Human Rights Expert Warns Third Committee of Rise in Past Crime Denials, Urging Justice

Delegates also Hear Expert Reports on Human Rights Issues Related to Migrant Children, Enforced Disappearances and Albinism

Presenting reports on such topics as truth and redress, child migrants, enforced disappearances and albinism, United Nations-appointed experts called for accountability for human rights violations as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its interactive dialogues today.

Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence Bernard Duhaime highlighted the growing challenges of denying, distorting or politicizing past human rights violations and breaches of humanitarian law.  These practices have increased in recent years, partly driven by advancements in technology, and they pose a serious threat to transitional justice efforts. They also violate rights, such as freedom from discrimination, and signal a heightened risk of return to violence, he warned.

While his mandate focuses on serious abuses that occur during transitions from armed conflict or authoritarian regimes, similar violations arise without war or dictatorship, driven by factors such as terrorism and counter-terrorism measures, forced displacement, climate change, environmental crimes and corruption, he said.  “Hundreds of millions are suffering as a result of these challenges,” he stressed, voicing his intention to develop recommendations on how all aspects of transitional justice — truth-seeking, reparations, accountability and institutional reform — can be used effectively to respond to these harms and stop them from repeating in the future.

In the ensuing interactive dialogue, delegates spotlighted rights violations in their countries and mechanisms for truth and reconciliation, and they voiced alarm that disinformation may facilitate the misuse of transitional justice mechanisms.

Ukraine is committed to accountability and reparation in the context of the Russian Federation’s “atrocious” war against her country, said its delegate.  “The scope of destruction is hard to grasp”, and the aggressor State must be held accountable for the damage and suffering it has caused, she stressed, calling on the international community to support Kyiv’s efforts for justice in line with its Peace Formula.

Also citing rights violations in her country, the representative of Afghanistan said that the importance of transitional justice mechanisms “cannot be understated” for States like hers, where ongoing violations such as the targeted oppression of women, journalists and human rights defenders occur.  Also highlighting the recent shooting of Afghan migrants at the Iranian border, she called for mechanisms that address transnational violations of international humanitarian law.

Iran’s delegate rejected such “false accusations”, noting that her country hosts the largest population of Afghan migrants — amounting to 6 million — despite challenges posed by the United States’ unilateral coercive measures.

Morocco’s representative highlighted his country’s approach to truth and reconciliation, recalling national efforts in the 1990s to ensure victims’ rights to truth, justice and non-repetition, including through the “consultative council for human rights”.  The country has “boldly assumed responsibility” for its past human rights violations, he said. 

In a similar vein, Mexico’s speaker said her country shares the same concerns over revisionism stymying efforts for truth and reconciliation.  For its part, Mexico has established the “Commission for Access to Truth and Justice” for serious human rights violations in previous years, which fosters historic memory and offers redress for victims, she said.

Also noting her country’s commitment to memorialization, Brazil’s delegate spotlighted the “Places of Memory” programme focusing on sites where gross violations occurred during the military dictatorship. 

Meanwhile, the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, called on the Special Rapporteur to analyze how disinformation contributes to the misuse of transitional justice to justify delayed or absent democratic reforms.

What experts say:

• Migrant children have the same human rights as all children, which “do not cease at borders”
• “Victim” in enforced disappearances refers not only to those who vanished but their relatives
• Placing persons with albinism in shelters or boarding schools must be regulated to preserve family connections

Also among the experts briefing the Committee was Gehad Madi, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, who presented his report on migrant children.  Children are children no matter where they are from and why they and their families move, he said, emphasizing that migrant children have the same human rights as all children, which “do not cease at borders”.  Out of 281 million migrants globally, 35.5 million are children, he said, voicing alarm over increasingly restrictive migration policies, externalization of migration procedures, criminalization of irregular migrations, targeting of human rights defenders and return arrangements that lack due process.

These challenges exacerbate the situation of child migrants — whether they are moving through regular or irregular pathways — and can threaten their lives and development, he underlined.  Despite an almost universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, major gaps and a lack of safe migration channels for children expose them to violence and exploitation — especially if minors are unaccompanied or undocumented.

Further risks include detention, push-backs and child recruitment into armed conflict or radicalized movements, he added.  Against this backdrop, the protection of family unity — with due attention to reunification — and the prevention of Statelessness must be addressed, he stated.  Some States have implemented good practices, he said, spotlighting initiatives prohibiting child detention, including migrant children in essential services and expanding pathways for regular and permanent migration.

The Convention for the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families is “the least ratified” of the nine main international human rights instruments, noted Fatima Diallo, Chair of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families during the introduction of her annual report. Accordingly, she called on the European Union member States that have yet to sign or ratify the Convention to do so.

It is crucial not only because the bloc is an important destination for migrants, but also because ratification by these States would send a strong message regarding the support given to this fundamental human rights instrument, she stressed.  Voicing concern over the impact of climate change on migrants’ rights, she urged States to establish protections for migrant workers displaced due to such phenomena.

Shedding light on “the unspeakable suffering of victims of enforced disappearance worldwide”, Gabriella Citroni, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, clarified that the term “victim” refers not only to those who vanished, but also their relatives, whose anguish points to ill-treatment.  Today, enforced disappearance is still practiced globally with impunity despite its absolute prohibition, she warned, highlighting the challenges, such as intimidation and reprisals, faced by its victims, human rights defenders and organizations and lawyers that support them.

Her annual report spotlighted the transmission of 998 new cases of enforced disappearance to 37 States, including 701 under the urgent procedure to 21 States, she said, voicing particular concern over the escalating number of cases recorded in the context of armed conflicts, including in Ukraine, Gaza and Yemen.  In the context of elections, she underlined the importance of accountability and the role of oversight mechanisms in preventing enforced disappearances.

Elaborating on the scourge, Olivier De Frouville, Chair of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, presenting his annual report (A/79/56), said that, as of 17 October 2024, the Committee has registered 1,910 emergency actions, mainly in Iraq and Mexico, but also in 30 other countries across all continents.  After conducting visits to Mexico and Iraq in November 2021 and November 2022, respectively, the Committee will visit Colombia from 21 November to 5 December 2024. The Committee also intends to visit Burkina Faso and Honduras.

He underscored the importance of the synergy with other mechanisms and procedures and the universal ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in an increasingly troubled international context in which such practice is spreading.  In this regard, the World Congress on Enforced Disappearances in Geneva on 15 and 16 January 2025 is “a milestone”, he added.

Also presenting a report (document A/79/175) was Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism — a rare, genetically inherited condition that affects people worldwide.  Owing to their visual impairment and high susceptibility to skin cancer, persons with albinism are also considered persons with disabilities. She stressed the importance of protecting their rights to family life, observing that “those with better life chances generally tend to be those with a supportive family environment”.

Meanwhile, she continued, institutionalization of those children has been documented to harm their physical, psychological and cognitive development, increase the risks of their developing attachment problems and limit their long-term life chances.  In exceptional cases, where a child with albinism’s right to life and protection from violence cannot be guaranteed, there may be a case for States to temporarily protect such children in small-scale residential emergency shelters or in inclusive boarding schools with facilitated family visits.  However, she emphasized that “such placements must preserve family connections, be regulated as a form of alternative care and be fully funded to ensure that the rights of children with albinism are fully respected, protected and upheld for the duration of their stay”.