HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION TAKES ACTION ON RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT, CHILDREN'S RIGHTS, CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION TO MILITARY SERVICE, HOSTAGE TAKING

Press Release
HR/CN/872

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION TAKES ACTION ON RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT, CHILDREN'S RIGHTS, CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION TO MILITARY SERVICE, HOSTAGE TAKING

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 22 April (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights this morning endorsed the establishment of a working group to monitor and review progress on the right to development and the appointment of an independent expert to study such progress.

The consensus decision was one of seven substantive measures adopted by the main United Nations human rights body as it approached the end of its fifty-fourth session. Commission members also condemned, "in the strongest terms", all parties involved in the abduction, torture, killing, rape, enslavement and forceful recruitment of children in northern Uganda, particularly by the Lord's Resistance Army; condemned all acts of hostage taking anywhere in the world; emphasized that States should take the necessary measures to refrain from subjecting conscientious objectors to imprisonment and to repeated punishment, and encouraged all Governments to cooperate with the Commission through the pertinent thematic procedures by responding without undue delay to requests for information.

In a 17-page resolution on the rights of the child, the Commission called upon all States to institute legal reforms to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by girls of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to take effective action against violations of those rights and freedoms. It decided to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography for a further three years, and called upon all States and other parties to armed conflict to respect international humanitarian law and to end the use of children as soldiers.

The resolution, which was passed by consensus, also called on all States to eliminate progressively and effectively all forms of child labour contrary to accepted international standards, "starting with its most grave and intolerable forms". It further called on States to take urgent and effective measures to prevent the killing of children working and/or living on the street and to combat torture and violence against them;

In a resolution on the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the Commission urged the international community to devise ways and means to remove current obstacles and meet challenges to the full realization of all human rights and to prevent the continuation of human rights violations. It also underlined the need to give particular attention to the human rights of women and the girl child in the five-year review of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, taking into account that gender mainstreaming was a key strategy for achieving equality between women and men and the full enjoyment of all human rights by women.

Through another text, the Commission decided that its fifty-fifth session will be held from 15 March to 23 April 1999.

Following action on the drafts before it, the Commission briefly resumed a discussion on the organization of its work. During that debate, the representative of the United Kingdom, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said Algeria had refused to cooperate with the Commission, even though the Union had been in consultation throughout the current session in an effort to persuade that country to allow visits by the Special Rapporteurs on summary, extrajudicial or arbitrary executions and on torture. It had been impossible to reach a satisfactory outcome, she said, adding that the Union would monitor the Government's actions very closely to ensure that there was movement, and would be considering its position very carefully at the General Assembly and at next year's Commission session if there had been no progress.

In response, the representative of Algeria said it was logical that Algeria would reject the old, ineffective type of involvement in its affairs. That refusal did not mean the Government refused dialogue, but it was necessary for all to indicate a common convergence on certain humanitarian ideals. The country's independence and right to self-determination had to be protected. The statement by the European Union, and similar interventions by the United States and Canada, were creating a North-South division within the Commission, he added.

Action on Resolutions

In a resolution adopted by consensus on the right to development (document E/CN.4/1998/L.19), the Commission: recognized that the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provided an important opportunity to place all human rights at the top of the global agenda, and the right to development in particular; reiterated that the existence of widespread absolute poverty inhibited the full and effective enjoyment of human rights and rendered democracy and popular participation fragile; and reiterated that for peace and stability to endure, national action and international action and cooperation were required to promote a better life for all, a critical element of which was the eradication of poverty. The

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Commission affirmed that while a number of developing countries had experienced rapid economic growth in the recent past, at the same time the gap between developed and developing countries remained unacceptably wide and developing countries continued to face difficulties participating in economic globalization and many risked being marginalized and effectively excluded from its benefits; that democracy had raised development expectations everywhere and their non-fulfilment risked rekindling of non-democratic forces and that structural reforms that did not take social realities into account could destabilize democratization processes; and that participation of developing countries in international economic decision-making needed to be strengthened.

The Commission reaffirmed that universality, objectivity, impartiality, and non-selectivity of the consideration of human rights issues must be ensured. It decided to recommend to the Economic and Social Council the establishment of a follow-up mechanism on the subject, initially for a period of three years, consisting of establishment of an open-ended working group to meet for five working days each year with a mandate to monitor and review progress, review reports and other information, and present a sessional report to the Commission. It also decided on the appointment by the Chairman of the Commission of an independent expert to present to the working group at each of its sessions a study on the current state of progress in implementation of the right to development.

AUDREY GLOVER (United Kingdom), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that in earlier interventions, the Union had urged all sides to make an effort to restore consensus on the right to development so as to allow the Commission to achieve practical steps forward. The Union very much welcomed this achievement and that it would be possible to adopt the draft without a vote. The Union was committed to the right to development and supported the follow-up mechanism, which it hoped would make the right to development more deeply realized. The Union paid tribute to the constructive spirit shown by all delegations involved to reach this consensus.

SHIGEKI SUMI (Japan), also speaking on behalf of Australia, said the right to development was obviously one of those human rights which required strong commitment by every member of the international community. In that context, a consensus on the basis for action in which to realize the right to development was essential. Non-consensus resolutions were meaningless in that field and undermined rather than enhanced the international cooperation necessary to take the Commission forward. Japan welcomed the establishment of a follow-up mechanism designed to make further progress towards the implementation of the right to development consisting of an open-ended working group and an independent expert.

NANCY RUBIN (United States) said the United States was pleased to join the consensus on the resolution. Nevertheless, the delegation was disappointed that the co-sponsors could not accept a reference to freedom of

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speech and belief and freedom from fear and want. It believed that the "four freedoms", as expressed in the Universal Declaration, should be a cornerstone of any serious approach to human rights problems. Implementation of the right to development was predicated on governments meeting their obligations to promote universal human rights for each of their citizens so that each and every member of the society could reach his or her full potential.

In a resolution adopted by consensus on hostage taking (document E/CN.4/1998/L.43), the Commission condemned all acts of hostage taking anywhere in the world; demanded that all hostages be released immediately without preconditions; and called upon States to take all necessary measures to prevent, combat and punish hostage taking.

Next, DAVID FROST (United Kingdom), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said it was with disappointment that his delegation faced draft contained in document L.41. Although the text supported the idea of favouring international cooperation, it implied there was no international cooperation within the Commission, which was not the case. In addition, the draft resolution had not been presented in due time to permit serious efforts to discuss it. The Union, therefore, would vote against it.

WILHELM HÖYNCK (Germany) said the delegation joined in the statement of the European Union and would like it very much if a solution could be found so that a great number of delegations would not have to vote against the draft resolution.

In a resolution adopted without a vote on human rights and thematic procedures (document E/CN.4/1998/L.73), the Commission encouraged all Governments to cooperate with the Commission through the pertinent thematic procedures by responding without undue delay to requests for information; by considering inviting thematic special rapporteurs, representatives, experts and working groups to visit their countries upon request and by considering follow-up visits; invited Governments to study carefully recommendations addressed to them and to keep the relevant mechanisms informed without undue delay on progress made towards their implementation; requested that thematic special rapporteurs, representatives, experts and working groups follow closely and reflect in their reports progress made by Governments and continue close cooperation with relevant treaty bodies and country rapporteurs; requested them as well to include in their reports comments on problems of responsiveness and the result of analyses; requested the Secretary-General to convene further periodic meetings of all thematic special rapporteurs, representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups; and requested him to issue the conclusions and recommendations of these meetings so as to enable further discussion of their implementation at subsequent sessions of the Commission.

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MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ (Cuba) said the draft could have refrained from repeating language used in the past. The delegation of Cuba would have preferred different drafting, but it was ready to accept draft resolution L.73.

In a resolution adopted by a roll call vote of 24 in favour to 1 against, with 27 abstaining (document E/CN.4/1998/L.40) on abduction of children from northern Uganda, the Commission condemned in the strongest terms all parties involved in the abduction, torture, killing, rape, enslavement and forceful recruitment of children in northern Uganda, particularly by the Lord's Resistance Army; demanded the immediate cessation of abductions and attacks on civilian populations; called for immediate and unconditional release and safe return of all abducted children currently held by the Lord's Resistance Army; requested the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture to provide assistance to the victims and their families; urged all Member States and any other agencies or organizations with any influence on the Lord's Resistance Army to exert all possible pressure to release abducted children; demanded that all parties external to the conflict in northern Uganda supporting the continued abduction and detention of children by the Lord's Resistance Army cease immediately such assistance and collaboration; called upon Member States to undertake to respect and ensure respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts which were relevant to the child; and requested other relevant United Nations agencies to address the situation as a matter of priority.

The result of the vote was as follows:

In favour: Austria, Bangladesh, Botswana, Chile, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Nepal, Pakistan, Poland, Russian Federation, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, United Kingdom, and United States.

Against: Sudan

Abstaining: Argentina, Belarus, Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Congo, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guinea, India, Japan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

IFTEKHAR CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said he was of the view that continued consultation among African States on L.40 would have led to wider acceptance of the draft. His delegation would vote in favour but would withdraw its co-sponsorship.

MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan) said the problem of abduction of children affected many children, not only in Uganda but also in Sudan. Pakistan's view was that draft L.40 and the amendments in L.84 were not mutually exclusive; it

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had been hoped that the sponsors of both the draft and the amendments could have found it possible to merge the two texts. As that had not been possible, Pakistan would vote for both the draft and the amendments.

A draft text to amend L.40 was defeated by a roll call vote of 6 in favour to 16 against, with 30 abstaining. Had it adopted the draft (document E/CN.4/1998/L.84), the Commission would have, among other things, condemned "in the strongest terms all parties involved in the abduction, torture, killing, rape, enslavement and forceful recruitment of children in northern Uganda and southern Sudan".

The result of the vote was as follows:

In favour: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Rwanda, and Sudan.

Against: Austria, Botswana, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Nepal, Poland, South Africa, Uganda, United Kingdom, and United States.

Abstaining: Argentina, Belarus, Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Guinea, India, Japan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

SHIGEKI SUMI (Japan) said the country shared concern about continuing incidents of abductions of children, not only in Africa but in Asia; such acts must be stopped at once, and Japan strongly urged all parties concerned to release all such children. But the resolution dealt with abduction of children only in certain areas; Japan had suggested to the sponsors of the resolution that the scope of the draft be widened to include abduction of children anywhere, which could be adopted by consensus or even as a Chairman's statement, but had not met with a positive response. Japan felt that the specific cases dealt with here could have been the subject of paragraphs in other resolutions adopted by the Commission. It was better to keep resolutions under item 20 of a more general nature; using country-specific resolutions under the item could set a dangerous precedent. If draft resolutions L.40 and L.84 were put to a vote, Japan would abstain.

ROSS HYNES (Canada) said his delegation agreed that this was a very important subject and associated itself with the statement of Japan. Canada would follow suit and abstain on the draft and the amendments.

GILBERTO SABOIA (Brazil) said the delegation had followed the debate on the issue with great attention, and had had initial sympathy with the resolution L.40; however, Brazil was sensitive to the arguments put forward by

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several delegations on the risk of having a politicization of the treatment of agenda item 20 on the rights of the child by the introduction of country-specific resolutions. Brazil doubted that in such circumstances the actual situations in countries would be sufficiently well considered by all members of the Commission. Brazil regretted that such a serious situation was about to be voted on without sufficient review, and that such a serious matter as the abduction of children would have to come to a vote at all. Brazil would abstain on any vote.

CHRISTIAN STROHAL (Austria) said the issue being debated was very serious; what the information pertained to was the abduction of thousands of children from north Uganda. It was clear that the abduction of children, particularly in armed conflicts, needed to be addressed immediately. The information before the Commission addressed a very specific issue, but the amendments proposed did not provide an adequate response. The place for addressing the abduction of children would be the omnibus resolution on the rights of the child. Austria would not be able to support the amendments but would support the original draft.

ALICIA PEREZ DUARTE Y NORONA (Mexico) said for reasons explained by Brazil, his delegation would abstain on the vote on L.40 and L.84.

CARLOS PEREZ DEL CASTILLO (Uruguay) said the delegation fully shared the arguments set forth by Japan and Brazil, and would abstain on any vote.

VICTOR RODRIGUEZ CEDENO (Venezuela) said it shared the Commission's concern on the abduction of children under any circumstances, and shared the views expressed by many delegations. There was a need to develop the debate further and consolidate resolutions. If there was a vote, Venezuela would abstain.

WILHELM HÖYNCK (Germany) said the country shared the concerns expressed by Japan and Brazil, but had reached somewhat different conclusions. Germany would vote against amendment L.84 and in favour of draft resolution L.40. Germany also was speaking on behalf of Finland.

H.K. SINGH (India) said both drafts needed to be dealt with in a comprehensive manner. For the reasons given by Japan and Brazil, his delegation would abstain from voting.

JUAN ANTONIO FERNANDEZ PALACIOS (Cuba) said his delegation would vote against L.84 because it did not mention in general terms the involvement of children in conflicts.

In a resolution adopted by consensus on the rights of the child (document E/CN.4/1998/L.92), the Commission noted that concerning the implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, it welcomed the

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nearly universal ratification of or accession by States to the Convention and urged those States that had not yet done so to ratify or accede to the Convention as a matter of priority; called upon State parties to implement the Convention fully, to cooperate closely with the Committee on the Rights of the Child and to comply in a timely manner with their reporting obligations under the Convention, and to accept the amendment to the Convention which would increase the membership of the Committee from 10 to 18 experts; decided to request the Secretary-General to ensure the provision of appropriate staff and facilities from the United Nations regular budget for the effective and expeditious performance of the functions of the Committee.

Concerning the girl child, the Commission called upon all States to take all necessary measures and to institute legal reforms to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by girls of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to take effective action against violations of those rights and freedoms; called upon all States and international and non-governmental organizations, individually and collectively, to set goals and to develop and effectively implement gender-sensitive strategies to address the rights and needs of children, in accordance with the Convention; called upon all States to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and the root causes of son preference which resulted in harmful and unethical practices, among others, by enacting and enforcing legislation protecting girls from violence, including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, genital mutilation, incest, sexual abuse and exploitation.

With regard to the prevention and eradication of the sale of children and of their sexual exploitation and abuse, including child prostitution and child pornography, the Commission called upon all States to develop urgently, implement and enforce measures to eliminate the sale, traffic, abduction and sexual exploitation or abuse of children, including through child sex tourism; called upon all States to criminalize effectively commercial and all other forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, including child sex tourism, while ensuring that the child victims of such exploitation or abuse were not penalized for such practices, and to prosecute offenders, whether local or foreign; decided to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography for a further three years and to request the Secretary-General to provide the Special Rapporteur with all necessary assistance.

As for the protection of children affected by armed conflict, the Commission called upon all States to consider acceding to relevant international human rights and humanitarian law instruments and urged them to implement those instruments to which they were parties; called upon all States to participate constructively in the negotiations on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict with the aim of an early agreement on the text; called upon all States and relevant United Nations bodies, including the United Nations

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Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance, to contribute on an ongoing basis to international mine-clearance efforts and urged States to take stronger action to promote gender and age-appropriate mine-awareness programmes and child-centred rehabilitation, thereby reducing the number and the plight of child victims; called upon all States and other parties to armed conflict to respect international humanitarian law; to end the use of children as soldiers and to ensure their demobilization, and to implement effective measures for the rehabilitation and the reintegration into society of child soldiers, child victims in cases of armed conflict or foreign occupation, including victims of landmines and all weapons and all victims of gender-based violence; reaffirmed that rape in the conduct of armed conflict constituted a war crime and that under certain circumstances, it constituted a crime against humanity and an act of genocide; that all humanitarian responses in armed conflict situations should emphasize the special reproductive health needs of girls and women; the importance of preventive measures such as early-warning system, preventive diplomacy and education for peace to prevent conflicts and their negative impact on the enjoyment of the rights of the child; the importance of special attention for children in situations of armed conflict, in particular in the areas of health, nutrition, education and social reintegration; decided with regard to preventive measures to request the Secretary-General, in cooperation with States, international organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations to consider modalities for organizing regional training programmes for members of the armed forces relating to the protection of children and women during armed conflict.

Concerning the protection of refugee and internally displaced children, the Commission called upon all States to protect refugee and internally displaced children, including through policies for their care, well-being and development in such areas as health, education and psycho-social rehabilitation, with the necessary international cooperation; called upon all States and United Nations bodies and agencies, in coordination with international humanitarian organizations, to ensure the early identification and registration of unaccompanied refugee and internally displaced children, to give priority to programmes for family tracing and reunification, and to continue monitoring the care arrangements for unaccompanied refugee and internally displaced children; called upon all States and other parties to armed conflicts to recognize that refugee and internally displaced children were particularly exposed to the risks of injury, exploitation and death in connection with armed conflicts, such as being forcibly recruited or subject to sexual violence, abuse or exploitation. With respect to the elimination of the exploitation of child labour, the Commission called upon all States that had not yet done so to consider ratifying the conventions of the International Labour Organization relating to child labour, in particular those concerning the abolition of forced labour and the minimum age for admission to employment, including for particularly hazardous work; to eliminate progressively and effectively all form of child labour contrary to the accepted international standards, starting with its

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most grave and intolerable forms; to recognize the right to education by making primary education compulsory and ensuring all children had access to free and relevant primary education as a key strategy to prevent child labour; to systematically assess and examine, in close cooperation with international organizations, the magnitude, nature and causes of the exploitation of child labour and to develop and implement strategies for combatting these practices, giving special attention to specific dangers faced by girls.

Concerning the plight of children working and/or living on the street, the Commission called upon all States, while expressing grave concern at the large number of children working and/or living on the street and at the continued growth in incidents and reports worldwide of such children being involved in and affected by serious crime, drug trafficking and abuse, violence and sexual exploitation, including through prostitution, to continue actively to seek comprehensive solutions to the problems of children working and/or living on the street; call upon all States to ensure the reintegration of children working and/or living into society and to provide, inter alia, adequate nutrition, shelter, health care and education, taking into account that such children were particularly vulnerable to all forms of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect; called upon all States to guarantee respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, particularly the right to life, and to take urgent and effective measures to prevent the killing of children working and/or living on the street and to combat torture and violence against them, and to ensure that legal and juridical processes respected children's right in order to protect them against arbitrary deprivation of liberty, maltreatment or abuse.

As for children with disabilities, the Commission called upon all States to adopt all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment in equal conditions of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by children with disabilities, especially ensuring the effective access of such children to education and health services, to develop and implement legislation prohibiting discrimination against these children and to include these measures in their reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child; and decided to request the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its fifty-fifth session a report on the rights of the child, with information on the status of the Convention and on problems addressed to the present resolution.

YOURI BOYTCHENKO (Russian Federation) said the draft resolution had a number of provisions either completely irrelevant to the rights of the child or very oblique in their relevance; Russia had expressed such views during the course of consultations, and regretted that its views had not been taken into account. Accordingly Russia could not be a co-sponsor.

In a resolution adopted by consensus (document E/CN.4/1998/L.93) on conscientious objection to military service, the Commission drew attention to

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the right of everyone to have conscientious objections to military service as a legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; welcomed the fact that some States accepted claims of conscientious objection as valid without inquiry; called upon States that do not have such a system to establish independent and impartial decision-making bodies with the task of determining whether a conscientious objection was genuinely held in a specific case; reminded States with a system of compulsory military service of its recommendation that they provide for conscientious objectors various forms of alternative service which were compatible with the reasons for conscientious objection, of a non-combatant or civilian character, the public interest and not of a punitive nature; emphasized that States should take the necessary measures to refrain from subjecting conscientious objectors to imprisonment and to repeated punishment for failure to perform military service; reiterated that States, in their law and practice, must not discriminate against conscientious objectors; and requested the Secretary-General to transmit the present resolution to Governments, specialized agencies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and to include the right to conscientious objection to military service in the public information activities of the United Nations.

JUAN GOMEZ-ROBLEDO (Mexico) said the country considered that its participation in the consensus on L.93, in particular its operative paragraph 7, did not affect the effectiveness of article 3 of the Caracas Convention.

CHONG HOON KIM (Republic of Korea) said that in the spirit of cooperation the delegation had joined consensus on L.93; his Government had always attached great importance to rights of freedom of conscience and religion, but it also recognized its sovereign right to defend its territory and protect public order. Some restrictions were internationally recognized on freedom of conscience and religion in the interests of public order; his country was in a unique situation and had because of the enormous pressures involved a system of universal conscription and did not allow for conscientious objection.

In a resolution on the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (document E/CN.4/1998/L.103), the Commission reaffirmed the importance of the promotion of universal respect for and observance and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as expressed in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA); called upon all States to take further action with a view to the full realization of all human rights for all; recognized that the international community should devise ways and means to remove current obstacles and meet challenges to the full realization of all human rights and to prevent the continuation of human rights violations resulting therefore throughout the world; requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the General Assembly, and other organs and bodies of the United Nations system related to human rights to take further action with a view to

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the full implementation of the VDPA; encouraged once again regional and national human rights institutions as well as non-governmental organizations to present their views on the progress made in the implementation of the VDPA; underlined the need to give particular attention to the human rights of women and the girl child in the five-year review of the VDPA, taking into account that gender mainstreaming was a key strategy for achieving equality between women and men and the full enjoyment of all human rights by women; requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to coordinate the human rights promotion and protection activities throughout the United nations system; invited the Administrative Committee on Coordination to continue to discuss the implications of the VDPA for the United Nations system; and urged all States and the United Nations system to give widespread publicity to the VDPA.

The Chairman, reading out a decision on additional meetings, said that in account of the Commission's heavy schedule of work as well as the need to give adequate consideration to all the items on the agenda, recommended to the Economic and Social Council that it authorize, if possible within existing financial resources, 30 fully serviced additional meetings, including summary records; and requested the Chairman of the Commission's fifty-fifth session to make every effort to organize the work of the session within the times normally allotted, so that the additional meetings which the Economic and Social Council authorized would be utilized only if they roved to be absolutely necessary.

The Chairman, reading out a decision on dates of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission, said that the dates for the Commission's fifty-fifth session would be scheduled to take place from 15 March to 23 April 1999.

Statements on Organization of Work

AUDREY GLOVER (United Kingdom), speaking on behalf of the European Union, along with Norway, said a particular issue concerned the Commission and called into question its credibility. Failure to cooperate with the mechanisms of the Commission greatly hindered its work and indeed called into doubt its mission for promotion of human rights. A Member State had refused such cooperation, and the European Union had been in consultation throughout the current session in an effort to persuade it to allow visits by the Special Rapporteurs on summary, extrajudicial or arbitrary executions and on torture. It had been impossible to reach a satisfactory outcome; a commitment to such visits had been hoped for, including firm dates. The Union was concerned that the Algerian Government continued to refuse to cooperate; the Government needed to make progress on this matter very soon. The Union had considered very seriously the possibility of tabling of a resolution -- the usual procedure in the face of such non-cooperation. However, it had refrained because it wished to place credence in the words of the Government of Algeria. It wished to remind the Government that it had an obligation to cooperate with

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the Commission's procedures, and that the EU would monitor the Government's actions very closely to ensure that there was movement, and would be considering its position very carefully at the General Assembly and at next year's Commission session if there had been no progress.

NANCY RUBIN (United States) said much of the debate in the Commission in the past six weeks had been to make its work more effective. One of the best ways for this was for Member States to cooperate more fully with the Commission and its mechanisms. In his address to the Commission, Ambassador Bill Richardson had called on Algeria to cooperate fully with the international community and repeated the American position that a visit to Algeria of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions would be a critical first step in helping that country meet its human rights obligations. Regrettably, the United States noted that the Government of Algeria had so far refused to take that step of transparency and cooperation with the Commission. The failure of Member States to work constructively with United Nations bodies challenged the ability of United Nations human rights mechanisms to promote and protect human rights. The situation in Algeria, where acts of terrorism had targeted innocent civilians, was a tragedy that concerned everyone and was not just an internal situation. While the United States believed the terrorist Armed Islamic Group was clearly responsible for most of the shocking slaughter, recent press reports in Algerian newspapers had indicated the difficulty in determining responsibility for some of the violence. That was why the Algerian Government was urged to utilize one of the international mechanisms available to clarify the situation. The United States acknowledged efforts the Algerian Government was making, but it was clear that long-lasting peace and stability in Algeria ultimately depended on a policy of further political and economic liberalization.

ROSS HYNES (Canada) in a statement associating Australia, New Zealand, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, said Canada unreservedly condemned all acts and all perpetrators of terrorism against the people of Algeria. It fully understood the determination of the Government to fulfil its responsibility to defend its people from that threat. Canada welcomed the Government's expressed desire to ensure full respect for the human rights and freedoms of all Algerians, and it was in full agreement with what had been said on the obligation of Member States to cooperate fully with the human rights institutions of the United Nations. Canada had noted, and welcomed, the Algerian Government's stated commitment to genuine cooperation with the mechanisms of the Commission, as well as United Nations human rights treaty bodies. It strongly believed that Governments ought to approach such engagement with the United Nations, not from a defensive or confrontational perspective, but rather in an open, cooperative spirit consistent with the United Nations Charter pledge to cooperate in promoting universal observance of human rights for all.

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MOHAMED-SALAH DEMBRI (Algeria) said the problem faced by the country was that of terrorism that negated the very right to life; in the face of this terrorism, the State -- all States -- had to conserve their monopoly on the use of legal force to protect the population and not to leave terrorist acts unpunished. The machinery of the Commission had met with difficulty in the past in taking into account abuses committed by non-governmental entities; at the heart of the debate on this subject last year were the problems encountered by Algeria. Original ways and means needed to be found to deal with such difficulties; it was thus logical that Algeria would reject the old, ineffective type of involvement in its affairs. This refusal did not mean the Government refused dialogue; it was necessary for all to indicate a common convergence on certain humanitarian ideals, however; the Commission could in this area be an irreplaceable forum for debate. The country's independence and right to self-determination had to be protected. The statements just made were creating a North-South division within the Commission; it was clear, meanwhile, that non-aligned countries and others understood Algeria and supported it. The dialogue with the European Union and the United States had been difficult, but valuable. Algeria did respect the rule of law, and recently had hosted visits by various international organizations and experts, with other visits planned.

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