NINE EXPERTS ELECTED TO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Press Release
HR/4494

NINE EXPERTS ELECTED TO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, at their twentieth meeting, this morning elected nine members of the Human Rights Committee for four-year terms of office beginning on 1 January 2001.

The new members of the 18-member Committee are: Sir Nigel Rodney (United Kingdom); Maxwell Yalden (Canada); Ahmed Tawfik Khalil (Egypt); Martin Scheinin (Finland); Rafael Rivas Posada (Colombia); Ivan Shearer (Australia); Rajsoomer Lallah (Mauritius); Patrick Vella (Malta); and Maurice Glele Ahanhanzo (Benin).

They will replace the nine experts, whose terms expire on whose terms expire on 31 December.

The nine members still serving on the Committee until 31 December 2002 are: Abdelfattah Amor (Tunisia), Nisuke Ando (Japan), Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (India), Christine Chanet (France), Louis Henkin (United States), Eckart Klein (Germany), David Kretzmer (Israel), Cecilia Medina Quiroga (Chile) and Hipolito Solari Yrigoyen (Argentina).

The Human Rights Committee was established to monitor the implementation of the Covenant and its related protocols in the territory of the States parties. Its 18 members -- independent experts -- are required to be “persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights” and serve for a period of four years, in their personal capacity. The Committee is empowered to consider reports on measures adopted and progress made in achieving the observance of the rights enshrined in the Covenant.

Earlier, Roland Marxer (Liechtenstein) and Amina Mesdoua (Algeria) were elected Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively, of the meeting of States parties.

Bacre Waly Ndiaye, Chief of the New York Office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in an opening statement, announced that Cape Verde had become party to the First Optional Protocol to the Covenant, bringing the total number of States parties to 95. Six additional States had become parties to the Second Optional Protocol to bring the number to 44. States parties to the Covenant itself now total 144.

The First Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides for the confidential consideration by the Human Rights Committee of communications from individuals who claim to be victims of a violation of any of the rights proclaimed in the Covenant. The Human Rights Committee cannot

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receive a communication concerning a State party to the Covenant that is not also a party to that Optional Protocol. The Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant which aims at the abolition of the death penalty, was adopted by the General Assembly on 15 December 1989.

Statement

Bacre Waly Ndiaye, Chief of the New York Office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, opening the meeting on behalf of the Secretary- General, announced Cape Verde had become party to the Optional Protocol to the Covenant since the last meeting of the States parties to the Covenant last September. The total number of States parties to that instrument is now 95, he added.

Six additional States had also become parties to the Second Optional Protocol Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty, bringing the number of States parties to 44. The new members are: Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Monaco, Turkmenistan and the United Kingdom.

He said China, a signatory to the Covenant, had notified the Secretary- General that it would apply the Covenant in the Macao Special Administrative Region, as it already had in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The two regions, which were returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1999 and 1997, were formerly under the administration of two States parties to the Covenant -- Portugal and the United Kingdom respectively. Furthermore, on the occasion of the Millennium Summit, Bangladesh, Botswana and Ghana had ratified the Covenant. He hoped that more States would ratify the Covenant.

Increases in those and in the signing of other United Nations human rights treaties reflected a growing awareness in the world of the importance of human rights and the need to further strengthen and extend the observance of international legal norms, he stated.

Referring to some activities of the Human Rights Committee since 13 September last year, he said it had held three sessions during which it examined 14 initial and periodic reports from States parties. The Committee adopted new consolidated guidelines aimed at reducing the reporting burden on States parties, for instance, by relaxing the strict five-year periods in reporting. It had also allowed greater flexibility in periodic reports, that would in future focus primarily on the Committee's prior concluding observations.

He said the Committee adopted General Comment No.27 on Freedom of Movement (article 12 of the Covenant) and No.28 on Gender Equality (Article 3 of the Covenant). Both general comments took account of the Committee's growing jurisprudence under the Optional Protocol and elucidated many aspects of those very important articles of the Covenant, he said. With regard to the Optional Protocol procedure, he said the Committee had registered 63 new cases up until September last year. A Special Rapporteur on Follow Up monitored the cooperation of States with the Committee's decisions.

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Mr. Ndiaye said it was a matter of great satisfaction that, in an increasing number of high-level cases, the judiciary of States parties to the Covenant had begun to refer to the Committee's decisions in their judgements.

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