ASSEMBLY ASKED TO SEEK SUPPORT FOR CRIME PREVENTION ACTIVITIES IN FUNDING POLICIES FOR DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

Press Release
GA/SHC/3549

ASSEMBLY ASKED TO SEEK SUPPORT FOR CRIME PREVENTION ACTIVITIES IN FUNDING POLICIES FOR DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

Social Committee Approves Text: Reports Received on Haiti, Balkan Countries, Rwanda, Iraq, Burundi as Human Rights Debate Continues

The General Assembly would urge States and funding agencies to review, as appropriate, their funding policies for development assistance and to include a crime prevention and criminal justice component in such assistance by the terms of a draft resolution approved by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this afternoon.

Also by that orally revised draft, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to take all necessary measures to assist the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, as the principal policy-making body in this field. Furthermore, Member States would be invited to support, through voluntary contributions to the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Fund, the operational activities of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme.

Also today, the Committee continued its discussion on human rights issues.

The Independent Expert on the situation of Human Rights in Haiti said that country’s entire legal system was suffering. There were many violations of human rights throughout the legal system and the Court system had fallen apart. The necessary resources and assistance should be provided so that the new school for judges could play a key part in returning justice to Haiti.

Warning that changes in borders in the Balkans could lead to additional atrocities, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia said only tolerant, democratic multi-ethnic communities could guarantee the stability in the region and the respect for human rights.

The Special Representative on the situation of human rights in Rwanda, said his primary goal had been to organise a Round Table so as to start a public discussion on the objectives and priorities of the National Human Rights Commission. An appeal had been launched for the international

Third Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/SHC/3549 35th Meeting (PM) 5 November 1999

community to forgive Rwanda’s national debt, which had been acquired through loans and used to purchase all kinds of weapons used by the perpetrators of genocide.

There was overwhelming evidence that the government of Iraq was committing gross violations of its people’s rights, said the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in that country. Millions were suffering because the Government did not distribute humanitarian assistance to the people, as it had done through the oil-for-food programme. Even though sanctions diminished the ability of the State to take care of its people, it was still responsible for doing so.

Saying that the Government of Burundi should suspend its forced displacement policies, the Special Rapporteur on that country said that following rebel attacks the government had began such policies. There were about 50 camps where those people had been taken, without adequate food or appropriate health services. Even though the Government had said the camps were necessary to protect the population, their reasoning was unfounded.

A statement from the Special Representative on the situation of internally displaced persons said great difficulty arose in the mandate of his office when borders moved around people rather than people across or within borders. Internally displaced persons could become refugees overnight while refugees could become internally displaced as had recently happened in East Timor.

The Director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said a noticeable achievement in integrating human rights in the development process was the adoption of a comprehensive, multidimensional and practical approach to human rights and the right to development.

The Special Representatives and Special Rapporteur engaged in a dialogue with representatives.

Taking part in the dialogue were the representatives of Haiti, Finland (also speaking for the European Union), Cuba, Albania, Denmark, Croatia, the Russian Federation, Canada, Rwanda, China, United States, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, Burundi, United Republic of Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, India and Jamaica.

Also today, the Committee heard the introduction of draft resolutions the promotion and protection of the rights of children; and on human rights questions: the implementation of human rights instruments.

The Committee will meet again Monday, 8 November at 10 a.m. to continue its consideration on issues related to human rights questions.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this afternoon to continue its consideration of human rights issues, including alternative approaches for improving human rights; human rights situations; follow-up to the Vienna Declaration; and the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (For background information, see press releases GA/SHC/3546 and 3547 of 4 November.)

The Committee is also expected to hear the introduction of draft resolutions.

By the terms of a draft on the girl-child (document A/C.3/54/L.46), the Assembly would stress the need for full and urgent implementation of the rights of the girl-child as guaranteed under all human rights instruments. It would urge all States to take all necessary measures and to institute legal reforms to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of her rights. It would urge them to enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage was entered into only with the free and full consent of the intended spouses and would urge States to fulfil obligations under United Nations conventions, as well as to enact and enforce legislation to protect girls, taking special measures.

Further, the Assembly would urge States to formulate comprehensive, multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes and strategies to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. It would call upon the international community to promote human rights education and the full respect for an enjoyment of the human rights of the girl-child, stressing the importance of a substantive assessment of the implementation of the Platform of Action with a life- cycle perspective.

The draft is sponsored by Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, united Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

By terms of a draft resolution sponsored by Guyana on measures to combat contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (document A/C.3/54/L.26), the Assembly would declare that racism and racial discrimination were among the most serious violations of human rights in the contemporary world and must be combated by all available means. The Assembly would express its profound concern about, and unequivocal condemnation of, all forms of racism and racial discrimination, in particular racial violence and propaganda or activities based on doctrines of racial superiority. The Assembly would also express profound concern and condemnation of all manifestations of racism and stereotyping of migrant workers or their families and of persons belonging to minorities or vulnerable groups. Also, the Assembly would express deep concern about the increase in racial and xenophobic violence, particular in Europe and North America, where the numbers of associations established on racist or xenophobic platforms was increasing.

By the draft, the Assembly would condemn the misuse of print, media and new technology, including the Internet, for the purpose of inciting violence motivated by racial hatred. It would urge all Governments to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur on racism and would call for international participation in events to carry out, promote and disseminate actions ensuring success for 2001 as the International Year of Mobilization against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, in particular the outcome of the World Conference against racism to be held that year.

By terms of a 43-power draft on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (document A/C.3/54/L.50), the Assembly would urge all States that had not done so to become parties to the relevant Convention. It would urge them to accept all its provisions and to comply strictly with their obligations under the Convention. Further, it would urge them to take into full account the conclusions of the Committee against Torture. It would emphasize the obligation of States parties to ensure education and training for personnel involved with those vulnerable to torture treatment and calls upon them to cooperate with and to assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of his task.

The resolution is sponsored by Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cote D’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Venezuela.

By terms of a draft resolution on the International Covenants on Human Rights (document A/C.3/54/L.52). By that draft, the General Assembly would strongly appeal to all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as to accede to the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to make the declaration provided for in article 41 of the Covenant.

Also by the text, the importance of avoiding the erosion of human rights by derogation would be stressed. In addition, States parties would be urged to fulfil in good time such reporting obligations under the international covenants on human rights at the national level, including in the national reports of States parties, and in the work of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The draft resolution is sponsored by Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The Committee is expected to take action on a draft resolution on “strengthening the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, in particular its technical cooperation capacity” (document A/C.3/54/L.24). By that draft, the General Assembly would urge States and funding agencies to review, as appropriate, their funding policies for development assistance and to include a crime prevention and criminal justice component in such assistance. Also, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to take all necessary measures to assist the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, as the principal policy-making body in this field. Furthermore, Member States would be invited to support, through voluntary contributions to the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Fund, the operational activities of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme.

The draft is sponsored by Austria, Bahamas, Belarus, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Turkey and Ukraine.

Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Benin, Canada, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Japan, Lesotho, Netherlands, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Thailand, United Kingdom and Egypt became co-sponsors when the representative of Italy introduced the draft on 2 November.

Introduction of Draft Resolutions

The representative of (Namibia) introduced the draft resolution on issues related to the promotion and protection of the rights of children entitled “The girl child”. Additional sponsors for the draft are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cameroon, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Guinea Bissau, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Mongolia, Israel, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Two draft resolutions on implementation of human rights instruments were introduced. The first, entitled “Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”, was introduced by the representative of Denmark. Angola, Ecuador and Senegal were added to the sponsors.

The representative of Sweden introduced the draft resolution on “International Covenants on Human Rights”. The following countries joined as sponsors: Belgium, Croatia, France, New Zealand, Liechtenstein, Panama, Republic of Moldova, the Former Republic of Macedonia and Venezuela.

Next, the Committee took up the draft resolution on “Strengthening the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, in particular its technical cooperation capacity” (A/C.3/54/L.24). The following countries were added as sponsors: Dominican Republic, Mongolia, Solomon Islands, Guinea, Norway, Panama, Tajikistan, United States and Uzbekistan.

The representative of the Bahamas said his country had withdrawn its sponsorship of that draft.

That draft was approved by the Committee without a vote.

Human Rights in Haiti

ADAMA DIENG, the Independent Expert on the situation of Human Rights in Haiti, said there were possible implications for United States citizens in human rights issues in Haiti. Documents that included abuses conducted during the “Raboteau” massacre of 22 April 1994 were still in the hands of the United States.

Haiti’s legal system was suffering, he continued. The whole chain of the justice system was not working well and there were many violations of human rights through the legal system. The Court system had fallen apart. A “school for judges” would play a key part in returning justice to Haiti. The necessary resources needed to be provided in order to improve the legal system. Donors should be encouraged to provide funds as the European Union had done. There was great corruption and bribery.

Violence had become more prevalent, he went on. Several policemen had been implicated in violence and killings. Drug trafficking was also growing. The international community needed to support Haiti in its efforts at improving its police system. A climate of insecurity prevailed. That situation needed to change for the elections of March 2000 to take place. There were about 200,000 children called “restaveks” who lived as domestic slaves. That practice needed to stop. Also, more than one million children had no access to education. Future generations should not be deprived of that right. Haiti had succeeded in building a democratic State. However, there were still many problems including that of poverty. In addition, the problem of HIV/AIDS was considerable, with 11 per cent of the population in the cities infected and 5.3 per cent of the rural population infected.

PIERRE LELONG (Haiti) said the government was avoiding repression even in the presence of agents provocateurs. The government had not forgotten the human rights of its people. It was working with children’s advocates and women’s groups. Following the dissolution of the armed forces, a new police force had been set up. There were isolated cases of abuse by them, but the force was tackling the problem of insufficient security. A programme entitled “Community Police” was helping to advance relations between the community and the police. There were only 6,000 police for eight million people and they were having to deal with the problems of drug trafficking.

He said Haiti no longer faced the gangsterism among its own numbers that was associated with drug trafficking. It was saddled, however, with a big problem created by lawbreakers relocating to Haiti after being deported from elsewhere. What was the point of having laws in Haiti if those who had abused them went free? The government was pursuing those persons, but it ran into problems when trying to extradite criminals who had escaped abroad, or when trying to regain documents that had been seized after the coup. It was difficult to appreciate the situation in Haiti without looking at the big picture. The country had been ruined after the coup d’etat. It now saw what it had regained and what still needed to be done.

The representative of Finland asked if there were some way of protecting women from harassment after they spoke up in cases of domestic abuse. What was to be said about educating children over the age of 11?

Cuba’s representative commented on the need to return documents, to enable prosecution of criminals and thus end impunity.

MR. DIENG said liberties were respected but vigilance was required with regard to the fairness of the elections. As for Haitian lawbreakers who were “re- deported” to Haiti, as from the United States, he had stressed the importance of Haitian police receiving help from the police of the deporting countries, to counter the kind of delinquency to which Haiti was not accustomed.

With regard to domestic abuse, he said that with women’s rights advocates working together, harassment had eased. There was a time when judges let rapists go with the comment that the woman had asked for trouble by the way she dressed. There had been a time when judges let abusive husbands go, saying the woman should have obeyed her husband. Things were changing. That was no longer accepted.

As for the return of documents that the United States had taken, he would be open to discussing the issue.

JIRI DIENSTBIER, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia told the Committee, “If we are to improve the human rights standards in the Balkans, we have to pursue a comprehensive political, economic and humanitarian strategy for all of South Eastern Europe”. Bosnia and Croatia had been largely overshadowed by the Kosovo crisis and the war this year. However, the main problems in those countries had remained the same for almost a decade. Bosnia and Herzegovina was not a single multi-ethnic country as the Dayton agreement had intended it to be. The international community had failed to realize its political goals.

The consequences of the Kosovo conflict continued to be felt all over the Balkans, he continued. In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia fear continued to fuel the movement of populations, “cleansing” the demography and creating “pure” areas and enclaves. The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a common State was not guaranteed. Moreover, the old dream of dividing the country between Serbia and Croatia was still alive. Croatia needed to enable the return of its citizens of Serbian ethnicity. There were about between 30 thousand and 35 thousand Croatian Serbians in Republica Srpska, many of them in houses belonging to Bosnians and Bosnian Croats. Also, specific attention should be paid to Muslim Slavs/Bosnians who continued to leave the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, particularly Kosovo and Serbian Sandzak.

International efforts to avert the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the destruction and collapse of the civilian infrastructure, of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including energy sources for heating, had been rare, he went on. Little humanitarian aid was available to the nearly 900,000 refugees in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia outside Kosovo. Furthermore, the international community needed to understand that all embargoes and sanctions brought suffering only to people, never to rulers. The end of sanctions and embargoes would offer the Yugoslav people the chance to help themselves.

Only the development of tolerant democratic multi-ethnic communities could guarantee the stability in the region and the respect for human rights, he said. Changes of the borders in the Balkans could only lead to additional atrocities.

The representative of Albania said the report was slanted against the Albanians and in favour of the Serbs. It mentioned little of the spring crisis in Kosovo and it made general criticisms about Albania whereas it was very specific about facts related to Serbia. It was unbalanced. For example, the report mentions one church that was damaged while making no mention of 200 mosques being destroyed. The Special Rapporteur also went beyond his mandate and speculated about the outcome of the crisis in Kosovo. Mr. Dienstbier should no longer be the Special Rapporteur for the area.

Finland’s representative asked for a description of judicial problems. How great was the emotional anguish in the area and how reliable were the statistics on Kosovo?

The representative of Denmark asked whether there was any information on the parliamentary Ombudsman position, particularly with regard to property issues.

The representative of Croatia said the report did not mention many positive facts about Croatia. For example, there was a Council of Europe mission presently overseeing implementation of decisions made by that Council. The Special Rapporteur had visited Croatia only unofficially and had involved himself in a dispute over a football player wanting to transfer to the United States. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur in Bosnia should be clarified.

The representative of the Russian Federation said he had been alarmed to hear of the level of ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo. Soon there would be no Serbs in Kosovo. The conclusions of the report should be part of a resolution. The Special Rapporteur should describe the level of armed humanitarian interference.

MR. DIENSTBIER said he understood the difference in perspective between himself and the representative of Albania. It was not true that he had stayed quiet on the events in Kosovo. His mandate was to describe human rights violations regardless of who committed them. The debate could continue at length. With regard to emotional anguish, he said politicians were tough and should not suffer from that.

Those from formerly communist countries were well familiar with problems of the judiciary, he continued. Political influence was a tradition that had to be broken. No numbers on Kosovo were reliable except for the numbers of those registered. The Ombudsman was working well. He was often attacked for his position but he acted independently and built the culture of respect for the law.

The representative of Cuba said she regretted the manner in which the Special Rapporteur had referred to the legal system in communist countries. The functioning of the United Nations was based on the existing variety of forms of Government.

MICHEL MOUSSALLI, Special Representative on the situation of human rights in Rwanda, said his primary goal had been to organise a “round table” so as to start a public discussion on the objectives and priorities of the National Human Rights Commission. The round table had gathered representatives from civil society of Rwanda and of the main institutions of the country, as well as regional and international representatives. Three working groups had been created: the first examined the issues concerning the legal framework and the mandate of the Commission; the second assesed the protection and promotion activities of the Commission; and the third group dealt with cooperation and partnership on the national, regional and international level.

During the round table the following considerations were amongst those that had been retained: to make sure that the Commission could examine and follow up on the complaints brought forward by individuals or groups of individuals who had been victims of violations of human rights; to make sure that victims of violations received the proper compensation; and to develop multi-level cooperation so as to promote education and the recognition of human rights throughout all classes.

An appeal had been launched to the international community so that Rwanda’s national debt could be forgiven, he said. The national debt mostly stemmed from international loans made during the period of 1990-1994. Those loans were said to have been embezzled by the former authorities in order to purchase all kinds of weapons used by the perpetrators of genocide. The financial and technical support by the international community was essential.

The representative of Canada asked how human rights Non-governmental Organizations could be strengthened in Rwanda.

The representative of Finland, also for the European Union, inquired about the displaced persons.

JOSEPH MUTABOBA (Rwanda) said activities were under way to press the adoption of a law that would allow women and girls to inherit property. A human rights culture did not exist in his country; that was not because of a lack of political will or bad faith, but the population had endured so much that it had been difficult to take steps forward. The cooperation of all in the international community was imperative in order to achieve any progress in Rwanda. He said the international community had been very “laid back” with regard to the prisoners in his country. His Government had done all it could. A total of 17,847 prisoners had pleaded guilty. Of that figure, only 294 had been sentenced to capital punishment. There were some in the international community who wanted “to blacken” his country’s name. There had been some anarchy in his country but actions towards progress were under way.

Mr. MOUSSALLI said that if the international community wanted to cooperate in building the culture of human rights in Rwanda, it should contact the human rights groups in Rwanda. Through contact with those groups, the international community could be the conduit for communication between them and the National Commission on Human Rights, which was the newly established central human rights body. Switzerland had expressed an interest in financing a roundtable involving agencies and the groups on the ground but before that could occur, the groups needed to organize, a step for which they needed technical support. Some informal mechanism should be established in Kigali that would be composed of representatives from the two Rwandan national bodies involved in civil rights, agencies and donor countries. That mechanism should meet regularly on an informal basis to help the National Commission deliver its mandate.

With regard to the return of refugees, he said it was quite an achievement that a small country like Rwanda had absorbed about three million refugees in a short time. Refugees were generally returned to their areas of origin but that was not always possible. The legislation the government was proposing to implement a resettlement plan would focus on stressing that relocations should be without coercion and with guarantees that services would be provided to the people, along with pilot projects being tested out to determine what was needed. It was true that a human rights culture did not yet exist in Rwanda, but it was on the way. That culture needed help and it needed peace to become established.

BACRE WALY NDIAYE, the Director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, introduced three reports: that of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iraq, MAX VAN DER STOEL; that of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burundi, MARIE-THERESE KEITA-BOCOUM; and that of the Representative of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, FRANCIS DENG.

He said the report on Iraq indicated that the situation continued to be serious. Many people continued to be missing and grave violations of human rights were occurring in the south of the country. Military attacks against the people had begun in 1998 and continued in the present. Iraqi forces were razing towns to the point of denuding the area of vegetation. Millions of innocent people in Iraq were suffering because the government did not distribute humanitarian assistance to the people, as it had been enabled to do through the oil for food programme. The government was not doing enough to maximize its assistance to the vulnerable among its people.

Sanctions diminished the ability of the State to take care of its people’s social, cultural and economic rights, he said. But the State was responsible for that, and for still taking care of its people’s rights. Instead, there was overwhelming evidence that the government was committing gross violations of its people’s rights. In this day and age, it had become customary for the international community to step in wherever human rights were grossly violated. Nine years after the Special Rapporteur’s mandate in Iraq was established, the government of Iraq had yet to comply with any recommendations. It had not replied to communications and it had refused to allow human rights monitors into the country. Without international intervention, impunity would continue.

Mr. Ndiaye read the statement on the situation of human rights in Burundi by the Special Rapporteur to that country. He said there was a sense of insecurity there, with a constant changing of the country’s political parties. Insecurity was due to the ongoing armed conflict, the degradation of the economy and ethnic conflicts. The destruction of infrastructure and the lack of investment in development had affected the country. There was a spread in human rights violations and physical attacks by rebels and members of the State.

Following rebel attacks, the Government had began the forced displacement of populations, he said. There were about 50 camps for those people, without adequate food or appropriate health services. The Government had said the camps were necessary to protect the population, but, their reasoning was unfounded. The current legislation was discriminatory against women, who could not inherit, had no land rights and could not earn from their work. Peace and security needed to be established in Burundi in order to achieve respect for human rights. The Government of Burundi must be called to suspend its forced displacement policies.

Mr. Ndiaye also read the statement of the Special Representative on the situation of internally displaced persons. He said the Office of Internally Displaced Persons had been actively organizing regional and national workshops on internal displacement in collaboration with regional organizations. A handbook had been prepared as well as a Manual on Field Practice in Internal Displacement. A global information network on internal displacement had been developed. Efforts in developing appropriate legal and institutional frameworks on internal displacement could only be meaningful if they were translated into practical measures that provided protection and assistance to the afflicted population in crisis situations.

Far from the cameras that focus on the Kosovar refugees flooding into Albania and Macedonia, he said, there were hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons whose whereabouts and conditions were unknown to the international community and many of whose tragic fate was only now being discovered. The international response in such circumstances needed to be more comprehensive and to encompass both sides of the border, so as to include those who remained trapped between.

Internal displacement of ethnic Serbs and Roma continued in Kosovo, he said. Their protection must be of international concern. Also, “as the Kosovo crisis has made us aware, the United Nations cannot allow national or regional interests to become a basis for a selective response internationally”. International resources could not be concentrated in one geographic area while leaving other areas unprotected and unassisted.

The Office of Internally Displaced Persons had very limited resources, he said. The Special Representative was permitted to take only 2 or 3 trips per year, because of limited funds. That was less than satisfactory considering that there were 20 to 25 million displaced persons. Another difficulty of the mandate occurred “when borders moved around people rather than people across or within borders”. In such cases, internally displaced persons could become refugees overnight, while refugees could become internally displaced. Such was the case in the former Yugoslavia, the former Soviet Union, and more recently, East Timor.

Speaking in his own capacity as Director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, MR. NDIAYE recalled activities in support of the right to development that had been taken in the past year by his office, by the Commission on Human Rights and by the Independent Expert the Commission had appointed in 1998 along with the Working Group on the Right to Development. Those included workshops at the regional level during which experts had exchanged views on the inter-relationship between democracy, rights-based societies and development.

He said a noticeable achievement in integrating human rights in the development process had been the adoption of a comprehensive, multidimensional and practical approach. Widened cooperation between his Office and its partners, including financial institutions, was a cornerstone of the policies being pursued to improve the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The upgrading of economic, social and cultural rights was an essential component of the realization of the right to development.

Giving an update of economic and social rights-related mandates created by the Commission on Human rights, he said there were many alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights. Those included the setting up of independent national human rights institutions, improving and increasing international cooperation, and promoting human rights education. An effective realization of the right to development was a promotion of all rights in a comprehensive, interdependent and universal way.

MARC NTETURUYE (Burundi) said he would clarify the political and human rights environment of his country. Human rights violations occurred when a civil war had been raging. The Burundi rebels had established connections with neighbours. In implementing the Lusaka agreement, the government had no choice but to protect its people from attacks across its borders. The government had regrouped people into sites of protection, fully aware of the human rights dangers caused by such a situation. The government did not regroup as a policy. It was doing so in order to protect the people from being used as human shields by the rebels. In the meantime, the government was accompanying people to tend their fields and they would be returned home at the earliest opportunity.

The government had a responsibility to protect its people, he said. The murder of humanitarian workers was an example of the lawlessness of the rebel forces. Burundi had requested the United Nations to set up an international tribunal. The government intended to continue inclusive political talks until a political solution was found. The tribal animosity purported to be characteristic of Burundi was a false perception, since the first tribal clash in the country had occurred in 1965. Action had to be taken against those destroying the social fabric of the country.

Freezing cooperation with Burundi would only make matters worse, he said. “Social explosion is at our door”, he added. It would collapse every attempt at peace. The region had to be stabilized by neutralizing those who were marauding the area. Burundi was pursuing peace and all should help.

The representative of the United Republic of Tanzania said her Government enjoyed good relationships with its neighbouring countries. It had hosted Burundi refugees as well as refugees from other countries. It had never been a policy of her Government to host rebel elements.

The representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo denied the allegations made against her country on genocidal terrorists being allied with her Government. The real reason for instability in the Great Lakes region could be found in Burundi itself where there was no unity.

The representative of India asked for clarification of the reference made to his country facing a serious problem of internal displacement.

The Russian Federation inquired about the “invalid conclusions” made regarding his country and Chechnya. No information had been requested from his Government.

The representative of Jamaica referred to the draft resolution on the abolition of capital punishment planned to be introduced by the European Union. She said international law did not prohibit the imposition of the death penalty. States were sovereign to impose the judicial systems they desired. The death penalty was imposed on the most serious crimes in her country. She called on the co-sponsors of that draft to withdraw it.

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