Briefing note, 8 May 1998

Geneva, 8 May 1998



John Mills, media officer for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the High Commissioner was currently in Atlanta, where she was scheduled to speak this afternoon to the annual meeting of correspondents who contribute to the CNN World Report programme. She would return to Geneva over the weekend.

The Committee against Torture was looking at the situation in New Zealand today, Mr. Mills continued. During the first three days of next week it would take up reports from Germany, Peru and Panama.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights would meet in closed session today to consider its concluding observations, he said. On Monday the Committee would hold a day-long general discussion on globalization. In the context of economic, social and cultural rights, Mr Mills said globalization posed a real problem: the approach to human rights was based on the role of States, and globalization tended to shrink the role of States. Globalization called into question many of the assumptions used in human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights. There was also likely to be some discussion on the impact the current crisis in Asia was having on those rights.

Turning to questions asked in his absence at last Tuesday's briefing, Mr. Mills said a letter related to the issue of disappearances in Chile had not been received by the Office of the High Commissioner. He understood that a non-governmental organization would present the issue to the Working Group on Disappearances during its July meeting in New York.

Another question raised on Tuesday had been what concrete measures were involved in the urgent appeal made by three special rapporteurs and the related statement by the the High Commissioner regarding death sentences in Nigeria, Mr. Mills said. What happened with urgent appeals was that special rapporteurs sent formal letters through the Permanent Mission of the country concerned to the Foreign Minister in the hope that the Government would be aware that there was international concern on a given issue and respond positively.

A correspondent said she was very surprised the High Commissioner's Office had not received a copy of the letter on the disappearances in Chile, given that it had been sent. Mr. Mills said the Office received an enormous number of communications. He had raised the matter with the Deputy High Commissioner, who had indicated that it had not been received. He would be happy to receive the letter himself and forward it to the appropriate office for follow up.

The Office received about 30,000 communications a year under the "1503" procedure, Mr. Mills said in response to another question. The treaty bodies received about one thousand to 1500 communications a year, some one to two hundred of which were considered admissible. He did not have a number for the appeals made directly to special rapporteurs, but all those received by the Office and the treaty bodies were acknowledged.

Mr. Mills said in reply to a request that it would be possible for the press to see the Chairman of the Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Torture.

The High Commissioner was not scheduled to meet with American officials during her current trip to the United States, Mr. Mills said when asked whether Mrs. Robinson would raise the question of the report of the Special Rapporteur on executions regarding the use of the death penalty in that country.