EXISTING HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS MUST RECEIVE ADEQUATE INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT TO MEET DEMANDS OF EVER-INCREASING WORKLOAD
Press Release
NGO/309
PI/1082
EXISTING HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS MUST RECEIVE ADEQUATE INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT TO MEET DEMANDS OF EVER-INCREASING WORKLOAD
19980915 Annual DPI/NGO Conference Continues at Headquarters, Holding Panels on the Impact of Globalization on Human RightsRather than creating new institutions to strengthen human rights protection, existing mechanisms should be bolstered, participants said this afternoon as the annual Department of Public Information (DPI)/NGO Conference continued.
Hans Corell, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, said international human rights institutions risked being over-burdened by an ever- increasing workload. Those bodies must receive adequate support from the international community.
The three-day conference is focusing on implementation of the principles of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This afternoon, the panel discussion on the impact of globalization on human rights dealt with two themes: health and sustainable development; and institution building: strengthening the capacity to ensure human rights.
George A. O. Alleyne, the Director of the Pan-American Health Organization, said income inequality was a major determinant to the overall health status of a community. The negative effect of such inequity was not restricted to poor countries. Globalization increased those disparities, with grave consequences in areas beyond public health.
Other participants were Tonya Gonnella Frichner, President of the American Indian Law Alliance; Mervat Tallawy, Minister for Welfare and Social Affairs of Egypt; Leila Takla, President of the Egyptian Federation of Women Lawyers; Tuvako Manongi, representative of the United Republic of Tanzania; and Carol Kalafatic, representative of the International Indian Treaty Council.
Panels were moderated by Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and Catherine Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the International League of Human Rights, who moderated the second panel.
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The Conference will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 16 September, to continue its deliberations.
Health and Sustainable Development
The panel was moderated by NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
MERVAT TALLAWY, Minister for Welfare and Social Affairs of Egypt, said globalization was not a one-way street. Ideas could come from both developed and developing countries and ideas should be evaluated on the basis of their merit. Unless both sides worked together, globalization would have an adverse impact.
Development was vital to ensuring that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was not a hollow document. In Egypt, 34 per cent of the national budget was allocated for social services. Regardless of the reductions in international development assistance, Egypt was planning large-scale poverty alleviation programmes and social reforms in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
GEORGE A. O. ALLEYNE, Director of the Pan American Health Organization, said there had been a significant advance in the conceptualization of the relations between health and human rights. Globalization and the spread of information had an impact on health. There was often greater awareness of ill-health and disease in other countries than of the situation in one's own backyard. Information on the status of health was important for decision- making, and helped determine realities such as the real impact of gender discrimination on women's health.
The link between health and economic growth was often questioned, particularly as shrinking budgets necessitated scrutiny of all public expenditure, he said. Given the current models of so-called national development, the perception of the primacy of economic growth in human development would take a long time to correct.
He said, income inequality was a major determinant of health status, a phenomenon which was not restricted to poor countries. Unfortunately, there was evidence that globalization was contributing to a widening of those disparities, with grave consequences in areas besides health. A healthy population was more productive both in its output at work and because fewer days were lost as a result of illness. The health-tourism linkage had implications for many countries' economies, he added. The sale of health services was also becoming an important contributor to the economies of countries in the Americas.
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The health of children was important if they were to learn, he said. However, health was not synonymous with health care. He stressed that the health of a people was important for human development and was co-equal in importance with other contributing factors.
TONYA GONNELLA FRICHNER, President of the American Indian Law Alliance, said the natural world was not a resource, but a relative. There was a long history of conflict between indigenous and non-indigenous nations, and it was important for indigenous people to have access to international forums in which legal challenges could be launched. Native American people had formed an enduring alliance with the United Nations and, before that, with the League of Nations in Geneva.
Open discussion of concepts such as the law of nations, papal bulls and empty land revealed the outright racism that was inherent in colonialism, she said. Lands which were not occupied by Christians were considered empty and open for taking. Europeans had embraced and acted on those concepts; unfortunately, they were not historical relics.
She said that as recently as 1955, the United States had taken aim at the concept of aboriginal title. In an 1823 court ruling, the United States had referred to the doctrines of discovery, under which the Christian nations discovering new lands had been obliged only to ensure that other Christians had not already claimed title. Clearly, what seemed a distant past still negatively impacted indigenous nations. Treaties between indigenous peoples and nation states continued to be violated.
LEILA TAKLA, President of the Egyptian Federation of Women Lawyers, said globalization affected efforts at environmental protection, information transfer and the development of global ethics. It did not apply to cultural issues, however. For example, if a particular society allowed a man to have more than one wife, that was okay as long as it was not imposed on others. In some societies, a man could marry another man as long as that choice was not imposed on others. Basic human rights included the right to a clean environment, she continued. International environmental supervision and follow-up to international environmental treaties might be needed. Care must be taken to protect the rights of children.
Discussion
To a question on how human and social capital contributed to developing countries, Mr. Alleyne said that concept was only 25 or 30 years old. It would take time for such concepts to become part of the mainstream. The NGOs could contribute to a greater understanding of the importance of all aspects of human development.
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To another question, he said he had never suggested a uniquely utilitarian view of health. Important in and of itself, health was also important for a country's economic production.
Ms. TALLAWY, in reply to a question about the impact of economic sanctions against Iraq, said sanctions had reduced the general well-being of the Iraqi people while adversely affecting their health. Penalizing the Iraqi people did not serve the raison d'etre of the Security Council. Ms. GONNELLA FRICHER, addressing questions about the health of Native Americans, said health services provided to Indians were part of treaty obligations and were not a "handout". Nonetheless, the services had been cut year after year, while reservations struggled to meet health needs with inadequate resources. While native peoples lacked political clout, NGOs had a voice which could be used to influence political leaders.
Finally, Ms. TAKLA, addressing the question about sanctions, said it was important to remember that human rights transcended the ideas of "me" and "we" and should be addressed cooperatively.
Strengthening the Capacity to Ensure Human Rights
CATHERINE FITZPATRICK, Executive Director of the International League of Human Rights, moderated the second panel. She said the League had a long-standing interest in working with the United Nations to ensure that words in defense of human rights were translated into deeds. Capacity building could mean many things, including establishing international institutions such as the International Criminal Court. Building capacity might mean the ability to speak out on behalf of human rights, making national institutions more effective or establishing commissions to defend human rights.
HANS CORELL, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, said human rights would be assured at the national level if the international body of law -- often reflected in national laws -- was implemented. It was imperative that governments respected their international obligations. Governments and their agents were primary to the protection of human rights at the national level, especially the police and the prosecutorial branch of the legislator, he said. Parliament was the second necessary institution. Parliamentarians must have clear understanding of international human rights laws. Finally, an independent and impartial judiciary was imperative for the protection of human rights.
At the international level, existing institutions included the monitoring bodies established under international conventions, he said. As those bodies risked being over-burdened by an ever-increasing workload, it was essential that they received the necessary support from the international
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community. The human rights courts were the second category of existing international institutions. They formed the most developed system of international monitoring. The work of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights had developed into an umbrella mechanism for the protection of human rights, and the impact of its work could not be emphasized enough.
He said the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs was preparing a foundation for the International Criminal Court. The Court would be the missing link in the international legal system. To overcome the past problem of impunity, warlords must know they would be brought to justice for violating human rights. Within that context, it was more important to bolster existing institutions than to create new ones.
TUVAKO MANONGI,(United Republic of Tanzania), spoke about the role of NGOs in the process of establishing the International Criminal Court during the July conference in Rome. Many aspects of the draft statute had been controversial. The NGOs had been "caught in the middle". Some NGOs had viewed the process in Rome as a war and sometimes governments had almost seemed intimidated. Some governments had resented the intrusion, influence and interference of NGOs. Such over-representation of NGOs may have impeded their access to and influence on governments.
On the whole, he said, NGOs had positively influenced situations by raising awareness of issues, and providing technical information and advice to government representatives.
Stronger partnerships at the local, national and international levels were needed to close the gap between human rights rhetoric and reality, he said. The establishment of the International Criminal Court was a major landmark and NGOs had played a critical role in influencing governments to support it. Now, governments and NGOs must face the challenge of making the Court a reality.
CAROL KALAFATIC, representative of the International Indian Treaty Council, said that in the current era of globalization, multinational corporations were imposing massive scale extraction and commercialization of national resources on Indian lands and ecosystems. There existed little or no redress for indigenous peoples within state systems for the resulting violations of human rights.
A basic principle of international law was that human rights must be uniformly and universally applied, she said. Rights already recognized for all human beings and peoples must also apply to indigenous peoples. In 1996, the United Nations had adopted a historic resolution, which had recognized for the first time the spiritual connection that indigenous peoples had with the
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land, and the relationship of traditional lands with the practice of indigenous religions.
She said true partnerships were based on mutual recognition and consensual decision-making. Indigenous peoples, however, had yet to see such partnerships implemented within the national systems in which they lived, or to see them incorporated comprehensively into the process of international standard-setting. Little progress had been made regarding the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples, which would create a much-needed ongoing mechanism within the United Nations system.
One of the most important international developments for the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples was the Draft Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, she said. It represented a minimum standard affirming the rights of indigenous peoples, based upon full recognition and guarantee of their international rights to self-determination, their traditional lands and the upholding of their treaties.
Discussion
In reply to a question on the situation in Kosovo, Mr. Corell said the matter was being addressed by the Security Council. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, were closely monitoring events. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia also had jurisdiction in the region and was following the situation closely. The assistance of NGOs in helping to deal with displaced persons and refugees from Kosovo would be invaluable.
To a question on how effective the new Court would be, he said it was important to realize that the "true rule of law" was taking its first steps in the international arena. National laws had taken hundreds of years to develop and it might take time for States to realize that it was in their interest to take part in the Court's proceedings. The time would come when cooperation with the Court would be as natural as any other type of international cooperation.
In reply to a question on sanctions against Iraq, Mr. Corell said that issue was also being addressed by the Security Council. The "oil-for-food" regime had been created to alleviate the difficulties faced by 20 million Iraqi people. The Security Council had an obligation to protect international peace and security, but it also had to live up to standards created by the Organization. The Council's work represented an effort to strike a balance.
Responding to a question on how international human rights laws could influence national laws, Mr. Corell said most modern constitutions included a
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bill of rights. Chapters to protect human rights had been modelled on norms developed at the international level.
Asked how useful the media could be in protecting human rights, Ms. KALAFATIC said the media was a useful tool for indigenous people. In Chiapas, people used the Internet and in other poor communities people were using video to document abuses.
Asked about the appointment of the Special Rapporteur for the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea, Mr. Corell said various human rights organs had asked the Commission on Human Rights to appoint the Special Rapporteurs. It was important not to view the situation in a confrontational way, but rather for States to recognize they had a common interest in ensuring international standards of human rights monitoring.
Answering a question on the scope of the International Criminal Court, Mr. MANONGI said it had been discussed in Rome whether illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances should be included in the province of the Court. However, there had not been sufficient support for including those crimes. States still needed to be sensitized to certain issues. Responding to a question on asset forfeiture mechanisms as a means of taking away resources used to violate human rights, Mr. CORELL noted that there were some provisions in the Court statute for the seizure of assets. However, assets could not simply be grabbed, as such action in itself would violate human rights. Due process would have to be followed.
To a question on whether individuals would ever be able to sue governments, Mr. CORELL said European citizens or residents could bring cases against a government before the European Court in Strasbourg. Governments could be held liable and ordered to pay damages.
Mr. MANONGI said the non-participation of certain key States in the International Criminal Court could limit the effectiveness of the Court. Hopefully, such States would join in.
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