Briefing note, 10 March 1998

10 March 1998


John Mills, the media officer for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that Mrs. Mary Robinson was arriving today in Geneva after her trip to London. She would be participating this afternoon in the round table to commemorate International Women's Day in Geneva.

Regarding the Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Mills said that he would try and have by the end of the week, probably Thursday, an update of the list of dignitaries. There had been some changes and additions to the list provided last week. He would also have for correspondents, on unofficial and provisional basis, the programme of the Commission. This was very much subject to adoption and possible change early next week when the new Bureau of the Commission met. Along with this programme would be a list of special rapporteurs and the agenda items under which their reports would be considered. This would answer the question asked at the last briefing as to when the rapporteurs could be expected in Geneva.

Mr. Mills said that he was speaking with the Ambassador who was expected to be the new Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights with a view to trying to schedule a press conference with him on Monday. A correspondent said that Monday was the opening of the Commission and there would also be four-party talks on North Korea. Mr. Mills asked when would be a good time and after some discussion agreed to liaise with the ACANU President to find a mutually suitable time.

Mr. Mills said that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was continuing its meetings and it had an interesting schedule. It would finish consideration of the report of Ukraine today, and would this afternoon take up the situation in Lebanon. Tomorrow afternoon, CERD would look at the report of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia through Thursday morning. He suggested that would be of more than passing interest.

A correspondent asked how the press conferences for the visiting dignitaries were arranged. Mr. Mills said that the Secretariat of the Commission did not organize press conferences for the visiting dignitaries. If the visiting dignitaries were interested, their Missions approached the Information Service and requested the usual facilities which were always at their disposal.

Another correspondent asked if Mr. Mills could inform visiting dignitaries of the interest of the press and of the facilities because some of them were not aware of this. Mr. Mills said he would ensure they were aware.

A reporter asked for a schedule with the approximate time that the ministers would be speaking and Mr. Mills said one had been put in the press room last Thursday and there would be an updated version next Thursday. Ms. Gastaut said that by Friday, the Information Service would provide a comprehensive calender of what was happening on Monday and Tuesday when the Secretary-General would be in Geneva and when there would be additional activities.

A correspondent asked which region did the new Chairman of the Commission come from and Mr. Mills said he came from Africa.

In response to when the conclusions of CERD would be available, Mr. Mills said that conclusions of CERD were normally adopted at the end of the session and were usually available on the morning of the last day of the session. He was asked if the High Commissioner for Human Rights was concerned about the situation in Latvia where elderly people were attacked by police and where yesterday a monument for those who died in the last war was attacked by Nazi supporters. Mr. Mills said that he was not aware of the incidents the journalist had raised. He knew that the Office of the High Commissioner had been working with Latvia to establish a National Human Rights Commission which would be the kind of body which should take up such incidents. He would find out if those incidents had been reported to the Office and he would get back to the correspondent.

A correspondent said that in the report that had been released yesterday on the forcefully disappeared people, he read that during the considered period, the Working Group had not reported any new cases to the Government of the Republic of the Congo. He asked Mr. Mills to elaborate on how the Working Group arrived to this result. Mr. Mills said he was not familiar with the basis of the Working Group's statement in that respect but he would ask them about it.

Concerning an organizational question, a correspondent asked "which brain" had scheduled two dozen foreign ministers on the first two days of the Commission since this undermined the effect of the intervention of each speaker. Mr. Mills said that there were pluses and minuses on this point. The first week of the Commission was traditionally the time when dignitaries came and addressed the session and made an intervention regarding human rights and their countries' support for the United Nations' work in the field. This year, because of the 50th anniversary, there was an increased interest by foreign ministers and heads of Governments. This increased interest was very welcome. The Office was pleased that so many foreign ministers from different regions of the world were coming and contributing to the debate of the Commission. This did create scheduling and protocol problems and from some perspectives, like the one the correspondent mentioned, it did look over-congested. But in terms of showing the strength and universality of support for the work of the Commission on Human Rights, it was a positive development.

A correspondent reminded Mr Mills that there was still no new Special Rapporteur for the former Yugoslavia. Mr Mills said he had discussed this issue with the Chairman of the Commission. There were candidates being considered, however there were only three or four more days for the outgoing Chairman to make an appointment.