr. Mendoza.
ALBERTO DIAZ URIBE (Colombia) said his Government condemned the outrageous killing of Eduardo Umaña Mendoza. The killing testified to the intransigence and brutality of those who did not share the determination to achieve the peace and respect for human rights that others so yearned for. It was no accident that the killing took place at the very time that the Government and the guerrilla organization were openly announcing the signing of agreements of intent to settle the internal armed conflict, including monitoring by an international presence and following the Geneva Conventions. The Colombian Government had joined with NGOs and had called for a moment of silence in memory of Mr. Mendoza and of four other human rights defenders who were killed by forces seeking to destabilize the respect for peace and human rights in the country.
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ERIC SOTTAS, of the World Organization Against Torture, said his organization had expressed profound consternation about the abominable assassination perpetrated on 18 April in Bogota, Colombia, against Jose Eduardo Umaña Mendoza, renowned jurist, professor of penal law and an ardent defender of human rights. Mr. Umaña Mendoza, who was 70 at the time of his killing, had devoted his time to defending human rights through his activities in several national and international non-governmental organizations. On several occasions, he had denounced the human rights violations perpetrated against indigenous and trade union leaders. He had also defended individuals whose human rights and fundamental freedoms were denied by the authorities. Mr. Umaña Mendoza was assassinated in his house by two individuals who pretended to be journalists. He urged the Government of Colombia to commit itself to investigating the crime and punish the perpetrators.
Children's Rights
SUSAN COLES (Australia) said the challenge in the area of children's rights remained to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the national level. But while national action was essential, there was of course considerable scope at the regional and international levels for joint action, especially in tackling problems of a cross-border nature, such as trafficking in children, child sex tourism and child pornography. The Australian Government, through the Australian Agency for International Development, was also assisting governments in developing countries in tackling the sexual exploitation of children. The development of a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography was another important area of international cooperation in dealing with the sexual exploitation of children. Australia also remained a strong supporter of the development of an optional protocol to the Convention on children in armed conflict. On a related issue, Australia recognized the plight of significant numbers of child victims of anti-personnel landmines and the need for appropriate mine awareness programmes and child-focused rehabilitation. In Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia and Laos, Australian assistance supported programmes on mine awareness and rehabilitation focusing on school-age children.
RASHIM AHLUWALIA, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the organization's plan of action relating to children in armed conflict had four points: any direct or indirect participation in armed conflict by children under age 18 should be prohibited; the minimum age for recruitment should be 18 years; the rules should apply both to governmental and non-governmental forces; the rules should apply both to international and non-international conflicts. Many of the group's member societies were undertaking initiatives to appeal on behalf of children affected by armed conflicts. There was an urgent need to complete the draft optional protocol on the subject, and it was very disappointing that there was a lack of consensus at the last meeting of the working group. With regard to
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child soldiers, the International Federation reiterated that the only acceptable minimum age was 18 years or older. It also was necessary to draw attention to the plight of children adversely affected by economic sanctions.
GIUSEPPE BERTELLO, observer for the Holy See, said the Convention on the Rights of the Child represented a new message and a sign of hope for the future. By giving a comprehensive view of the child, it proposed to be a working instrument that could create a true culture providing not only for protection but also for the promotion of the child. From an early age, the child was profoundly influenced, sometimes permanently, by the surrounding environment. For that reason, the support of those who accompanied the child throughout his or her education and self-realization was essential; the child's fragility and basic physical, psychological and spiritual needs should also be taken into consideration. Educators had a profound influence over the new generations. They were instrumental in introducing the child into the social milieu, which evolved constantly and often competed with other means of information and training. Still, the family remained the primary nucleus, where children developed their identities and opened themselves to the world. It was in their homes that they should experience love and learn to understand how to live with others in harmony.
KRTT GARNJANA-GOONCHORN (Thailand) said the commercial sexual exploitation of children, as well as the connected problem of trafficking in women and children, now existed in virtually every country in the world. Thailand welcomed the fact that many countries had adopted extraterritorial criminal legislation to counter the sexual offenses of their nationals when committed against children abroad. For its part, the Government of Thailand was firmly committed to eliminating child prostitution and combating the problem of trafficking in women and children. In terms of legislative action, the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act came into force in December 1996 and was based on the premise that prostitutes were victims of poverty, social problems and organized crime; the new Act increased punishments for brothel owners and procurers. The new Constitution of Thailand also provided that the duty of the State was to raise the level of compulsory education from the present 9 years to 12 years of age. That would keep risk-group children from being trafficked when they were young, and with better education and job opportunities, they would not enter into commercial sex when they grew up.
HEDDY ASTRUP (Norway) said increased implementation of children's right to education would also have an effect on States' abilities to implement other rights contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Near universal acceptance of the Convention was not enough; children expected adults to implement their resolutions. Child labour was a global problem and Norway had hosted in 1997 an international conference on the matter, at the end of which a plan of action was adopted in which universal primary education was singled out as a basic element in the process of eliminating child labour. Development aid also was highlighted, and Norway had set aside nearly $30
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million over the next three years to combat child labour. The use of children in armed conflict was a serious problem, and it was necessary to reach agreement on a draft optional protocol as soon as possible; the same was necessary for the draft protocol on the sale of children and child pornography. Norway was very concerned about the abduction of children from northern Uganda by the so-called "Lord's Resistance Army" and considered it a gruesome reminder of the need to put children's interests first.
JEAN-DANIEL VIGNY, observer for Switzerland, said the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with 191 States parties, was a widely accepted human rights instrument. Nevertheless, its universal validity was hampered by the reservations made by States parties. Certain reservations, because of their general and undetermined nature, had emptied the provisions of the Convention of their effectiveness. Although it was in fact legitimate and desirable that States be able to formulate reservations over certain particular aspects, the Convention prohibited -- according to a general principle of the law of treaties -- reservations contrary to the object and goals of the Convention. In the views of the Swiss delegation, such general reservations had been made by Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Djibouti, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar and Syria. Switzerland would like to urge all those States to withdraw their reservations or to modify them in conformity with the objectives of the Convention.
ESHRAGH JAHROMI (Iran) said the country was entering its second five-year development plan and had embarked on a series of efforts, among which were measures to ensure that all children aged 6 to 10 years were attending school. The current rate of cover was 98.6 per cent, of which the female proportion was 48 per cent. The country had accepted a large number of refugees for a very long period of time and was proud of having been able to provide refugee children with both education and health care; at present 106,000 Afghan and 25,000 Iraqi children received free education and health services. For physically and mentally disabled children, an organization for exceptional children had been established and had served 64,000 children in 1996-97. Iranian cultural background and religious beliefs gave strong support for child rights, and the serious problems of many other countries -- such as street children and sale and sexual exploitation of children -- were unheard of or rare in Iran. Legal measures had been adopted recently among which were the creation of special courts to protect the family, and a modification of Article 1173 of the civil code regarding child custody.
TUVIA ISRAELI (Israel) said his country had a long-standing tradition of special and deep-rooted concern for the needs and protection of the child. He wished to focus in particular on the emergency services for the abused child in Israel and the need to boost public awareness on the subject. An option for immediate protection was recourse to "shelter families", which served as short-term foster families when a child needed a placement until a situation could be evaluated and a treatment plan devised. Two permanent residential
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settings also operated units for immediate placement of that sort. Since 1993, six emergency centres had been set up throughout the country; five of them served the Jewish population, and one served the Arab population. Those centres were designed for short-term residence of up to three months. In addition, several organizations operated telephone lines, through which children suffering from abuse or neglect could be heard.
CECILIA SANCHEZ (Nicaragua) said there was no question that the issue of the rights of the child was a priority for the international community. However, children and adolescents continued to have their rights gravely violated. Nicaragua noted with grave concern the lack of progress in the working groups on the situation of children in armed conflict and on sale of children, child prostitution and pornography. In Nicaragua, 53 per cent of the population was under the age of 18; therefore, the issues they discussed was of vital importance. Nicaragua had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, making major progress in the field since then. Measures had been taken concerning domestic violence and child labour, but after more than a decade of armed conflict, many Nicaraguan children had experienced violations of their human rights. Children also continued to be victims of anti-personnel landmines. None the less, and despite the difficult economic situation, the Government was investing in its main resources, its children, with more than 30 per cent of its gross domestic product going to the social sector.
JULIET GICHERU (Kenya) said there had been a visit to the country last year by the Special representative of the Secretary-General on the effect on children of armed conflicts; Kenya was grateful for the Representative's work. Kenya had traditionally attached great importance to the welfare and safety of children. Kenya had many ethnic and cultural societies; existing statutes provided that the minimum age for marriage was 18 for boys and 16 for girls, with parental consent, but it was hoped that a law setting a universal minimum of 18 would soon be passed by the legislature. Kenya disagreed with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children that some cultural practices led to the practice of child prostitution; it rather thought that large-scale migration from rural areas to cities and subsequent breakdowns of tribal and traditional morality led to such problems, along with poverty. Kenya was working on a comprehensive penal structure for those involved in the sexual exploitation of children; it also was grateful for various internationally funded programmes under way in Kenya to prevent child labour. Programmes were also under way to help street children and to establish child rights and health centres and to improve educational attendance, especially at the primary level.
BARBARA TUHOVCAKOVA (Slovakia) said that despite the efforts of the international community regarding respect for the rights of children, various humiliating practices against children and youth persisted. Consequently, the problem of child protection had become more and more of a current affair. The
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Convention on the Rights of the Child was an international instrument on which national legislative measures should be based. The existence of criminal activities aimed at children was a problem at the international level. In Slovakia, the number of cases of child pornography had decreased because of the attention given to that problem. In March 1997, the Government took concrete measures to combat the problem of pornography and child sexual exploitation.
REFAQAT ALI KHAN, of the International Progress Organization, said armed terrorists and mercenaries in many countries of South and South-east Asia had forced children to enrol themselves for arms training and to serve as messengers and conduits for arms and explosives. Female children suffered even more in terms of gender violence, sexual abuse and exploitation. To be productive citizens of the world, children needed to be grounded in the ethos of coexistence and to develop rounded personalities which sought to take mankind forward. Unfortunately, what the children of Afghanistan and Kashmir had been subjected to in recent years by the terrorists was quite the opposite. The Commission should force governments to take substantive action on the ground, rather than indulge itself in merely drafting protocols.
DEIRDRE McCONNELL, of North-South XXI, said that according to figures published by the Ministry of the Interior of Iraq, infant mortality caused by malnutrition had risen from 800 recorded cases in 1989, before the international economic embargo was imposed, to 30,000 in 1997. In the last seven years, 357,000 children under 5 had died; there was a lack of antibiotics and anaesthetics; the embargo clearly was having serious negative effects. The Sri Lankan Government continued to subject Tamil children to serious human rights violations, including indiscriminate artillery shelling and aerial bombing of Tamil civilian areas; a food embargo had been maintained without cease; Tamil girls were routinely gang raped by Sri Lankan security forces; and the government had turned a blind eye to sexual exploitation of Sinhalese children in the south by sex tourists. The Commission must condemn these government violations and should appoint a country rapporteur to look into the situation in Sri Lanka. Another area of concern was the declining health situation of Palestinian children, as medicines were not being allowed into the occupied territories, especially the Gaza Strip; the Commission must take further steps to protect children there.
MONCEF ACHOUR, of the Organisation Tunisienne de l'Education et de la Famille, said his organization was a pioneer in its field and in a pioneer country. The group was working on behalf of children within the family, in schools and other vital areas. At a time when organizations had become vital in promoting children's rights, Tunisian civil society had remarkably changed through the measures taken to liberalize it in all fields. Since 1956, Tunisia had promulgated a code of personnel status, which made Tunisia an unique country in the region in the area of protection of the rights of the family, women and children. Following the legislative reform of November
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1987, the code had been strengthened and the country's President had made the question of family and children a fundamental national priority. In addition, in 1991, Tunisia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child; that had been followed in 1995 with a code of child protection devoted to respecting the supreme interest of the child by guaranteeing all rights pertaining to children.
JOHN EIBER, of Christian Solidarity International (CSI), said that organization had last week drawn the attention of the Commission to the genocidal jihad or Islamic holy war which Sudan's National Islamic Front regime had proclaimed and had waged against its own Christian, Muslim and animist population. Today, CSI would focus on one of the most horrifying weapons of the regime's jihad, a weapon which afflicted the lives of children and young mothers: chattel slavery. There had been a great revival of the once virtually extinct institution of chattel slavery in Sudan. Forced labour without pay, severe beatings, acute hunger, forced conversion and change of cultural identity, rape and ritual female mutilation were the grim reality for the tens of thousands of children and young mothers now in bondage. Why was there no reference to past and contemporary slavery in Sudan in the draft resolution on slavery? That must be rectified.
Sister MARIE SABINE LEGRAND, of Fraternité Notre Dame, said that all children had the right to food, housing, development, and schooling in safe conditions. Fraternité Notre Dame was particularly involved in helping children in difficulty, but felt that much more needed to be done by governments around the world. There were so many violations of children's rights that the world, if it continued this way, would be preparing itself for nothingness tomorrow. The situation of children in prisons was one concern of the Fraternité; in some countries, conditions were so bad the children were treated no better than cattle. In some cases, governments refused to allow the Fraternité to help. Elsewhere, the organization had set up free education centres for orphans and abandoned children; it also dealt with handicapped children who had been abandoned. Poor children were the first victims, because poverty led to misery. Fraternité's approach of setting up circumstances like those of successful families worked, although it was on a small scale. Governments could do it on a much larger scale if only they had the will; they could save many children and reduce the levels of violence that preyed on children. Child prostitution and pornography were in part a response to high levels of poverty; such children needed to be helped.
Right of Reply
ANNA CANDIDA PEREZ (Brazil) said she regretted that the group Jubilee Campaign, though it had received ample information through the Brazilian Embassy in London on measures taken to protect and promote children, preferred to present a distorted and grossly exaggerated picture of Brazilian reality. The Brazilian delegation did not intend to minimize the gravity of violations
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of the rights of children occurring in Brazil, but it could not let one-sided and distorted information pass without response. Jubilee Campaign not only took no account of the data furnished to it, but also seemed to ignore that recently adopted legislation in Brazil had transferred the competence to prosecute and try military policemen involved in homicides or torture against civilians to ordinary civil courts. Moreover, the Chamber of Deputies had approved, and the Senate was now considering, a bill to enlarge the competence of civil courts to prosecute crimes committed by military policemen.
Conscientious Objection to Military Service
The Commission took up the report of the Secretary-General on conscientious objection to military service (document E/CN.4/1998/99), which states that a number of governments recognize the right to conscientious objection in their legislation and practice. Some States have agreed to introduce or are enacting laws providing for forms of alternative service which are compatible with the reasons for conscientious objection -- such forms of alternative service being in principle of a non-combatant or civilian nature, as well as in the public interest and non-punitive. These States have confirmed that the right to refuse military service for reasons of conscience is inherent in the concept of freedom of thought, conscience and religion. In other countries, only limited grounds for refusal, such as religious motives, are deemed acceptable, and those who object on other grounds may be imprisoned. There is a tendency towards the abolition of conscription. There are only 69 States or territories where there is no conscription. The number of States in which provision is made for civil and/or unarmed military service has increased from 15 to 24. At the same time, the number of countries in which there is conscription without alternative service has increased from 40 to 47.
Statements
SEE CHAK MUN (Singapore) said national defence was a fundamental sovereign right under international law. Where individual beliefs or actions ran counter to such a right, the right of a State to preserve the security of the nation must prevail. Allowing any group, for whatever reasons, to be excluded from the compulsory military service system would compromise the universality of the application of the law. There were some small States for which compulsory military service was the only way to build up a credible national defence force. The Finnish draft resolution currently circulating on the subject would encourage States to "consider granting asylum to conscientious objectors compelled to leave their country". That was tantamount to according deserters the status of refugees. Singapore could understand the political logic for one to suggest that a State should consider granting political asylum to those fleeing from participation in an internationally condemned war, but it was an entirely different logic to call for international protection, and to accord the equivalent status of refugees
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to, those who defied their national laws and who refused to perform their national duties by participating in compulsory military service even during peacetime.
MAPIA JOSEP PARES, of Pax Romana, said there was a significant number of countries which still did not recognize the existence of the right to refuse military service for reasons of conscience and were doing very little to change. In Europe, many countries observed the right, but in ways that were insufficient and unfair. In Greece, for example, alternative service did not follow international guidelines; among other things, it established a service the duration of which was double that of military service. It was similarly unfair that Spanish conscientious objectors were obliged to serve a social service longer than the military service. There was also the vague concept of alternative social service that had led to problems. In some countries, it sometimes amounted to long, free labour for various companies. Turkey, meanwhile, did not allow alternative service, and Osman Murat Ulke, president of the Association of Resistants to War, had now been condemned to a prison sentence. In Sudan, university students were compelled to 12 months military service and were being moved from training camps to the war zone. The camps were bad enough -- the students called them "death camps". Conscientious objection under reasonable and fair conditions must be allowed by all States.
RACHEL BRETT, of the Friends World Committee for Consultation, said for a long time Quakers had refused to participate in war, believing it was wrong to kill or to train people to kill. That was a conviction held by many people of different religious faiths and beliefs. It was on those grounds that Quakers claimed the right to conscientious objection to military service, not only for themselves but for all who shared their pacifist beliefs. The right to conscientious objection to military service was a fundamental component of the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as articulated in the Universal Declaration and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It had been recognized as such in resolutions and recommendations adopted by the Commission and the Human Rights Committee. The group welcomed the fact that those bodies had urged governments to guarantee that individuals objecting to military service because of their conscientiously held beliefs should not be punished. All persons detained or imprisoned solely because they had been refused their right to register their conscientious objection to military service should be immediately and unconditionally released.
FRIEDRICH KIRCHER, of the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees, said that despite the allowances of many countries for conscientious objection, implementation of the principle lagged far behind legislation; alternative service programmes were not a high priority and frequently were subject to interference or delay by executive branches and militaries. Another cause of concern was the treatment of conscientious objectors in military barracks, or the maltreatment of persons performing compulsory military service; sometimes the treatment was so severe
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that it resulted in death. In most parts of Latin America, military service continued to be compulsory, and those who failed to comply were subjected to military justice. Systems and rights for conscientious objection must be set up, with reasonable alternative-service options; such systems must be fair and of public interest and exclude all kinds of civil and criminal punishment. In cases where States were unwilling to set up such systems, resisters should not be subject to military justice. In countries with histories of military abuse of the populace and forced disappearances, relatives of victims of such violations should be exempted from military service.
NAZIMA MUNSHI, of the International Institute of Peace, said the right to refuse military service for reasons of conscience was inherent in the concept of freedom of thought, conscience and religion as laid down in article 18 of the Universal Declaration. That freedom was also set forth in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The concept of conscientious objection had been recognized by several States. As a result, alternatives of a non-combat or civilian character were being introduced. Many States were also looking into the question of subjecting the conscientious objectors to imprisonment. The United Nations should continue to monitor the situation so as to ensure that nations did not adopt any repressive approach.
MARY EVELYN JEGEN, of Pax Christi International, said that close to 90 per cent of victims of lethal weapons were civilians. It was the young who were ahead of their elders in realizing the urgent need to resolve human conflict by means other than violence and to protect and support those who rejected violence. Pax Christi urged the passage of a broader, more concrete resolution on the subject: the right to refuse to kill. Such a resolution would supply a key to people trapped in outmoded loyalties and would weaken the authority of those who commanded killing in communal violence. It would also validate the repugnance that human beings felt about the taking of life for any reason. It would also help to make dissent from violent conflict more acceptable in communities where the resort to violence has been customary.
FRONKJE CRAS, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said that so far 69 States had no conscription and 24 provided for civilian or unarmed military alternative service. Young men learned through compulsory military service that violence and force were masculine things, and the Women's League did not want a society in which males were trained to use force to address conflicts. In some countries, objection to military service was a criminal offense. The League was particularly appalled by the severe punishment for conscientious objection which existed in some States, and was greatly concerned about the situation for military objectors in countries with long-term states of emergency, since they were even subject to death in some cases. So many countries put severe punishment on conscientious objection that it should be a basis for asylum-seeking. The League also encouraged Governments to recognize the conscientious basis of military tax resistance
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and to provide alternative programmes to which these monies could be directed. Only when a culture of peace existed would human rights truly be protected, and those who objected to military service were a critical and persistent sign that the possibility of such a future existed.
Follow-Up to World Conference on Human Rights
Under this item, the Commission is considering a note from the United Natons High Commissioner for Human Rights which includes the report of the meeting of special rapporteurs/representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups of the special procedures of the Commission and of the advisory services programme, which took place in Geneva from 20 to 23 May 1997 (document E/CN.4/1998/45). The meeting made recommendations concerning coordination between the holders of special procedures mandates; coordination between the holders of special procedures mandates and the High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding their visits; coordination between the special procedures system and the treaty bodies; and cooperation with the Secretary-General. Concerning independence and impartiality of the special procedures system, the meeting reiterated that special rapporteurs were independent experts, and that along with the working groups, they performed their tasks with strict impartiality and objectivity.
The Commission also has before it the interim report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the five-year review of the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (document E/CN.4/1998/104), which states that this evaluation was a complex task. The Vienna+5 review offers a unique opportunity to improve comparative knowledge on the current condition of human rights and thus guide future action. Without prejudging the conclusions of the review process, one can note that the progress achieved in the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action does not merit self-satisfaction, as too many cases of serious human rights violations continued to occur every day.
Another report of the High Commissioner on the follow-up to the World Conference (document E/CN.4/1998/104) concludes that the human rights programme is full of promise and faces great challenges. The United Nations must ensure that respect for human rights was central to the new ethical and moral challenges confronting the world. The rule of law, democracy and national and international solidarity for social justice must be the basic principles. A crucial tool in reaching these objectives will be the mainstreaming of human rights across the United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions. Hand in hand with improving the capacity and performance of the Secretariat goes the reform and strengthening of the work of the human rights organs, the treaty bodies and the special procedures system. This must be carried out within limited regular budget resources. Therefore, voluntary contributions to support and implement the growing number of activities were needed.
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ANNA CANDIDA PEREZ (Brazil) said the preparation process for the Vienna Conference had coincided with the attainment of democratic stability, on the political level, in Brazil. It had provided an ideal opportunity for politicians, sectors of the academic community and the organized civil society to press for advancements in human rights policies. One of the key issues to be addressed in the five-year review of the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action was the difficulties in translating into practice the priority given to the integrated promotion of democracy, development and human rights through international cooperation. Brazil acknowledged the efforts that were being undertaken by the High Commissioner to enhance coordination within the United Nations system with that aim. Regrettably, although there was need for global partnership to achieve the goals of the Programme of Action, scarce resources were allocated to technical and financial international cooperation for human rights. That constituted a major obstacle, especially for developing countries.
WANG MIN (China) said the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action comprehensively summarized the activities of the international community in the field of human rights and reached consensus on how to take actions to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in the future. The first five-year implementation review would be conducted this year. Many positive results had been achieved in the past five years, and the countries in the world attached increasing importance to human rights issues and the United Nations role in this field. What was even more important was the emergence of the trend of promoting the human rights cause through dialogue and cooperation in the international field of human rights. However, many obstacles and difficulties still confronted the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action. China recommended that their important principles be reaffirmed and fully put into practice. The Commission should actively promote the settlement of differences between countries in the field of human rights through dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Importance should be attached to the right to development, economic, social and cultural rights, which were closely related to the interests of developing countries; the working methods of the Commission needed to be reformed and the practice of politicization and double-standards should be categorically rejected.
GERMAN MOLINA (Chile) said the World Human Rights Conference five years ago had been a milestone, along with the resulting plan of action. The Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called for at the gathering had been established, although other matters still needed to be put into effect. There should be a careful stocktaking now, five years after the event. There should be an appraisal that was critical as well as congratulatory. Recommendations, projects and commitments should be welded into a complementary whole. The Office of the High Commissioner should be consolidated and should be given greater international support. The adoption of the draft declaration on human rights defenders should be followed through
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to passage by the General Assembly -- if possible on 10 December, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Other steps to be taken were the achievement of universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as soon as possible; greater progress in indigenous peoples' rights; and the establishment of a permanent forum for such peoples within the United Nations. Also, practices of genocide must be condemned energetically, and those responsible for such heinous crimes must be brought to trial.
TYGE LEHMANN (Denmark) said that a thorough debate on the High Commissioner's report ought to be the first substantive item on the Commission's agenda, thus setting the framework for the following six weeks of deliberations. Denmark commended the High Commissioner both for the content of her report and for her inspiring introduction of it almost five weeks ago. The report had been a most valuable document of reference throughout the session. One element, however, appeared missing from the report: an overview of dialogues the High Commissioner was engaging in with governments and the prospects those dialogues were offering with regard to the improvement of the human rights situation in the countries concerned. The Danish delegation agreed that to engage in such dialogues was an essential part of the High Commissioner's function. Admittedly, the present Commissioner had not yet had the time to engage fully in such substantive dialogues with governments, but it was hoped that they would be a central feature of her activities in the years to come.
CHRISTIAN STROHAL (Austria) said that as in previous years, Austria had circulated and consulted upon a draft resolution on follow-up to the World Conference and was looking forward to broad co-sponsorship of that text. The Vienna-Plus-Five review would provide an opportunity for an assessment and stocktaking of the progress achieved, as well as of existing failures and shortcomings of governments in living up to the commitments undertaken. In the United Nations framework, the review would be highlighted at the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly later this year. Progress made would be debated at the General Assembly on the basis of a comprehensive report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who had already invited States, the United Nations system, national institutions and non-governmental organizations to contribute to this process and present reports and views to her Office. Austria was currently in the final phases of completing its national report on measures taken and progress achieved, as well as existing shortcomings, in the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action at the national level.
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