COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF INDIGENOUS ISSUES, HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION

OF INDIGENOUS ISSUES, HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN

Deputy Foreign Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Gives Address

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 11 April (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights concluded debate this morning on agenda items on indigenous issues and the human rights of women.  The Commission also heard an address by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Khalaf Khalafov.

The Commission heard from a series of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on matters related to the rights of indigenous peoples, with many stressing the need for States to respect both the individual and collective rights of indigenous populations, as well as their ancestral lands in Canada, Mexico, Norway, Australia, the United States, Bangladesh, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, and India.

Several NGOs supported the continued existence under the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of the Working Group on indigenous populations.  Additionally, NGOs called for a second International Decade to be dedicated to the world’s indigenous peoples.

The representative of Mexico spoke this morning on indigenous issues, as well as representatives of the following non-governmental organizations:  Indian Council of South America; Juridical Commission for Auto-Development of First Andean Peoples; Saami Council; Indigenous World Association; Interfaith International; Inuit Circumpolar Conference; Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation; Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples; International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs; American Indian Law Alliance; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission; and Earthjustice (speaking on behalf of Habitat International Coalition).

The Commission also concluded its annual discussion of women’s human rights, hearing from NGOs condemning all forms of violence against and exploitation of women, including rape, trafficking, and domestic violence.  Numerous organizations emphasized the devastating crimes committed against women during armed conflicts.  They also stressed the need to mainstream gender considerations into all facets

of United Nations work.  Statements were made following by the NGOs: Organization for Defending Victims of Violence; Centro de Estudios sobre la Juventud;
Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization; International Human Rights Association of American Minorities; Islamic Women's Institute of Iran; World Muslim Congress; International Human Rights Law Group; Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees; Association for World Education; World Young Women’s Christian Association; Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions; International Institute for Peace; Women's Human Rights International Association; Association of World Citizens; International Educational Development, Inc.; A Woman's Voice International; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations; All-China Women's Federation; International Service for Human Rights; International Association of Democratic Lawyers; Australian Council for Overseas Aid; and Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development.

Khalaf Khalafov, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, said among other things that terrorism was a threat to democracy and human rights, and Azerbaijan therefore fully supported the efforts of the international community to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and irrespective of its motives.  He also expressed concern about the continued occupation by Armenia of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, saying the occupation had led to ethnic cleansing, violations of international law and the creation of a vast population of internally displaced persons. 

Representatives of Viet Nam, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, and the Republic of Korea, spoke in exercise of the right of reply.

The Commission will reconvene at 3 p.m. to begin consideration of the rights of the child.

Address of Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan

KHALAF KHALAFOV, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, said the Republic of Azerbaijan had joined the anti-terrorist alliance and had added its capabilities to the fight terrorism, which it considered to be a threat to democracy and human rights.  The Government of Azerbaijan fully supported the efforts of the international community to this effect and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations irrespective of political, economic, religious or other motives.  Such sinister phenomena as international terrorism, separatism, aggressive nationalism and extremism must be condemned incessantly and globally and measures must be taken to eliminate all terrorist and other unlawful groups and units irrespective of their size and deployment.

Mr. Khalafov said that for more than 10 years, an uncontrolled zone in the territory of Azerbaijan had been occupied by Armenia.  Having institutionalized the ideology of aggressive nationalism, terrorism and territorial claims against its neighbours as part of Government policies, Armenia first created armed separatist and terrorist groups in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, thus directly interfering in Azerbaijan’s internal affairs.  Then this area was used as a springboard for open armed aggression by Armenia against Azerbaijan.

Having conducted in 1988-1989 the complete ethnic cleansing of the territory of Azerbaijanis who lived there, Armenia subsequently occupied not only the whole of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, but also seven more districts in Azerbaijan,
Mr. Khalafov said.  After this complete ethnic cleansing, there was not a single Azerbaijani remaining in these territories.  About 20 per cent of the territory of Azerbaijan was still under occupation, and the number of people who had been displaced elsewhere in Azerbaijan had reached 1 million.  In the course of the aggression against Azerbaijan there had been documented reports of gross violations by the Armenian side of international humanitarian law, numerous cases of summary executions and mass killings, torture and other cruel forms of treatment and punishment against innocent citizens of Azerbaijan, and the taking of hostages and prisoners of war.  The Government was still preoccupied with the problem of citizens of Azerbaijan missing in the wake of the armed conflict.  At the same time, while the aggression still continued, the trend towards the reduction in the volume of humanitarian assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons provided by international organizations and donor countries was a cause for concern.

General Debate on Indigenous Issues

JUAN JOSE GOMEZ(Mexico) said that Mexico was committed to the promotion and protection of the human rights of indigenous people at the national and international level.  The Government spared no effort to improve the situation of indigenous people.  The country's President, immediately after assuming his power, had maintained a constructive dialogue with representatives of indigenous people.  Indigenous people should be included in national development and they should be able to preserve their cultural identities and their traditions.  The efforts of the Government were intended to create appropriate conditions to allow indigenous communities to participate in the elaboration of legal provisions that would guarantee their autonomy, development, free determination of their affairs and the respect for their human rights.  Mexico was a multicultural and multi-ethnic nation, and it had embarked on an era of new relations between the State and its indigenous peoples.

Two years ago, Mexico and Guatemala had created a mechanism through which recommendations could be made to remedy and prevent violations of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples.  Mexico appreciated the work done by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.

ADELARD BLACKMAN, of Indian Council of South America, said that today the Canadian Government was unilaterally passing legislation regarding the rights and lands of the people of the Buffalo River Dene Nation of northern Saskatchewan.  This was a further step to marginalize and extinguish their rights as a people.  At stake were their traditional territories and resources.  Billions upon billions of dollars in resources were being extracted from their lands without compensation, and without the free and prior consent of the rightful owners of the land.

The refusal of the Supreme Court of Canada to hear their case had exhausted all legal avenues available to the Dene within the Canadian justice system.  Because of the continuing disregard for their rights, the people of the Buffalo River Dene Nation realized that no justice would be achieved within the Canadian justice system and that they had to move into the international arena to bring into the open what was happening to their people, and to find justice.

MARCELINO DIAZ DE JESUS, of Juridical Commission for Auto-Development of First Andean Peoples, said he represented the Plural Indigenous National Assembly for Autonomy, as well as the Mexico Council of Peoples.  Mexican organizations were concerned by systematic and repeated violations of the rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples in Mexico.  Their land had been stolen and destroyed and many indigenous peoples had suffered torture and harassment.  It was regretted that the Special Rapporteur, in his report, had not referred to the real situation of the indigenous issues.

Measures must be taken to ensure and guarantee for the indigenous peoples of Mexico the fulfilment of all human rights.  A second Decade of Indigenous Peoples must be proclaimed to ensure that the challenges facing indigenous peoples were eliminated.  In addition, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations should have its continued existence confirmed.

MATTIAS AHREN, of Saami Council, said his organization represented the indigenous Saami people of Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Russian Federation.  The Council underlined the importance of concluding the draft Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples prior to the conclusion of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples.  The Council noted with satisfaction the advancement towards such an adoption at the last session of the Ad Hoc Working Group.

All parties should continue to cooperate constructively towards adoption of the declaration.  Unfortunately, similar progress had not been made with regard to indigenous rights to land, water and natural resources.  The Norwegian Government had recently proposed a new measure that alleged that the Norwegian State was the sole owner of Saami tradition lands, and further presupposed that there was no difference between indigenous Saami and non-indigenous Norwegians as regards rights to traditional Saami land.

RONALD BARNES, of Indigenous Word Association, said that organization supported the commencement of a second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People.  It also fully supported the continuation of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations.  There was no other body in the United Nations that allowed for standard-setting and review of current situations concerning indigenous peoples other than the Working Group.   There was also a need for a seminar on treaties.  The United Nations was also urged to broaden the mandate of the Special Rapporteur.

The Indigenous Word Association appealed to member States of the United Nations to genuinely work towards understanding the indigenous plight.
The adoption of a Declaration would provide a minimum standard of protection

CHARLES GRAVES, of Interfaith International, highlighted the developments of the post-conflict situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh.
The Jumma indigenous people were neither enjoying the benefits of development programmes nor were they getting back their lands from the occupation of the Bengali Muslim settlers and the military.  Many Jumma youths were finding themselves in a difficult socio-economic situation in which they were losing their traditional ways of livelihood without any sustainable alternatives.  Many Jumma youths were choosing to migrate to developed or other developing countries in search of work.  Cases of mental disorder and suicide of youths due to a lack of decent living conditions had been reported.

In the past, the Government of Bangladesh had used a major part of its international development aid against the Jumma indigenous people.  Such practices must be stopped and the full and effective participation of the local Government and indigenous non-governmental organizations in the development process must be ensured.  

HJALMAR DAHL, of Inuit Circumpolar Conference, said that significant achievements during the Decade included the creation of a Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on the human rights of indigenous people.  Though the mandates, functions and capacities of the Permanent Forum and the Special Rapporteur had been largely established, both required adequate staffing and funding to ensure their effectiveness and success.  The group welcomed the establishment of a Secretariat to the Permanent Forum as a positive achievement.

There was still an increased urgency to address the goals and objectives of the Decade in order to establish a template for future efforts to address and resolve the issues of the new Millennium.  The Commission should seriously consider another new International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples so the goals and objectives of the Decade could be fulfilled in a manner satisfactory to all parties.

     MIKHAIL TODYSHEV, of Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation, and responsibilities among various levels of authorities.  This reform would affect the rights of indigenous peoples.  The question of land was crucial, since the indigenous people of the north were being alienated from their homeland.  The situation was worsened by the fact that the Land Code excluded the free use of land plots.  Consequently, indigenous peoples had to pay for the lease of their own land.

Furthermore, in areas where indigenous people lived, hunted and fished, large development projects were under way to extract oil and gas.  Indigenous peoples needed international standards to protect their rights.  The Commission should consider extending the mandate of the Working Group.  It was regrettable that the Special Rapporteur did not consider in his report the worsening situation of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation.

     SHARON VENNE, of Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples, said the
standard-setting work of the Working Group in relation to indigenous peoples was a unique and innovative method for the protection and promotion of indigenous rights at all levels and in all bodies of The United Nations system.

With regard to the Intern-sessional Working Group on the review of the draft Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, it was an unfortunate development that Governments were proposing another informal inter-sessional meeting without the participation of indigenous peoples.  It was unfortunate for States to meet on a declaration on indigenous peoples without the participation of indigenous peoples.  Indigenous peoples must be fully involved in the future development of any standards relating to their rights. 

     PIO VERZOLA, of International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs, said the Group was alarmed and concerned by the recent pronouncements of the President of the Philippines that her priority for economic recovery was to promote mining energy for foreign investment.  Thus, a National Mineral Policy was now being crafted that would allow unprecedented large-scale corporate mining operations in homeland areas of indigenous peoples.

There were also directives issued by the President to harmonize conflicting laws and policies to remove legal obstacles identified by foreign mining companies and other investors.  Such legal obstacles included the requirements for free, prior informed consent and restriction on commercial activities in certain protected areas under the National Integrated Protected Areas system. 

     KENNETH DEER, of American Indian Law Alliance, reinforced the recommendations of previous indigenous representatives, in particular that for the continuation of the Working Group on indigenous populations.  This Working Group was the foundation of many initiatives involving indigenous peoples within the United Nations system.  Many more initiatives were expected in the future.

The Alliance supported the holding of a conference to evaluate the results of the current Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.  Guessing what the results of such a conference would be, the Alliance also supported the observance of another decade where the shortcomings of the first decade could be addressed.  The Alliance also supported the continuation of the Working Group on the draft Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and urged Governments to recognize the unqualified right to self-determination of indigenous peoples.  Recognizing that right would surely break the logjam in the working group and speed up ratification of the draft Declaration. 

LES MALEZER, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, said termination of the Working Group on indigenous peoples would place a new burden upon the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and on the Commission to fulfil their mandates to promote and protect the human rights of indigenous peoples.

The latest Working Group report examined the issues of racism,
self-determination, land rights, treaties, development, globalization, free prior and informed consent, traditional knowledge, benefit-sharing, education, health, employment and economic development, violence and imprisonment.  Those were human rights issues, and the human rights of indigenous peoples should have equitable consideration before the Commission.  That had been possible because of the existence of the Working Group, which had been able to examine those matters within the structures of the United Nations, in collaboration with the representatives and delegates of indigenous peoples.

     MEDHA PATKAR, of Earthjustice, speaking on behalf of Habitat International Coalition, said the laws of the land were not guaranteed for the tribal and indigenous populations of India.  Two million people were affected by dam projects in India and thousands of families were facing evacuation.  The land rights of these populations had yet to be settled.

In 2000, the Supreme Court of India had ruled in favour of the Government, accepting its claim that land would be provided for indigenous populations affected by these dam projects. However, the Indian Government had yet to meet its obligations.

Right of Reply on Indigenous Issues

A Representative of Viet Nam, responding to a non-governmental organization that had spoken yesterday and had referred to the situation of indigenous peoples in the highlands of Viet Nam, said it was ridiculous even to consider this statement, which had been given by someone who was linked to separatist violence.  It was a waste of time for the Commission.  Interested parties were invited to come and speak to the Representative of Viet Nam to learn of the true situation of indigenous peoples in Viet Nam. 

A Representative of the Philippines, referring to a statement by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, said the NGO had mentioned the indigenous situation in the Philippines and had used newspaper clippings to illustrate some aspects of the situation.  In the Commission, journalists were considered to be human rights defenders, but they did not always have correct information.  The Representative then gave the names of 18 Filipino hostages taken by the indigenous groups referred to.

General Debate on Human Rights of Women

MARYAM SAFARI, of Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, said that in the third Millennium, women continued to be considered as the second gender.  Women were half of the human race and their suffering was as long as human history.  Terrorism was a serious obstacle to the advancement of women and seriously affected their human rights. Rape was a war crime.  In almost all armed conflicts, rape was used as an arbitrary tactic to subdue and create terror.  Women and children were always subjected to mass rape and sexual slavery by militaries or paramilitaries.  This was visible in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and Cambodia.

There were about 20 million refugees all over the world because of wars and armed conflicts.  Half of these refugees were women and girls.  Women and girls were also victims of trafficking for sexual abuse.

NATIVIDAD GUERRERO BORREGO, of Centro de Estudios sobre la Juventud, said it was a pleasure to address the Chairperson of the Commission, since she was a woman.  Her election was a victory for all women.  The Organization had worked hard to incorporate a gender perspective in all its actions.

Men and women must work together to stop massacres by a superpower in the name of oil.  As a result of these kinds of policies, women would lose their husbands, brothers, children and homes.  Without women, no society could achieve progress.  It was therefore essential to incorporate a gender perspective into all development policies.  Cuban women were speaking out for justice, especially for the five Cuban heroes who were currently detained in the United States. 

HAMSA MOHAMMED, of Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization, said that one of the worst forms of violence against women was domestic violence, which women suffered both in Northern and Southern countries.  Women were subjected to violence from childhood and even before birth.  Social tradition was imposed as a form of discrimination against women.

Female genital mutilation, a traditional practice which harmed a child's birth, was still being carried out by societies despite laws and legislation enacted to stop it.  For example, in 1996, the Egyptian Government had issued a decree by the Minister of Health prohibiting female genital mutilation, which was a crime punishable by law.  However, families continued to carry out the practice.  Early marriage was another form of domestic violence in the Arab world.

       SHIREEN WAHEED, of International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, said thousands of women had been brutalized and were doomed to carry the stigma of rape and molestation on their souls in the conflict-ridden region of Indian-occupied Kashmir.  Women in Kashmir were victims of multiple violations.  Considering that 80,000 Kashmiris had been killed by the Indian forces, and hundreds of thousands of them having been victims of enforced disappearances, it was the women who had to take responsibility for the family.

Furthermore, many Kashmiri men were disabled by the brutal conflict and were unemployed as a result of a halt in all productive economic activity, and it was women who were struggling to keep the fabric of family and society together in Indian-occupied Kashmir.  On average, one Kashmiri woman was raped every hour, and 14 wives were murdered by their husbands’ families every day.  Some 135,000 crimes against women were committed every year.

AZAM TALEGHANI ALEI, Islamic Women's Institute of Iran, said women were human beings and must enjoy the general rules pertaining to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Violence or any kind of similar behaviour had its origin in male superiority-seeking feelings, and this way of thinking was the origin of all kinds of deviations and violations of rights through history.  Violence against women included rape, violence in the household, smuggling of women and girls, and prostitution.

To overcome violence in the family, the first step must be a strong legal system.  Various legal and social consultants must be recruited in different judicial centers or police stations to providing consultation and advice to women.  In each region, a safe place must be established for the children, youth and women who were subjected to violence, where they could be legally supported. 

       TABASSUM AMIN, of World Muslim Congress, said there was no denying the fact that violence against women remained pervasive and a stubborn phenomenon, despite the presence of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).  That protection gap was especially visible in situations of armed conflict.  Women were generally unable to defend themselves and were unlikely to offer armed resistance.  They were at times used as targets through sexual violence.  They were used to humiliate a proud people, which was the case in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women was an admirable achievement.  However, it focused almost exclusively on the discrimination aspect.  Issues of violence against women remained largely unaddressed.

GHIZAL HARESS, of International Human Rights Law Group, said violence against women remained in a reality in Afghanistan.  Although there had been many improvements in the overall security situation in the country, gender-based discrimination still existed in many laws, polices and practices.  Concern was expressed about reports of women’s rights violations in Herat city, particularly reports of attacks on Afghan women working for different NGOs.  There were also reports of threats and the imposition of chastity examinations on women.

The Afghan Government was requested to take all necessary steps to ensure that women were safe from violence in all parts of Afghanistan.  The Commission was also urged to make special efforts to investigate grave human rights violations committed against women in Afghanistan.

NORMA LEDESMA, of Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees (FEDEFAM), said her daughter had been kidnapped and murdered, as had happened to so many other women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Her voice was that of hundreds of others who had had the misfortune of losing a daughter.  To be a young, pretty woman in Chihuahua was to be a target for murder, kidnapping and exploitation.  There crimes were committed with total impunity and the State had not stepped in to protect the citizens of Ciudad Juarez.

There was a war going on in the world, but in her region, there was the war of mothers attempting to protect their children, without weapons and without being heard by the State.   

DAVID LITTMAN, of Association for World Education, said his organization first raised the subject of female genital mutilation in 1994.  Despite progress in education, outlawing that ghastly torture of female children was proving to be a hellishly long task.

The stoning of women occurred regularly in Iran, Sudan and other Muslim countries that applied Shari'a punishments strictly.  Three years ago, the organization twice had addressed the barbaric custom of honour killings.  Mention was also made of the remarkable BBC film on the causes of such killings, which showed how and why that inhuman tribal custom was regularly upheld by Pakistan's judicial system, why even the legislature condoned it.  Honour killings should be condemned as a defamation of Islam.

RENE ROSS, of World Young Women’s Christian Association, said the worst cases of violence against women occurred in situations of armed conflict. Rape of women and girls continued to be a weapon of war.  This violence was committed also in refugee camps, and the vulnerability of the victims to HIV/AIDS infection was multiplied many times over.

Was it not ironic that while it was men who waged wars, it was almost always men who sat at the negotiating table to bargain peace?  In a world that seemed to be more and more committed to choosing violence as a means of achieving security, and in so doing was sacrificing human rights and genuine democracy, was there no place for women to contribute and realize their own vision of what peace and human security meant?

BIRTE SCHOLTZ, of Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, raised the issue of people storming homes, of bulldozers destroying homes and destroying lives.  This and thousands of similar scenarios were a reality for millions of persons every year.  Forced evictions and forced relocations affected women the most, since they usually occurred during the day, when women and children were at home and were seen as vulnerable targets.

Women were psychologically, physically and many times sexually abused, beaten and often raped, in order to remove them from their homes.  Many had died as a result of evictions.  Often they were crushed as their homes fell to the bulldozers.  Before and after evictions, women were also victimized.  The connection between women’s experience of violence and women’s ownership, access and control of land and housing was more than clear.  The Commission was urged to promote, protect and champion women’s rights to adequate housing. 

TATIANA SHAMIAN, of International Institute for Peace, said unremedied domestic violence denied women equality before the law and reinforced their subordinate social status.  Men used domestic violence to diminish women's autonomy and sense of self-worth.  States that failed to prevent and prosecute domestic violence sent a clear message that such violence was of no concern to society.

In South Africa, Jordan, Pakistan and Peru, officials at all levels of the criminal justice system believed domestic violence was not a matter for criminal courts and reinforced the batterers' attempts to demean and control their victims.  Refugee and internally displaced women were vulnerable to abuse by Governments, insurgent groups and other refugees.  Sexual violence against women happened at an alarming rate in times of peace, as well as during armed conflicts.

AHMARI FATEMEH, of Women's Human Rights International Association, said women were victims of institutionalized discrimination in several Islamic countries.

In Iran, for example, any married woman who committed adultery must be punished by stoning.  Recently a woman had been stoned even without being accused of adultery.  The objective of these oppressive practices was to frighten citizens so that they would respect the established order.  Under Iran's President Katami, 26 persons had been condemned to death by stoning.  Several members of Parliament had recently indicated that legislation in this regard was not expected to be changed.

GIANFRANCO FATTORINI, of Association of World Citizens, said that among the many aspects of this issue, it should be emphasized that women were not only targets and victims but were also crucial partners in peace-building and
post-conflict reconstruction, and had proved to be creative peacemakers.

The media coverage of the war in Iraq put the strength and limitations of humanitarian law on the world’s agenda.  All were too aware of the trends of current conflicts and feared they could herald the further disintegration of a world order that would have otherwise been seeking peace, reconciliation and elaborating a system of social economic justice both at micro and macro levels.  The fear was that military actions, however effective they seemed to be in any conflict situation, were no final answer.  The gap between the haves and have-nots would continue to widen within all societies.  Hard work must be done to strengthen the safeguards provided by humanitarian law with special attention to the condition and needs of women in war-torn societies.

KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, Inc., said cases of American women and their girl children being kidnapped by Saudi fathers were most egregious.  In addition to the abject failure of United States authorities to aid their own citizens and Saudi complicity in the kidnapping of these children, the particular status of girls and women in Saudi Arabia was a major factor in those girls being subjected to violence and oppression.  Saudi fathers might force girls as young 11 and 12 into arranged marriages.  Ironically, Saudi Arabia had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Serious concern also was felt about the situation of women in armed conflicts or situations of serious social unrest.  Women were at serious risk of violence in Indian-occupied Kashmir, Côte d'Ivoire, Iraq, Burma and Afghanistan.

HAE YOUNG LEE, of A Woman's Voice International, said severe violations were committed in North Korean political detention facilities against women and children.  These violations included forced abortions and ethnic infanticide against pregnant women repatriated from China to North Korea; detention of women and children because of the presumed offenses of their husbands or fathers, who themselves had been denied any judicial process; and brutal maltreatment.

      It was imperative that the Commission take note of the persistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights in North Korea.
The members of the Commission were urged to support a resolution on North Korea.

BERCEM AKKOC, of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said the Special Rapporteur had courageously catalyzed a discussion on the impact of armed conflict on women and girls and had exposed the human rights violations inherent in the practices of berdel and honour killings everywhere.  States were urged to implement the General Assembly’s Third Committee resolution titled "working towards the elimination of crimes committed in the name of honour".  States were called upon to recognize that unequal economic stake holding, including unequal ownership and control of land, credit and resources, not only constituted violence in and of itself, but also allowed men and boys to perpetrate violence against women and girls who were economically dependent on them.

The systematic violation of women’s human rights during war and other armed conflicts was perhaps the gravest form of violence against women. 

SABA KOUKAB, of International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, said the constant disturbances in Kashmir had changed the entire life pattern of the inhabitants, particularly the children.  The entire concept of childhood had under gone a radical change in the Kashmir Valley.  Schools had been converted into army camps.  The children did not attend kindergarten or play with toys, the way the normal children did.  Neither were they brought under the care of their parents in a free atmosphere.

Instead, their memories of childhood consist of an atmosphere charged with fear, terror, constant violence, unrest and insecurity.  Acquiring education had become a lost cause due to the destruction of schools, the removal and killing of teachers and breakdown of civic infrastructure. 

SONG WEN YAN, of All-China Women's Federation, said that during World War II, the Japanese invasion army had forced tens of thousands of women in many Asian countries into military sexual slavery, committing the most barbaric form of violation of human rights.  Many of these women died from the brutalities perpetrated by the Japanese military.  The few survivors were still living with agonizing memories.

       However, no serious or responsible attitude had even been taken by the Japanese Government on the issue.  This was unacceptable and intolerable to all Asian women.  The Japanese Government was urged to take a correct attitude and assume its responsibility.

       RAHEEK RINAWI, of International Service for Human Rights, said that although most countries were signatories to the Fourth Geneva Convention, many countries still argued that rape during wartime was not a crime of war or a crime against humanity.  In armed conflicts, women were exposed to all kinds of violence and were being used as a tactical weapon to intimidate and terrorize target populations.  While the Commission was debating this issue, women in Iraq were being subjected to abuses and humiliation as a result of an unjust war.

All United Nations bodies and governments must financially support women who were in need of immediate help and protection, especially in armed conflicts such as the present situation in Iraq.  States must take steps to halt institutional discrimination against women conducted in countries that still enforced brutal cultural practices against women. 

SO CHUNG ON, of International Association of Democratic Lawyers, said the Japanese Imperial Government had forced Asian women into sexual slavery as "comfort women" during Japan's illegal occupation of Asia.  The pains and maltreatment suffered by the comfort women were beyond expression.  The majority of those women were killed mercilessly, and even the few survivors were passing away one by one, having in their minds a deep grudge against Japan.  They went without any physical or mental rehabilitation, and without any compensation.

Japan had to recognize its crimes politically, morally and legally, and demonstrate its political will to do away with the past.  Failure to do so would lead to a repetition of the same forms of crimes.

Ms. TUKHAME, of Australian Council for Overseas Aid, denounced sexual violence committed against the women of Shan State in Myanmar.  Military rapes there were extreme in their brutality; according to the report "License to Rape", published jointly by the Shan Women's Action Network and the Shan Human Rights Foundation.  Some 83 per cent of these rapes were committed by officers in front of their troops, and 25 per cent resulted in the death of the victim.  In Shan State, some 300,000 villagers had been forcibly displaced since 1996, and the military dictatorship of Myanmar was the principal cause of sexual violence against Shan women.

Intending to discredit this report, the Myanmar authorities had threatened the villagers before the visit of the Special Rapporteur on the situation in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, and had done the same thing before visits by the Red Cross and Amnesty International.  The Commission was urged to bring these crimes to the attention of the Government of Maynmar, to call for a cease-fire throughout the country, and to call for a resumption of the tripartite dialogue intended to resolve the crisis in Myanmar.  The Commission also was urged to ask the Indonesian Government to bring to justice those responsible for violence against women.

MARY JANE REAL, of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, drew the attention of the Commission to ongoing sexual violence against Shan women in Burma perpetrated by the State.  Shan women were being raped by the military junta’s forces with impunity.  Over the past decade, the regime had increased the size of its army.  In Shan State, there were now at least 150 battalions, with over 100,000 troops.  The army exercised absolute power and all abuses, including sexual violence, were licensed in the interest of controlling local populations.

Rape was officially condoned as a weapon of war against the women of Shan State.  The Burmese military regime had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the form of sexual violence against Shan women.  States were called upon to urge the Thai Government in cooperation with High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international community to provide international protection as defined in the Refugee Convention to Shan civilians seeking asylum in Thailand. 

Right of Reply on Human Rights of Women

A Representative of Japan, referring to the statement made by the representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea yesterday, said the issue of property had already been settled by the Japanese Government.  Concerning the country's moral obligation, the Japanese authorities had expressed their apology for past crimes committed against Korean women during the Second World War.

A Representative of Mexico, speaking in right of reply, said he shared the frustration and indignation expressed by the NGO Justice for Our Women concerning the assassination of women in the cities of Juarez and Chihuahua.  The Government had taken significant steps to investigate these crimes and to prevent their repetition, and had invited the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to visit the country and to make recommendations on such cases.

A Representative of the Republic of Korea said the forty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women had confirmed that sexual slavery constituted a war crime.  Two Special Rapporteurs had also pointed out that the Japanese authorities should claim responsibility, pay compensation and punish perpetrators for the crimes committed against the "comfort women".  The Japanese Government was called upon to undertake these actions urgently, given the advanced age of the victims. 

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