COMMISSION DECRIES LACK OF POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM "OCCUPYING POWER" ON IMPLEMENTATION OF RESOLUTION ON PALESTINE

Commission on Human Rights
58th session
16 April 2002
Morning





Debate Continues on Civil and Political Rights


The Commission on Human Rights decided by roll-call vote this morning to express deep dismay that a request it had made for the High Commissioner on Human Rights to visit the occupied Palestinian territories and report on the situation there could not be fulfilled "due to the absence of a positive response from the occupying power".

In the decision, which passed by a vote of 41 in favour and 2 opposed, with 9 abstentions, the Commission urged immediate implementation of its resolution 2002/1, which called for the visit, and urged the High Commissioner to report urgently to the Commission on the deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories on the basis of reports from all concerned organizations present there.

High Commissioner Mary Robinson told the Commission on Monday, 15 April, that she was unable to carry out the visit, as permission to enter the occupied territories had not been given.

Also this morning, secretariat representatives introduced three reports on behalf of experts unable to appear before the Commission.

A brief statement was read out on behalf of Abid Hussain, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, which referred the Commission to his written statement. The written statement noted among other things that while violations of the rights to freedom of speech and assembly occurred more frequently in situations of armed conflict and civil unrest, they also occurred repeatedly in emerging democracies and in countries with long-established democratic institutions. In most cases, national security and the argument of "necessity" were invoked by authorities to justify infringements of these rights, Mr. Hussain said.

Argentina responded to an addendum to Mr. Hussain's report on his mission to that country.

A statement was read out on behalf of Ivan Tosevski, member of the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, which said that since its establishment in 1980, the Working Group had transmitted 49,780 cases of alleged disappearances to 76 Governments. Out of these, however, only 7,921 cases had been clarified. On the other hand, Mr. Tosevski reported, it was a positive development that over the past couple of years there had been a continuing decline in the number of disappearances. A statement was also read out on behalf of Mr. Tosevski in his role as a member of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, noting that around $ 12 million was needed to finance a series of deserving requests for grants, but currently only $ 1.4 million had been contributed to the Fund for the coming year.

The Commission continued its debate on civil and political rights, hearing from a series of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) charging, among other things, that violations of such rights were occurring in numerous countries. The World Organization against Torture said the repercussions of the 11 September terrorist attacks meant that countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and India had either adopted or were contemplating legislation to fight terrorism that included being able to hold prisoners incommunicado and/or indefinitely in administrative detention.

Also delivering statements were the NGOs Third World Movement against the Exploitation of Women; World Organization of Former Pupils of Catholic Education; World Union for Progressive Judaism; Reporters sans Frontiers International; International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims; Palestinian Centre for Human Rights; Transnational Radical Party; Human Rights Watch; Liberation; Amnesty International; South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre; World Organization against Torture; Baha'i International Community; International League for Human Rights; International Federation of Human Rights Leagues; Pax Romana; Defence for Children International; Association for the Prevention of Torture; International Fellowship of Reconciliation; Federal Union of European Nationalities; France Libertes - Fondation Danielle Mitterrand; International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations; International Human Rights Association of American Minorities; International Commission of Jurists; World Federation of Democratic Youth; War Resisters International; and International Peace Bureau.

The Commission will reconvene at 3 p.m. to continue its debate on civil and political rights.


Action on Decision

In a decision adopted by a roll-call vote of 41 in favour to 2 against, with 9 abstentions, the Commission expressed its deep dismay that its resolution 2002/1 of 5 April 2002 had not been implemented due to the absence of a positive response from the occupying power even though the human rights situation in the Palestinian occupied territories had continued to deteriorate. The Commission called for the immediate implementation of its resolution 2002/1, and urged the High Commissioner for Human Rights to urgently report to the Commission on the deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories on the basis of reports from all concerned organizations present in the occupied territories.

The result of the vote was as follows:

In favour: Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zambia.

Against: Canada and Guatemala,

Abstentions: Argentina, Cameroon, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Russian Federation, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,


YAAKOV LEVY (Israel) said the vote on this draft decision would be one more manifestation of the singling out of Israel in a series of one-sided resolutions. The language used yesterday by two of the speakers had again been of an inflammatory nature, which should be avoided. Once again, Israel cautioned speakers against belittling the greatest tragedy of the Jewish people, the Holocaust, by drawing on themes and motives so painful to the victims, to illustrate points in the current debate. One speaker had referred to a massacre. Again, there had been a massacre in Jerusalem on Friday, one more suicide bomber exploded, killing 6 innocent passengers at a bus station, wounding 64. One more of this series of massacres perpetrated against innocent Jewish victims. There was no massacre in the camp of Jenin. There was severe fighting. There were no mass graves. Israel neither dug nor buried anyone in a mass-grave. In fact, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was prohibited from evacuating and burying Palestinians killed in the fighting. The IDF committed itself to enabling the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to participate in the location, identification, documentation and photographing of the bodies of those who fought against Israeli soldiers in the camp. The camp of Jenin had been opened to the media and to relief organizations.

NABIL RAMLAWI (Palestine) said he did not want to go into details as to the statement made by the Israeli delegate. However, if this information was valid why would the Israeli army close the areas, cities and camps? Why would Israel not allow Ms. Robinson's visit or give free access to journalists? Was it not so that Israel could hide its crimes and massacres? When hearing the Israeli speaker describe the fighting and the casualties on both sides, one had to wonder why the Israeli army was present in the Jenin camp in the first place? It was necessary to listen to the representatives of the Red Cross and other organizations who had described atrocities on par with those of the Second World War. Who had committed these crimes of destruction and devastation? The answer was simple -- it was the Israeli Defense Force. Sharon's history of cruelty was known throughout the world. He knew only blood and war.

MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan) said action should be taken urgently due to the tragic situation. The situation in the Middle East had taken much of the Commission's time. Although that was not anticipated, the Commission could not avoid it. In light of consultations among the co-sponsors after the submission of the draft resolution, two amendments had been made to the text.

YAAKOV LEVY (Israel) said the Palestinian observer had raised two questions. First, why was Jenin closed to the media? The Jenin camp had been open for the past several days, including to humanitarian agencies. As for the second question, Why Jenin ? It was because 23 suicide bombers had left the camp on suicide bombing missions against Israel and dozens of tons of explosives and laboratories with explosives had been found there. For that reason, Israel had been compelled to enter the camp and had withdrawn after completing its operation.

NABIL RAMLAWI (Palestine) said Israel had still tried to hide the greater part of its actions. Yes, some organizations had entered, but no one had been allowed in while Israel was committing its crimes. If Israel was present in Jenin to prevent human bombs, why was the Israeli army in Nablus, and in all the Palestinian camps? Why was there Israeli presence on every metre of Palestinian land? The Israeli army was occupying the whole land and resistance to the occupation was a legitimate act. Now, when the occupation was continuing, there would be no peace for Israel and the Palestinians would not surrender.

ANTONIO ARENALES FORNO (Guatemala) said his country would not support the decision nor did it support the extraordinary discussion on the issue. The Commission should wait until US Secretary of State Secretary Powell, who was at present in the region, completed his mission.

MARIE GERVAIS-VIDRICAIRE (Canada), in an explanation of the vote after the vote, said her country was concerned about the human rights situation in the occupied territories. However it could not support this decision. Canada had serious concerns regarding the nature of the proposed observer mission and did not feel that resolution 2002/1 accurately reflected the full context of the current situation in the region. Canada had repeatedly stated that in order to make a positive contribution to the search for peace, third party monitoring must be accepted by both parties. Canada also considered that the maintenance of international peace and security was the responsibility of the Security Council, which was the most appropriate body for pursuing initiatives such as this one.

WALTER LEWALTER (Germany), explaining a vote after the vote, said Germany supported the visiting mission of the High Commissioner and believed that it could be important for the prospective of durable peace. That was why Germany wished the mission to be successful. However, the mandate could have been formulated in a more balanced way and the current text did not take this concern into account.


Introductions of Reports

A representative of the Secretariat, reading a brief statement on behalf of ABID HUSSAIN, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, said the Special Rapporteur referred members of the Commission to his written statement due to the time constraints of the Commission, and hoped that this would not set a precedent. The Special Rapporteur's report is contained in E/CN.4/2002/ 75 and Add.1. The written statement remarked among other things that while violations of the rights to freedom of speech and assembly occurred more frequently in situations of armed conflict and civil unrest, they also occurred repeatedly in emerging democracies and in countries with long-established democratic institutions. In most cases, national security and the argument of "necessity" were invoked by authorities to justify infringements of these rights. Yearning for order was legitimate, but it had to be remembered that when the demand for order overrode considerations of human rights, States were likely to become mechanisms of terror.

NORMA NASCIMBENE DE DUMONT (Argentina), referring to an addendum to the report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression which summarized his mission to Argentina, said Argentina did not approve of the way the report had been posted on the Internet very recently, especially as it had been impossible for concerned authorities to provide an appropriate response to the concerns of the Rapporteur. The Rapporteur had visited the country in July 2001 and his report had only been made available when there was not enough time for central authorities to investigate the observations the Rapporteur had made about the provinces. However, the Argentinean authorities would provide written responses to the Special Rapporteur as soon as possible after thorough investigations of the concerns indicated in the report.

Since the return of democracy to Argentina, the country had been in the process of recuperating democratic institutions and re-enacting fundamental freedoms for citizens. Following decades of interruptions to the state of law, Argentina was making progress in fostering human rights, including freedom of opinion, which was a basic pillar of Argentina's democratic regime.

A member of the secretariat, speaking on behalf of IVAN TOSEVSKI, member of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, whose report is contained in E/CN.4/2002/79, said that since its establishment in 1980, the Working Group had transmitted 49,780 cases of alleged disappearances to 76 Governments. Out of these, however, only 7,921 cases had been clarified. Although every individual case clarified must be seen as a success, the fact that 41,859 cases remained outstanding was not very encouraging. On the other hand, one fact could not be avoided, namely that over the past couple of years there had been a continuing decline in the number of disappearances in the world, which must be considered a positive development. It was of utmost importance that perpetrators of acts of enforced or involuntary disappearances be brought to justice, either by domestic courts or by international tribunals. Perpetrators must not benefit from any special or general amnesty law or similar measures.

The Working Group expressed its hope that the Commission would speedily finalize the drafting process of an International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. The Working Group also appealed once again to the Commission to request that appropriate resources be allocated to the Working Group, which had seen the number of its Secretariat staff dramatically reduced in recent years. Strengthening of staff support was indispensable for the effective fulfilment of the Working Group's mandate.

A member of the secretariat, speaking on behalf of IVAN TOSEVSKI, member of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, said the Board would meet in May to make recommendations for grants only on the basis of contributions officially registered by the United Nations Treasurer as available in the Fund on the eve of the session. Donors were therefore invited by the General Assembly and the Commission to contribute well in advance of the annual session so that their contributions could be duly registered. About 260 new requests had been received this year to finance medical, psychological, economic, social, legal, humanitarian and other forms of assistance to victims of torture and members of their families. An amount of about $ 12 million was needed, but as of today only $ 1.4 million had been paid into the Fund. The Commission was reminded that the Board would only be able to consider contributions paid and duly registered by the United Nations Treasurer, not pledges. Donors who had pledged a contribution and other regular donors were urged to pay their contributions before the end of the present session of the Commission. New donors were also invited to contribute.


Debate on Civil and Political Rights

SONI SETYANA, of the Third World Movement against Exploitation of Women, said that the Indonesian military and police continued to practice with impunity torture, disappearances and arbitrary detention. In particular, torture had been used widely in Aceh and Irian Jaya. Law enforcement had gone nowhere in the past four years, despite announced reforms. The prosecution of the former President Suharto was at a standstill and corruption cases involving a number of high ranking officials had gone nowhere. With regard to the human rights situation in Colombia, the Commission must not allow the legitimate fight against terrorism to serve as an excuse for the human rights violations occurring in Colombia.

NANCY DARGEL, of the World Organization of Former Pupils of Catholic Education, said that in the spirit of the Madrid Consultative Conference and in respect of school education, the Organization considered it essential to organize training for the teaching of religion and to remark on the part played by religious denominations throughout history. Since schools had been asked to study the UN humanitarian instruments over the past eight years, 240,000 Catholic schools had been involved in such instruction. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a yardstick for all members of the United Nations. The work of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion should be supported.

DAVID LITTMAN, of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, said a landmark decision had been taken ten days ago by the highest recognized spiritual leader of the Muslim Sunni world aligning official Sunni Islam with that of Shi'a Islam on homicide-bombings. This kind of bombing was first initiated 20 years ago by Hezbollah in Lebanon through the use of its own teenagers in a "culture of death". At recent meetings in Beirut, Cairo and Malaysia neither the Arab League nor the Organization of the Islamic Conference had condemned homicide-bombings -- quite the contrary. Surely homicide-bombings, as symbolized by the 11 September infamy, were a manifest defamation of religion, explicitly condemned in the OIC resolution on the subject. The Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, all competent United Nations bodies and the Commission on Human Rights -- not forgetting the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League -- should act now to outlaw this evil plague, which could lead to a serious "clash" between those civilizations that honoured life and those leaders who criminally defamed religion by endorsing a "culture of death".

GEORGE GORDEN LENNOX, of Reporters sans Frontieres International , said some members of the Commission had not ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Freedom of expression was violated and impunity against violations prevailed in many parts of the world, including in Israel and the occupied territories, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Colombia. Repressive laws were enforced in several countries, including China, Viet Nam, Nepal, Cuba, Eritrea, and Iran. The fight against terrorism was also being used to encroach on free expression, including in democratic countries. Reporters sans Frontiers supported the work of the Commission in following up on the murders of journalists.

SUZANNE MUNRO CLARK, of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, said there were inherent dangers in seeking to find a balance between national security concerns and human rights. In countries such as Zimbabwe and Turkey, there had been increased harassment and obstruction of the work of the organization's partners in their support of torture victims since 11 September on the basis of "war against terrorism" rhetoric. In Austria, the threat of terrorism had been used as a political tool to dehumanize asylum-seekers and refugees or to justify the ongoing practice of mandatory detention in inhuman conditions. The Commission should address those and other Member States', whose responses to the war against terrorism had included new legislative measures to restrict civil and political rights or who had attempted to legitimate the use of torture. The Commission should adopt the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, a new instrument to promote the more effective implementation by States parties of their obligation to prevent torture.

JABER WISHAH, of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, speaking on behalf of the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, said the Commission had a duty and a moral responsibility to protect victims of the world. His organization apologized for the time and effort that had been spent in the Commission focusing on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories at the expense of other issues or regions that were no less important. However, the fight for Palestinian victims was a fight for all victims. The fight for Palestinian victims was also a fight against Israel, which had not adhered to any of its international humanitarian obligations. The speaker had spent more than 15 years in Israeli prisons and had met a great number of Palestinians who had suffered the same fate. The Commission, representing the conscience of the world, must call, on behalf of all Palestinian prisoners, victims, homeless and landless victims, for an end to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

ENVER CAN, of the Transnational Radical Party, said the Uyghur people, who were an ancient civilization of East Turkestan, faced extinction due to the heavy-handed policy of colonization, assimilation, state terror and intimidation of the communist Chinese regime, unless the world community effectively intervened. Unfortunately, China equated the struggle to achieve basic human rights in this region as grounds for brutality, imprisonment and death, and since the terrorist attacks on 11 September, the Chinese Government had launched a campaign to portray the Uyghur freedom movement as terrorism in order to justify its policy. The Chinese Government perpetrating a campaign of terror and intimidation against the people of East Turkestan and, under the guise of maintaining stability, was engaging in mass jailing, torture and extrajudicial executions.

LOUBNA FREITH, of Human Rights Watch, said the organization had serious concerns about the situation of civil and political rights in Iran. The human rights situation in Iran was worsening rather than improving. A particularly worrying development was the emergence of illegal detention centres, such as the so-called Prison 59 in Teheran. That prison was reportedly administered by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and clandestine paramilitary forces. In some cases political prisoners detained there had been held for months at a time without their families or lawyers being informed of their whereabouts, treatment or condition. Visits to detainees were not allowed.

Human Rights Watch called on all Member States of the UN to co-sponsor the resolution introduced by Costa Rica on adopting the draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture. Adoption of the text would be real breakthrough and would be among the most important achievements of the fifty-eighth session of the Commission.

SONG HE SUK, of Liberation, said there were over 10,000 political prisoners in Turkey, most of whom were Kurds. The United Nations was called upon to urge Turkey to immediately release the imprisoned Leyla Zana of the Democratic People's Party and her party members, and to provide a general amnesty for all political prisoners. Pakistan maintained extremely repressive and arbitrary laws concerning freedom of belief and conscience. Blasphemy charges had been brought against the various religious and sectarian minorities of Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis. The Commission was requested to pass a resolution condemning this on-going persecution and violation of human rights in Pakistan.

The conflict in the Western Sahara resulting from the illegal occupation of the territory by Morocco had caused blatant and systematic violations of human rights. It was imperative that adequate mechanisms be put to protect the people of the Western Sahara. Liberation was also concerned about impunity in Indonesia and in particular the lack of accountability of the security forces for atrocities committed in Aceh and West Papua. It urged the Commission to press Indonesia to implement in full relevant recommendations of the Committee against Torture.

CATHERINE TURNER, of Amnesty International, said the present session of the Commission presented an exceptional opportunity for preventing torture worldwide. The proposal put forward by the Working Group on the Draft Protocol to the Convention against Torture would establish a dual national and international system of visits to places where people were deprived of their liberty, with the purpose of making recommendations to prevent torture and ill-treatment. The Commission was urged to give this proposal, as it stood, its firm and unconditional support. Enforced involuntary disappearances were one of the most appalling forms of multiple human rights violations which continued to cause anguish to the victims and their relatives.

During 2001, Amnesty had recorded 3,048 executions worldwide, more than twice the number recorded in 2000. Many prisoners were executed after unfair trials. Many had been tortured. The Commission was urged to adopt a strong resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions.

ANDREA COOMBER, of the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, said Singapore, a prosperous Western-style nation, had absolutely no excuse for its continued denial of civil and political rights. Since 1959, the country had been a parliamentary democracy governed by the Peoples' Action Party. While other political parties were allowed to operate, the authorities limited opposition through restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, and through vexatious defamation suits. The Constitution provided for freedom of expression, subject to limitations imposed by the Government. Traditionally that had meant no free speech whatsoever.

Singapore had recently established a Speaker's Corner that had been hailed as a breakthrough in a place where it was otherwise illegal to speak in public without a permit. However, speakers had to register with the police prior to speaking and their speeches were recorded and kept on file for six years. Speakers were not permitted to discuss issues of race or religion. The authorities were sophisticated in their repression of speech and the press.

ISABEL RICUPERO, of the World Organization Against Torture, said the practice of torture, either as an instrument of control or as a method of law enforcement, had continued unabated. Although no country officially defended or justified the practice, torture was widely used. In Tunisia, torture had long been used as a method of stifling criticism and dissent. In addition, victims' family members had often been the target of threats and measures of intimidation. In Saudi Arabia, intolerance of any kind of dissent and the extremes at which the criminal justice system operated had led to the frequent practice of torture and other ill-treatment with virtually absolute impunity.

Torture was not always a method of political control and was commonly used in the context of law enforcement, as in Brazil. The Government must take concrete steps to end impunity, thereby sending a clear message to its law enforcement personnel that the practice would no longer be tolerated. The repercussions of 11 September had meant that countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and India had either adopted or were contemplating legislation to fight terrorism, including being able to hold prisoners incommunicado and/or indefinitely in administrative detention.

BANI DUGAL-GUJRAL, of the Baha'i International Community, said harassment and injustices targeting the Baha'is in Egypt constituted a clear case of violation of freedom of religion or belief. Active persecution of the Baha'i community had begun in earnest in 1960, when President Nasser issued a decree which dissolved all Baha'i institutions and appropriated their properties for the benefit of certain Muslim organizations. Today, all members of the community remained under strict and constant police surveillance. Periodically, their homes were searched and their literature confiscated and destroyed. They had no legal means with regard to marriage, family allowances, pensions, inheritance, divorce, alimony, the custody of children, the obtainment of family I.D. cards or birth certificates.

The Egyptian Government-controlled news media periodically orchestrated hate campaigns against the Baha'i faith, calling for its extermination and deriding those who professed it.

TANYA LOKSHINA, of the International League for Human Rights, said there were gross violations of basic civil and political rights in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Abuses of the freedoms of expression and political participation had been among the most urgent problems in Kazakhstan since 1996. A crackdown on independent media had become even more severe in the last two years, as nearly all outlets independent from the Government had been subjected to harassment. The country's printing presses had refused to publish popular, democratically oriented newspapers. In Kyrgyzstan, the authorities had cracked down harshly on each and every attempt by citizens to exercise the right to peaceful assembly. Police had been detaining unarmed demonstrators while preventing journalists from filming those gatherings.

Concerning Uzbekistan, the Government remained one of the most repressive of the former Soviet Republics. Its political prisoners exceeded 7,000 in number -- more than in all other post-Soviet states combined. There was practically no freedom of the press; all genuine opposition was banned; and the rights of religious and ethnic minorities were severely limited.

VO VAN, of the International Federation of Human Rights, said establishment of the International Criminal Court had ushered in a new era and was something the Federation had always hoped for. Yet the road towards universal justice was still long and much remained to be done. There were of course implementation issues to be dealt with as well as other challenges. However, the independence and the universality of the International Criminal Court must be the key focus. The challenges ahead would be multifaceted and difficult. However, provided the Court's universality and efficiency were supported by real political will to combat impunity, the International Criminal Court had an important role to play.

The important role played by non-governmental organizations should not be forgotten, either. The Federation wished to cite concern over human rights situations in Kyrgyzstan, the Central African Republic, the Congo, Tunisia, Venezuela, and Viet Nam.

TSITSI MASVAURE, of Pax Romana, said that in the aftermath of September 11, Member States of the UN had rushed in with legal measures that had nothing to do with terrorism, including militarization of the rule of law and violations of freedom of the press. Arbitrary detention and ignoring humanitarian and human rights norms was on the rise, often with impunity. In Indonesia, Nigeria, India, Gujarat, and other places, hatred continued to blaze. Religious intolerance remained institutionalized in Pakistan. Delays in administration of justice related to intolerance had created a breeding ground for the continued occurrence of human rights violations.

JOHANNA HOEFFKEN, of the Defence for Children International, said there was a persistent lack of public awareness and attention paid to juvenile justice. That was regrettably reflected in the agendas of both national and international institutions concerned, where juvenile issues were not considered a high priority. The fact that there were an estimated 1 million children deprived of their liberty throughout the world demonstrated the pressing need to address critical issues such as children in conflict with the law. Lacking more humane and cost-effective options, the tendency worldwide was to incarcerate children when they infringed the law. Too often they were held for long periods without trial for minor offences and without receiving other guarantees of a due process.

The Commission must call for the development of effective independent instruments at regional, national and international levels to monitor respect for the rights of children in conflict with the law, including the many children in custody, and to monitor the judicial and living conditions under which they were incarcerated.

D. LONG, of the Association for the Prevention of Torture, said that after a decade of negotiations, a breakthrough had been achieved this year in the United Nations Working Group on the Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, with the presentation of a Chairpersons' text which proposed the creation of adequately mandated international and national mechanisms for carrying out preventive visits to places of detention.

The Commission was urged to adopt the Chairperson's text, since the proposal would facilitate States parties' implementation of their existing obligations under the Convention against Torture; uphold the principle of cooperation and dialogue between States parties and the visiting mechanisms; establish a system of regular visits by national bodies and the possibility for the international body to make recommendations on the strengthening of national preventive measures; be funded from the regular United Nations budget; and take into account different political structures such as federal systems, as well as possible modifications to existing national mechanisms.

TENZIN CHOKEY RUBLING, of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, said the right to religious freedom in Tibet was being infringed by the Chinese Government. "Patriotic education" was part of the national "Strike Hard" campaign which had been launched in China in 1996. Although the official aim of the campaign was to combat crime and corruption, in Tibet it was directed against "splitist" activity, such as support for Tibetan independence and allegiance to the Dalai Lama.

As part of this campaign, Chinese work teams had been sent into monasteries and convents throughout Tibet to forcibly "re-educate" the resident monks and nuns on religious and patriotic beliefs as prescribed by the Chinese Government. There was a growing exodus of monks and nuns from Tibet as a result of the "patriotic education" campaign.

JOSEPH V. KOMLOSSY, of the Federal Union of European Nationalities, said that if in a country one religion was considered the State religion, as in Romania, other traditional religions might not have equal rights and believers could even be deprived of their rights. Minorities such as the Hungarian Csango suffered; their community church services in their mother tongue had been prevented for 100 years. The Council of Europe had considered the case of the endangered Csango culture in the last two years. The Romanian authorities were not paying attention either to the recommendations of the Council or to the obligations of Romania under the Council on Security and Cooperation for Europe (CSCE) or the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

CHRISTELLE PUISSANT, of France Libertes - Fondation Danielle Mitterrand, said there were severe human rights violations in Tunisia, particularly in the prisons. It was dangerous to have political opinions in Tunisia, since it could involve going to jail and becoming a victim of human rights violations, including torture. Prisoners had even been known to die in custody. There was a huge disrespect for human rights in the country to the extent that some political parties had been forced to live in a clandestine manner to avoid arrest and torture. Members of some political opposition parties had been sentenced to firm prison sentences and detained in overcrowded cells. The conditions of Tunisian prisoners were alarming and the health conditions of long-term prisoners were even more worrying.

The practice of torture was commonplace in Tunisian prisons. It was time for all measures of intimidation to be ended and freedom of expression was fully enjoyed in Tunisia. The Commission was requested to send a Special Rapporteur to Tunisia to investigate human rights in the prisons.

SYED FAIZ NAQASHBANDI, of the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, said the Kashmiri people had been deprived of their dignity as human beings and a reign of terror had been unleashed against them by over 700,000 Indian troops. The Government of India had enacted a series of black laws on Kashmir which gave Indian army and paramilitary forces a free hand to suppress the popular demand for self-determination.

During detention, Indian forces routinely employed torture, including severe beatings, electric shocks and threats to induce detainees to sign statements of confession. In occupied Kashmir over the course of the crisis, 80,000 Kashmiri men, women and children had been killed, more than 30,000 were missing, and thousands had been killed while in custody.

THOMAS MASTERS, of the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, said a 14-year-old child had been tried as an adult in the United States and sent to prison for 28 years for trying to cash a check marked insufficient funds. The same thing happened to many others who, at 13 or 14 years of age, were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Nate Brazille, the 14-year old, was shackled in chains and humiliated before the press and peoples of the world. It was like a midget versus a giant.

In 1998, Amnesty International had reported that about 200,000 children a year were prosecuted as adults and more than 11,000 children were in adult prisons in the United States.

IAN SEIDERMAN, of the International Commission of Jurists, said the draft Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture would serve to combat the odious practice of torture in the best possible way -- by helping to prevent it. After ten protracted years of negotiations in a Working Group, the Chairperson and most States and NGOs engaged in the process considered all the elements in this compromise text to be well-considered and the draft protocol as a whole to be the best achievable. The Commission was strongly urged to ensure its adoption.

Threats to the independence of judges and lawyers around the world remained of pressing concern. Without an independent bench and bar, human rights generally could not be adequately safeguarded. The International Commission of Jurists expressed concern about the human rights situation of the judiciary in Colombia, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Iran, China, Indonesia, Kenya, Turkey, Egypt and the United States. The report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers was welcome and the organization called upon the Governments of Cuba, Egypt, Kenya, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Tunisia to extend the Special Rapporteur invitations to visit.

MOHAMMAD ANWAR, of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, said that in Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan, torture and detention, disappearances and summary executions were committed with impunity. Cases of raids, arrests and torture were widespread. The military establishment and civil bureaucracy of Punjab had made the province of Sindh a virtual colony. In January 1998, the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances had stated that the majority of the 60 cases of disappearances transmitted to the Pakistani Government concerned members or sympathizers of the political party Mohajir Quami Movement. The whereabouts of those missing persons were still unknown.

A new ordinance had been recently promulgated under which army officers participated in court trials. This was tantamount to coercing judges to pass verdicts to the liking of the ruling oligarchy of Punjab. Already over 54 Mohajir Quami Movement workers had been given death sentences on false and fabricated charges.

MICHEL MONOD, of War Resisters International, said that in Israel 350 conscientious objectors did not wish to associate themselves with the war crimes committed by Israel. The Israel authorities did not recognize the right of conscientious objectors not to be recruited into the army. Israel only recognized conscientious objection by women. Many other countries, including the Russian Federation, had not exempted objectors from being drafted into the army. In Russia, a number of men had not responded to calls to join the army.

VISUVALINGAM KIRUPAHARAN, of the International Peace Bureau, said peace and justice must be based on respect for human rights. The steps taken in Sri Lanka towards creating a conducive environment for bringing human rights violations against the Tamil people to an end were welcomed. In the past, anti-Tamil pogroms, unilateral abrogation of pacts, Sinhala colonialization in Tamil hereditary regions, thousands of killings, arrests and detentions of Tamils, hundreds of rapes and gang-rapes of Tamil women and a systematic economic embargo of the northeast had amounted to massive and collective punishment of the people -- the repression had been of genocidal proportions. Sri Lanka was a country where 28 years of emergency rule combined with 23 years of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) had allowed security forces to violate human rights with impunity.

It was hoped that the present Government of Sri Lanka would continue to give hope to the people and would abolish emergency regulations and release political prisoners who had been detained without charge or trial. The Commission was urged to take positive steps in this regard.





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