ROLE OF MEDIA IN PROMOTION OF TOLERANCE AND PEACE STRESSED AS THIRD COMMITTEE CONTINUES REVIEW OF HUMAN RIGHTS

9 November 1998

Press Release
GA/SHC/3502

ROLE OF MEDIA IN PROMOTION OF TOLERANCE AND PEACE STRESSED AS THIRD COMMITTEE CONTINUES REVIEW OF HUMAN RIGHTS

19981109 UNESCO Delegate Says Influence Can be Positive; Others Call for Definition of Rights to Allow for Cultural Differences

An independent media was a key factor for tolerance and peace, the New York representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Nina Sibal, told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this afternoon, as it continued its consideration of human rights questions.

Introducing the report of the Director General of UNESCO on the implementation of the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and the Follow-up Plan of Action for the United Nations Year of Tolerance, she said that while the media's influence on violent behaviour was the subject of worldwide debate, it could also play a role in peace-building in conflict zones. The designation of 1995 as the United Nations Year for Tolerance had come when a lack of tolerance increasingly plagued both public policy and individual behaviour.

The representative of the Republic of Korea said it had become increasingly evident that economic, social and cultural rights must no longer be relegated to secondary rank. They were just as important as civil and political rights. The international community should focus on strengthening its shared commitment by producing sustainable actions and programmes to facilitate the early realization of development worldwide.

Serious attention must be given to the question of differing circumstances and experiences in the enjoyment and application of human rights, said the representative of Nigeria. Consideration should be given to differences in cultural settings of development and economic situations, as well as the varying resources, endowments and skills of countries. He said that the government which came into office in Nigeria in June had embarked on a bold programme of democratization and respect for human rights.

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The Permanent Observer for Palestine said commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be an occasion for the international community to renew its commitment and meet its obligations in combatting all violations of human rights.

The representative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that major problems facing the humanitarian community were caused by the imposition of sanctions. Intended to deal with promoting peace, sanctions often risked undermining human rights. There should be a formal mechanism to assess the potential impact of sanctions and monitor their effects, and to ensure the effective delivery of adequate humanitarian assistance to those most in need.

Statements were also made by representatives of Algeria, Tanzania, United States, Latvia and Myanmar. The representatives of Cuba, Lebanon, Iraq and Burundi spoke in right of reply.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. tomorrow, 10 November, to continue its consideration of human rights questions.

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this afternoon to continue consideration of alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives. (For information on reports before the Committee, see press releases GA/SHC/3494 of 4 November and GA/SHC/3499 of 6 November.)

Introduction of Report

NINA SIBAL, on behalf of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), introduced the report of the Director-General of UNESCO on the implementation of the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and the Follow-up Plan of Action for the United Nations Year for Tolerance (document A/53/284). She said the Declaration against intolerance was both the expression of a moral duty and a political commitment. It recognized the rich diversity of the world's people and cultures, and firmly rejected violence and the futile quest for uniformity. Since 1995, a public mobilization campaign had been undertaken against rising intolerance worldwide, including xenophobic violence, terrorism and extremism, and violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

The UNESCO's strategy focused on two elements. The first was to influence public opinion in favour of tolerance by demonstrating, through a series of cultural and social events planned all over the world, how tolerance was linked to peaceful coexistence. The second was to offer medium and long-term solutions to people involved in enhancing tolerance by providing them with backup materials. Those included improved methods for teaching languages, access to information on international institutions and human rights, and an approach to history and literature, accenting the diversity of cultures in the world.

The move for the observance of 1995 as a United Nations Year for Tolerance came when a lack of tolerance increasingly plagued both public policy and individual behaviour, she said. Acts of intolerance shared common traits: they manifested themselves through physical violence, even where it was possible to use judicial or democratic means to resolve disputes; and they violated universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms. The UNESCO also believed that an independent media was a key factor for tolerance and peace. The media's influence on violent behaviour was today the subject of worldwide debate. There were two essential elements in UNESCO's media strategy. The first was the free flow of information which, besides its role in the peace-building process in conflict zones, sought to encourage international exchanges between media professionals, to monitor press freedom in the world, and to promote co-production and exchange of radio and

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television programmes. The second focused on building up media resources in developing countries, and included training and upgrading the skills of some 2000 technicians, journalists and other media practitioners annually, either directly or through international, regional or national communication training centres.

Statements

ABDALLAH BAALI (Algeria) said globalization provided an important context for extending the universality of human rights. The principles should, however, be pursued with balance. There should be no paternalism or hegemonism in extending the universality of human rights. It was clear that, as the movement of democratization was spreading irreversibly, opening the way to broader and more effective protection of fundamental freedoms, the promotion of economic rights was at a standstill. The lack of development led to more exclusion and greater poverty. How could people mired in poverty truly exercise the freedoms which had been intended for them by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

He said the evaluation of the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action showed that while democracy, development and respect for human rights were interdependent and mutually reinforcing, that principle was being selectively applied. He hoped the issue would be tackled in a serious way. While it was important for States to report to the treaty bodies on the effective implementation of human rights instruments, as required by international treaties, there should be more clarity about the obligations of States. There was no provision that obliged States not to express reservations to the conventions. No convention was perfect, particularly when it aimed at universality. It was not the purview of other States, nor of the treaty bodies themselves, to say which reservations were appropriate and which were not.

NIPANEEMA MDOE (United Republic of Tanzania) said the report presented to the Committee a few days ago on behalf of the Special Rapporteur, on the human rights situation of Burundi had not corrected and revised his earlier statements concerning the purpose and economic sanctions imposed on Burundi. Instead, the report had been more of the same political and subjective reporting which glossed over the fundamental issue of the human rights situation in Burundi and sought to explain it through the convenient excuse of sanctions.

She said her Government had explained in detail the genesis and development of the sanctions in its statement to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session. The sanctions regime imposed by the countries of the region had been very selective, its sole objective being to support the cause of human rights in Burundi. Since last year, the economic sanctions against Burundi had been calibrated to account for the twin concerns of meeting the

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humanitarian needs of the people and sustaining the ongoing peace process. The region's leaders had consistently explained that once there was an irreversible turn towards a political solution in Burundi, the sanctions would be lifted. Thus, the onus rested on Burundi.

If the realism demonstrated in the negotiations at Arusha continued, there would be positive results next year. The peace process remained the only ongoing viable process that could bring peace. It was thus a matter of concern that the Special Rapporteur had elected to gloss over the peace process and ignore regional arrangements which held great promise and had the full support of both the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the United Nations. Contrary to the statements by the Special Rapporteur, Tanzania had consistently stated it would not allow its territory to be used as a springboard for incursions into the territories of its neighbours, including Burundi.

PETER BURLEIGH (United States) said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed the fundamentals of human dignity and freedom for all people in all nations. With the agreement that democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms were interdependent and mutually reinforcing, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action mainstreamed human rights into the consensus on public policy.

He said oppression took many forms, and it was clear that in the absence of civil and political rights, countries would often be condemned to poverty and underdevelopment. Similarly, extreme poverty itself inhibited the enjoyment of human rights.

For twenty years, Afghanistan had struggled for liberation and to establish a stable government which respected human rights. He said he was deeply concerned by reports of ethnic-based arrests and summary executions, religious persecution, deportations, rape and abuses against women. The people of Burma continued to suffer under one of the most repressive authoritarian military regimes in the world.

Perhaps nowhere in the world today was there as clear an illustration of the linkage between political and economic rights as in the Democratic Peoples's Republic of Korea, he said. It had made no discernible progress this year. The consistent failure of the Government to provide even the most basic sustenance for its people could not be separated from its pervasive and all intrusive regime. In the Western hemisphere, the decades-long status quo in Cuba continued unabated, with freedom of speech, assembly and association still severely restricted.

In the Great Lakes region of Africa, he went on, the already unacceptable human rights situation had further deteriorated this year with the outbreak of hostilities in August. Thousands of civilians had already

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been killed. He condemned any government's collusion with genocidal militia groups. In Sudan, some of the most egregious violations of human rights in the world continued. Fifteen years of war had left nearly two million people dead. Most of those killed were civilians. Famine and rape were used as weapons of war. This year had seen some of the worst abuses of human rights in Kosovo, including the torture and extra-judicial killing of ethnic Albanians, the deliberate use of excessive force by the military against Kosovar civilians, the bombing and destruction of Kosovar homes and property, and the forced mass displacement of Kosovars.

JANIS PRIEDKALNS (Latvia) said 1998 had been an important year for human rights in Latvia. Reforms and development in that area of civil life could be seen as a juridical pyramid. At the top, there was the constitutional reform, the most profound step that could be taken. In October, Latvia's parliament had amended the constitution to include articles outlining fundamental freedoms and rights. Other legislative actions in the field of human rights would follow. Also, citizens of Latvia had exercised their democratic right in the form of a referendum. As a result, laws on citizenship conformed to international norms, including those regarding naturalisation and citizenship.

He said another layer of reform was made up of a series of laws expanding the legislative basis of the Government's human rights policy. The basis of that rights policy resulted from ongoing discourse within civil society, and on the basis of international human rights standards. Indeed, the formulation of human rights policy occurred in a process shaped by historical and social circumstances. While being open to constructive involvement, it would be counter-productive to debate laws passed by national legislatures out of context.

The base of the pyramid of human rights was made up of education, the mass media and language. Issues were debated at various levels, including the participation of the Government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic institutions, international expert bodies, including United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Council of Europe, among others.

PE THEIN TIN (Myanmar) said the present Government of Myanmar had assumed State responsibility on 18 September 1988, to restore stability and normalcy, when the situation of the country was in a state of chaos and anarchy. In the evolving culture of peace, Myanmar had chosen the path to democracy, and its Government was now in the process of building a genuine democratic State with a market-oriented economic system. That objective could be achieved only through the National Convention process. There had been a dangerous move on the part of a political party to demolish the peace and tranquillity now cherished by the people. The National League for Democracy had declared that all the laws, acts, regulations, orders and directives issued by the Government since 18 September 1988 were to be considered

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annulled. The committee then back-pedalled, and issued another declaration qualifying which laws were to be annulled and those which were to be kept as valid.

In its endeavours to gain power by short-circuiting the national convention process, he said, the leadership of the National League was resorting to hasty and irrational acts. That was an extremely dangerous course, which would lead to confrontation, renewed conflicts and bloodshed amongst the diverse ethnic groups. The Government had shown great restraint and leniency.

Referring to comments made by some delegations about the internal situation in Myanmar, he said that their perceptions of the situation, as well as their allegations relative to the promotion of democracy and human rights, had no validity. They did not reflect the actual situation prevailing in the country.

GABRIEL SAM AKUNWAFOR (Nigeria) said that while the worldwide acceptance of the Declaration of Human Rights by Governments was to be welcomed, serious attention must be given to the question of differing circumstances and experiences in the enjoyment and application of those rights. Consideration had to be given to the difference of cultural settings, of development and economic situations, as well as the varying resources, endowment and skills. It was essential the principles of non-selectivity, objectivity and impartiality should continue to guide the application of existing mechanisms for assessing the human rights situation in States.

His Government believed in the concept of universality, indivisibility and inter-relatedness of human rights and fundamental freedoms, he said. It maintained that the quest to promote and protect human rights, all aspects of human rights, civil, political, social, economic, cultural, religious, the right to development and the right of migrant workers must be given equal emphasis. They should guarantee that every man, woman and child should be able to live in dignity and without fear of persecution, irrespective of his or her race, culture, political affinity, religion, gender and place of abode.

Since the present Government came into office in his country in June this year, it had embarked on a bold programme of democratization and respect for human rights. It had released all political prisoners, including General Olusegun Obasanjo, the former head of State; charges against former detainees had been dropped, and registered political associations were allowed to participate in forthcoming elections. He said "self-exiled opposition figures", including Professor Wole Soyinka, had returned to Nigeria. NGOs, student unions, professional bodies and labour unions were functioning freely. Those developments had occurred swiftly and had thus not been reflected in the report of the Special Rapporteur, who would be visiting Nigeria at the end of November.

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SOMAIA BARGHOUTI, Observer for Palestine, said that on 10 December, the world would commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That should be an occasion for the international community to renew its commitment and meet its obligations in combating all violations of human rights. It was also an occasion to develop more innovative ways and means to monitor and guarantee the implementation of the objectives set forth in human rights instruments.

She said the human rights situation of people in the occupied Palestinian Territories continued to be of great concern. Israel persisted with its oppressive policies and practices. The Palestinian people had been subjected to detention, imprisonment, torture and obstruction of movement. It was shameful that they were still deprived of the enjoyment of their basic and fundamental human rights.

The United Nations must give more attention to the flagrant violations committed against peoples living under foreign occupation. The Palestinian people expressed deep concern over the continuing difficulties facing the peace process. However, they remained hopeful that the situation would soon change, leading to real and positive change on the ground.

EIGIL PEDERSEN, for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, highlighted areas in which he said the federation and its member national societies had been involved in securing basic human rights for millions of people, and especially victims of natural and man-made disasters. He said food aid, health service and shelter were the most important of those activities since the mission was to improve the situation of the most vulnerable, those at the greatest risk from situations threatening their survival or their capacity to live with a minimum of social and economic security, and human dignity.

Besides the problems related to scarce resources, logistic problems and security, he said, the federation and other members of the humanitarian community faced another problem -- that of the policies of United Nations sanctions. Imposing sanctions exposed a potentially fundamental contradiction in implementing two core principles: promoting peace and promoting human rights. Sanctions were intended to deal with the former, but risked undermining the latter during the course of implementation. The harm inflicted by sanctions to achieve changes should not be put out of proportion to the anticipated gains.

After several years of sanctions against Iraq, for example, the high price paid by the most vulnerable groups of the population was apparent, he said. In that regard, a formal mechanism should be set up to assess the potential impact of sanctions and to monitor their effects. There was also a need to ensure effective delivery of adequate humanitarian assistance to those most in need.

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CHONG HOON KIM (Republic of Korea) said that during the past five decades, the United Nations had played a leading role in strengthening the cause of universal observance and promotion of human rights. He said he was encouraged by the Secretary-General's efforts to "mainstream" human rights throughout all United Nations activities and programmes, and appreciated the growing trend of dialogue and cooperation between governments and the Office of the High Commissioner, as well as among governments concerned.

Economic, social and cultural rights must no longer be relegated to secondary rank, he said. They were just as important as civil and political rights. The right to development was an intrinsic component of economic, social and cultural rights.

Learning from its own development experience, he said, the Republic of Korea had come to the conclusion that economic and social development was crucial, if not a precondition, for the promotion and protection of human rights and democracy to thrive in a country. However, it had also realized that for sustainable economic development to be accomplished, it must be accompanied by the determined efforts of an entire nation to build a democratic society, where the respect for human rights and rule of law were guaranteed for all. An open and pluralistic society, where all basic human rights were guaranteed, should not be viewed as a natural outgrowth of economic development; rather, it should be cultivated with perseverance and tenacity by both government and the people.

Statements in Right of Reply

The representative of Cuba said he had listened to the "double standards lesson" by the United States. In the past, he said, his delegation had listed human rights violations in the United States. Those included the imposition of the death penalty and the racial bias reflected in those sentences and the treatment of criminals and prisoners, and of immigrants.

He said there were violations in the military treatment of women, and in the prisons of Michigan. There was, he said, a 400-page book on police brutality. There were reports of children and young people in juvenile prisons who had been imprisoned like adults. There was the issue of racism. On those, he asserted, the Committee was silent. While the United States and the European Union presumed to give lessons to others, attention was not paid to their violations.

The representative of Lebanon replied to comments by the representative of Israel, on an earlier Lebanese statement. The representative of Lebanon said Israeli occupation forces had carried out genocide in the village of Cana, where 106 people were killed, although they had sought refuge near the

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United Nations base. He asked why the Israelis had asked the Lebanese not to refer to the occupation. Every day, he said, that occupation killed civilians, closed schools, and threatened the right to life.

He said Israel had occupied southern Lebanon since 1978, and refused to comply with Security Council resolution 425. What was called terrorism by Israeli forces was merely resistance to occupation, provision for which was found in all international human rights instruments. That resistance would continue until resolution 425 was implemented. The only way to achieve conditions for the security that Israel said it desired was for Israel to cease its occupation of southern Lebanon.

The representative of Iraq said the United States representative should remember that the record of his country (the United States) was full of human rights violations. Since dropping the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, he said, the United States had dropped bombs in Viet Nam, in Iraq, and then Sudan. All those were violations that had been seen by the Iraqi people. Thus the United States representative should think before speaking about the human rights violations of others.

He said the violations of human rights caused by the blockade against Iraq were mainly the result of action by the United States, which had used its Security Council veto power to maintain the sanctions. There were plots to support and finance a small group of Iraqi traitors to carry out terrorist acts against Iraq. Millions had been spent to bring down the Iraqi Government and to create anarchy, which was counter to international law and the norms of human rights.

The representative of Burundi said his country had been cited again today, this time by the representative of Tanzania, who had attacked Pauolo Sergio Pinheiro, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burundi. He said it was not up to him to defend Mr. Pinheiro, but he asked that the points raised by the representative of Tanzania concerning the report on Burundi be forwarded to the Special Rapporteur, so that he could answer them.

The Burundi representative said he was convinced the support that the international community was giving to the peace process was not in line with the continuation of the sanctions. It was of no benefit to deprive children and pregnant women of vaccinations, or to deprive farmers of fertilizers and sick people of medicines. The sanctions were a flagrant violation of human rights and an obstacle to the peace process.

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