COMMISSION HEARS PRESENTATION BY INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE SUDAN

Commission on Human Rights
AFTERNOON

8 April 2005


Continues its General Debate on the Rights of the Child


The Commission on Human Rights this afternoon heard a presentation by the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan who said that Government forces and Janjaweed militias had waged a systematic campaign against the unarmed civilian population in Darfur which belonged to the same tribal group as the rebels. The militia's indiscriminate attacks had resulted in widespread killings and incidents of rape. One million people were displaced, about 300,000 sought refuge in neighbouring Chad, and an estimated 300,000 had died.

Emmanuel Akwei Addo, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, said alarming reports of the systematic rape of hundreds of women by Government-backed militia in Darfur over the past 22 months demonstrated the need for the international community to step up its pressure on the Sudanese Government. Rape had been identified as a war crime and a crime against humanity in the Statute of the International Criminal Court, and Sudan had signed that statute. The international community must ensure Sudan abided by its international legal obligations. There were strong indicators that the Janjaweed and Governmental forces had committed these crimes. Rebels had also been accused of human rights abuses. He also recommended that the African Union troops in Darfur, whose number the Union had pledged to increase to 3,000, had to be given a mandate to protect the civilian population, including internally displaced persons.

Sudan, responding as a concerned country, said a number of positive developments had taken place after the submission of the report by the Expert, and these included that the investigations on human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in Darfur were continuing. At the moment, 14 persons were standing trial, charged with the commission of violations. Also, the Government's efforts in facilitating and creating conditions favourable to voluntary return and repatriation had yielded fruit; 22,410 internally displaced persons had returned to their home villages and 125,000 refugees had returned to Sudan from neighbouring Chad.

Sudan said it had carefully studied the report and the recommendations therein and would spare no effort to work closely with the Commission and with its partners in the comprehensive peace agreement and within the context of the Government of National Unity to consolidate the promotion and protection of human rights in the entire country.

Speaking in the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur were the United States, Luxembourg, Cuba, Syria, Sudan, and Switzerland. Providing general statements on the situation in the Sudan were Canada, Luxembourg (on behalf of the European Union), United States, and Norway. The following non-governmental organizations also spoke on the situation in the Sudan: World Union for Progressive Judaism (speaking on behalf of Association for World Education); Human Rights Watch (speaking on behalf of several NGOs1); International League for the Rights and Liberation of peoples; African Society of International and Comparative Law.

The Commission also continued its general debate on the rights of the children, hearing from Representatives of national delegations and a series of non-governmental organizations who spoke about violations of children's rights around the world. Representatives of Morocco, Thailand, Belarus, Colombia, and Moldova took the floor, as did speakers for the following non-governmental organizations: International Social Service (speaking on behalf of several NGOs2); Human Rights Advocates; International Catholic Child Bureau (speaking on behalf of ECPAT International); International Council of Women; Women's World Summit Foundation and World Movement of Mothers; National Federation of International Immigrant Women Associations; International Committee for the Respect and Application of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (speaking on behalf of African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters); World Organization against Torture; International Federation Terre des Hommes; Friends World Committee for Consultation - QUAKERS; International Save the Children Alliance; Agir ensemble pour les droits de l'homme; Jubilee Campaign; Peace Boat; Indian Council of Education; Open Society Institute; Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; International Federation of University Women (speaking on behalf of several NGOs3); Organization for Defending Victims of Violence; General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; International Union of Socialist Youth; A Woman's Voice International; International Alliance of Women; Permanent Assembly for Human Rights; Union de l'action feminine; World Vision International; and Andean Commission of Jurists.

Japan, Sudan and the Republic of Korea exercised their right of reply,

When the Commission meets at 10 a.m. on Monday, 11 April, it will conclude its general debate on the rights of the child and start its consideration of its agenda item on specific groups and individuals including migrant workers, minorities, mass exoduses and displaced persons, and other vulnerable groups and individuals.

Report of the Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in the Sudan

The Commission has before it, presented under its agenda item on the organization of the work of the session, the report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, Emmanuel Akwei Addo, (E/CN.4/2005/11), which focuses largely on the conflict in Darfur. As a result of the conflict, one million people were displaced and about 300,000 sought refuge in neighbouring Chad; an estimated 300,000 died, the report states. The Janjaweed militia's indiscriminate attacks against civilians resulted in widespread killing and incidents of rape. While the parties agreed to arrive at an agreement by the end of 2004, the situation remains unstable as insecurity is again on the rise.

The Independent Expert recommends that the increased African Union forces in the region be given a mandate to protect the civilian population, including internally displaced persons and, where possible, disarm the militia. The efforts of the African Union should be further supported, particularly in the field of human rights, and coordination should be strengthened between the African Union and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, with a view to addressing human rights abuses and breaking the cycle of impunity. Serious violations of human rights have occurred and there are strong indications that war crimes and crimes against humanity have taken place, the report states. Among other things, the Independent Expert recommends that the Government of the Sudan ensure that all reports of detainees being held incommunicado are fully and independently investigated and that those suspected to be responsible for these acts are held accountable; that the relevant authorities provide compensation for victims of torture as well as medical treatment and rehabilitation; and that there be respect for the rule of law and lifting of the restrictions imposed on political parties.

Presentation by Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in the Sudan

EMMANUEL AKWEI ADDO, Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, noted that his first mission had focused on the ongoing crisis in the Darfur region, and on human rights-related development in the Kassala and Upper Nile states. Upon renewal, his second mission covered the administration of justice and the implication of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for the establishment of a State based on the rule of law. While in Khartoum, he had met with several Government departments and officials, non-governmental organizations, representatives of political parties, human rights and civil society groups, as well as internally displaced persons. He had visited the Kalma IDP camp in Nyala, south Darfur, during which visit, he had concluded that the human rights crisis in Dafur had degenerated when a rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), had attacked Government security forces and the airport of El-Fasher, destroying planes and reportedly killing 70 military personnel. The Government's response to the insurrection had been ruthless and disproportionate. The full might of the military, the Popular Defence Forces, and the nomad-Arab militia -- the "Janjaweed" -- had been deployed to flush out two rebel groups. As a result, one million people had been displaced, with approximately 300,000 seeking refuge in Chad, while an estimated 300,000 had died.

The militia's indiscriminate attacks on civilians had resulted in widespread killings and incidents of rape, he added. Instead of fighting the rebels, the Government forces and Janjaweed militias had waged a systematic campaign against the unarmed civilian population. The counter-insurgency warfare carried out with high-technology weaponry, which had been unleashed by the Government on its own citizens, was inherently intolerable and repulsive. The Government, which continued to bear primary responsibility for protecting its civilians, had been repeatedly asked to disarm the militias. Those requests had gone unanswered. The African Union troops in Darfur, whose number the Union had pledged to increase to 3,000, must be given a mandate to protect the civilian population, including internally displaced persons.

The Darfur peace process remained in jeopardy, Mr. Addo added, as the rebels had walked out of the Abuja talks in protest against Government onslaughts. The present situation in the region was a time bomb, which could explode at any moment. The amount of weaponry brought into Darfur recently suggested that fighting was posed to get much worse. And while the Government and the SPLM/A had signed a pledge to end their war, the comprehensive peace agreement did not affect the Darfur conflict in any way; aerial bombardment of the region continued. Nor had civil and political rights improved in the North. The security forces maintained their tight grip on political life, blocking any real multi-party democracy. Torture and arbitrary arrests continued, particularly against political opponents. Virtual impunity remained widespread. There was a persistent lack of rule of law.

Mr. Addo said that in August 2004, he had visited the Jaborona camp for internally displaced persons near Khartoum. He noted that the Government had started to destroy dwellings of internally displaced persons in order to build new roads, without providing any alternative site for relocation. A visit to the region of Kassala had witnessed the plight of the Beja, a nomadic people who had suffered from political and economic marginalization for decades.

Alarming reports of the systematic rape of hundreds of women by Government-backed militia in Darfur over the past 22 months demonstrated the need for the international community to step up its pressure on the Sudanese Government, he said. Rape had been identified as a war crime and a crime against humanity in the Statute of the International Criminal Court, and Sudan had signed that statute. There were strong indications that war crimes had been committed in Darfur, including murder, torture, rape, and intentional attacks against civilians. The international community must ensure Sudan abided by its international legal obligations. There were strong indicators that the Janjaweed and Governmental forces had committed these crimes. Rebels had also been accused of human rights abuses. The Security Council had decided to refer these allegations of human rights abuses to the International Criminal Court, and, recently, Sudan had arrested some of those accused of crimes in Darfur for human rights abuses. This was a step in the right direction.

Response by Concerned Country

OMER DAHAB MOHAMED (Sudan), responding as a concerned country, said it was pleased with the positive remarks made by the Independent Expert in his report, namely his factual conclusion that the conflict in Darfur was a result of disputes between nomadic and sedentary groups because of increased competition for resources, and that the clashes between farming groups and nomads were recurring as was the use of traditional reconciliation mechanisms. The recent deterioration of the situation in Darfur was a direct result of the attack by the rebels in Darfur on the airport at Alfashir, the capital of North Darfur State, resulting in the death of military personnel and the destruction of planes. The Expert's reference to the agreements so far concluded between the Government and the rebels was noted, as was the reference to the full cooperation by the Government with the United Nations and the humanitarian organizations to ensure unfettered access to humanitarian assistance by all needy people in Darfur.

However, the reference by the Expert that human rights were barely mentioned in the comprehensive peace process, and that they had not formed part of the agreements concluded in this connection was not accurate. The attention of the Expert was drawn to the detailed section on human rights in the power-sharing protocol which embodied all guarantees for the respect of human rights which would be inviolable constitutional rights entrenched in the envisioned interim national constitution. A number of positive developments had taken place after the submission of the report by the Expert, and these included that the investigations on human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in Darfur were continuing. At the moment, 14 persons were standing trial charged with commission of these violations. Also, the Government's efforts in facilitating and creating conditions favourable to voluntary return and repatriation had yielded fruit and 22,410 internally displaced persons had returned to their home villages and 125,000 refugees had returned to Sudan from neighbouring Chad.

The report and the recommendations therein had been carefully studied, and no effort would be spared to work closely with the Commission and with Sudan's partners in the comprehensive peace agreement and within the context of the Government of National Unity to consolidate the promotion and protection of human rights in the entire country.

Interactive Dialogue

ROBERT E. GRIBBIN (United States) said the report detailed the role of gender-based violence in the crisis, but did not specifically suggest remedies or solutions. Could the Expert do so for Governments and non-governmental organizations? Regarding the large numbers of displaced persons, the report indicated that they continued to be victims of many abuses. As peace returned to Southern Sudan, their situation would change rapidly, and at this time of transition, how should the Commission address their human rights needs? What were the most important components of civil society that should be strengthened to ensure respect for human rights in Sudan?

ALPHONSE BERNS (Luxembourg) said the report mentioned the lack of a state of law, and gave a very depressing picture of the human rights situation including torture and press censorship. In the light of this, did the Expert believe it would be useful for the Commission to study the human rights situation which was so dramatic throughout Sudan and not just in the Darfur region? What measures did he think should be taken to improve the situation in the zones under the SPLA?

JUAN ANTONIO FERNANDEZ (Cuba) said the report mentioned the positive elements of the situation, in particular the ongoing wish for cooperation by the Government with the mandate of the Independent Expert. In what way did he think the dialogue could be strengthened with the authorities and the African Union which was the best body in this context as it was aware of the problems and of the interests of external imperialistic forces. The Expert should remember that constant efforts had been made to dominate Sudan, and he should maintain his serious and professional work with the Government and the African Union.

BASHAR JAAFARI (Syria) said it was believed that the international community should not tolerate those who caused civilian strife in Darfur through arming rebels. A weapon could not get into the hands of the rebels unless provided by outside organizations. Had the Special Rapporteur and Independent Expert tried to link the rebels with arms dealers? If Sudan had been successful in an accord with the South, this meant that it was also eligible to reach local and internal peace in Darfur.

OMER DAHAB MOHAMED (Sudan) asked the Expert if he had been aware of the fact that the Government had decided to withdraw all military flights from the region of Darfur, although the Abuja protocol provided for these? Secondly, the Government had not rejected the United Nations Security Council resolutions on the situation. The reference to the Government of the Republic of Sudan as a regime in Khartoum was unacceptable.

SABINA VIGANI (Switzerland) said the Swiss Government was concerned for the serious violations continuing in the Darfur region, and appealed to the Government and to all parties in the conflict to take all possible measures to put an immediate stop to these violations that were still being perpetrated today. Referring the Darfur matter to the International Criminal Court was a matter that Switzerland supported. The Commission should send a clear signal that it supported actions taken, for example by the Security Council. The credibility of the Commission was at stake; there should be a clear approach, and not one devoid of meaning.

EMMANUEL AKWEI ADDO, Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, on the question on gender based violence, said it depended on the will of the Sudanese Government and what it would do on that issue. On the question of internally displaced persons, the only solution was to increase the forces of protection. If Sudan allowed the coming of large forces on the ground to protect civilians, the protection efforts would be strengthened. On the human rights situation, more freedom of speech and association should be allowed to improve the human rights situation but for the time being such was not the case. In Sudan, there were a lot of arms on the streets; he wondered where they procured them. In any manner, only the military should carry arms and not the civilians. He was not aware that the Government of Sudan had withdrawn it combat planes from Darfur.

General Statements on the Situation of Human Rights in the Sudan

PAUL MEYER (Canada) said it had been a year since the United Nations Secretary-General provided at the Commission his clarion call for protective action of the people of Darfur. Australia, Canada and New Zealand condemned the ongoing grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur, which were having a huge impact on the civilian population in that part of the country. Serious abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law had become common place in Darfur, including sexual violence against women and girls, in addition to forced displacement, arbitrary executions, forced disappearances and torture. Not only had the Government failed to halt the brutalisation of civilians, but also it was complicit in permitting these attacks to continue.

The Government of Sudan was called upon to acknowledge these violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and for it and all parties to the conflict to take the necessary measures to halt the atrocities being committed against the civilian population and to respect their international legal obligations. Furthermore, armed militias and rebel groups should immediately cease all actions that impeded the delivery of humanitarian aid. The Government was urged to further protect civilians. The international community was acting upon its responsibility to protect. The Commission had a profound responsibility to send strong messages deploring serious human rights violations, and with such clear evidence as in the case of Darfur, it should live up to its duty, and act in a manner consistent with that of the Security Council and ensure that the gravity of the current circumstances was not diminished or downplayed by a weak or ineffective response.

ALPHONSE BERNS (Luxembourg), also speaking on behalf of the European Union, said it was fundamental to the credibility of the Commission and hence, as the
Secretary-General stressed, to the credibility of the United Nations as such, that the international community show that it was equal to the challenge. By their commitment, the 25 Member States of the European Union had played a major role in the recent Security Council decisions. The European Union's commitment to the Commission was equally firm. Last year, the Union jointly decided to have the situation of Darfur monitored by an Independent Expert. In his own words, and those of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the situation had not ceased to deteriorate since. The report of the International Commission of Inquiry, published on 31 January, was alarming. The Commission should express its concern and react in the clearest possible manner. Naturally, as in previous years, the European Union was ready to cooperate with all Member States to that end.

RUDY BOSCHWITZ (United States) said the situation of human rights in the Sudan, especially in Darfur was the most egregious example of human rights abuse in the world at the moment. It merited clear and forceful action by the Commission. The Government-backed Janjaweed had wreaked havoc, burning and demolishing villages, looting livestock and chasing hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people from their homes into marginal lives in squalid camps. Rebels too bore responsibility for abuses. The victims of all such violence were civilians and the worst affected were of course the most vulnerable, children, women and the elderly. Life was precarious and cheap, and the cycle of violence continued.

Progress remained marginal, peace elusive, and the humanitarian situation precarious. All were called to help, not just in responding to the need for food, medicine, shelter and security, but also in the vital necessity to restore respect for human rights in Darfur. The Government needed to accept its responsibility, cease attacks on innocent civilians, and implement its obligation to disarm and disband the Janjaweed. Impunity should end. Security should improve in and around the camps for displaced persons. Additional efforts should be devised so that women and girls need not fear rape or violence. The Commission could help by going unequivocally on the record with the strongest possible resolution that accurately documented the situation.

WEGER STRØMMEN (Norway) noted that the human rights situation in Sudan had been high on the agenda of the Commission on Human Rights for more than a decade, and that previous reports of the Special Rapporteurs had documented grave violations of human rights in southern Sudan as a result of the civil war between the Government and the SPLM/A. In that light, the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was a historic step forward to prevent further violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Sudan. However, Norway remained deeply concerned about the critical situation in Darfur, where there was lack of security and protection for the civilian population. The Security Council's involvement, through its timely and constructive resolutions, and the commendable efforts of the African Union in deploying an international protection force and continuing to facilitate a resolution to the conflict, were commended. Norway would host a donors' conference next week in order to rally international support for implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement. That agreement provided the framework for peace in the entire region, including Darfur and in the east, and should receive strong international support.

DAVID LITTMAN, of World Union for Progressive Judaism, speaking on behalf of Association for World Education, said slavery had been the fate of black Africans over the centuries, and today this was clearly defined in binding international instruments as a crime against humanity. The Islamist revival of slavery since 1983 had been a curse on Sudan and on mankind in general. The Commission was the major United Nations body for human rights law. The end to impunity, prosecution for crimes against humanity and for genocide should be its main focus in the discussion on Sudan. Darfur was a blatant case of genocide that should be called by its name. The hundreds of thousands of Darfur's victims asked for no less.

HASHIM AHMED, of Human Rights Watch, speaking on behalf of several NGOs1, said Darfur was a region that was suffering one of the most serious human rights disasters in the world. Much action was needed to end the ongoing violence, provide security to the people of Darfur, and reverse the ethnic-based massive forced displacement that had taken place. The situation was currently at a critical juncture. The Government, which refused even to acknowledge the scale of the problem, had consistently denied its responsibility for the abuses and had taken no meaningful action to end them. Other armed groups, including members of the rebel movement, were also committing abuses. The Commission should firmly condemn the gross abuses of human rights and humanitarian law in Darfur, and re-establish the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Sudan.

ROMUALD PIAL MEZALA, of International League for the Rights and Liberation of peoples, said the Commission should act immediately to end the hell which the population of Darfur was living in. It should adopt a resolution condemning the massive and continuous violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur, re-establish the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Sudan; appeal to the international community to increase its help to the efforts made by the African Union to face this crisis; and call upon Sudan to disarm without delay the militias in the region of Darfur, to halt the attacks against civilians perpetrated by the governmental forces, and to create the security conditions necessary for a voluntary return by the displaced persons and refugees.

ABDELBAGI JIBRIL, of African Society of International and Comparative Law , said the attention of the Commission should be drawn to the plight of unseen victims of the Darfur tragedy. Thousands of people were summarily executed or held incommunicado on suspicion of supporting the insurgents, or for having a blood tie with the victims of the crisis in Darfur. There was concern that reluctance on the part of the international community to take decisive action against the perpetrators of the war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur had encouraged the escalation of such crimes in the region. To the members of the African Group, it was said that in the face of the tragedy in Darfur there should be no solidarity, but only one word: complicity.

General Debate on the Rights of the Child

ABDELFATTAH EL KADIRI (Morocco) said that the situation of children in various regions of the world continued to be difficult because of scourges such as extreme poverty, armed conflict, pandemics, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, sexual exploitation, illiteracy and child labour. Collective action must be reinforced at the national and international levels to promote the creation of institutions for the protection of children's rights. The situation of children had never ceased to occupy a place of priority in Morocco for the Government, civil society and other actors. A multitude of initiatives and measures had been taken for the benefit of the child.

On the legislative front, the Government had incorporated the commitments undertaken in the Convention on the Rights of the Child into national law, which had led to important judicial revisions of the Family Code, the law on abandoned children, the penal code, and the law on the civil state, he said. The Government was now working to elaborate a national action plan to created a Morocco dignified for its children. The new labour code, which had entered into effect in June 2004, constituted a considerable advance in the framework of the fight against child labour. The minimum work age had been raised to 15 years, and penalties for non-respect of the law had been strengthened. The Government was also determined to end illiteracy by 2015, and lack of schools for children from 9 to 15 years of age by 2010. The national programmes for the fight against illiteracy, and for compulsory education, affected approximately one million adults and 200,000 children.

LADA PHUMAS (Thailand) said the Government of Thailand was determined to provide children with the best possible protection, and had drafted a national strategy and plan of action for the period 2005 to 2015 on the basis of the final framework of the General Assembly's special session on children. The 2004 Child Protection Act provided legal protection for children from all forms of abuses, exploitation, violence and gross negligence by clearly stipulating that any child below the age of 18 was protected by the State. Other legal measures and policy initiatives were also being implemented to provide protection for specific groups, including street children, illegal child labour, children living with or orphaned by HIV/AIDS, child prostitution, and children victims of human trafficking.

The Thai Government was determined to create a life-long learning society, which aimed to empower children to reap the fruit of the globalizing world. For example, a "Mobile Child – Supporting Caravan" would visit every community throughout the country to give advice and assist families in raising their children. The Government was committed to guaranteeing that every child in Thailand would enjoy an equal opportunity to receive at least 12 years of education, thus surpassing the Millennium Development Goal related to primary education. The Government also attached importance to forging partnerships with various stakeholders, such as United Nations agencies and civil society. Primary responsibility for realizing the rights of the child in each country rested with the respective national Governments, but the international community also shared responsibility to assist countries in their efforts to ensure that each and every child could fully enjoy their rights.

ALENA KUPCHYNA (Belarus) said Belarus was a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to that end it had undertaken a series of measures with the view to implement the provisions of that treaty. The State was paying special attention to all children in the country through the adoption of legislation and a national plan of action. Those measures had allowed the improvement of children's well-being and their social welfare. Further efforts were also being made to reinforce children's participation in decision-making processes concerning them. The measures included the advancement of the social and education situation of children. A series of activities had also been accomplished in the field of health and education. In addition to the measures adopted to improve the conditions of children in general, the Government had continued to make untiring efforts to ameliorate the health conditions of many children who were affected by the Chernobyl nuclear incident.

CLEMENCIA FORERO UCROS (Colombia) said the Colombia Institute for Family Well-being was pursuing a policy for the protection of minors, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations and experts. The Prosecutor's office was following up this goal to defend minors and the family by elaborating a law on the subject. In the educational sphere, more than 477,000 places had been established for students in the formal sector; that met the challenge set for 2006. In achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, Colombia had set itself objectives in terms of economic and social policy, including the goal of reducing the death of those under 5 to half of the registered amount in 1990. That effort would require building social security. Regarding children and violent conflict, she said the State continued to work in this area. It was important to help those who left the armed conflict. At a time when many steps were being taken to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers, the Colombian Government reaffirmed its firm wish to provide a better future for its people, and would work to prevent the use of boys and girls as combatants by illegal armed groups, as well as to provide services required by those who had suffered from the inhuman acts committed by these groups.

The representative of Moldova said the issue of the rights of the child touched everyone, all Governments and non-governmental organizations were concerned. Having implemented the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it was a primary task for all who had joined or intended to join. Moldova was committed to ensure for every Moldovan child the expression of his or her rights, which would give them the opportunity to multilaterally develop in all areas of life. But not in all parts of Moldova were these rights respected, such as in the Eastern region, which was under the control of a separatist regime, which had closed Moldovan schools, depriving children from their right to education in their mother tongue. Schools had been assaulted by militia forces, and parents harassed and intimidated. The committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe had expressed deep concern about this issue. The Commission should address this issue and condemn the illicit and violent actions.

SYLVAIN VITE, of International Social Service, speaking on behalf of several NGOs2, in a joint statement, said millions of children throughout the world were currently in out-of-home care because their parents were unavailable or unable to care for them. They lived with relatives; in foster care, in residential faculties, in child-headed households or in the street. They resided in their own country or were displaced internationally. That situation raised a number of problems that urgently needed to be broached internationally. Those included inappropriate decisions regarding the type of care placement to be provided; over-burdened foster-care systems; lack of protection in informal care, undue recourse to residential care; inappropriate conditions in residential care; uncontrolled private residential faculties; inadequate permanency planning for children deprived of their family; lack of specific guarantees for substitute care in emergencies or children affected by HIV/AIDS; and care involving deprivation of liberty.

ANGELA FITZSIMMONS, of Human Rights Advocates, delivering a joint statement, said the prohibition of executing juvenile offenders had become a jus cogens norm, meaning that no State could derive from it. Nevertheless, some countries continued the practice, including Iran, China, and, until recently, the United States. Consequently, Iran had replaced the United States as the most egregious violator of the prohibition. It had been the only country to execute a youth offender this year, and several had been executed in 2004. In China, despite a 1997 law prohibiting the practice, two executions of juvenile offenders had been reported in the past two years. In Pakistan, the Supreme Court had recently suspended a lower court's decision to reinstate the juvenile death penalty. Moreover, she added, life without parole sentences for juveniles should be abolished. The United States was the only country that sentenced juvenile offenders to life in prison without possibility of parole on a massive scale. However, Israel and South Africa had reported sentencing youths to life in prison, and in Dominica, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Antigua and Barbuda, Burkina Faso and the Netherlands, juvenile life sentences remained legal, though rarely imposed.

MONIQUE DE CLELLAN, of International Catholic Child Bureau, speaking on behalf of ECPAT International; International Council of Women; Women's World Summit Foundation and World Movement of Mothers, said over the past 10 years, the international community had won crucial battles in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Commission should highlight shortcomings that still had to be addressed, battles that still had to be fought with the support of, as well as within, the international human rights system. The Commission should urge all States to implement the Yokohama Global commitment, and recognise the problem of sexual exploitation and abuse in its totality. They should also criminalize and effectively penalise all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, including child marriage, as this was a form of abuse.

MOUNA ZADEH, of National Federation of International Immigrant Women Associations, said under the law of the Iranian regime, girls above the age of nine and boys above the age of 15 were considered as adults and could be executed for capital offences. At present, at least 30 juveniles were on death row in Teheran and Rajai-Shahr for offences they had been alleged to have committed under the age of 18. Under increasing international pressure, the Iranian regime kept children on death row in juvenile prison until they turned 18. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child had called on Iran in January this year to abolish the death penalty as well as amputating, flogging and stoning of people who committed crimes as minors. They "deplored" the fact that during its three-week session, an Iranian was executed for a crime carried out when he was 17 – contradicting Iran's statements that it had suspended the death penalty for people accused of crimes while juveniles. Child prostitution had risen 635 per cent in recent years, with dozens of Iranian girls brought to Karachi, Pakistan, to be sold as sex slaves every day.

ROBERT MANDIANGU BUENZEYI, of International Committee for the Respect and Application of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, speaking on behalf of African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters, called on the Belgian Government to make reparation for the thousands of African children who were persecuted, deported and tortured from 1921 to 1959 in the framework of the violent repression of the movement of Papa Simon Kimbangu. For nearly forty years, the Belgian colonial administration had conducted mass deportations of more than 150,000 individuals, who had been sent more than 2,000 kilometres from their homes to concentration camps in the east of Congo. The waves of massive deportations had destroyed the futures of thousands of children unjustly deprived of their adolescence, torn from their families and condemned to lives of illiteracy and hunger. The Commission should invite the Belgian Government to make reparations for these examples of colonial repression and help to restore the human dignity of these children, and of Papa Simon Kimbangu.

CECILE TROCHU, of World Organization against Torture, said the risk of torture or ill-treatment became even higher for children in conflict with the law, especially those under arrest or detained, as their rights and their dignity were regularly ignored. Police brutality with regard to children in conflict with the law was far from existing only in developing countries-- in Serbia-Montenegro, for example, serious problems continued in this field. Arbitrary arrest and torture were equally a recurring phenomenon in countries where military forces, continued armed conflicts or the fight against terrorism were omnipresent, such as Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, or certain regions of the Russian Federation. Physical punishment was another issue of concern, as it violated the human dignity of the child. There was a need for mechanisms controlling this in order to eliminate corporal punishment in the whole world.

EYLAH KADJAR HAMOUDA, of International Federation Terre des Hommes, said children who were trafficked experienced many different sorts of abuses. The key aspects were that boys as well as girls were moved from one place to another to be exploited so that someone else made money. Habitually, one thought of trafficking as involving people taken from one country to another, but there were plenty of cases in which children were trafficked within their own country. The aim of the trafficker was to get them away from the environment they were familiar with so that they could be made to do as they were told. In the framework of its international campaign against child trafficking, Terre des homes was running about 45 field projects in 25 countries. Governments had specific responsibility in relation to trafficking, set out in international instruments.

LAUREL TOWNHEAD, of Friends World Committee for Consultation - QUAKERS, said thousands of children around the world faced grave daily problems due to their mothers being in prison, or facing pre-trial detention. Many imprisoned women were the sole or main caregivers for minor children. In 2001, it was estimated that more than 2 million children in the United States alone had a parent behind bars. In countries with indigenous populations, indigenous women tended to be disproportionately represented in the prison population, and they and foreign nationals and their children faced additional problems. Far too little attention had been paid to these children of imprisoned mothers and their welfare, let aware to their rights. Children were either subjected to going into jail with their mothers, or to be separated from them. Neither was a satisfactory solution. To develop a better awareness and understanding, her office had just published a paper on babies and young children in prison, which included suggested guidelines for drafting legislation and policy on the treatment of these young children.

JULIA EKSTEDT, of International Save the Children Alliance, said millions of children had been affected by the catastrophe in Asia, and many of them had been separated from their families and left homeless. In a situation like this, children were the most vulnerable, particularly those without parents or close family members. The Commission should call on the international community to ensure that a sufficient proportion of the funds pledged for the catastrophe in Asia were being allocated for the protection and advancement of children's rights both in immediate relief and in longer-term recovery. All separated children should be registered. The United Nations Study of Violence against Children was an opportunity to strengthen policy and programmes to address violence against children.

FERNANDO JIOVANI ARIAS, of Agir ensemble pour les droits de l'homme, said children were victims of persistent human rights violations in Colombia. About 6 million children were affected as the armed conflict aggravated the situation by destroying vital spaces. Many children were subjected to torture and ill-treatment by the guerrilla and paramilitary groups for not obeying their orders. They were also exposed to sexual abuse, lengthy detention and separation from their families. The paramilitary groups had freed some children, however many still remained in their hands either serving in their groups or taken prisoners. The Commissioner for Peace had not been able to use his competence in demobilizing children who had been serving in the paramilitary or in the ranks of the guerrillas. The international effort had enabled several thousand children to be freed and to join their families.

LAYLA G. AL-ROOMI, of Jubilee Campaign, said Iraqi religious groups and their children were suffering violations of human rights due to terrorist insurgencies. Today, Iraq was undergoing significant changes and was beginning to enjoy the fruit of democracy. Unfortunately, Iraq's transition to democracy was giving rise to many terrorist attacks. The rule of law had been disregarded and insurgent groups had purposely targeted religious minorities in an effort to destabilize the country. Accounts of murder and rape against the women of these religious minorities must be investigated immediately. Girls as young as 14 had been kidnapped and raped repeatedly over several days, then thrown in the streets and threatened with death if they told of their experiences. Thousands of families had fled the country to seek refuge elsewhere. It was clear that insurgents in Iraq had consistently targeted persons belonging to minority religious groups.

DOI KANAE, of Peace Boat, said on behalf of Peace Boat and 1,435 voiceless foreigners who were detained in immigration facilities at this very moment in Japan, it wanted to report with grave concern the serious violation of the rights of children in deportation and detention of foreign nationals. In Japan around 250,000 foreign nationals were said to be irregular, including children. Unlike other industrialised countries, the Japanese Government never introduced an amnesty or blanket regularisation. Dual nationality was not allowed. Nationalisation was strictly administrated. Accordingly, many children whose mother country was Japan were deported every day. Unnecessary detention included the detention of patients, long-term residents, families, children, pregnant women and asylum seekers. The Government should immediately abandon the arbitrary detention caused by the all-detention policy for indefinite periods of time. Minority children faced severe discrimination in their entire public and private life in Japan. Multi-ethnicity and not exclusion was necessary for effective prohibition of ethnic discrimination to protect the dignity of minority children.

A. S. NARANG, of Indian Council of Education, said if human rights were inalienable, then the rights of the child should be inalienable too. That had been the clarion call of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human Rights. One hundred and thirteen nations had promulgated the Vienna Declaration in 1993 and had emphasised the principles of "first call for children", a unique provision in the history of human rights. The right of protection included freedom from all forms of exploitation, abuse, inhuman or degrading treatment and neglect, and the right to special protection in situations of emergency and armed conflict. In the present age of globalization and technological development which were competing for attracting tourists, new and far more serious forms of child abuse were appearing, sexual abuse.

CLAIRE BISIAUX, of Open Society Institute, said no matter where they lived, children infected by HIV were amongst the most vulnerable of individuals. In addition to serious health concerns, they faced HIV-related stigma and discrimination that limited their ability to be educated, or to exercise other basic rights enjoyed by their peers. Issues of poverty, violence and substance abuse must be addressed if young people were to avoid HIV/AIDS. Homeless and at-risk youth needed more than an occasional hot meal and family therapy; they needed basic understanding and acceptance, coupled with the sense that those trying to help them were aware of the complexities of their lives. Successful interventions with street children and marginalized youth in many parts of the world involved a number of common elements. They went beyond providing information and warnings to helping develop young people's decision-making and health-promotion skills. They met youth on their own terms, without lectures, moralizing or prescriptive solutions. They addressed the issues of drug use and sexual health in a manner appropriate to the cultural beliefs of the community and the realistic views of the youths whose lives had been affected.

EMILIE KAO, of Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said Governments around the world, especially in Europe, were struggling with how to respect the right of the child to express religious belief in the classroom. As Governments contemplated which policies to adopt on religious dress, they should consider three questions: how prohibiting religious clothing would affect discussions of religious belief in the classroom; how suppression of discussions about religious diversity affected children's attitudes about people who held beliefs that were different from their own; and how would the prohibition on religious clothing affect children who were unable to express their religious beliefs in the classroom.

CONCHITA PONCINI, of International Federation of University Women, speaking on behalf of several NGOs2, said according to estimates, more than one million baby girls were killed every year throughout the world, the worst countries being India and China. As a result, in China, the sex ration of the population was changing: 105 male to 100 female, with a higher figure in rural areas. In India, the sex ratio was 100 males to 85 females in rural areas. Harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation were widespread and 130 million women had undergone that harmful tradition. Over the next 10 years, 100 million girls would be child brides. Because girls had a low economic and social status, they were more vulnerable to unwanted sexual activity and early marriage. An increasingly disproportionate number of girls were also being infected with HIV/AIDS, in some countries 5 times the number of boys.

POURIA ASKARY, of Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, said there was no excuse to delay the provision of children's rights any longer, particularly for those who were forced to live in extremely deprived conditions. Forcing children to work in mines, or in workshops and factories, and depriving them of education would not benefit the advancement of the world. Girls, in particular, must not be deprived of their right to education in this respect. Street children also lived in terrible conditions, and faced extreme poverty conditions and other dangerous factors that had terrible effects on their health. The world must accept that children were the most precious investment possessed by mankind. Protection was a global duty, and it was the right of all children to be protected. Throughout their lives, children were constantly threatened by abuse and exploitation; those acts must stop. International institutions must protect the rights of the child. Government and national institutions must pay closer attention to the conditions in which children laboured. All Governments should ratify the ILO conventions on child labour.

JONATHAN GALLAGHER, of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, said despite clear and unequivocal language in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, certain State parties were not complying with their explicit obligations. Poverty impacted children's development, robbing them of necessary food, clothing and shelter, and adversely affecting their health and education. Children were corrupted and exploited when they were used for cheap labour, sweat shops, armed conflict, and the perverted sexual pleasure of adult predators, or when they were exposed to sexually explicit material in the mass media and on the Internet. States should recommit themselves to ensure that the Convention was not merely a document of good words and intentions, but an instrument that made a definite and positive difference for good in the lives of children in the world today.

KALSANG PHUNTSOK, of International Union of Socialist Youth, said Tibetan children were still deprived of their liberty, and they were arrested and badly treated. The situation of Tibetans inside that region had been aggrieved by the fact that the repeated appeals to the United Nations on the tragic situation in Tibet had failed to produce improvements in the human rights conditions. Today, irrespective of China being a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its assurances to the United Nations of being a "consistent respecter and defender of the rights of the child", there was ample evidence of China's violation of those rights on a regular basis and on a colossal scale in Tibet. Despite repeated appeals, China still refused to provide information on the well-being of the young Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, or allow an independent observer to see him.

DOO-AH LEE, of A Woman's Voice International, said food aid in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea did not reach the most vulnerable children. All food aid was distributed through the State channels, and was mainly targeted to State institutions. However, the most vulnerable children were not to be found in these institutions. These children usually hung around the market place to get food instead. The chronic malnutrition of these children would result in shorter adults. To save children from this situation, the international community should help the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to end the ten principles of the cult of personality, which enslaved North Korean children to the cult of personality surrounding Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il; to abandon the policy of class discrimination, which had resulted in the institutionalization of inequalities; to stop forcing children to watch public executions; and to release the Reverend Dong-sik Kim, who had been kidnapped by North Korean agents while helping defector children in China.

MARIA ESPERANZA RUESTA DE FURTER, of International Alliance of Women, said the language used in the Convention on the Rights of the Child reflected a doctrine concerning their full protection, which was agreed on after 10 years of intense negotiations. It was the only United Nations convention which affirmed the indivisibility of economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights. The concern of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to adjust its functions to consider the two Optional Protocols to the Convention was appreciated. The report of the Special Rapporteur on child prostitution and child pornography was focused on problems, not solutions, in particular the issue of child pornography on the Internet, which was of particular interest.

The representative of Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, said she wished to draw attention to the discrimination suffered by children in Argentina, who represented 25 per cent of the total population, but 50 per cent of the poor. The economic and social crisis had impacted large numbers of children, including children and adolescents in situations of poverty who had no access to health, education, and other services, and who had no surety of the rights that led to a dignified life. The situation of children in Argentina was characterized by a profound retrogression; they had suffered indirectly through the situations of their parents, and directly through their participation in the child labour market. That situation required an integrated plan for the protection of children and youth, and for the implementation of all their internationally-agreed rights at the national level. Full development for children required access to food, a decent standard of living and education. Children victims of exploitation, and those exposed to HIV/AIDS, also suffered particular discrimination.

NAJAT M'JID, of Union de l'action féminine, said Morocco had made considerable advances in legislation, with many new texts elaborated over the last few years. Although commendable efforts had been made, they remained sectoral, and there was no real coordination mechanism between the diverse actors intervening in the domain of childhood. There was a need for monitoring and the follow-up of policies in this field, whilst taking account of the specificities, and elaborate qualitative and quantitative measurable indicators in order to be able to follow the situation of children.

JENNIFER PHILPOTT-NISSEN, of World Vision International, thanked the African Governments for their willingness to continue to address the issue of abducted children in their region through the Commission on Human Rights and noted the progress report. She particularly appreciated the willingness of some African Governments to continue the dialogue with non-governmental organizations concerning that issue; however, she felt that it was regrettable that African Governments did not response to the request for information contained in the Commission's resolution on that issue last year. In particular, the resolution last year welcomed the establishment by some African countries of national mechanisms to combat and eliminate the abduction of children, and she strongly urged African Governments to share information about such mechanisms and to report on their progress.

SOFIA NORDENMARK, of Andean Commission of Jurists, said corporal punishment included any action in which a person used physical violence causing pain with intention of punishing a child in the belief that they were just educating them or refraining undesirable behaviour. The prohibition of corporal punishment entailed protecting a child from violence so that they had the same rights as any other person. In the Andean region, corporal punishment was rife, violent behaviour was condoned, and incidents were not denounced. The countries of the region did not have an explicit condemnation of corporal punishment in their Constitutions, and this should be changed to make it explicitly prohibited. The Commission should condemn corporal punishment by a resolution.

Right of Reply

HIDENOBU SOBASHIMA (Japan), speaking in a right of reply with regard to the statement made by the Republic of Korea concerning the authorisation of Japan's textbooks, said the system was based on the vast range of textbooks being published without the Government intervening. The opinions expressed therein should not be those of the Japanese Government, but should fulfil the criteria of the authorisation procedure, including the lack of obvious mistakes or lack of balance. In this connection, the Japanese Government's basic recognition of its history was reflected in the textbooks.

OMER DAHAB MOHAMED (Sudan), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said he wished to respond to elements of the statement by Canada. The Canadian delegate had said there was clear evidence of violations of human rights by the Government of Sudan. However, the problem was one of availability of information from correct sources, which was not available at all. There was unverified information being propagated by some media. So as not to dilute the content of the information, the Sudanese delegate wished to refer to the national committee of investigation and the International Commission of Inquiry's agreement on four points, which had not been reflected in Canada's statement. Had that delegation and others informed themselves of the national commission of investigation's findings? He was confident that they had not yet read the report, nor the response of the Sudanese Government to the International Commission of Inquiry's report. The minimal requirements of justice would require it to be read before making accusations. Sudan fought impunity, in cooperation with the international community, to make sure that no violator went unpunished. The national judiciary was quite capable of finding and punishing those violators, and of punishing them in a manner to discourage others.

PARK IN-KOOK (Republic of Korea), speaking in a right of reply in response to the Japanese right of reply on the issue of history textbooks, said Japan should take the issue seriously and reflect the truth in school books. The Government had made some effort but many of the history textbooks lacked universal truth.

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1Joint statement: Human Rights Watch; International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) and International Service for Human Rights.


2Joint statement on behalf of: International Social Service; International Council of Women; International Federation of Social Workers; SOS - Kinderdorf International and Federation europeenne des femmes actives au foyer.


3Joint statement on behalf of: International Federation of University Women; Baha'i International Community; Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women's Association International; International Council of Women; Women's International Zionist Organization; World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations; Femmes Africa Solidarité; International Council of Jewish Women; International Alliance of Women; International Federation of Social Workers; and Women's World Summit Foundation.


For use of information only; not an official record