COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES FIFTY-SEVENTH SESSION

Round-up of Session

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES FIFTY-SEVENTH SESSION

Appoints Special Rapporteur for Indigenous People; Ends Mandates

Of Special Representative on Rwanda, Special Rapporteur on the Former Yugoslavia

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 27 April (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights concluded this morning its six-week session for 2001, having debated a wide series of human rights matters and having decided to appoint a new special rapporteur on the human rights of indigenous people; a new independent expert on the topic of “international solidarity” and increased assistance to developing countries for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights; a new independent expert on the subject of enforced disappearances, to be joined by a working group on the topic to be created at the Commission’s session in 2002; and a new independent expert to work on a draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Commission also appointed a new special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after ending the mandate of the special rapporteur assigned to monitor states of affairs in those two countries along with Croatia.  The move followed several years of contention by Croatia that it no longer deserved such scrutiny.

The Commission similarly voted to end the mandate of its Special Representative on the situation of human rights in Rwanda and to end consideration of Rwanda under its agenda item on the question of human rights violations anywhere in the world.

The Commission, at its fifty-seventh session, approved Chairman’s statements on situations in East Timor, Colombia, and Haiti; and held a day-long “special dialogue” on the subject of tolerance and respect.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, presented reports on situations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories -- following a special session of the Commission on the matter last fall -- Colombia, the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian Federation, and on the abduction of children from northern Uganda.

Mrs. Robinson surprised the Commission on the first day of its 2001 session by announcing she would not seek a second four-year term at her post, but later agreed to a one-year extension as High Commissioner.

Numerous dignitaries and high government officials delivered speeches over the course of the six-weeks of meetings, including United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan -- who was one of dozens of speakers to express high hopes for the World Conference against Racism, to be held in Durban, South Africa, from

31 August to 7 September.

In her closing statement today, the High Commissioner said that when she had addressed the Commission on the first day, she had said she would not be seeking a further term as High Commissioner.  But the Secretary-General had prevailed upon her to take a further year, subject to the approval of the General Assembly.  She thanked those who had offered support and encouragement, both publicly and privately, and assured that the further year would be a dynamic and fruitful one for the cause of human rights.  The months ahead would, indeed, be challenging.

Leandro Despouy, Chairman of the Commission, said in closing remarks that the current session had seen the participation of the largest number of heads of States, speakers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).  It also saw the largest number points of order, rights of reply and roll-call votes.  The Commission adopted 82 resolutions, 16 decisions and four Chairman statements.  It was necessary to undertake further reforms to increase the efficiency of the working methods of the Commission, including encouraging increased participation of United Nations specialized agencies in the deliberations.

Under the Commission’s agenda item on the question of the violation of human rights in any country, resolutions were adopted criticizing states of affairs in South-Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian Federation.  The Commission also cited concern under this agenda item on the situation of Lebanese detainees held in Israel.

Mandates were extended for Commission special rapporteurs or special representatives on situations in Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, Equatorial Guinea, Afghanistan, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi.

As in previous years, a draft resolution on the situation of human rights in China was defeated on a no-action motion tabled by China and passed by roll-call vote.

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

Under its agenda item on advisory services in the field of human rights, the Commission adopted resolutions on human rights situations in Somalia and Cambodia, and extended the mandate of its independent expert on Somalia.

In closed meetings held 28 March under its “1503 procedure”, the Commission decided to discontinue consideration of situations in the Republic of the Congo, Maldives, and Uganda.

Among the thematic mechanisms of the Commission, mandates were extended for special rapporteurs, special representatives and independent experts on:  mercenaries; the right to development; the right to education; the illicit transfer and dumping of toxic products and wastes; torture; religious intolerance (under the new title of Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief); extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions; internal displacement; and the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography.  Also extended was the mandate of the Working Group on enforced disappearances and the Working Group on the right to development.

The Commission additionally requested, under its thematic mechanisms, that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights organize an expert seminar to examine the interdependence between democracy and human rights; that the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) organize a joint seminar to review and assess progress achieved in relation to human rights and the environment since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED); and that the High Commissioner hold a consultative meeting in Geneva for all interested governments, international organizations and NGOs with a view to finalizing the “Basic principles and guidelines on the right to a remedy and reparation for victims of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law”.

Dates for next year’s session -- the Commission’s fifty-eighth -- were set for 18 March - 26 April 2002.

Chairman’s Statements on Country Situations

In Chairman’s statements, the Commission:

-- Expressed strong support for the peace process in Colombia; reiterated its deep concern about the lack of a permanent ceasefire and about grave and persistent abuses of international humanitarian law, mainly by paramilitaries and guerrillas; strongly deplored the persistence of impunity and called upon the Government to effectively follow up initiatives to define and implement actions aimed at resolving the serious situation of impunity; took note of improvements in the human rights performance of the armed forces, but remained concerned at continued reports of human rights violations attributed to the armed and security forces; strongly condemned all threats, attacks and killings of candidates in local elections and others involved in peaceful political activities by guerrillas and paramilitary groups; deplored attacks against indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities; and called for the Government to take urgent steps to improve protection of affected groups.

-- Welcomed encouraging improvements in the judicial system in East Timor and the first measures that had been taken against suspects accused of crimes against humanity and other serious crimes committed during the violence of 1999; emphasized the importance of continuing international assistance for the strengthening of the justice system in East Timor and the importance of the ongoing reconciliation process; welcomed the forthcoming establishment of a Truth, Reception and Reconciliation Commission; welcomed concrete steps taken by the Government of Indonesia to investigate fully the violations of human rights perpetrated in East Timor in the period leading up to and immediately following the popular consultation of August 1999; urged the Government of Indonesia to establish the proposed ad hoc human rights court to bring to justice the suspects of such violations; condemned the brutal murders last September of three international staff members of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in West Timor, as well as attacks on the United Nations presence in East Timor; and urged the Government of Indonesia to continue to disarm and disband the militias, to restore security in the refugee camps of West Timor, and to take measures to ensure that refugees could make a free and informed choice whether to return to East Timor or resettle in Indonesia; and

-- Welcomed the visit of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Haiti to the Commission and took note of his recognition that, while there has been some progress on human rights in Haiti, problems persisted with regard to the administration of justice, impunity, prolonged detention and prison conditions; expressed deep concern that the political impasse in Haiti remained unresolved; called upon Haiti to investigate and prosecute politically motivated crimes and to institute legal proceedings against perpetrators of human rights violations and ensure the neutrality of the police; encouraged Haiti to take vigorous action to eliminate human rights violations, improve prison conditions, and to ensure due process; condemned acts of violence, particularly politically motivated violence and urged the Haitian Government to protect the rights of all Haitian citizens to assemble peacefully and express their political opinions; and expressed concern over Haiti's "restaveks", children who were placed in domestic service, sometimes against their will and in deplorable conditions.

Chairman’s Statement

In a Chairman’s statement on funds for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Commission joined the appeals made by a number of delegates this year on the need to provide the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights with adequate funds and resources in order for it to be able to carry out its numerous mandates.  The Commission reiterated its appeal to the Economic and Social Council and to the General Assembly to provide supplementary funds to the High Commissioner, as well as to make available the financial, material and human resources necessary in proportion to the increase in the responsibilities of the Office.

Country-by-Country Examination of Situations of Human Rights

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Called upon Israel to refrain from holding detained Lebanese citizens incarcerated in Israel as hostages for bargaining purposes and to release them immediately; affirmed the obligation of Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the detainees regularly; called upon the Government to submit to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) all the maps of the landmine fields deployed throughout civilian villages, fields, and farms;

-- Approved a no-action motion forwarded by the delegation of China on a draft resolution tabled on the situation of human rights in China.  The draft resolution would have welcomed the readiness of the Government of China to exchange information on human rights while expressing concern at continuing reports of violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country;

-- Urged governments to refrain from all acts of intimidation against those who sought to cooperate or engaged in cooperation with representatives of United Nations human rights bodies or who had provided testimony or information to them; and requested all such representatives and treaty bodies to continue to take urgent steps to help prevent the occurrence of such intimidation and reprisals;

-- Noted that varying degrees of progress had been made in the human rights situation in all States in South-Eastern Europe, and by all parties to the peace agreement, but that additional efforts were required in several areas; urged all States and parties to the peace agreement to meet their obligations to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; strongly condemned the attempt of the Croatian Democratic Union extremists to undermine legitimately elected and constitutional bodies, as well as recent violent attacks by Bosnian Croat extremists in Mostar and other places against representatives of the international community; welcomed the political change undertaken by the democratically elected Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; expressed its concern at the continued detention in Serbia of political prisoners of Kosovar Albanian or other origins; and strongly condemned extremist violence in certain municipalities in southern Serbia; thanked the Special Rapporteur for his efforts and requested the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint for one year a special representative to examine the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;

-- Strongly condemned the mass killings and systematic human rights violations in Afghanistan against civilians and persons deprived of their liberty for reasons related to the armed conflict and noted with alarm the resumption by the Taliban of a wider conflict, resulting in the massive forced displacement of the civilian population; condemned all interference with the delivery of humanitarian relief supplies and called on all Afghan parties to ensure safe and unimpeded access for and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance; noted with deep concern recent reports of summary executions of prisoners in areas held by the Taliban; condemned the continuing grave violations of the human rights of women and girls; stressed the need for national reconciliation and for the establishment of the rule of law, good governance and democracy in Afghanistan; invited the Special Rapporteur to continue to pay special attention to the human rights of women and children; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for one year;

-- Noted with dismay that there had been no improvement in the situation of human rights in Iraq; strongly condemned the systematic, widespread and extremely grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Government of Iraq; called upon the Government to cooperate with United Nations human rights mechanisms, in particular by inviting the Special Rapporteur to visit the country and allowing the stationing of human rights monitors throughout Iraq pursuant to the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission; called upon the Government to cooperate further with international aid agencies and NGOs to provide humanitarian assistance and monitoring in the northern and southern areas of the country, and to continue to cooperate in the implementation of Security Council resolutions and to ensure fully the timely and equitable distribution, without discrimination, to the Iraqi population, including in remote areas, of all humanitarian supplies purchased under the “oil-for-food” programme; and decided to extend for another year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation in Iraq;

-- Welcomed the assistance of the Government of Myanmar in facilitating the recent exploratory visit by the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar; expressed grave concern at the systematic policy of the Government of persecuting the democratic opposition, National League for Democracy members and their families, as well as ethnic opposition parties; deplored the deterioration of the human rights situation and the continuing pattern of gross and systematic violations of human rights in Myanmar, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, enforced disappearances, rape, torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced labour, forced relocation and denial of freedom of assembly, association, expression and movement; strongly urged the Government to take urgent measures to ensure the establishment of democracy in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the democratic elections of 1990; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation in Myanmar for a further year;

-- Called upon the Government of Cuba to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba, and to provide the appropriate framework to guarantee the rule of law through democratic institutions and the independence of the judicial system; expressed the hope that further positive steps would be taken with regard to all human rights and fundamental freedoms; expressed once again its concern about practical consequences of the adoption of the Law for the Protection of the National Independence and Economy of Cuba, and regretted the other steps taken by the Government of Cuba that were inconsistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; recommended that the Government take advantage of the technical cooperation programmes of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; and called upon the Government to grant invitations to thematic mechanisms of the Commission to visit Cuba, including the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture;

-- Noted with interest the assessment of the Special Representative on the situation of human rights in Iran that certain foundational improvements had taken place in areas such as women's education, democracy and health; deeply regretted that, since 1996, no invitation had been extended by the Government to the Special Representative for a visit to the country and strongly urged the Government to invite the Special Representative; noted that government agents accused of involvement in the suspicious deaths and killings of intellectuals and political activists had been convicted, while regretting that all the circumstances surrounding the killings had still not been fully clarified, and urged the Government of Iran to continue its investigations and to bring alleged perpetrators to justice; deplored continued executions in the apparent absence of respect for internationally recognized safeguards, in particular public and especially cruel executions; encouraged the Islamic Human Rights Commission to continue and increase its essential work; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Representative for a further year;

-- Called upon all parties involved in the situation in the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian Federation to take immediate steps to halt the ongoing fighting and the indiscriminate use of force and to seek as a matter of urgency a political solution; strongly condemned the continued use of disproportionate and indiscriminate force by the Russian military forces, federal servicemen and State agents; strongly condemned all terrorist activities and attacks by Chechen fighters; reiterated its call upon the Russian Federation to establish a national broad-based and independent commission of inquiry into alleged violations of human rights in Chechnya; expressed serious concern over the slow pace of investigations to date; urged the Russian Federation to ensure the protection of internally displaced persons; and expressed its concern over the situation in detention centres and continued reports of ad hoc detention locations and "filtration camps", as well as the treatment of non-registered detainees and acts of torture and other cruel treatment of these detainees;

-- Welcomed the full cooperation extended by the Government of the Sudan to the former and new Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in the Sudan during visits to the country; expressed concern at violations in areas under control of the Government, including restrictions on freedom of religion, expression, association and peaceful assembly, arbitrary arrest and detention without trial, and cases of torture; urged all parties to the conflict to respect and protect human rights; to put in place an effective and monitored ceasefire; to stop the use of weapons against the civilian population; for the Government to cease immediately all indiscriminate aerial bombardments of the civilian population; for the SPLA to abstain from using civilian premises for military purposes; called on all parties to resume peace talks immediately; called on all parties to end all acts of torture; to ensure freedom of expression, opinion, thought, and conscience; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further year;

-- Welcomed the cooperation shown by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; welcomed the commitments made by the parties in Lusaka on 15 February 2001 and recent progress made in achieving respect for the ceasefire called for, and urged all parties not to resume hostilities; expressed its concern at the adverse impact of the conflict on the situation of human rights and its severe consequences for the security and well-being of the civilian population; expressed its concern at continued perpetration by some parties of massacres and atrocities, at summary and arbitrary executions, at disappearances, torture, beatings, harassment, arbitrary arrests and detentions without trial and at widespread use of sexual violence against women and children; called upon the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to comply fully with its obligations under international humanitarian law; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further year;

-- Welcomed the agreement signed on 10 November 2000 in Abuja between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF); expressed grave concern at abuses of human rights in Sierra Leone, generally with impunity, in particular atrocities against civilians perpetrated by the RUF and others, including executions, mutilations, abductions, arbitrary detention, hostage taking, forced recruitment, forced labour, forced displacement, harassment, looting, attacks and killings of journalists, and continued detention of abductees; called upon the Government of Sierra Leone to continue to meet its international human rights obligations, among other things, by giving priority attention to the special needs of all mutilated victims and of women and children in its care; reiterated its call upon the Government to investigate reports of violations and abuses and to end impunity; and decided to request the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the international community to assist Sierra Leone to establish and maintain an effectively functioning Truth and Reconciliation Commission;

-- Noted the continuing need to make the negotiation process regarding the situation of human rights in Burundi more inclusive; encouraged the Government to continue actions aimed at associating all sectors of Burundian society in the work of national reconciliation; remained concerned at ongoing violence and at the security situation in parts of the country; condemned the intensifying violence, especially against civilians; requested the Government to take more measures to put an end to impunity; noted the efforts in the struggle against impunity and for the promotion of human rights on the part of the Government; condemned all rebel attacks on humanitarian workers; condemned the illegal sale and distribution of weapons and related materials; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation in Burundi for a further year;

-- Encouraged the Government of Equatorial Guinea to adopt further quick and effective measures to comply with the recommendations made previously by the Commission and the Commission's Special Representative on the situation of human rights in Equatorial Guinea; welcomed the willingness of the Government to implement a national human rights action plan; welcomed the recent invitations by the Government to the Special Representative and to the thematic rapporteurs of the Commission; noted with interest the continuing financial efforts and the political will of the Government in the establishment of the Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy; called upon the Government to continue to ensure the independence and effectiveness of the National Commission on Human Rights and to safeguard the independence of the judiciary and to restrict military jurisdiction; to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women; and decided to renew for a further year the mandate of the Special Representative;

-- Took note with great satisfaction of the report of the Special Representative of the Commission on the situation of human rights in Rwanda to the General Assembly; took note of the agreement signed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the National Commission for Human Rights of Rwanda, and called upon the Office of the High Commissioner to respond to any requests made by the Government of Rwanda for technical assistance and advisory services in the field of human rights; recommended that the international community continue to provide assistance for the development of Rwanda to ensure, in the long term, its recovery and stability; decided to end the mandate of the Special Representative; and decided to end its consideration of the situation of human rights in Rwanda; and

-- Decided to retain under this agenda item the sub-item (a), Question of human rights in Cyprus.

Indigenous Issues

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Decided to appoint, for a three-year period, a Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, with, among other things, the functions of gathering and exchanging information and communications from all relevant sources and formulating recommendations and proposals to prevent and remedy violations of such human rights and fundamental freedoms; invited the Special Rapporteur to pay special attention to violations of the rights of indigenous children; invited the Special Rapporteur to take into account all the recommendations of the Working Group on indigenous populations of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights; and encouraged the World Conference against Racism to give special attention to discrimination against indigenous people;

-- Noted that at its nineteenth session the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights would focus on the theme of “Indigenous peoples and their right to development, including their right to participate in development affecting them”; recommended that the Economic and Social Council authorize the Working Group to meet for five working days prior to the fifty-third session of the Subcommission; and requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that the indigenous peoples’ unit at her Office was adequately staffed and resourced;

-- Welcomed the continuation and positive nature of the deliberations of the Working Group to elaborate a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people, particularly the measures taken to ensure effective input by organizations of indigenous people; welcomed the decisions of the Economic and Social Council approving the participation of organizations of indigenous people in the work of the Working Group and urged the Council to process all pending applications from such organizations as soon as possible; and recommended that the Working Group meet for 10 working days prior to the fifty-eighth session of the Commission; and

-- Decided to recommend that the Economic and Social Council authorize the former Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on indigenous populations, Erica-Irene A. Daes, to continue to participate in all meetings in preparation for the World Conference against Racism and in the World Conference itself, and to authorize the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the eighteenth session of the Working Group, Miguel Alfonso Martinez, to participate in the World Conference and in the preparatory meeting for the Latin American region.

Civil and Political Rights

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Reaffirmed that democracy was based on the freely expressed will of the people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems; affirmed that while all democracies shared common features, there was no one universal model of democracy; stressed that the consolidation of democracy required that sustained economic growth and sustainable development of countries and communities fostered the promotion and consolidation of democracy; and urged all States to foster a democracy that facilitated development with equity and justice and encouraged the most comprehensive and full participation of citizens in the decision-making process and in the debate over diverse issues affecting society;

-- Reiterated its unequivocal condemnation of all acts, methods and practices of terrorism, regardless of their motivation, in all their forms and manifestations, wherever and by whomever committed; condemned violations of the right to live free from fear and of the right to life, liberty and security; expressed solidarity with the victims of terrorism; urged States to fulfil their obligations to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism; urged the international community to enhance its cooperation in the fight against terrorism; and called upon States to enhance their cooperation with a view to bringing terrorists to justice;

-- Reaffirmed that hostage-taking, including through hijacking, wherever and by whomever committed, was an illegal act and unjustifiable, including as a means to promote and protect human rights; condemned all acts of hostage-taking; demanded that all hostages be released immediately, without preconditions, and expressed its solidarity with victims; and called upon States to take all necessary measures to prevent, combat and punish acts of hostage-taking, including by strengthening international cooperation in this field;

-- Invited the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to provide technical assistance to train judges and lawyers and to associate with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers in the elaboration of a manual on such training in the field of human rights; urged all governments to transmit to the Special Rapporteur all information requested; and encouraged Governments that faced difficulties in guaranteeing the independence of judges and lawyers or were determined to implement these principles further to consult and to consider the services of the Special Rapporteur, for instance, by inviting him to their countries;

-- Decided to request the High Commissioner for Human Rights to hold a consultative meeting in Geneva for all interested governments, international organizations and NGOs with a view to finalizing the “Basic principles and guidelines on the right to a remedy and reparation for victims of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law”;

-- Requested governments concerned to take appropriate steps to remedy the situation of persons arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and to inform the Working Group on arbitrary detentions of the steps taken; encouraged governments concerned to implement the recommendations of the Working Group concerning persons mentioned in its report who had been detained for a number of years; to take measures to ensure that legislation in these fields was in conformity with international standards; and not to extend states of emergency beyond what was strictly required by the situation;

--Invited Member States to continue to foster and participate in a systematic dialogue on the building up of democratic societies and the factors of success and failure in the democratization process; welcomed steps taken in a number of countries to promote and consolidate the foundations of still fragile democratic institutions and the restoration of democracy in a number of nations; reaffirmed that democracy, development and respect for human rights were interdependent and mutually reinforcing; reaffirmed that free and fair elections were essential; encouraged the development of broad-based democracy expertise from all regions of the world; and called upon the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize an expert seminar to examine the interdependence between democracy and human rights, to be funded by voluntary contributions;

-- Condemned all acts of torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; condemned in particular any action or attempt by States or public officials to legalize or authorize torture under any circumstances; stressed that all allegations of torture should be promptly and impartially examined and that those responsible must be held accountable and must be severely punished, including officials in charge of the place of detention where such an act was found to have taken place, and that national legal systems should ensure that victims obtained redress and compensation; called upon governments to prevent the use of equipment specifically designed to inflict torture; reminded all States that prolonged incommunicado detention could facilitate the perpetration of torture; urged all States to become parties to the Convention against Torture; stressed that States must not punish personnel for not obeying orders to commit acts amounting to torture; and decided to extend for three years the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture;

-- 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; to ensure in particular that no one within their jurisdiction was deprived of the right to life or the right to liberty and security of person because of religion or belief, or was subjected to torture or to arbitrary arrest or detention on that account; urged States to exert utmost efforts to ensure that religious places, sites, and shrines were fully respected; and decided to extend for three years the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the question of the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance under the new title of Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief;

-- Affirmed that there was incompatibility between democracy and racism; remained convinced that political platforms and organizations based on racism, xenophobia, or doctrines of racial superiority must be condemned; and condemned legislation and practices based on racism and intolerance;

-- Requested the open-ended Working Group on the draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture to meet prior to the fifty-eighth session of the Commission, for a period of two weeks, with a view to completing expeditiously a final and substantive text; and encouraged the Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group to conduct informal inter-sessional consultations with all interested parties to facilitate the completion of a consolidated text;

-- Strongly condemned all extrajudicial, summary or  arbitrary executions; called upon all States to consider ratifying or acceding to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; reiterated the obligation of all governments to conduct exhaustive and impartial investigations into all suspected cases of such acts; called upon Governments to investigate promptly and thoroughly cases of killings committed in the name of passion or in the name of honour, all killings committed for any discriminatory reason, killings of persons for reasons related to their peaceful activities as human rights defenders or as journalists, and racially motivated killings, as well as other cases of violation of the right to life; and urged governments to undertake all necessary measures to prevent loss of life, in particular that of children, during public demonstrations, internal and communal violence, civil unrest and public emergency or armed conflicts; and decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for three years;

-- Expressed its continued concern at the extensive occurrence of detention, long-term detention, extrajudicial killing, persecution and harassment, threats, acts of violence, and discrimination directed against persons who exercised the right to freedom of opinion and expression; called for further progress towards the release of persons detained for exercising the right; expressed its concern at the number of cases which were facilitated and aggravated by such factors as abuses of states of emergency, exercise of powers specific to states of emergency without formal declaration and too vague a definition of offences against State security; urged governments to implement effective measures to eliminate the atmosphere of fear which often prevented women victims of violence from communicating freely on their own behalf or through intermediaries; invited States to submit comments on the Principles on Freedom of Information Legislation developed by the Special Rapporteur;

-- Encouraged the Working Group on enforced or voluntary disappearances to pay particular attention to cases transmitted to it that referred to ill-treatment, serious threatening or intimidation of witnesses of enforced or involuntary disappearances or relatives of disappeared persons and to cases of disappearance of persons working for the promotion and protection of human rights; reminded governments that all such acts of disappearance were crimes punishable by appropriate and serious penalties; that they should ensure that immediate and impartial investigations were conducted; decided to renew for a period of three years the mandate of the Working Group; requested the chair of the Commission on Human Rights to appoint an independent expert to make an examination of the existing international criminal and human rights framework of protection of persons from enforced or involuntary disappearances; and decided to create, at its fifty-eighth session, an inter-sessional open-ended Working Group of the Commission on Human Rights, with the mandate to elaborate, in the light of the findings of the independent expert, a draft legally binding normative instrument for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearances; and

-- Authorized the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to convene a Working Group on the administration of justice during its fifty-third session.

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Considered it intolerable that 826 million people, most of them women and children, throughout the world and particularly in developing countries, did not have enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs; encouraged all States to take steps to achieve progressively the full realization of the right to food; stressed the need to make efforts to mobilize and optimize the allocation and utilization of technical and financial resources from all sources, including external debt relief for developing countries; requested the Special Rapporteur on the right to food to seek, receive, and respond to information on all aspects of the matter, including establishing cooperation with governments, identifying emerging issues related to the right to food worldwide, paying attention to the issue of drinking water and contributing effectively to the mid-term review of the implementation of the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the Plan of Action of the World Food Summit;

-- Urged all States to refrain from adopting or implementing unilateral measures of a coercive nature with extraterritorial effects, which created obstacles to trade relations among States; and called upon all Member States to neither recognize these measures nor apply them; rejected the application of such measures as tools for political or economic pressure against any country, particularly against developing countries, because of their negative effects on the human rights of vast sectors of their populations; and invited the open-ended Working Group on the right to development to give due consideration to the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures;

-- Stressed that structural adjustment policies and foreign debt had serious implications for the ability of developing countries to abide by the Declaration on the Right to Development; noted with concern the persistence of the external debt problem, that the vicious cycle of debt and underdevelopment had become further entrenched, that the burden of payments had become heavier in many developing countries; emphasized the need for new financial flows to debtor developing countries; called upon governments, international organizations and international financial institutions to consider the possibility of cancelling or reducing significantly the debt of the heavily indebted poor countries; and requested the Economic and Social Council to authorize the open-ended Working Group on structural adjustment programmes to meet for two weeks to continue working on basic policy guidelines on structural adjustment programmes;

-- Decided to authorize the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to hold a forum on economic, social and cultural rights, to be known as the Social Forum, with the participation of members of the Subcommission, during its fifty-third session;

-- Encouraged the relevant Special Rapporteur to strengthen the integration of the right to housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living into the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure launched by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat); encouraged him to cooperate with other human rights mechanisms, notably the independent expert on extreme poverty; requested him to give particular emphasis to practical solutions; and called upon States to give full effect to housing rights;

-- Called upon States to give full effect to the right to education without discrimination of any kind; to eliminate obstacles limiting access to education, notably by girls, including pregnant girls, children living in rural areas, children belonging to minority groups, indigenous children, migrant children, refugee children, internally displaced children, children affected by armed conflicts, children with disabilities, children with HIV/AIDS, and children deprived of their liberty; to ensure that primary education was compulsory, accessible and available free to all; to submit information on best practices to the Special Rapporteur; and decided to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education for a further three years;

-- Called upon States to give full effect to economic, social and cultural rights; to consider signing and ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Convention No. 182 of the International Labour Office, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and decided to appoint an independent expert to examine the question of a draft optional protocol to the International Covenant;

-- Decided to ask the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to review the terms of reference for a proposed study on the right to drinking water supply and sanitation and also to review the level of United Nations support requested for such a study;

-- Reaffirmed that extreme poverty and exclusion from society constituted a violation of human dignity; reaffirmed that the right to life included within it existence in human dignity with the minimum necessities of life; called upon States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to continue to take into account, in the activities to be undertaken within the framework of the United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, the link between human rights and extreme poverty, as well as efforts to empower people living in poverty to participate in decision-making processes on policies that affected them; and requested the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to consider the need to develop guiding principles on the implementation of existing human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against extreme poverty;

-- Recognized that whatever the impact of globalization, the promotion and protection of all human rights was first and foremost the responsibility of the State; recognized that States had a further, collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality, and equity at the global level; reaffirmed that efforts to make globalization fully inclusive and equitable must include policies and measures at the global level which corresponded to the needs of developing countries; expressed concern that while globalization held out the promise of prosperity, it brought with it severe challenges for developing countries, and that the promise of prosperity had not touched the vast majority of the world's population; and emphasized that a narrowing of the gap between rich and poor, both within and between all countries, was required;

-- Recognized that access to medication in the context of pandemics such as HIV/AIDS was fundamental; called upon States to pursue policies to promote the availability in sufficient quantities of pharmaceuticals and medical technologies used to treat such pandemics as HIV/AIDS; called upon States, on a non-discriminatory basis, to refrain from measures to deny or limit equal access to all persons to preventive, curative or palliative pharmaceuticals and medical technologies used to treat such pandemics; and called upon the international community, the developed countries in particular, to provide financial and technical support and the training of personnel for the developing countries in their fight against such pandemics;

-- Affirmed that discrimination against women in ownership of, access to and control over land and the equal rights to own property and adequate housing, constituted a violation of women's human right to protection against discrimination; reaffirmed women's right to an adequate standard of living; urged Governments to comply fully with their international and regional obligations and commitments concerning land tenure and the equal rights of women to own property and to an adequate standard of living, including adequate housing; recommended that governments encourage financial lending institutions to ensure that their policies and practices did not discriminate against women; recommended that international, regional, national, and local housing, financial and other credit facilities promote the participation of women and take into account their views; and invited all relevant United Nations organizations and bodies to undertake further initiatives to promote equal rights for women in these matters; and

-- Categorically condemned the dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes in developing countries; urged governments to take measures to prevent such illegal international trafficking and transfer of toxic and hazardous products and wastes; called for intensified cooperation and technical assistance on environmentally sound management of such substances; decided to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the subject for a further three years; and invited the Special Rapporteur to include in her report to the Commission's next session information, among other things, on persons killed, maimed or otherwise injured through the illicit movement or dumping of toxic products and wastes.

Right to Development

Under this agenda item, the Commission recognized that any "development compact" would be of a voluntary nature for all parties involved and that its contents would be defined on a case-by-case basis; requested the Independent Expert on the Right to Development to clarify further the proposed "development compact"; reaffirmed that States had the primary responsibility for the creation of national and international conditions favourable to the realization of the right to development; recognized that for many developing countries, the realization of the rights to, among other things, food, health and education could be important development entry points to the realization of the right to development; affirmed the role of women in realization of the right to development; affirmed the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women as an effective means to combat poverty, hunger and disease and to stimulate sustainable development; requested the Independent Expert to prepare a preliminary study on the impact of these issues on the enjoyment of human rights; and decided to extend the mandate of the open-ended Working Group for a further year, and the mandate of the Independent Expert for a further three years.

Human Rights in Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Called upon Israel to comply with relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, including resolution 497 (1981) in which the Council decided that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan was null and void and without international legal effect, and demanded that Israel rescind its decision; emphasized that the displaced population must be allowed to return to their homes and to recover their properties; and called upon Israel to desist from imposing Israeli citizenship and identity cards on the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan and to desist from its repressive measures against them;

-- Expressed grave concern at the deterioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories; condemned the disproportionate and indiscriminate recourse to force, which could not but aggravate the situation and increase an already high death toll; urged the Government of Israel to make every effort to ensure that its security forces observed international standards regarding the use of force; expressed concern at the large number of persons, including children, detained during recent months; condemned the use of torture against Palestinians during interrogation; and called upon Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; and

-- Expressed grave concern at continuing Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Arab territories; urged the Government of Israel to take concrete actions to fulfil its obligations and cease completely its policy of expanding the settlements and related activities; to forgo and prevent any new installation of settlers in the region; to implement the recommendations regarding the settlements made by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in her report, including to ensure that the Israeli security forces protected Palestinians from violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers; and urged the parties to create conditions which would allow the resumption of the peace process.

Right of Peoples to Self-Determination

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Rreaffirmed the inalienable, permanent and unqualified right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including their right to establish their sovereign and independent Palestinian State;

-- Uurged Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberacion de Saguia el-Hamra de Rio de Oro (Frente POLISARIO) to implement agreements reached on a settlement plan for the Western Sahara; called upon the two parties to cooperate fully with the Secretary-General and his Envoy in implementing the various phases of the settlement plan; and reaffirmed its support for further efforts for the organization of a referendum on self-determination of the people of Western Sahara that was impartial and free of all constraints, in conformity with relevant Security Council resolutions; and

-- Urged all States to take the necessary steps and 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, as well as their nationals, were not used for the recruitment, assembly, financing, training and transit of mercenaries; invited States to investigate the possibility of mercenary involvement whenever and wherever criminal acts of a terrorist nature occurred; and decided to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the use of mercenaries for a further three years.

Rights of Child

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

--Condemned in the strongest terms the Lord’s Resistance Army for the continued abduction, torture, killing, rape, enslavement and forcible recruitment of children in northern Uganda; demanded the immediate cessation of such offenses and also attacks on civilian populations in northern Uganda by the Lord’s Resistance Army; called for immediate and unconditional release and safe return of all children so held; welcomed the return of some of the abducted children and called for more efforts to be expended to release the remaining children held in captivity by the rebels;

-- In an omnibus resolution on the rights of the child, urged States that had not done so to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child so as to achieve universal ratification, and to consider signing and ratifying the two optional protocols to the Convention so that they could enter into force as soon as possible; to develop sustainable health services and social services for children and to give support and rehabilitation to children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS; to make primary education free and compulsory for all as well as making secondary education generally available and accessible to all; called upon all States to take measures to prevent all forms of violence against children; to eliminate discrimination against children belonging to minorities; to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls, including harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, son preference, marriages without free and full consent of the intending spouses and early marriages; to ensure full and equal enjoyment of all rights by children with disabilities; to prevent all kinds of violence against children working and/or living on the street; to protect refugee children, unaccompanied children seeking asylum and internally displaced children; to progressively and effectively eliminate child labour; to take steps to prevent and combat trafficking and sale of children for any purpose or in any form; to criminalize and effectively penalize all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse of children, including within the family; decided to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography for a further three years; and called upon States to end the use of children as soldiers.

Specific Groups and Individuals

Under this item, the Commission:

--Invited further international cooperation on the protection of human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS; invited States to strengthen measures to eliminate stigmatization and discrimination related to HIV/AIDS; invited States, United Nations organs, programmes and specialized agencies and international and non-governmental organizations to assist developing countries, in particular the least-developed countries and those in Africa, in their efforts to prevent the spread of the epidemic and to control its detrimental impacts; and urged States to promote effective programmes for prevention, education, awareness-raising and improved access to high-quality goods and services for preventing transmission of the virus;

-- Requested States effectively to promote and protect the human rights of all migrants; called upon all States to consider reviewing and, where necessary, revising immigration policies; reiterated the need for all States to fully protect the universally recognized human rights of migrants, especially those of women and children, regardless of their legal status, and to treat them humanely; reaffirmed the responsibility of Governments to safeguard and protect migrants against illegal or violent acts; urged States to put an end to the arbitrary arrest and detention of migrants; encouraged them to take further effective measures to combat international trafficking and smuggling of migrants; and called upon them to protect all human rights of migrant children, especially unaccompanied migrant children;

-- Expressed its deep concern at the growing manifestations of racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination and ill-treatment directed against migrant workers in different parts of the world; urged countries of destination to prevent excessive use of force against migrants; called upon Member States, in view of the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and of the forthcoming World Conference against Racism, to consider the possibility of signing and ratifying or acceding to the Convention as a matter of priority, expressed the hope that this international instrument would enter into force at an early date; and noted that only four ratifications or accessions were still needed for it to enter into force;

-- Called for steps by States to improve  protection of migrants and their families; encouraged all States to consider in their immigration-regularization programmes the promotion and facilitation of the reunification of migrants and their families in an expeditious and effective manner; encouraged all governments to remove unlawful obstacles that could prevent the safe, unrestricted and expeditious transfer of earnings, assets and pensions of migrants to their country of origin or to any other countries; requested all States firmly to prosecute cases of violation of labour law with regard to migrant workers’ conditions of work; and requested governments to adopt concrete measures to prevent the violation of the human rights of migrants while in transit, including in ports and airports and at borders and migration checkpoints;

-- Commended the Representative of the Secretary-General on the topic for his efforts, among other things, to promote a comprehensive strategy that focused on prevention, as well as better protection, assistance and development for internally displaced persons; noted with appreciation that an increasing number of States, United Nations agencies, and regional and non-governmental organizations were making use of the Guiding Principles developed by the Representative; welcomed the commitment of the Representative to pay more systematic and in-depth attention to women, children and other groups with specific needs among the internally displaced; and decided to extend the mandate of the Representative of the Secretary-General for three years; and

-- Reaffirmed the obligation of States to ensure that persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities could exercise fully and effectively all human rights without any discrimination and in full equality; called upon States to give special attention to the human rights of minority children, including girls; called upon the Secretary-General to make available, at the request of governments, qualified expertise on minority issues, including the prevention and resolution of disputes; and welcomed the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on a manual containing an overview of relevant procedures and mechanisms of regional and international organizations.

Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Other Forms of Intolerance

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Expressed deep concern at negative stereotyping of religions; expressed deep concern that Islam was frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and with terrorism; encouraged States to provide adequate protection against all human rights violations resulting from defamation of religions and to take all possible measures to promote tolerance and respect for all religions; and called upon the High Commissioner for Human Rights to promote and include human rights aspects in the Dialogue among Civilizations; and

-- Urged all governments to take all necessary measures to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; called upon States to bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes; expressed its deep concern at and condemnation of manifestations of racism or xenophobia or related intolerance against migrant workers and members of their families; condemned the role played by any media in inciting acts of violence motivated by racial hatred; urged States to declare illegal propaganda activities promoting and inciting racial discrimination; encouraged all States and other entities to contribute generously to the host country trust fund established to finance the activities of the World Conference; and recommended that the World Conference pay particular attention to the situations of children and young people, indigenous people, and migrants.

Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Acknowledged with appreciation the mid-term global evaluation of the Decade for Human Rights Education undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; and invited governments and intergovernmental organizations to provide information, as appropriate, to the High Commissioner on steps taken to implement the recommendations of the mid-term evaluation report;

-- Emphasized the importance of combating impunity for the prevention of violations of human rights and urged States to give necessary attention to the question, including for violations perpetrated against women and children, and to take appropriate measures to address this important issue; emphasized the importance of holding accountable perpetrators, including their accomplices; and welcomed progress made in the fight against impunity, including the recognition of the principle of complementarity in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

-- Considered that international cooperation in the field of human rights should make an effective and practical contribution to the urgent task of preventing violations of human rights; reaffirmed that international action in this field should be guided by the principles of universality, non-selectivity, objectivity, and transparency; called upon Member States, specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations to continue to carry out a constructive dialogue and consultations for the enhancement of the understanding and the promotion and protection of human rights; and welcomed the decision of the General Assembly to proclaim the year 2001 the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations;

-- Decided to invite the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Executive Director of the UNEP to organize a joint seminar to review and assess progress achieved since UNCED on the topic of promoting and protecting human rights in relation to environmental questions;

-- Encouraged the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue the development of human rights education and training materials; urged the Department of Public Information to continue to utilize fully and effectively United Nations information centres for disseminating basic information and reference materials on human rights; and called upon governments to accord priority to the dissemination in their relevant national and local languages of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on human rights and other human rights instruments, materials and training manuals, as well as reports of States parties made under the human rights treaties;

-- Called upon all States to promote and give full 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; urged all governments to cooperate with and assist the Special Representative on the topic; and called upon all States to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of human rights defenders;

-- Ddecided to consider the question of fundamental standards of humanity at its fifty-eighth session and requested the Secretary-General, in consultation with the ICRC, to submit a further report to the Commission covering relevant developments;

-- Affirmed that a democratic and equitable international order required, among other things, the right of all peoples to self-determination; the right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources; the right of all to development; the promotion and consolidation of transparent, democratic, just and accountable international institutions; and the promotion of equitable access to benefits from the international distribution of wealth through enhanced international cooperation, in particular in economic, commercial and financial international relations; and reaffirmed that all States should do their utmost to achieve general and complete disarmament under effective international control, as well as to ensure that the resources released by effective disarmament measures were used for comprehensive development, in particular that of the developing countries;

-- Invited the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other United Nations bodies and specialized agencies concerned to report to the Secretary-General on the activities conducted in their respective areas to ensure that the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights were taken into account; drew the attention of governments to the importance of research on the human genome and its applications for the improvement of the health of individuals and mankind as a whole, to the need to safeguard the rights of the individual and his/her dignity, as well as identity and unity, and the need to protect the confidentiality of genetic data concerning a named person;

-- Recognized that a transparent, responsible, accountable and participatory government, responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people, was the foundation on which good governance rested, and that such a foundation was a sine qua non for the promotion of human rights, including the right to development;

-- Reaffirmed the significance of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as an effective international instrument; expressed its appreciation to States which had ratified or acceded to the Convention and invited States that had not yet done so to ratify or accede to the Convention and to subsequently enact the necessary legislation to give effect to the Convention’s provisions;

-- Called upon all States parties 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, aiming at abolition of the death penalty; urged all States that still maintained the death penalty to comply fully with their obligations under the International Covenant and the Convention on the Rights of the Child; to ensure that the notion of “most serious crimes” did not go beyond intentional crimes with lethal or extremely grave consequences; and not to impose the death penalty on a person suffering from any form of mental disorder or to execute any such person;

-- solemnly declared that the preservation of the right of peoples to peace constituted a fundamental obligation of each State; emphasized that ensuring the exercise of that right demanded that the policies of States be directed towards the elimination of the threat of war, particularly nuclear war, the renunciation of the use of force in international relations and the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means; affirmed that all States should do their utmost to achieve general and complete disarmament under effective international control, as well as to ensure that the resources released by effective disarmament measures were used for comprehensive development, in particular that of the developing countries; and expressed concern at the real danger of the weaponization of outer space;

-- Reaffirmed the interdependence between the concepts of democracy, development, and respect for human rights; welcomed the recognition set forth in the Declaration of the Millennium Summit of the fundamental value of solidarity to international relations, in stating that global challenges must be managed in a way that distributed costs and burdens fairly, and that those who suffered, or who benefited least, deserved help from those who benefited most; and urged the international community to consider urgently ways and means to promote international assistance to developing countries;

-- Decided to request the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Tights to reconsider its request to appoint Françoise Hampson as a special rapporteur to carry out a comprehensive study on the issue of reservations to human rights treaties in the light of the work under way by the International Law Commission; and

-- Decided to approve the request made by the Subcommission and to recommend a draft decision to the Economic and Social Council that the High Commissioner for Human Rights convene, with the participation of members of the Subcommission, a seminar to discuss obstacles to the ratification of the International Covenants on human rights and ways to surmount them.

Report of Subcommission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Reaffirmed that the Subcommission could best assist the Commission by providing it with independent expert studies; recommendations based on and after full consideration of those studies; and studies, and research and expert advice at the request of the Commission;

-- Requested publication, in all official languages, of the report and updated report of the Subcommission’s Special Rapporteur on systematic rape, sexual slavery, and slavery like practices;

-- Recommended a draft decision for adoption by the Economic and Social Council to appoint Miguel Alfonso Martinez of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to undertake a study on the issue of human rights and human responsibilities; and

-- Requested that the updated report of the Subcommission’s Working Group on contemporary forms of slavery be compiled, without financial implications, into a single report, printed in all official languages, and given the widest possible distribution.

Human Rights of Women

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Called upon governments to criminalize traffic in women and children, to penalize traffickers and intermediaries, while ensuring protection and assistance to victims with full respect for their human rights; encouraged governments to conclude bilateral, subregional, regional and international agreements to address the problem; and invited Governments to encourage Internet service providers to adopt or strengthen self-regulatory measures to promote the responsible use of the Internet to eliminate trafficking in women and children, particularly girls;

-- Condemned all acts of gender-based violence; called for elimination of all forms of such violence within the family, within the general community and where perpetrated or condoned by the State; urged States to consider undertaking information campaigns about violence against women; to create or improve and fund programmes on the topic for training of judicial, legal, medical, social, educational, police, correctional service, military, peacekeeping, humanitarian relief and immigration personnel; condemned violence against women committed in situations of armed conflict; and welcomed the inclusion of gender-based crimes in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

-- Emphasized that mainstreaming a gender perspective was meant to achieve gender equality and that this included ensuring that all United Nations activities integrated the human rights of women; recognized the importance of examining the intersection of multiple forms of discrimination, including their root causes, in order to develop and implement effective strategies; and urged relevant organs of the United Nations system to bear in mind, in the recruitment of staff, including for peacekeeping operations and humanitarian and human-rights missions, the need for expertise in the human rights of women and girls; and

-- Endorsed a decision of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to extend the mandate of the Subcommission’s Special Rapporteur on traditional practices affecting the health of women and girl child for two more years.

Effective Functioning of Human Rights Mechanisms

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Decided to recommend to the General Assembly that it encourage States parties to United Nations human rights instruments to establish quota distribution systems by geographical region for the election of the members of treaty bodies;

-- Stressed that developing and strengthening national capacities on human rights in accordance with national conditions provided the strongest foundation for effective and enduring regional cooperation on human rights in the Asia and Pacific region; encouraged all States in the region to ensure that regional workshops were accompanied by concrete and sustainable subregional and national activities, as well as training and awareness programmes for appropriate government and professional and law-enforcement personnel; and encouraged all governments in the region to consider making use of United Nations advisory services and technical cooperation programmes in the field of human rights;

-- Stressed that no post in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should be considered the exclusive preserve of any member State or group of States, including at the highest level, and requested the Secretary-General to ensure that, as a general rule, no national of a member State succeeded a national of that State in a senior post and that there was no monopoly on senior posts by nationals of any State or group of States; and considered it necessary, in the process of restructuring of the Office of the High Commissioner, to take urgent, concrete and immediate action to change the currently prevailing geographical distribution of staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in favour of a more equitable distribution of posts;

-- Recognized that a regional approach to human rights should imply intensive cooperation and coordination with all partners involved; stressed the importance of the United Nations programme of technical cooperation in the field of human rights and renewed its appeal to governments to consider making use of it; and

-- Reaffirmed the importance of developing effective, independent, pluralistic national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights; recognized that national institutions had a potentially crucial role to play in promoting and ensuring the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights; and called upon all States to ensure that all human rights were appropriately reflected in the mandate of their national human rights institutions.

Advisory Services and Technical Cooperation in Field of Human Rights

Under this agenda item, the Commission:

-- Expressed concern at the situation of human rights in Somalia; at reported cases of rape, arbitrary and summary executions, torture and other cruel treatment, in particular against women and children, and at the absence of an effective judicial system; condemned forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict and the use of children by the militias; all acts of violence, particularly against humanitarian relief workers, particularly the recent abduction in Mogadishu of United Nations personnel and NGO humanitarian relief workers by militia belonging to armed movements; strongly urged the Transitional National Government and Transitional National Assembly and all parties and administrations of Somalia to create an environment that would bring into the reconciliation process those who did not participate in the Arta peace conference; called upon the international community to provide increased assistance to Somalia; and decided to extend the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia for a further year;

-- Noted with concern continued problems related to the rule of law and the functioning of the judiciary along with other problems related to the situation of human rights in Cambodia, including corruption and interference by the executive with the judiciary, and welcomed government efforts to reform the judiciary; expressed serious concern about the continuing situation of impunity and urged prosecution of all those who had perpetrated serious crimes, including violations of human rights; noted with serious concern the prison conditions in Cambodia and called for further measures to improve prison conditions;; urged an end to racial violence against and vilification of ethnic minorities, including ethnic Vietnamese; welcomed the final collapse of the Khmer Rouge, and noted the steps taken by the Government in bringing to justice the Khmer Rouge leaders most responsible for the most serious violations of human rights; requested the Government to address the problems of trafficking and sexual exploitation of children; and noted with serious concern the problem of child labour, and called for steps to outlaw, in particular, the worst forms of child labour.

Commission Bureau

The Chairman of the Commission was Leandro Despouy of Argentina.  Vice-Chairpersons were Najat Al-Hajjaji of Libya, Anda Filip of Romania, and Alvaro de Mendonca e Moura of Portugal.  Rapporteur was Imtiaz Hussain of Pakistan.

Composition of Commission

The composition of the Commission for 2001 is the following.  The term of membership of each State expires on 31 December of the year indicated in brackets.

Algeria (2003), Argentina (2002), Belgium (2003), Brazil (2002), Burundi (2002), Cameroon (2003), Canada (2003), China (2002), Colombia (2001), Costa Rica (2003), Cuba (2003), Czech Republic (2002), Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003), Ecuador (2002), France (2001), Germany (2002), Guatemala (2003), India (2003), Indonesia (2002), Italy (2002), Japan (2002), Kenya (2003), Latvia (2001), Liberia (2001), Libya (2003), Madagascar (2001), Malaysia (2003), Mauritius (2001), Mexico (2001), Niger (2001), Nigeria (2002), Norway (2001), Pakistan (2001), Peru (2003), Poland (2003), Portugal (2002), Qatar (2001), Republic of Korea (2001), Romania (2001), Russian Federation (2003), Saudi Arabia (2003), Senegal (2003), South Africa (2003), Spain (2002), Swaziland (2002), Syria (2003), Thailand (2003), United Kingdom (2003), United States (2001), Uruguay (2003), Venezuela (2003), Viet Nam (2003), Zambia (2002).

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