COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES FIFTY-FIFTH SESSION

30 April 1999

Press Release
HR/CN/942

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES FIFTY-FIFTH SESSION

19990430 Appoints Special Representative on Equatorial Guinea, Special Rapporteur On Migrants' Rights, Calls for Joint Mission to Democratic Republic of Congo

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 30 April (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights concluded this morning its fifty-fifth session which was marked by extensive debates on its methods of work, discussion of an upcoming World Conference against Racism, and deliberations on the conflict in Kosovo, where ethnic violence, bombing by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the routing of large numbers of refugees coincided with the Commission's six weeks of meetings.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson provided regular updates to the Commission on the situation in Kosovo, especially on the difficulties encountered by refugees and internally displaced persons. The effectiveness and appropriateness of the NATO bombing campaign against Serbian targets was discussed repeatedly; the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and an assistant summarized efforts to cope with hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians flooding over borders into Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; a special meeting was held at which national delegations voiced concern, variously, over Serbian aggression or over the NATO military response; the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the impact of armed conflict on children presented a "special agenda" to respond to the needs of Kosovar child refugees; a resolution strongly condemning ethnic cleansing in Kosovo was approved by a roll-call vote in which only the Russian Federation was opposed; and a Russian draft resolution that would have demanded an immediate end to the fighting was defeated, also on a roll-call vote, with a number of States explaining that the proposal did not reflect the goals of the Rambouillet peace accords and did not adequately place blame for the hostilities on Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. In addition, an omnibus resolution on the human-rights situation in the countries of the former Yugoslavia referred in detail to Kosovo.

In other action, the Commission decided to end country-specific consideration of the situation of human rights in Nigeria; decided to appoint a Special Representative to monitor developments in Equatorial Guinea; and requested that the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and a member of the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances carry out a joint mission to investigate all massacres carried out on the national territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Commission held a special session to discuss "marginalized children" and convened as a Working Group over three afternoons and one evening to plan for an upcoming World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. It subsequently decided to recommend that if no offers were received to host the World Conference, it should be held in Geneva in 2001, between the Commission session in the spring and the United Nations General Assembly session in the fall.

Numerous dignitaries addressed the Commission this session, notably United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said in a speech on 7 April that human rights were not "relative" and that the international community could not accept situations where people were attacked and massacred behind national borders, as in Kosovo, where they were assaulted and mutilated, as in Sierra Leone, or where women were brutally discriminated against, as in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan.

In her closing statement, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said progress had been made during the session -- there had been a response to the appalling situation in Kosovo; the Commission had underlined its role and that of the United Nations in promoting and protecting human rights on the basis of internationally recognized norms; a country situation had been taken out of the confidential procedure; there had been resolve to make the twenty-first century one of the universal implementation of the rights of the child; and there was a growing sense of appreciation in different regions of the world of the benefits to be derived from partnership and cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights.

And Anne Anderson, Chairperson of the Commission, said in closing remarks that it had been a long and difficult session -- difficult because of the breadth and depth of human misery detailed across so many agenda items and because of the gap between human-rights standards and reality. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in their many contributions to the session were the reality check of the Commission, she said -- a vital link to the countless individuals around the world who were victims of human-rights violations and who looked to the Commission to acknowledge the wrongs and alleviate the pain. If the voices of the NGOs were to continue to be heard

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loud and clear by the Commission, she said, management questions needed to be addressed.

Chairman's statements were adopted on the situation of human rights in Central America in the wake of Hurricane Mitch; and on the status of human rights in Colombia, East Timor, and Cyprus.

Under the Commission's agenda item on the question of the violation of human rights in any country, resolutions were adopted criticizing the state of affairs in Afghanistan, Burundi, Iran, Myanmar, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, and Sudan -- all of which had mandates for relevant Special Rapporteurs or Special Representatives extended -- and in Cuba, Sierra Leone, and southern Lebanon and West Bekaa.

Under a separate agenda item the Commission condemned, as in previous years, the human-rights situation in the Arab territories occupied by Israel.

Resolutions related to advisory-services programmes were adopted on situations in Haiti, Cambodia, and Somalia.

Among resolutions passed related to its thematic mechanisms, the Commission decided to appoint a Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.

The Commission also decided to extend by three years the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression, and by one year the mandate of the Independent Expert on structural adjustment polices.

In a closed meeting held on 6 April under its "1503 procedure", the Commission decided to discontinue private discussion of the situation in Sierra Leone and to take it up publicly under its agenda item 9. It also reviewed human-rights situations in Chad, Gambia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, and decided to discontinue review of matters in Gambia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. In the case of Chad, a text was read out under the Commission's agenda item 19.

There was extensive debate over reform of the Commission's working mechanisms based on a document prepared by the bureau of last year's Commission, and it was decided on the basis of a Chairman's statement to continue such discussions in an inter-sessional working group.

By the end of the session, the Commission had adopted 93 texts including 82 resolutions, 7 decisions and 4 Chairpersons's statements.

Dates for next year's session -- the Commission's fifty-sixth -- were set for 20 March to 28 April 2000.

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Chairperson's Statements on Country Situations

In Chairperson's statements, the Commission:

-- welcomed the renewal of the agreement between the Colombian Government and the High Commissioner for Human Rights on extending the mandate of the permanent office in Bogota until 30 April 2000; noted the continued willingness of the Colombian Government to give full importance to the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights; acknowledged the steps taken by the Colombian Government for the application of humanitarian standards in the conflict, and welcomed its continued cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the facilitation of its humanitarian activities in the country; expressed its hope that peace talks between the Colombian Government and all the groups involved in the internal conflict would become permanent and would provide a decisive impulse until a sustainable peace was reached in Colombia; noted it remained deeply concerned about the non-existence of a cease-fire and increasing grave abuses of international humanitarian law mainly by "paramilitaries" and guerrillas; reiterated to the Colombian Government the importance of adopting a law criminalizing enforced disappearance; called upon the Colombian Government to give highest priority to developing concrete measures to integrate human rights education into the curricula of schools and universities throughout the country;

-- acknowledged significant progress achieved in the promotion and protection of human rights by the Central American region's countries during the present decade, transforming it into a region of peace and democracy through dialogue; deeply regretted the loss of human lives as well as the loss of harvests, homes and basic infrastructure caused by Hurricane Mitch at the end of 1998; taking into account the close relationship between human rights and sustainable development, it noted the impact of Hurricane Mitch on the enjoyment of human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights; recognized that Hurricane Mitch had negatively affected the development of the Central American region in all its forms, and called for continuation of the extraordinary effort by the countries in the region to preserve the progress achieved thus far and to accelerate their social and economic development; expressed confidence that the Central American democracies would be able to overcome the challenges posed by the effects of Hurricane Mitch and encouraged the continued support of the international community in reconstruction and transformation efforts; expressed once again its solidarity with the countries and peoples of Central America;

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Measures on Country Situations

In measures on country situations, the Commission:

-- expressed its deep concern at the serious human-rights situation in East Timor and at the outbreaks of violence, particularly the recently reported killings of civilians in Liquica and Dili; took into account that talks under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General aimed at achieving a just, comprehensive and internationally acceptable solution to the question of East Timor taking place in New York were now at a critical stage; requested the Secretary-General to present a report on the human-rights situation in East Timor at its fifty-sixth session;

-- decided, without a vote, to retain on its agenda sub-item (a), entitled "Question of human rights in Cyprus" of the current item 9 and to give it due priority at its fifty-sixth session, it being understood that action required by previous resolutions of the Commission on the subject would continue to remain operative.

Country-by-Country Examination of Situations of Human Rights

Under its agenda item on the question of human-rights violations anywhere in the world, the Commission:

-- appealed to all factions and forces in Sierra Leone to respect human rights and abide by applicable international humanitarian law; reminded all in Sierra Leone that in any armed conflict, the taking of hostages, wilful killing and torture or inhuman treatment of persons taking no active part in the hostilities constituted grave breaches of international humanitarian law; decided to discontinue consideration of the situation in Sierra Leone under the private 1503 procedure and to take up the matter under the public procedure of its agenda item on "the question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world";

-- condemned strongly the policy of ethnic cleansing being perpetrated by the Serbian authorities in Kosovo and the risk of destabilization of neighbouring countries; demanded an immediate halt to all repressive actions undertaken in Kosovo by the Serbian authorities, and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Belgrade army and the Serbian military and paramilitary forces from Kosovo; called upon the international community and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to bring to justice the perpetrators of international war crimes and crimes against humanity; underscored the right of all refugees and internally displaced persons to return to their homes in safety and honour;

-- expressed the hope that positive steps would be taken with regard to all human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba; called upon the Cuban

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Government to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion, and to provide the appropriate framework to guarantee the rule of law through democratic institutions and the independence of the judiciary system; called upon the Government to release all persons detained or imprisoned for peacefully expressing their political, religious and social views and for exercising their rights to full and equal participation in public affairs; called upon the Government to consider acceding to human-rights instruments to which it was not yet a party;

-- condemned the mass killings and systematic human-rights violations against civilians and prisoners of war in Afghanistan; noted with deep concern the continuing pattern of human-rights violations in Afghanistan; condemned the widespread human-rights violations; urged all Afghan parties to cease hostilities immediately, and to reaffirm publicly their commitment to international human-rights standards; urged all Afghan parties, and in particular the Taliban, to bring to an end without delay all violations of the human rights of women and girls and to take urgent measures to ensure repeal of all legislative and other measures which discriminated against women; to ensure effective participation of women in all aspects of the life of the country; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan for a further year;

-- supported the political compact between the Government of Burundi and the National Assembly, and the dialogue among Burundians, including the armed factions, taking place in the Arusha peace process; encouraged the Government of Burundi to continue its actions aimed at associating all sectors of Burundian society in the work of national reconciliation; took note of Government efforts to ensure that established legal safeguards for human rights were respected; urged all parties to the conflict to end the cycle of violence and killings; took note of encouraging signs in the struggle against impunity and for the promotion of human rights on the part of the Government; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Burundi for one year;

-- commended the Government of Nigeria for measures already taken to promote human rights, including the release of all political prisoners and detainees; measures to strengthen the judiciary; prison reform; repeal or amendment of decrees that had infringed on various basic human rights; commended the successful holding of free and fair elections; expressed its full support and cooperation with the Government in its efforts to improve national cohesion, develop the country's economy, and build a peaceful and stable Nigeria; and decided to conclude its consideration of the situation of human rights in Nigeria;

-- deplored continued Israeli violations of human rights in southern Lebanon and west Bekaa; called upon Israel to withdraw immediately, totally,

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and unconditionally from all Lebanese territories and to respect the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Lebanon;

-- welcomed the report of the Special Representative which noted that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran plans for a tolerant, diverse and law-abiding society continued to unfold and that their full implementation could have a major impact on human right in Iran; the more open debate taking place on issues of governance and human rights; noted with interest positive statements by the Government about the need to review laws and attitudes which discriminated against women; expressed concern at continuing violations of human rights, in particular the high number of executions, cases of torture, and sentences to stoning and public execution; continued discrimination against religious minorities, continued lack of full and equal enjoyment by women of human rights; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Representative for a further year;

-- strongly condemned systematic, widespread and extremely grave violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law by the Government of Iraq, resulting in an all-pervasive repression and oppression sustained by broad-based discrimination and widespread terror; suppression of freedom of thought, expression, information, association, assembly and movement; summary and arbitrary executions; urged Iraq to cooperate with the Tripartite Commission to establish the whereabouts and resolve the fate of missing persons; to continue to cooperate in the implementation of Security Council resolutions to ensure fully the equitable distribution to the Iraqi population of the humanitarian supplies purchased with the proceeds of Iraqi oil; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further year;

-- welcomed the expressed commitment of the Government of Sudan to respect and promote human rights and the rule of law; improvements regarding freedom of expression and association; efforts to implement the right to education; liberation of political detainees; efforts to address the problem of internally displaced persons; expressed its deep concern at the impact of the current conflict on human rights and its adverse effect on the civilian population; expressed concern at violations of human rights in areas under control of the Government of Sudan and at the widespread occurrence of torture, arbitrary arrest and detention without trial; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further year;

-- welcomed the commitment of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a process of democratization; the Government decision to establish a national commission of inquiry to investigate alleged human-rights violations in the country (formerly Zaire) between 1996 and 1997; expressed concern at the adverse impact of the continuing conflict on the situation of human rights and its severe consequences for the security and well-being of the civilian population; at the preoccupying situation of human rights,

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particularly in the eastern parts of the country, and at continuing violations of human rights throughout the national territory, often with impunity, including the perpetuation of massacres; and called upon the Government to fulfil its responsibility to protect human rights; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a further year;

-- urged Governments to refrain from all acts of intimidation and reprisal against those who sought cooperation with representatives of United Nations human-rights bodies, or who had provided testimony or information to them; requested all representatives of United Nations human-rights bodies, as well as treaty bodies monitoring the observance of human rights, to continue urgent steps to help prevent the hampering of access to United Nations human-rights procedures in any way;

-- reaffirmed the need to provide adequate protection and assistance for persons fleeing from Myanmar; deplored continuing violations of human rights, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, enforced disappearances, torture, abuse of women and children, arbitrary seizures of land and property, and oppressive measures directed at ethnic and religious minorities; continuing violations of the rights of women, especially women refugees, internally displaced women and women belonging to ethnic minorities or the political opposition; continuing violations of the rights of children; escalation in persecution of the democratic opposition; severe restrictions on freedoms of opinion, expression, assembly, and association; called on the Government to ensure the establishment of democracy in accordance with the will of the people; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further year.

-- called for focus on international human rights efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) on the core problems of the lack of full respect for the human rights of all individuals; expressed its grave concern at the ongoing abuse of human rights and the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation; welcomed positive developments in Montenegro with regard to the democratized process; called upon the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to ensure a verifiable stop to all military action and an immediate ending to all violence and repression against the civil population of Kosovo; ensure the withdrawal from Kosovo of all military, police and paramilitary forces; condemned the grave, horrendous and ongoing war crimes and abuses of human rights in Kosovo; insisted that the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia release all political detainees; allow establishment of democratic institutions in Kosovo; expressed grave concern over the overwhelming humanitarian crisis in Kosovo; took note of the progress made in some areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the implementation of the Peace Agreement and improvement in respect for human rights; expressed its serious concern about continuing human rights violations within Bosnia and

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Herzegovina and continuing obstruction of the full implementation of the human rights provisions of the Peace Agreement; called upon all States to meet their obligations to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal, and urged them to support the Tribunal to the fullest extent possible; decided to renew for one year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the region;

-- encouraged the Government of Equatorial Guinea to continue its dialogue with all political parties and to ensure the independence and effectiveness of the national electoral commission, so as to guarantee fair, transparent and democratic conditions in the future; encouraged it to promote the necessary conditions for the full enjoyment of economic, social, and cultural rights, including the rights of the child; encouraged the Government to investigate and impose penalties on those responsible for human-rights violations; and decided to appoint a Special Representative for one year to monitor the situation of human rights in Equatorial Guinea;

-- and welcomed the continuing efforts of the Government of Rwanda to build a State based on the rule of law and respect for human rights; reiterated its strong condemnation of the crime of genocide and the crimes against humanity that were committed in Rwanda in 1994; noted indications of improvement of the situation in Rwanda; recognized that promotion and protection of human rights were essential for achieving security and stability in the Great Lakes region; welcomed the commitment of the Government to promoting national unity and reconciliation; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Representative for another year.

Indigenous Issues

Under its agenda item on indigenous issues, the Commission:

-- welcomed the positive nature of deliberations of the Working Group of the Commission to elaborate a draft declaration in accordance with paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 49/214 of 23 December 1994; recommended that the Working Group meet for 10 working days prior to the fifty-sixth session of the Commission; and encouraged organizations of indigenous people which were not already registered to participate and wished to do so to apply for authorization in accordance with the established procedures;

-- urged the Working Group on indigenous populations of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to continue its comprehensive review of developments and of the diverse situations and aspirations of the world's indigenous people; recommended that the Economic and Social Council authorize the Working Group to meet for five working days prior to the fifty-first session of the Subcommission; and requested the High Commissioner to ensure that the indigenous people's unit in her Office was adequately staffed and resourced;

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-- reaffirmed its support for establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous peoples within the United Nations system, and urged Governments to participate actively in the relevant open-ended inter-sessional ad hoc Working Group established by the Commission to that end; decided to re-establish the Group to meet for eight working days prior to the fifty-sixth session of the Commission; and requested it to submit one or more concrete proposals on the establishment of a permanent forum for consideration by the Commission at that session;

-- and approved the requests of the Subcommission that the Secretary-General transmit as soon as possible the progress report on the relevant working paper on a study of indigenous land rights to Governments, indigenous peoples and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations for their comments and suggestions.

Prisoners/Detainees, Torture Prevention, Administration of Justice

Following consideration of the question of the rights of prisoners and detainees, prevention of torture, and fair and appropriate administration of justice, the Commission:

-- reiterated its unequivocal condemnation of all acts of terrorism, wherever and by whomever committed; called upon States to take all necessary and effective measures, in strict conformity with international law, to eliminate terrorism; urged the international community to enhance cooperation to that end; and called upon States to enhance cooperation with a view to avoiding impunity for terrorists;

-- reaffirmed the importance of the right to a nationality of every human person as an inalienable human right; and recognized that arbitrary deprivation of nationality on racial, national, ethnic, religious or gender grounds was a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

-- reaffirmed that hostage-taking, wherever and by whomever committed, was an illegal act aimed at the destruction of human rights and was, under any circumstances, unjustifiable; demanded that all hostages be released immediately and without any preconditions; and called upon States to take all necessary measures, in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and international human rights standards to prevent, combat, and punish acts of hostage-taking, including by strengthening international cooperation in this field;

-- took note of the report of the Working Group on the draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which was intended to establish a preventive system of regular visits to places of detention; requested the Working Group to meet prior to the fifty-sixth session of the Commission for a

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period of two weeks, with a view to completing expeditiously a final and substantive text, and to report to the Commission at its fifty-sixth session; and requested the Secretary-General to transmit the report of the Working Group to all Governments, the specialized agencies, the chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and to invite them to submit their comments to the Working Group;

-- on the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, jurors and assessors and the independence of lawyers, the Commission invited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to provide technical assistance to train judges and lawyers and to associate with the Special Rapporteur in the elaboration of a manual on the training of judges and lawyers in the field of human rights; and urged all Governments to assist the Special Rapporteur in the discharge of his mandate and to transmit to him all the information requested;

-- called upon Governments to implement fully the prohibition on torture; reminded Governments that corporal punishment, including of children, could amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; stressed that all allegations of torture or cruel treatment or punishment should be promptly and impartially examined, that those responsible must be severely punished, including officials in charge of the place of detention where the prohibited acts were found to have taken place, and that victims must be provided with redress and adequate compensation; reminded all States that prolonged incommunicado detention could facilitate the perpetuation of torture; urged all States to become parties to the Convention against Torture; and appealed to all Governments, organizations and individuals to contribute annually to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, if possible with substantial increases;

-- noted with satisfaction the positive experience of countries that had established policies and adopted legislation on restitution, compensation and rehabilitation for victims of grave violations of human rights; called upon the international community to give due attention to the right to restitution, compensation and rehabilitation; requested the Secretary-General to invite States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to collaborate with the Independent Expert appointed by the Commission and assist him in the performance of his task; and requested the Independent Expert to submit to the Commission at its fifty-sixth session, a revised version of the basic principles and guidelines on the subject;

-- emphasized the importance of combatting impunity for the prevention of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law and urged States to give necessary attention to the question of impunity for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law; recognized that for the victims of human rights violations, public knowledge was essential towards

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rehabilitation and reconciliation, and urged States to intensify their efforts to provide victims of human rights violations with a fair and equitable process through which these violations could be investigated and made public and to encourage victims to participate in such a process; and emphasized the importance of taking all necessary and possible steps to hold accountable perpetrators of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law;

-- strongly condemned acts of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and demanded that all Governments ensure that such acts were brought to an end, noting that impunity continued to be a major cause of such human-rights violations; reiterated the obligation of all Governments to conduct exhaustive and impartial investigations into all suspected cases, to identify and bring to justice those responsible; urged Governments to undertake all possible measures to prevent loss of life during situations of public demonstrations, internal and communal violence, disturbances, tension and public emergency or armed conflicts; and strongly urged Governments to cooperate with and assist the relevant Special Rapporteur and to respond to communications from her;

-- expressed its concern at the extensive occurrence of detention, extrajudicial killing, persecution and harassment, including through the abuse of legal provisions on criminal libel, of threats and acts of violence, and of discrimination directed at persons who exercised their rights to freedom of opinion and expression; expressed concern at the number of cases in which such violations were facilitated and aggravated by factors such as abuse of states of emergency, exercise of powers specific to states of emergency without formal declaration; called for release of persons detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression; invited the Special Rapporteur to draw the attention of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to particularly serious cases, in particular to situations involving women; and

decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further three years;

-- requested Governments concerned to take account of the views of the Working Group on the question of arbitrary detention and, where necessary, to take appropriate steps to remedy the situations of persons arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and to inform the Working Group of such steps; encouraged all Governments to invite the Working Group to visit; and requested them to give the necessary attention to the urgent appeals addressed to them by the Working Group on a strictly humanitarian basis and without prejudging its possible final conclusions;

-- deplored the fact that some Governments had never provided substantive replies concerning the cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances in their countries or acted on the recommendations concerning them made by the relevant Working Group; urged the Governments concerned to

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cooperate with the Working Group, in particular by inviting it to freely visit their countries; and urged them to take steps to protect witnesses and lawyers and families of disappeared persons against any intimidation or ill-treatment;

-- affirmed that democracy fostered the full realization of all human rights; affirmed that the rights of democratic governance included, the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, thought, conscience and religion, of association and peaceful assembly, the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through the media, the right to application of the rule of law; the right of political participation; the right to transparent and accountable Government institutions; the right of citizens to choose their governmental system through constitutional or other democratic means; and the right to equal access to public service; and urged the continuation and expansion of activities carried out by the United Nations system and other relevant organizations to promote and consolidate democracy;

-- and condemned all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief; urged States to ensure that their Constitutional and legislative systems provided adequate and effective guarantees of freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief to all without discrimination, by the provision of effective remedies in cases where the right to freedom of religion or belief, including the freedom to change one's religion or belief, was violated; and urged them to ensure, in particular, that no one within their jurisdiction was deprived of the right to life through intolerance or discrimination based on religion or belief.

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Debate on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights led the Commission to adopt resolutions and decisions which:

-- urged all States to refrain from adopting or implementing unilateral coercive measures not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations; rejected the application of such measures as tools for political or economic pressure against any country, particularly against developing countries; reaffirmed the right of all peoples to self-determination, that essential goods such as food and medicines should not be used as tools for political coercion and that under no circumstances should people be deprived of their own means of sustenance and development; and invited the new Working Group on the right to development to give due consideration to the issue of unilateral coercive measures;

-- stressed that the effects on the full enjoyment of human rights of the economic adjustment policies arising from foreign debt, and, in particular, on the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development called for dialogue between creditor and debtor countries within the United Nations system; stressed that structural-adjustment policies had

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serious implications for the ability of developing countries to abide by the Declaration on the Right to Development and to formulate national development policies; stressed the importance of continuing to implement immediate, effective and durable actions for alleviating the burdens of debt and debt-service of the developing countries; affirmed that the permanent solution to the problem lay in the establishment of a just and equitable international economic order which guaranteed the developing countries better market conditions and commodity prices, stabilization of exchange rates, easier access to financial and capital markets, adequate flows of new financial resources and easier access to the technology of developing countries; emphasized the need for new financial flows to debtor developing countries; requested the Special Rapporteur on the effects of foreign debt to present an analytical report to the Commission; and called upon Governments, international financial institutions and the private sector to consider cancelling or reducing the debt burdens of the countries worst effected;

-- categorically condemned the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes in developing countries; urged all Governments to take legislative and other measures to prevent such trafficking; urged the international community and the relevant United Nations bodies to continue to give appropriate support to developing countries, and to implement existing international and regional instruments for controlling such trafficking and dumping; and urged the relevant Special Rapporteur to undertake a global multidisciplinary study of the topic;

-- reaffirmed that hunger constituted an outrage and a violation of human dignity and a violation to the right to food; reaffirmed the right of everyone to safe and nutritious food; considered intolerable that more than 800 million people, especially women and children, did not have enough food; and invited once again the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to draft and adopt a general comment on the right to food;

-- decided, on the right to drinking-water supply and sanitation services, to call upon the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to review further the scope of a proposed study on the subject;

-- on the topic of the realization in all countries of the economic, social and cultural rights contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and study of the special problems which developing countries faced in their efforts to achieve these human rights, reaffirmed that the ideal of freedom from fear and want could be achieved only if conditions were created whereby everyone could enjoy economic, social and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights; reaffirmed the inextricable link between respect for such rights and the process of development; reaffirmed the importance of international cooperation in realization of such rights; called upon States to

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give particular attention to individuals, most often women and children, especially girls, and communities living in extreme poverty; and decided to request the Special Rapporteur on the right to education to submit a report to the Commission at its fifty-sixth session;

-- decided to request the Economic and Social Council to request the Secretary-General to circulate the report of the relevant Independent Expert on the effects of structural adjustment policies on the full enjoyment of human rights; to extend the mandate of the Independent Expert to assist the open-ended Working Group on structural-adjustment programmes, in particular by elaborating draft basic policy guidelines on structural adjustment policies; and authorized the open-ended Working Group to meet for two weeks well in advance of, but at least four weeks prior to, the fifty-sixth session of the Commission;

-- reaffirmed that extreme poverty and exclusion from society constituted a violation of human dignity and that urgent national and international action was therefore required to eliminate it; that it was essential for States to foster participation by poorest people in the decision-making processes in the societies in which they lived; that the existence of widespread absolute poverty inhibited the full and effective enjoyment of human rights and rendered democracy and popular participation fragile; requested the Independent Expert to continue her reflection of best practices in eradicating extreme poverty; and requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to consider the possibility of holding a workshop with the Independent Expert and experts from the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1999 on the main elements of a possible draft declaration on human rights and extreme poverty.

Right to Development

Under this agenda item the Commission reaffirmed the importance of the right to development, especially for people in developing countries; reiterated that the essence of the right was the principle that the human person was the central subject of development and that the right to life included within it existence in human dignity with the minimum necessities of life; that the existence of widespread absolute poverty inhibited the full and effective enjoyment of human rights; that for peace and stability to endure, national and international cooperation were required to promote a better life for all; reaffirmed that democracy, development and respect for all human rights were interdependent and mutually reinforcing; urged all States to eliminate obstacles to development at all levels.

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Human Rights in Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- condemned continued human-rights violations in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, including in East Jerusalem, in particular continuing acts of wounding and killing perpetrated by Israeli soldiers and settlers against Palestinians, in addition to the detention of thousands of Palestinians without trial, the continuation of the confiscation of Palestinian lands, the extension and establishment of Israeli settlements thereon, the confiscation of Palestinian property and expropriation of their land, the demolition of Palestinian homes and the uprooting of fruit trees, and called upon Israel to cease these acts immediately;

-- called upon Israel, the occupying power of the occupied Syrian Golan, to comply with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Security Council which declared that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction, and administration on the occupied Golan was null and void, and demanded that Israel rescind forthwith its decision; determined that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken or to be taken by Israel that purported to alter the character and legal status of the region were null and void and constituted a flagrant violation of international law;

-- welcomed the Wye River Memorandum of 23 October 1998 and called for the full implementation of the Memorandum, as well as of the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of 28 September 1995 and other related agreements on Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories; expressed grave concern over and strongly condemned all acts of terrorism, while calling upon all parties not to allow any acts of terrorism to affect the on-going peace process negatively; urged the Government of Israel to match its stated commitment to the peace process with concrete actions; and to forego and prevent any new installation of settlers in the occupied territories.

Right of Peoples to Self-Determination

After debating this topic, the Commission:

-- reaffirmed, regarding the situation in occupied Palestine, the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination without external interference and to the establishment of its independent Palestinian State on its national soil with Jerusalem as its capital; and called upon Israel to comply with its obligations and to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem;

-- reaffirmed the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination without external interference and to the establishment of

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its independent Palestinian State on its national soil; and called upon Israel to comply with its obligations and to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem;

-- recognized that armed conflicts, terrorism, arms trafficking and covert operations by third powers encouraged the demand for mercenaries on the global market, and urged all States to take steps to exercise the utmost vigilance against the menace posed by the activities of mercenaries and to take legislative measures to ensure that their territories and other territories under their control were not used for recruitment, financing, training, or transit of mercenaries;

-- and noted with satisfaction the agreements reached between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberacion de Saguia el-Hamra y de Rio de Oro for the implementation of the settlement plan in the Western Sahara; urged the two parties to continue their cooperation with the Secretary-General, his Personal Envoy, and his Special Representative; and reiterated its support for holding a referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara that was impartial and free of all constraints.

Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- called upon States, intergovernmental organizations and specialized agencies, in the context of the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights, to continue to carry out constructive dialogue and consultations for the enhancement of understanding and the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and encouraged non-governmental organizations to contribute actively to this endeavour;

-- emphasized the importance of combatting the impunity of perpetrators of violations of economic, social and cultural rights; invited States to pay attention as appropriate to the question of impunity of violations of human rights and to take suitable measures to address this important issue;

-- commented on globalization and its impact on the full enjoyment of human rights; recognized that, while the promotion and protection of all human rights were the primary responsibility of States , the role of globalization could affect the promotion and protection of these rights; requested all the treaty bodies, Special Rapporteurs/Representatives, Independent Experts, and Working Group of the Commission on Human Rights, to address the issue of the impact of globalization on the full enjoyment of all human rights in their reports;

-- urged the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Department of Public Information to cooperate closely in the realization of

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the development of public information activities in the field of human rights; urged all Member States to develop a comprehensive, effective and sustainable national plan of action for human rights education and public information as an integral part of a broad national plan of action for human rights;

-- called upon all States to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that had not yet done so to consider acceding to or ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty; urged all States that still maintained the death penalty to comply fully with their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child; called upon all States that still maintained the death penalty to progressively restrict the number of offences for which the death penalty may be imposed, establish a moratorium on executions, and to make available to the public information with regard to the imposition of the death penalty;

-- reiterated its invitation to States to promote a culture of peace based on the purposes and principles established in the Charter of the United Nations, respect for all human rights, democracy, education for peace, promotion of sustainable development, tolerance, respect for pluralism, positive acceptance of multiculturalism, the wider participation of women, and equal opportunities for all, as an integral approach to preventing violence in its diverse manifestations;

-- invited Governments, in the context of human rights and bioethics to consider establishing independent, multidisciplinary and pluralist committees of ethics to assess, notably in conjunction with the International Bioethics Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the ethical, social and human questions raised by the biomedical research undergone by human beings and, in particular, research relating to the human genome and its applications;

-- urged all Governments to contribute further to the implementation of the Plan of Action of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education; urged Governments to support further through voluntary contributions the education and public information efforts undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights in the framework of the Decade; urged Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to continue in the context of the Decade the human rights education and public information work undertaken on the occasion of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

-- recognized the desirability of seeking ways of ensuring the fundamental standards of humanity via effective promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals in all situations in a manner consistent with international law; recognized also the vital

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importance of the existence in each country of appropriate national legislation for dealing with such situations in a manner consistent with the rule of law;

-- called upon all States to promote and give effect to the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and to report on activities they had undertaken in this regard;

-- stressed the importance of and the need to implement the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;

-- and decided to withdraw the question of human rights and the follow-up to the guidelines for the regulation of computerized personal data files from its agenda, since the applicable guidelines were progressively being taken into consideration by States; and to request the Secretary-General to entrust the competent inspection bodies with the task of ensuring the implementation of the guidelines by the organizations concerned within the United Nations system.

Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination, Protection of Minorities

Regarding the work of its principal subsidiary body, the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, the Commission:

-- decided to endorse the decision of the Subcommission to appoint a Special Rapporteur to undertake a study on the concept and practice of affirmative action;

-- decided that the Subcommission should further review, in light of ongoing discussions on its working methods, its request that it establish a forum on economic, social and cultural rights, or Social Forum;

-- affirmed that the work of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities could best assist the Commission on Human Rights by providing it with independent expert studies carried out by its members and under its auspices; invited the Subcommission to enhance its efforts to improve on its methods of work by setting a time-frame for consideration of its methods of work and proposing measures to enhance further the independence and expertise of its membership; requested the Subcommission to continue its efforts to avoid duplication with the work of the Commission on Human Rights; requested the Sub-Commission further to improve on its methods of work by focusing on its primary role as an advisory body to the Commission, respecting strictly the principles of independence, impartiality and expertise; and reaffirmed its requests to States to nominate as members and alternate members of the Subcommission independent experts of recognized

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competence in the field of human rights, as well as to respect fully the independence of Subcommission members and alternates;

-- and decided that a proposed Subcommission study on drinking water supply and sanitation services should be given further consideration by the Subcommission.

Specific Groups and Individuals

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- requested States effectively to promote and protect the human rights of migrants; decided to appoint, for a three-year period, a Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants to examine ways and means of overcoming obstacles existing to their full enjoyment of human rights, including obstacles and difficulties for the return of migrants who were non-documented or in irregular situations; to seek and receive information from relevant sources; to formulate recommendations; to promote effective application of international norms in the field; and to recommend actions and measures at the national, regional and international levels;

-- in relation to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, expressed deep concern at growing manifestations of racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination and degrading treatment of migrant workers in different parts of the world; and urged countries of destination to review and adopt appropriate measures to prevent the excessive use of force and to ensure that their police forces and competent migration authorities complied with basic standards of decent treatment of migrant workers and their families;

-- expressed grave concern at contemporary forms of slavery; called upon States to consider reviewing or enacting laws to prevent the use of the Internet for trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children; to take action to protect particularly vulnerable groups, such as children and migrant women, against exploitation of the prostitution of others and slavery-like practices, including the possible establishment of national bodies to achieve this objective, and to develop national plans of action; and requested the Secretary-General to give effect to his decision to reassign to the relevant Working Group a professional staff member of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

-- encouraged the Representative of the Secretary-General to continue his analysis of the causes of internal displacement, the needs of those displaced, measures of prevention and ways to strengthen protection; called upon all Governments to facilitate his activities, in particular those with situations of internal displacement which had not yet extended invitations or

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responded positively to requests for information from the Representative; and welcomed efforts to establish a global information system on such persons;

-- reaffirmed the obligation of States to ensure the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities; urged States and the international community to promote and protect the rights of such persons through facilitation of their participation in all aspects of life and society and the economic progress and development of their countries; and called upon States and other relevant entities to participate actively in the work of the relevant Working Group;

-- invited States, United Nations organs, and international and non-governmental organizations to take all necessary steps to protect HIV/AIDS-related human rights; to strengthen national mechanisms to that end; to eliminate stigmatization of and discrimination against those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, especially for women, children and vulnerable groups; and invited assistance to developing countries, particularly the least-developed countries and those in Africa, to aid their efforts to prevent the spread of the epidemic;

-- and endorsed a recommendation of the Subcommission on its Working Group on Minorities that the Economic and Social Council be requested to establish a voluntary fund for the purpose of enabling representatives of minorities to participate in the work of the Working Group.

Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- decried defamation of religions; reaffirmed that discrimination against human beings on the grounds of religion or belief constituted an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations; and reaffirmed the call of the World Conference on Human Rights for all Governments to take all appropriate measures to counter intolerance and related violence based on religion or belief, including practices of discrimination against women and including desecration of religious sites;

-- and expressed its profound concern and unequivocal condemnation of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; categorically condemned any role played by some print, audio-visual or electronic media in inciting acts of violence motivated by racial hatred; regretted the continued lack of interest, support and financial resources for implementation of the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and that very few of the activities planned for the period 1994-1998 were carried out; decided that the session of the Preparatory Committee for the upcoming World Conference against Racism would

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be headed by the same Bureau, to ensure continuity; and recommended to the General Assembly that, if no offer was made for hosting the World Conference by the end of the first session of the Preparatory Committee to be held in the year 2000 that the World Conference be held in Geneva in 2001, after the session of the Commission but before that of the General Assembly.

Advisory Services in Human Rights

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- declared that advisory services and technical cooperation provided at the request of Governments with a view to developing national capacities in the field of human rights constituted one of the most efficient and effective means of promoting and protecting all human rights, democracy and the rule of law; called upon the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to offer advisory services to all countries irrespective of their economic status; invited the Office of the High Commissioner to institutionalize measures for the systematic follow-up of recommendations made by special rapporteurs and independent experts;

-- affirmed that the High Commissioner remained the focal point for coordinating system-wide attention for human rights, in democracy and the rule of law; expressed its appreciation of the efforts made by the High Commissioner to undertake an analysis of the technical cooperation provided by the United Nations in the field of human rights with the aim of formulating recommendations for inter-agency coordination, funding and allocation of responsibilities in order to improve efficiency and complementarity of action;

-- condemned widespread violations and abuses of human rights and humanitarian law, as well international law on armed conflicts in Somalia; strongly urged all parties to respect human rights and international humanitarian law pertaining to internal armed conflict, and to support the re-establishment of the rule of law throughout the country, to protect United Nations personnel, humanitarian relief workers, and representatives of NGOs and the international media, and to guarantee all persons involved in humanitarian action; called upon all parties to the conflict to work towards a peaceful solution to the crisis; called upon subregional, regional and international organizations to continue and intensify the coordinated efforts aimed at facilitating the national reconciliation process in Somalia; requested the Secretary-General to continue to provide the independent expert with all necessary assistance;

-- invited the Government of Haiti to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; to continue structural reforms in the police and judicial sectors, to investigate

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politically motivated crimes properly and to prosecute perpetrators of such crimes; invited the international community to continue its involvement in the reconstruction and development of Haiti; reiterated its invitation to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to consider favourably the invitation by the Government of Haiti to visit the country;

-- requested the Secretary-General, in collaboration with the office in Cambodia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to assist the Government of Cambodia in ensuring the protection of the human rights of all people in Cambodia; expressed concerns about the problem of impunity; urged the Government of Cambodia to undertake further necessary measures to develop an independent, impartial and effective judicial system; reaffirmed that the most serious human rights violations in Cambodia in recent history were committed by the Khmer Rouge; strongly appealed to the Government of Cambodia to take all necessary measures to ensure that those who were responsible for the most serious violations of human rights were brought to account in accordance with the international standards of justice; welcomed the recent adoption of a five-year action plan by the Government to improve the status of women and urged the Government to continue to take appropriate measures; commended the efforts of the Government of Cambodia to improve the quality of and access to education; noted with serious concern the health status of children and the prevalence of child labour, child prostitution and trafficking in Cambodia and urged the Government to combat these;

Rights of Child

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- urged those States that had not yet done so to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child; called upon State parties to implement the Convention fully; to ensure adequate and systematic training for professional groups working with children; to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls; to eradicate traditional or customary practices, particularly female genital mutilation, that were harmful to or discriminatory against women and girls; called upon all States to take all appropriate measures to prevent the abduction of, sale of, or trafficking in children for any purpose or in any form; reaffirmed that armed conflicts had numerous damaging effects on children and emphasized the need for the world community to focus increased attention on this serious problem; condemned the abduction of children in situations of armed conflict; called on all States to end the use of children as soldiers; called upon all States to consider ratifying the conventions of the International Labour Office relating to child labour; called upon all States to develop sustainable health systems and social services to fully meet the needs of children; and to recognize the right to education on the basis of equal opportunity by making primary education compulsory and ensuring that all children had access to free and relevant primary education;

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-- and took note of the note of the Secretary-General on the abduction of Children from northern Uganda on the findings and recommendations contained in the reports issued in 1997 by United Nations bodies and non-governmental organizations on the abduction of children from northern Uganda; concurred with the comments of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in the conflict in northern Uganda; condemned in the strongest terms all parties involved in the abduction, torture, killing, rape, enslavement and forcible recruitment of children in northern Uganda; demanded the immediate cessation of all abductions and attacks on all civilian populations; called for the immediate and unconditional release and safe return of all abducted children currently held by the Lord's Resistance Army.

Human Rights of Women

The Commission:

-- urged Governments to take appropriate measures to address the root factors that encouraged trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and other forms of commercialized sex, forced marriages and forced labour; encouraged Governments to conclude bilateral, subregional, regional and international agreements to address the problem of trafficking women and girls; invited Governments to encourage Internet service providers to adopt or strengthen self-regulatory measures to promote the responsible use of the Internet with a view to assisting in the elimination of trafficking in women and girls; invited the Special Rapporteur on violence on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography of the Commission on Human Rights and the Working Group on contemporary forms of slavery of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to continue addressing the problem of trafficking in women and girls as a priority concern and to recommend measures to combat such phenomena; encouraged the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality to continue to address the issue as part of the integrated follow-up to the fourth World Conference on Women;

-- emphasized that the goal of mainstreaming a gender perspective was to achieve gender equality; that this included ensuring that all United Nations activities integrated the rights of women; requested all human-rights treaty bodies and other human-rights mechanisms regularly and systematically to take a gender perspective into account in implementing their mandates; encouraged the use of gender-inclusive language; urged all States to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

-- and condemned all acts of gender-based violence against women; strongly condemned physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family; condemned all violations of the human rights of women in situations of armed conflict; requested all Governments to cooperate with and assist the relevant Special Rapporteur in the performance of her tasks and

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duties and to supply all information requested and to respond to the Special Rapporteur's visits and communications; and called upon States to eradicate traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls.

Effective Functioning of Human Rights Mechanisms

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- reaffirmed that developing and strengthening national capacities for the promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with national conditions provided the strongest foundation for effective and enduring regional cooperation in the field of the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asian and Pacific region; reiterated the importance of an inclusive, step-by-step, practical building-blocks approach towards enhancing regional cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with the pace and priorities to be set by the governments of the Asian and Pacific region by consensus;

-- reiterated its support of the statement of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Third Committee at the fifty-second session of the General Assembly, in which she expressed her willingness to ensure a good geographical balance in the composition of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights considered that it was necessary, in the process of restructuring the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to take urgent, concrete and immediate action to change the currently prevailing geographical distribution of staff of the Office in favour of a more equitable distribution of posts, in accordance with article 101 of the Charter; reaffirmed the importance of ensuring universality, objectivity and non-selectivity in the consideration of human rights issues;

-- welcomed the continued cooperation and assistance of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the further strengthening of the existing regional arrangements and regional machinery for the promotion and protection of human rights, in particular through technical cooperation ; welcomed the growing exchanges between the United Nations and the bodies created by the United Nations in accordance with the treaties dealing with human rights, on the one hand, and regional intergovernmental organizations, on the other; welcomed the appointment by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of a regional programme adviser; took note with appreciation the decision made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to make available, at the request of Member States, the services of a regional human rights adviser as a regional project officer in connection with the implementation of technical cooperation in the Asian and Pacific region;

-- and reaffirmed the importance of the development of effective, independent, pluralistic national institutions for the promotion and

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protection of human rights; encouraged Member States to establish or, where they already exist, to strengthen such institutions; welcomed the support for the creation and development of further independent national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms; endorsed the view that national human rights institutions had a potentially crucial role to play in promoting and ensuring the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights; considered it important for national institutions which conformed with the Principles relating to the status of national institutions to be able to participate in an appropriate manner in their own right in the meetings of the Human Rights and its subsidiary bodies.

Organization of Work

The Commission:

-- decided, as expressed in a Chairman's statement, that a review of mechanisms of the Commission in carrying out its work should be continued through an inter-sessional open-ended Working Group; that the Group should continue to examine comprehensively the report of the Bureau on the topic as well as other contributions; and that the Group should be able to complete its work in advance of the next session of the Commission;

-- decided that the fifty-sixth session of the Commission would take place from 20 March to 28 April 2000;

-- and decided to recommend to the Economic and Social Council that it authorize, if possible within existing resources, thirty fully serviced additional meetings, including summary records, for that session; and requested the Chairman of the upcoming session to make every effort to organize the work of the session within the times normally allotted.

Report of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Under this item, the Commission:

-- concerning the strengthening of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, reaffirmed the importance of ensuring universality, objectivity and non-selectivity in the consideration of human-rights issues, and requested the High Commissioner to ensure that the fulfillment of her mandate and the activities of her Office were guided by these principles; reiterated the need to ensure that all necessary financial, material and personnel resources were provided without delay; welcomed the increased voluntary contributions to the Office, in particular those from developing countries; reaffirmed that the tasks of the High Commissioner included promotion and protection of the right to development; called upon her to continue to emphasize the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights; recommended that the Economic and Social Council and the

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General Assembly provide the Office with ways and means commensurate to its increasing tasks, as well as more resources for special rapporteurs.

Officers, Membership

The Chairwoman of the session was Anne Anderson of Ireland. Vice-Chairmen were Shambu Ram Simkhada of Nepal, Romans Baumanis of Latvia, and Luis Alberto Padilla Menendez of Guatemala. Rapporteur was Raouf Catty of Tunisia.

The composition of the Commission for 1999 is as follows: Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Botswana, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

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