SOCIAL COMMITTEE IS TOLD MASS VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS PERSIST, HALF-CENTURY AFTER ADOPTION OF UNIVERSAL DECLARATION

Press Release
GA/SHC/3552

SOCIAL COMMITTEE IS TOLD MASS VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS PERSIST, HALF-CENTURY AFTER ADOPTION OF UNIVERSAL DECLARATION

New Aspects of Problem Reviewed; Common Efforts at Solution Urged

Promoting human rights depended on recognizing the reality that humanity had reached a new era of cooperation beyond confrontation, the representative of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia said this morning to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) as it met to continue considering human rights issues.

The Committee is considering questions related to 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.

The representative told the committee the basic standard of human rights had yet to become a global reality. In the 50th anniversary year of laying down the foundations of humanitarian law through the Universal Declaration, mass scale violations of accepted commitments in the Geneva conventions had occurred. All modern conflicts reaffirmed there could be no peace without respect for human rights.

The representative of China called for nations and individuals to drop the confrontational cold-war mentality and “value superiority” that undermined international activities in human rights.

The representative of Canada said no country was beyond criticism. He spoke out on human rights situations not to lay blame but to look at experiences impacting on human rights in the future. He looked at situations where international human rights law was faltering, so as to call for a common effort in finding a solution.

The representative of Yemen said that while his country was doing everything in its power to advance and protect human rights, no state was perfect. He appreciated the assistance of others. However, he condemned human rights abuses everywhere, including the politicizing of human rights issues.

The representatives of Finland (on behalf of the European Union and associated countries), Indonesia, Libya, Iceland, Guatemala, Mongolia, Costa Rica and the Holy See also addressed the Committee.

The Committee meets again at 3p.m. today to continue its consideration of human rights issues.

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning 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.)

Statements

MARJATTA RASI (Finland) also on speaking for the European Union and associated countries, said all countries were expected to cooperate fully with the human rights mechanisms, and Rapporteurs must be allowed free and unconditional access to any countries they wanted to visit. On the issue of the abolition of the death penalty he said abolition contributed to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights. “Where the death penalty still exists”, he said, “the European Union calls, as a first step, for a moratorium”.

She said the full integration of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into the international community would depend on the effective democratisation of that country and the respect of its international commitments and obligations. Furthermore, all people of Kosovo were urged to comply fully with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), which called for the full withdrawal of Serbian security forces, the ending of the NATO’s air campaign, as well as the deployment of Kosovo Force and the steps under way to establish the interim civil administration of Kosovo. In addition, there was great concern over violence against returnees to Bosnia Herzegovina. “The European Union”, she went on, calls upon all parties to implement their commitment under the Dayton Agreement and to create appropriate conditions for an unrestricted and safe return of minorities to their home areas”.

She said progress with regard to the return of refugees to Croatia remained slow, and people wishing to return home were reportedly subject to harassment. Croatia had failed to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. She said the situation in the Northern Caucasus and the Russian Republic of Chechnya was of great concern, especially, the plight of innocent civilians. In addition, Turkmenistan should implement the United Nations Human Rights Covenants which guaranteed the freedom of opinion, expression, assembly and association. The Government of Uzbekistan was urged to do the same.

The European Union, she went on, was, concerned about the lack of civil and political rights in Belarus and about deficiencies in that country’s legal and judicial system. Also, the status quo in Cyprus remained unacceptable and efforts to find a just, comprehensive and lasting solution should be intensified. Of great concern, she added, were the continuing reports of the use of torture, ill- treatment and extra-judicial killings in Turkey. She also expressed concern over the human rights situations in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, China, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, East Timor, Malaysia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Congo, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Guatemala, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Cuba and Haiti.

The recent developments and actions of the military in Pakistan should be condemned and democracy there should be restored, she said. The continued religious intolerance in India should stop. She welcomed the new positive spirit in the Middle East peace process and hoped the human rights situation there would improve. Also, the early implementation of the Lusaka cease-fire agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo should be encouraged. In addition, the new developments in Algeria were welcomed as well as the Government’s cooperation with international partners. However, terrorism there needed to be condemned.

She expressed concern over the ongoing clashes between ethnic groups in the Delta area in Nigeria. In addition, the recent trend of the use of the death penalty in the Caribbean was of great concern. She hoped for a solution to the long-running internal conflict in Colombia. Peru’s withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights was troubling. She welcomed Mexico’s promotion of human rights education in order to tackle the question of impunity.

RENATO R. MARTINO (Holy See) said the respect for human rights was possible only when the dignity of every human being was recognized and respected. Human rights were, by nature, universal, for they had as their source the equal dignity of every person. The universality of human rights became a point of contention when certain States insisted on the right to accept or reject them in their territory under the pretext of national sovereignty. However, “neither a rigid concept of sovereignty, nor ghetto-like cultural specificity can be used to cover up violations of human rights”, he said. Also, human rights should not be used as a bargaining chip for trade advantages or power politics.

Human rights were universal and indivisible, he said. A selective acceptance of some human rights alone could gradually lead to the abandonment of them all.

ROSS HYNES (Canada) said that despite the adoption of conventions on human rights over the past 50 years, civilians had rarely been so vulnerable. As the Secretary-General had said, civilians had not only become the victims of crossfire, they had become targets. He spoke of grave situations in Afghanistan, Angola, Sudan and the African Great Lakes region, and pointed to the situation in Chechnya as a serious concern. Terrorism could never be excused but neither could it be an excuse for human rights violations, he added.

Summarizing situations of equal concern in Colombia, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Korea, Burma, Pakistan and Iran, he said that among the most encouraging developments in the last six months had been the hope for peace to the shattered societies of East Timor, Sierra Leone and Kosovo. Those countries were just beginning to rebuild their societies after periods of intense strife. Among all societies advancing toward peace, eliminating impunity and the right to free elections were highest priorities. Also, full implementation of internationally binding norms was critical in advancing respect for human rights. All countries should cooperate with the human rights mechanisms and enter into constructive dialogue with the Commission on Human Rights.

No country was beyond criticism, he said. Canada appeared regularly before the human rights treaty bodies and received visits by Special Rapporteurs. Such transparency and peer judgements were important to building an international system based on the rule of law. The aim of speaking on human rights situations was not to lay blame but to look at experiences that could impact on the future promotion and protection of human rights. It was to look at situations where the international rule of human rights law might be faltering, and to call for a common effort in finding a solution. SHEN GUOFANG (China) said humanity had every reason to be proud of its achievements in promoting human rights over the past 50 years. Yet obstacles to enjoyment of rights continued in the form of intolerance, a widening gap between developed and developing countries, and the cold-war mentality of confrontation in the field of human rights, which severely undermined the effective execution of international activities in the field.

Maintaining state sovereignty and protecting human rights were not mutually exclusive, he said. Those who had suffered under foreign aggression during the two World Wars and who had lost their state sovereignty continued to have strong feelings about the issue. Reform of the human rights mechanisms should be a pressing part of the overall reform process of the United Nations. The reform should be aimed at reducing confrontation and enhancing cooperation; correcting the severe imbalance between the two types of rights and giving due priority to the economic, social and cultural rights as well as to the right to development; and improving the efficiency of the Human Rights Commission and making its work genuinely conducive to promoting and protecting human rights worldwide.

Calling for countries and persons to discard their cold war mentality and their confrontational behaviour, he said they should also abandon their so-called “value superiority”. They should enter into human rights dialogue on the basis of equality, mutual respect and the search for common ground while shelving differences so as to enhance understanding, to narrow differences and to promote cooperation. The Chinese people were enjoying human rights and fundamental freedoms unprecedented in their history. “Dialogue, cooperation and equal treatment will bring about a realization of common prosperity for all humankind”, he added.

AGUS SRIYONO (Indonesia) said the success of the promotion and protection of human rights was mainly due to the establishment of a national human rights culture. The role of human rights education was instrumental in creating such a culture. His Government had concluded, together with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a Memorandum of Understanding on technical cooperation in the field of human rights. The Memorandum covered a national plan of action for the promotion of human rights; human rights education; national institutions for the promotion of human rights; and strategies for the realization of the right to development.

Globalization had increased the risk of marginalization among developing countries, he said. Many of those countries had suffered severe economic crises and their ability to fulfil their duties with regard to the rights to development had been hindered. The participation of developing countries in the decision- making process of global macroeconomic policy issues was of paramount importance. Also, the investigation of alleged human rights violations in East Timor was still under way and no conclusion should be drawn as of yet.

AL-HAJAJJI (Libya) said human rights should be universal and should be treated in a non-selective manner. The right to development needed to be translated into reality. Human rights not only meant democracy, but also the eradication of poverty. Some countries called themselves “the custodians of human rights”. When their interest did not go along with the interests of the concerned State, they claimed that human rights violations had been committed. This was a gross violation of the rights of the affected State.

She said the monitoring of elections and the dispatching of missions to other countries were not the rights of the international community, but were “a means of cooperation”. However, such cooperation was voluntary. Military aggressions with the pretext of protecting human rights an in the absence of any United Nations resolutions had been witnessed in the international arena. That was a violation of the right of non-interference.

ELIZABETA GORGIEVA (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said she hoped the six core human rights treaties would be universally ratified by the year 2003 in accordance with the initiatives of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights. At the same time, success in protecting and promoting rights still depended on the reality that humanity had reached a new era of cooperation and integration beyond the period of mere coexistence and confrontations.

The basic standard of human rights had yet to become a global reality, she said. In the year of the anniversary of laying down the foundations of humanitarian law, mass-scale violations of the accepted commitments contained in the Geneva conventions had occurred. Her own region was still facing the consequences of a humanitarian disaster. Implementing the international laws on refugees and the Convention against genocide was vital. The Kosovo crisis and all conflicts worldwide had reaffirmed the fact there could be no peace without continuous respect and development of human rights and freedoms. Peace, in turn, was the necessary framework for democracy, making respect for human rights a prerequisite for stability. While responsibility for implementing accepted standards belonged to the State, respect for human rights was also the legitimate concern of civil society and the international community.

Regional organizations were critical for helping States to implement human right norms, she said. The Council of Europe had established the Stability Pact to achieve a long-desired goal, the stability of democratic societies and their economic prosperity in the region of South-Eastern Europe. Protecting national minorities in a region was a common interest of all States in a region; it was not an exclusive internal affair of states.

THORSTEINN INGOLFSSON (Iceland) took particular note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance. In today’s globalizing world of growing interdependence, he said, people of different beliefs and religions were increasingly interacting. That required the reinforcement of efforts by everyone to strengthen tolerance and mutual respect -- the essential preventative measure against conflicts. A culture of prevention demanded strict adherence to fundamental human rights, including that of freedom of religion and belief.

He cited the situation of women in Afghanistan which he said was a gross violation of rights on the basis of religion where the victims had no recourse. While there were welcome signs of an improving human rights situation in Iran, the continued lack of respect for the Baha’i religious minority in that country still of special concern.

He said that focusing on prevention, primarily through education, was the key to eliminating religious intolerance. It was critical to achieve that, in an age when racism and xenophobia overlapped with manifestations of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or conviction. Words must be chosen carefully when talking of the delicate issue of religious extremism. Whole religious minorities should be not branded as fanatics because a few members were extremists and were more visible than the majority. Religious extremists must not be allowed to create intolerance toward others practicing the same religion.

LUIS F. CARRANZA (Guatemala) said the United Nations mission for Guatemala (MINUGUA) had helped restore peace after almost 34 years of internal armed conflict. The 5th MINUGUA report had clearly stated that there had been progress on the implementation of the global agreement and in the decrease of human rights violations. There had also been a decrease in tortures. Reparations for victims of violations of human rights was essential; he hoped this would lead to national reconciliation for all Guatemalans.

The Office of the Secretary of Peace in Guatemala and the Agency for International Development had signed an agreement to assist the victims of human rights violations such as women and orphans. Only two days ago, transparent and democratic elections in his country had taken place, as part of the peace accords. All of those taking part in such elections had expressed their commitment towards respecting all accords.

OCHIR ENKHTSETSEG (Mongolia) said that in order to implement the right to development, an international convention was necessary. She welcomed the upcoming Human Development Report 2000 to be developed under the theme of “Human Development and Human Rights” with a view to identifying the best practices in promoting human rights.

Advisory services and technical assistance were important in strengthening human rights and democratic infrastructures in many countries, she said. Also, the development of regional cooperation for the protection and promotion of human rights was essential. She welcomed the development of the Framework for Regional Technical Cooperation in the Asian and Pacific region in 1998. Such cooperation had focused on the following: the development of national plans of action for human rights; human rights education; and strategies for the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights as well as the right to development

DEYANIRA RAMIREZ (Costa Rica) said she condemned the fighting and war that caused violations of human rights, particularly with regard to the right to life, the most fundamental of all. The death penalty, abortion and euthanasia were all issues of concern. She described initiatives her country had undertaken to protect human rights, both nationally and in the region, including through membership in the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights. She noted a number of celebrations her country would hold to promote human rights, she said political will and commitment were the requirements for ensuring human rights.

WALID ABDULWAHED EL-ETHARY (Yemen) said his government was promoting human rights and working to eliminate all obstacles to achieving their enjoyment. Yemen had entered into international instruments protecting rights and it had an established an institution at a high level both to promote awareness of human rights and to monitor implementation of the human rights instrument. The government was doing its best to advance human rights but all actions had their shortcomings. The contributions of others to Yemen’s betterment were appreciated. No rights could be enjoyed as long as an individual was suffering hunger and ignorance. Human rights should therefore be considered in the context of overall social conditions. He said he deplored all violations of human rights wherever they occurred, as well as the politicization of those rights.

* *** *