HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE MEETS IN GENEVA 13-31 JULY TO REVIEW STEPS TAKEN BY SIX COUNTRIES TO FULFIL INTERNATIONAL COVENANT

10 July 1998

Press Release
HR/CT/518

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE MEETS IN GENEVA 13-31 JULY TO REVIEW STEPS TAKEN BY SIX COUNTRIES TO FULFIL INTERNATIONAL COVENANT

19980710 Background Release Will Study Reports from Ecuador, Israel, Italy, Algeria, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United Republic of Tanzania

GENEVA, 7 July (UN Information Service) -- Reports submitted by the Governments of Ecuador, Israel, Italy, Algeria, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the United Republic of Tanzania on measures taken to implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights will be considered by the Human Rights Committee at its sixty-third session, which begins in Geneva on Monday (13 July) and continues until the end of the month.

The six countries presenting reports are among the 140 States parties to the International Covenant, adopted in 1966 by the General Assembly. The Committee, as a monitoring body, periodically examines reports submitted by States parties on their promotion and protection of civil and political rights. Representatives of those governments will introduce their country reports and respond to oral and written questions by the Committee's 18 members, who serve in their personal capacity.

According to a provisional timetable, the Committee, presided over by Christine Chanet (France), will take up the initial reports of Israel and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the second periodic report of Algeria, the third periodic report of the United Republic of Tanzania and the fourth periodic reports of Ecuador and Italy.

Under the first Optional Protocol to the Covenant, the 92 States parties recognize the competence of the Committee also to consider confidential communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any rights proclaimed under the Covenant. In addition, the Committee will have before it summaries of several recently registered communications, summaries of new communications registered after its last session, together with an indication of any action which might have been taken by the Special Rapporteur for new communications.

States Parties' Report

Of the six countries presenting a report at this session, Algeria, Ecuador, Italy and the United Republic of Tanzania have all previously submitted a report to the Committee.

In its observations and recommendations of March 1992 on the initial report of Algeria, the Committee had recommended that Algeria put an end as promptly as possible to the exceptional situation that prevailed within its borders and allow all the democratic mechanisms to resume their functioning under fair and free conditions. It also drew the attention of the State party to the fact that the Covenant does not permit derogation from certain rights even in times of emergency and that, therefore, any excesses relating to, inter alia, the right to life, torture and the right to freedom of conscience and expression are violations of the Covenant, which should not be allowed to continue. Moreover, the Committee had regretted the many cases of discrimination against women and the non-recognition of minorities, especially of Berbers.

Concerning the second periodic report of Ecuador, considered in November 1991, members of the Committee were of the view that every effort should be made to prevent and eliminate once and for all cases of ill-treatment, to elucidate all the cases of disappearances that had occurred in the past, and to punish those responsible. Among the concerns expressed by members that had not been fully allayed were those relating to conditions for declaring a state of emergency; compulsory labour in the context of military service; the independence of the judiciary; and the denial of the right to vote to members of the police and the armed forces. It was also felt that legislative provisions should be adopted providing for compensation to victims of torture or arbitrary arrest or detention.

Following its examination, in July 1994, of the third periodic report of Italy, the Committee had encouraged the State party to take the necessary steps to accede to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant which aims at the abolition of the death penalty, in view of the fact that criminal legislation did not provide for the death penalty. Italy subsequently acceded to the Second Protocol on 14 February 1995. The Committee had also urged the State party to consider making torture a specific criminal offence. It suggested that Italy strengthen measures to protect the rights of detainees by promptly investigating allegations of ill-treatment and ensuring that appropriate penalties were applied whenever such offences were committed. In order to avoid the inherent risks in the excessive concentration of control of the mass information media, the Committee had emphasized the importance of implementing measures to ensure impartial allocation of resources, as well as equitable access to such media, and of adopting anti-trust legislation regulating mass-media.

In its observations and conclusions on the second periodic report of the United Republic of Tanzania, examined in October 1992, the Committee had noted that it would be helpful to dispense with the requirements of prior authorization for political meetings. It had expressed concern over the constitutional provisions allowing derogations from the right to life, which were not compatible with article 4 of the Covenant. In this regard, changes were clearly necessary. Concern was also expressed over the lack of clarity

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on the situation in Zanzibar. The view was expressed that it was degrading treatment to apply corporal punishment in schools and other institutions. Although there had been some progress towards equality between men and women, the Committee noted there still appeared to be lack of equality, especially with respect to property, inheritance and parental authority.

Background on Covenant

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was adopted by the General Assembly and opened for signature in 1966, together with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which entered into force in 1976.

The Civil and Political Rights Covenant begins by stating that all peoples have the right of self-determination. It recognizes that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. It prohibits torture, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment, and the arbitrary deprivation of life. Anyone arrested is to be informed of the reasons for the arrest, and anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge is to be brought promptly before a judge or other legally authorized person.

The Covenant also provides, among other things, for freedom of movement, and places limitations upon the expulsion of aliens present lawfully in the territory of a State party. In addition, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and to freedom of expression are recognized by the Covenant, which also prohibits any propaganda for war or any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred.

States Parties to Covenant

The following 140 States have ratified or acceded to the Covenant: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait and Kyrgyz Republic.

Also: Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and

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the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Optional Protocols to Covenant

The First Optional Protocol to the Covenant provides for the confidential consideration of communications from individuals who claim to be victims of a violation of any rights proclaimed in the Covenant. No communications can be received by the Committee if it concerns a State party to the Covenant that is not also a party to the Optional Protocol.

The following 92 States are parties to the First Optional Protocol: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, and Kyrgyz Republic.

Also: Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Zambia.

The Human Rights Committee is also mandated, under article 41 of the Covenant, to consider communications from a State party alleging violations of the Covenant's provisions by another State party. This procedure can be applied when both States recognize this competence of the Committee by a relevant declaration.

So far, 45 States have made the declaration under article 41. They are: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Congo, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Zimbabwe.

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The Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant, which aims at the abolition of the death penalty, was adopted by the General Assembly on 15 December 1989 and entered into force on 11 July 1991. It has been ratified or acceded to by 31 States: Australia, Austria, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Portugal, Romania, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Membership of Committee

The Committee's 18 expert members, who serve in their individual capacity, are elected by the States parties to the Covenant for four-year terms. Article 28 of the Covenant requires that "they shall be persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights".

They are: Nisuke Ando, of Japan; Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati, of India; Thomas Buergenthal, of the United States; Christine Chanet, of France; Lord Colville, of the United Kingdom; Omran El Shafei, of Egypt; Elizabeth Evatt, of Australia; Eckart Klein, of Germany; David Kretzmer, of Israel; Pilar Gaitan de Pombo, of Colombia; Rajsoomer Lallah, of Mauritius; Cecilia Medina Quiroga, of Chile; Fausto Pocar, of Italy; Julio Prado Vallejo, of Ecuador; Martin Scheinin, of Finland; Danilo Türk of Slovenia; Maxwell Yalden, of Canada; and Abdallah Zakhia, of Lebanon.

The officers of the Committee are: Ms. Chanet, Chairperson; Mr. Bhagwati, Mr. El Shafei and Ms. Medina Quiroga, Vice-Chairpersons; and Ms. Evatt, Rapporteur.

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