COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ADOPTS MEASURES ON SITUATIONS IN COLOMBIA, SOMALIA, HAITI AND CAMBODIA

Commission on Human Rights
57th session
25 April 2001
Evening




Approves Resolutions on Child Rights,
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,
Advisory Services



The Commission on Human Rights approved this evening Chairman’s statements on situations in Colombia and Haiti and lengthy resolutions on situations in Somalia and Cambodia.

In the Chairman’s statement on Colombia, the Commission condemned massive and systematic abuses and grave breaches of international humanitarian law perpetrated by paramilitary and guerrilla groups and called for intensified efforts by the Government and armed groups involved in the long-running conflicts in the country to reach terms on a ceasefire and to respect international human rights standards.

The Commission, among other things, also strongly deplored the persistence of impunity; underlined that it was important that cases of violation of human rights were tried by civilian courts; and took note of improvements in the human rights performance of the armed forces in Colombia but remained concerned at continued reports of human rights violations attributed to the armed and security forces and at reports of collusion between members of armed and security forces and paramilitary groups. It welcomed, among other things, ongoing cooperation by the Government with the Commission’s human rights mechanisms.

In a consensus resolution on assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights, the Commission, among other things, welcomed the establishment of the Transitional National Government and the Transitional National Assembly as an outcome of the Arta peace conference; expressed deep concern at reported cases of rape, arbitrary and summary executions, torture and other cruel treatment, in particular against women and children, and at the absence of an effective judicial system, and took note of the need for appropriate investigations throughout Somalia to bring perpetrators to justice.

The resolution on Cambodia expressed grave concern about continued violations of human rights, including torture, excessive pre-trial detention, violation of labour rights, and forced evictions, as well as the apparent lack of protection from mob killings; noted with concern continued reports of violence and intimidation related to political activity; and urged an end to racial violence against and vilification of ethnic minorities, including ethnic Vietnamese. It welcomed Government efforts but called for further progress on ending impunity; bringing former leaders of the Khmer Rouge to justice; reforming the judiciary; ending trafficking in women and children; combatting child labour; and halting the spread of small arms.

The Chairman’s statement on Haiti expressed deep concern that the political impasse in Haiti remained unresolved; called upon the Government to investigate and prosecute politically motivated crimes and to institute legal proceedings against perpetrators of human rights violations and ensure the neutrality of the police. While noting that some progress had been achieved, the Commission said problems persisted with regard to the administration of justice, impunity, prolonged detention and prison conditions. It encouraged the Government of Haiti and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to consider undertaking a program of technical cooperation and assistance for capacity building in the administration of justice and civil society.

The Commission also adopted resolutions relating to rights of the child; the promotion and protection of human rights; the effective functioning of human rights mechanisms; and advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights.

The Commission condemned in the strongest terms the Lord’s Resistance Army for the continued abduction, torture, killing, rape, enslavement and forcible recruitment of children in northern Uganda, and demanded the immediate cessation of such offenses.

In an omnibus resolution on the rights of the child, the Commission, among other things, called on States to develop sustainable health services and social services for children and to give support and rehabilitation to children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS; to make primary education free and compulsory to all and to ensure that all children, including girls and those in need of special protection had access without discrimination to education of good quality, as well as making secondary education generally available and accessible to all; and called upon all States to take measures to prevent all forms of violence against children. The Commission also decided to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography for three years.

In a resolution on the composition of the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, adopted by a roll-call vote of 34 in favour and 16 opposed, with 2 abstentions, the Commission, among other things, invited the High Commissioner to consider establishing a task force within her Office to work on the recruitment and training of qualified personnel from developing countries.

In other action the Commission passed, by a roll-call vote of 35 in favour and 15 opposed, with 2 abstentions, a resolution on equitable geographical distribution of the membership of the human rights treaty bodies; approved a consensus measure on regional cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asian and Pacific region; passed a consensus measure on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights; and adopted a resolution on regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights.

The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Friday, 27 April, to act on several remaining draft measures and to conclude its six-week session for 2001.

Action on resolutions and decisions

In a resolution (E/CN.4/2001/L.89) on the abduction of children from northern Uganda, adopted by consensus, the Commission condemned in the strongest terms the Lord’s Resistance Army for the continued abduction, torture, killing, rape, enslavement and forcible recruitment of children in northern Uganda; demanded the immediate cessation of such offenses and also attacks on civilian populations in northern Uganda by the Lord’s Resistance Army; called for immediate and unconditional release and safe return of all children so held; called upon the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture to continue to provide assistance to the victims and their families; urged member States, international organizations, humanitarian bodies and all other concerned parties to exert all possible pressure upon the Lord’s Resistance Army to release all abducted children; urged all parties supporting the continuation of such abductions and detentions to cease immediately all assistance to and collaboration with the rebel Army; welcomed the bilateral agreement signed by Sudan and Uganda on 8 December 1999; also welcomed the return of some of the abducted children and called for more efforts to be expended to release the remaining children held in captivity by the rebels; expressed its appreciation of the commitment made by the Governments of Sudan and Uganda to make a special effort to locate persons, especially children, who had been abducted in the past and to return them to their families; and underscored the gravity of the matter and urged the United Nations and international community to continue concerted efforts aimed at improving the situation.

A Representative of Democratic Republic of the Congo said when resolution L.89 was submitted, the delegation had asked for its rejection. The DRC took the view that Uganda was asking the Commission to condemn child abduction in general terms, which was acceptable. But Uganda had condemned certain forces. For ethical reasons, the delegation could not support the resolution. However, it seemed there was a general wish to move towards consensus. For that reason, the DRC would say that it had reservations to consensus.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/2001/L.98) on the rights of the child, adopted by consensus, the Commission urged States that had not done so to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child so as to achieve universal ratification, and to consider signing and ratifying the two optional protocols to the Convention so that they could enter into force as soon as possible, bearing in mind the convening of a Special Session of the General Assembly for follow-up to the World Summit for Children in September 2001; urged States parties to withdraw reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention; urged them to comply in a timely manner with their reporting obligations under the Convention; requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant mechanisms and organs of the United Nations to include a child rights perspective in their work; called upon all States to put an end to impunity for all crimes, including where children were victims; called upon all States to register all children immediately after birth; to respect the right of the child to preserve his/her identity; to develop sustainable health services and social services for children and to give support and rehabilitation to children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS; to make primary education free and compulsory to all and to ensure that all children, including girls and those in need of special protection had access without discrimination to education of good quality, as well as making secondary education generally available and accessible to all; called upon all States to take measures to prevent all forms of violence against children; to eliminate discrimination against children belonging to minorities; to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls, including harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, son preference, marriages without free and full consent of the intending spouses and early marriages; called upon all States to ensure full and equal enjoyment of all rights by children with disabilities.

The Commission further called upon all States to prevent all kinds of violence against children working and/or living on the street and to bring perpetrators of such violence to justice; to protect refugee children, unaccompanied children seeking asylum and internally displaced children; to progressively and effectively eliminate child labour; to comply with obligations under human rights instruments relative to children involved with the legal, judicial, and detention systems; to take steps to prevent and combat trafficking and sale of children for any purpose or in any form; to prevent and dismantle networks trafficking in children; to criminalize and effectively penalize all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse of children, including within the family; decided to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography for a further three years; called upon States to end the use of children as soldiers, to ensure that they were not forcibly or compulsorily recruited in their armed forces, and to prevent recruitment and use of children by armed groups distinct from the armed forces of a State; and recommended that, whenever sanctions were imposed in the context of armed conflict, their impact on children be assessed and, to the extent possible, that they be child-focused and formulated to address possible adverse effects.

A Representative of the United States of America, speaking on item 13, said the United States wished to express sincere appreciation to the sponsors of resolution L.98. The United States’ commitment to ameliorating the situation of children worldwide was strong. However, the United States needed to register a few reservations. While States could be encouraged to ratify the Convention on Rights of the Child, it was wrong to assert that there was an obligation to do so. The Convention was not a litmus test for a nation's commitment to children. The United States was not a party to the Convention and did not accept obligations under it. References to a rights based approach posed significant problems. The United States did not support a rights based approach that gave entitlements to economic, social and cultural rights.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/2001/L.64) on equitable geographical distribution of the membership of the human rights treaty bodies, adopted by a roll-call vote of 35 in favour and 15 opposed, with 2 abstentions, the Commission decided to recommend to the General Assembly that it encourage States parties to United Nations human rights instruments to establish quota distribution systems by geographical region for the election of the members of treaty bodies; and recommended the introduction of flexible procedures when establishing the quotas, encompassing the following criteria; each of the five regional groups must be assigned a quota of the membership of each treaty body equivalent to the proportion of the total number of States parties to the instrument that it represented; there must be provision for periodic revisions that reflected the relative changes in the geographical distribution of States parties; and automatic periodic revisions should be envisaged to avoid amending the text of the instrument when the quotas were revised.

The roll-call vote was as follows:

In favour: Algeria, Argentina, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Zambia.

Opposed: Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Abstaining: Brazil and Republic of Korea.

A Representative of Canada, in a joint statement with Norway, said Canada generally took the lead on resolutions concerning effective implementation of human rights treaty bodies. Several factors should be considered when electing members to the various bodies. It was true that some regions could be under-represented; it was true that women were also under-represented. One factor should not be given more importance or weight than others. Canada would be voting against this resolution.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/2001/L.84) on regional cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asian and Pacific region, adopted by consensus, the Commission stressed the importance of the linkages and mutually reinforcing aspects of all four areas of the Tehran Framework for Regional Technical Cooperation in the Asian and Pacific Region; stressed that developing and strengthening national capacities on human rights in accordance with national conditions provided the strongest foundation for effective and enduring regional cooperation; endorsed the conclusions of the ninth workshop for cooperation in the region on the next steps to be taken to facilitate the process of regional cooperation; welcomed the greater and valuable sharing of concrete national experiences at the ninth workshop; took note of the interactive discussions held during the inter-sessional workshops on the role of national human rights institutions in advancing the international human rights of women, human rights for parliamentarians and national institutions and economic, social and cultural rights; took note of the discussions at the ninth workshop and at the intersessional workshops on all the obstacles to the effective realization of economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development and the need for international cooperation to support the efforts of countries to overcome them; encouraged all States in the region to ensure that regional workshops undertaken within the Framework were accompanied by concrete and sustainable subregional and national activities, as well as training and awareness programmes for appropriate government and professional and law-enforcement personnel; and encouraged all Governments in the region to consider making use of United Nations advisory services and technical cooperation programmes in the field of human rights.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/2001/L.97) on composition of the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, adopted by a roll-call vote of 34 in favour and 16 opposed, with 2 abstentions, the Commission stressed that no post should be considered the exclusive preserve of any member State or group of States, including at the highest level, and requested the Secretary-General to ensure that, as a general rule, no national of a member State succeeded a national of that State in a senior post and that there was no monopoly on senior posts by nationals of any State or group of States; considered it necessary, in the process of restructuring of the Office of the High Commissioner, to take urgent, concrete and immediate action to change the currently prevailing geographical distribution of staff of the Office in favour of a more equitable distribution of posts, in accordance with article 101 of the Charter, and invited the High Commissioner to consider establishing a task force within her Office to work on the recruitment and training of qualified personnel from developing countries for the staff of her Office; requested the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to ensure that particular attention was paid to recruiting personnel from developing countries, in particular from unrepresented member States, for the existing vacancies and for additional posts in the Office of the High Commissioner; requested once again the Secretary-General, in signing agreements with countries as a result of which Junior Professional Officers were provided to the Office, to urge those countries to ensure the allocation of additional financial resources to guarantee that personnel from developing countries were able to work as Junior Professional Officers; and requested the High Commissioner to submit a comprehensive report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Commission at its fifty-eighth session.

The roll-call vote was as follows:

In favour: Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic,. Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Zambia.

Opposed: Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and
the United States.

Abstaining: Guatemala and the Russian Federation.

A vote on whether to keep operative paragraphs 7 and 14 of resolution L.97 passed by a vote of 33 in favour of keeping the paragraphs and 16 opposed, with 3 abstentions.

A Representative of Belgium, speaking on behalf of the European Union, expressed serious reservations on resolution L.97. The General Assembly was the only competent organ to deal with budgetary and human resources issues. According to existing guidelines, paramount consideration was given to the necessity of securing efficiency, competence and integrity among the staff, on as wide a geographic basis as possible. In fact, twenty four member States were not represented, and ten were under represented on staff. The European Union strongly supported the Secretary-General's efforts to ensure equitable distribution. However, the current proposal infringed on the prerogatives of the Secretary-General. The Union also strongly objected to operative paragraph 14 of the resolution.

A Representative of Norway, in a joint statement with Canada, said the delegation did not believe the subject of L.97, and the paragraph that would have a separate vote, fell within the jurisdiction of the Commission. Norway believed it was not incumbent on the Commission to manage the personnel decisions of the Secretary-General's Office, and of the United Nations. It was unfortunate that most delegations had received a draft of this resolution only this week, and had been unable to enter into substantive negotiations on this draft.

A Representative of the United States of America said the United States had worked hard to support diversity in the workplace and supported work toward the same aims in the United Nations. Article 101 of the Charter explicity explained how that goal should and could be attained. That article stated that of paramount importance were efficiency, competence, and integrity in the recruitment of staff and that due regard was to be paid to recruiting on as wide a geographic basis as possible. The United States could not support a proposal to make geographic distribution a requirement above all others, which was what resolution L.97 proposed to do.

In a consensus resolution (E/CN.4/2001/L.99) on regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights, the Commission recognized that progress depended primarily on efforts made at the national and local levels and that the regional approach should imply intensive cooperation and coordination with all partners involved; stressed the importance of the United Nations programme of technical cooperation in the field of human rights and renewed its appeal to Governments to consider making use of it; welcomed the growing exchanges between the UN and UN human rights treaty bodies, on the one hand, and regional intergovernmental organizations such as the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ rights, on the other; welcomed the appointment by the High Commissioner for Human Rights of four human rights personalities to serve as regional advisers; noted with interest the programme for Africa of the Office of the High Commissioner and the objective of strengthening cooperation between the Office and the Organization of African Unity with a view to reviewing regularly needs in the area of human rights in the various subregions; also noted the greater and valuable sharing of concrete national experiences at the ninth workshop on regional cooperation in the Asian and Pacific region; noted the Quito Framework for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights and welcomed the establishment in Mexico City of a Regional Network of National Institutions; welcomed the continued cooperation between the Office of the High Commissioner and regional organizations in Europe and Central Asia; and invited States in areas in which regional arrangements in the field of human rights did not yet exist to consider concluding agreements to establish them.

In a consensus resolution (E/CN.4/2001/L.102) on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, the Commission reaffirmed the importance of the development such effective, independent, pluralistic institutions; encouraged States to establish or strengthen such institutions in accordance with the established Principles set out by the General Assembly; recognized that national institutions had a potentially crucial role to play in promoting and ensuring the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights and called upon all States to ensure that all human rights were appropriately reflected in the mandate of their national human rights institutions when established; took note with satisfaction of the efforts of those States that had provided their national institutions with more autonomy and independence, including through giving them an investigative role or enhancing such a role, and encouraged other Governments to follow suit; welcomed the continuation of the practice of national institutions of convening regional meetings in some regions; expressed its appreciation to those Governments which had contributed additional resources for the establishment and strengthening of national institutions; welcomed the role of the Coordinating Committee of such institutions in assessing conformity with the Principles and in assisting Governments and national institutions when requested; and requested the Secretary-General to continue to provide, from within existing resources, the necessary assistance for holding meetings of the Coordinating Committee during sessions of the Commission.

In a Chairman’s statement on the situation of human rights in Colombia, the Commission took note of the willingness of the Government of Colombia to allow the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia to carry out its mandate; noted obstacles which the Office had experienced in maintaining a fluid and effective dialogue with the Government, and urged the Government to further strengthen its efforts actively to cooperate with the Office; reaffirmed its belief that a wider presence of the Office was of utmost importance and encouraged the opening of field offices in Colombia; and strongly believed that the Government had to take further and more effective measures to implement the recommendations of the Office.

The Commission expressed strong support for the peace process in Colombia and noted progress in the negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN); reiterated its deep concern about the lack of a permanent ceasefire and about grave and persistent abuses of international humanitarian law, mainly by “paramilitaries” and guerillas; called upon all parties to respect international humanitarian law and to protect the civilian population; called on the parties to reach a comprehensive human rights and humanitarian agreement as well as to address the question of how the victims of violations of human rights could be acknowledged; condemned massive and systematic abuses and grave breaches of international humanitarian law perpetrated by paramilitary and guerilla groups; strongly deplored the persistence of impunity and called upon the Government to effectively follow up initiatives to define and implement actions aimed at resolving the serious situation of impunity; noted Law 589 criminalizing forced disappearances, genocide, forced displacements and torture, and underlined that it was important that cases of violation of human rights were tried by civilian courts.

The Commission took note of improvements in the human rights performance of the armed forces but remained concerned at continued reports of human rights violations attributed to the armed and security forces, urged the Government of Colombia to further ensure that the members of State forces against whom credible allegations existed were suspended while speedy investigations were undertaken to bring those responsible to civilian justice; strongly condemned all acts of terrorism and breaches of international humanitarian law committed by guerrilla groups, particularly killings and attacks on the civilian population and continued use of child soldiers and anti-personnel landmines; called upon the guerrilla groups to respect humanitarian law and to agree upon a comprehensive human rights and humanitarian agreement to pave the way to a complete ceasefire; expressed deep concern at reports involving members of State forces who collaborated with paramilitary groups; urged the Government to take more effective steps to combat and suppress paramilitary groups; and took note of the announcement of the Government’s Six-Point Plan to tackle paramilitary groups and stated that now action was required.

The Commission welcomed the signature by the Government of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on landmines; encouraged the Government to ratify the Optional Protocols and implement them as soon as possible; welcomed the Government’s invitations to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the news that the Government would invite the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and the Special Representative on human rights defenders to visit the country; and strongly condemned the persistent and dramatically increasing attacks against human-rights defenders, trade unionists, persons working within the justice system, journalists, and others exercising their freedom of expression; acknowledged steps taken to address the problem; the Commission said it remained concerned about the slow pace of investigations into such crimes.

The Commission strongly condemned all threats, attacks and killings of candidates in local elections and others involved in peaceful political activities by guerrillas and paramilitary groups; deplored attacks against indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities and called for the Government to take urgent steps to improve protection of affected groups; took note of the acknowledgement of the Government of Colombia of its responsibility to address the situation of internally displaced persons but called on the Government to urgently implement additional strategies to cope with internal displacement; cited concern over poor prison conditions and called upon the Government to adopt measures to improve prison conditions and to reform its penitentiary code.

The Commission requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit to it at its next session a detailed report on the situation in Colombia.


In a consensus resolution (E/CN.4/2001/L.81) on assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights, the Commission welcomed the establishment of the Transitional National Government and the Transitional National Assembly as an outcome of the Arta peace conference; underlined the need for human rights to be an integral part of a future UN peace-building mission in Somalia; expressed the hope that the Transitional Government and Assembly would contribute to the restoration of the State, to the preservation of national unity and to the territorial integrity of the country; expressed deep concern at reported cases of rape, arbitrary and summary executions, torture and other cruel treatment, in particular against women and children, and at the absence of an effective judicial system, and took note of the need for appropriate investigations throughout Somalia to bring perpetrators to justice; condemned ongoing widespread violations of human rights; forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict and the use of children by the militias; all acts of violence, particularly against humanitarian relief workers, particularly the recent abduction in Mogadishu of United Nations personnel and non-governmental organization humanitarian relief workers by militia belonging to armed movements; strongly urged the Transitional Government and Assembly and all parties and administrations of Somalia to create an environment that would bring into the reconciliation process those who did not participate in the Arta conference; to support the re-establishment of the rule of law throughout the country; to protect and facilitate the work of humanitarian relief workers; called upon the authorities of the self-administering areas of “Somaliland” and “Puntland” to establish constructive relations with the institutions emerging from the Arta process; called upon all groups to support and participate in demobilization efforts; called upon the international community to provide increased assistance to Somalia; and decided to extend the mandate of the independent expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia for a further year.

In a consensus resolution (E/CN.4/2001/L.101) on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, the Commission requested the Secretary-General, through his Special Representative for human rights in Cambodia, to assist the Government of Cambodia in ensuring the protection of the human rights of all people in Cambodia; commended the Government for its openness and cooperation during visits of the Special Representative; requested the Government and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to sign without further delay the memorandum of understanding for extension of the agreement for implementation of the mandate of the Office in Cambodia after March 2000, and noted with regret the delays thus far encountered in the process; noted with concern continued problems related to the rule of law and the functioning of the judiciary, including corruption and interference by the executive with the judiciary, and welcomed Government efforts to reform the judiciary; urged the Government to continue necessary measures to develop an independent, impartial and effective judicial system; expressed serious concern about the continuing situation of impunity in Cambodia and urged prosecution of all those who had perpetrated serious crimes, including violations of human rights; noted with interest efforts by the Government with regard to its stated commitment to downsizing the police and the military; urged the Government to carry out free and fair communal elections; noted with serious concern the prison conditions in Cambodia and called for further measures to improve prison conditions; expressed grave concern about continued violations of human rights, including torture, excessive pre-trial detention, violation of labour rights, and forced evictions, as well as the apparent lack of protection from mob killings; noted with concern continued reports of violence and intimidation related to political activity; urged an end to racial violence against and vilification of ethnic minorities, including ethnic Vietnamese, and urged the Government to take all steps to prevent such violence; reaffirmed that the most serious human rights violations in Cambodia in recent history had been committed by the Khmer Rouge, welcomed the final collapse of the Khmer Rouge, and noted the steps taken by the Government in bringing to justice the Khmer Rouge leaders most responsible for the most serious violations of human rights; welcomed progress towards the adoption by Parliament of a draft law on establishment of extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia for the prosecution of crimes committed during the period of Democratic Kampuchea, and urged the Government to complete the remaining procedures without delay; welcomed the creation of an inter-ministerial commission to receive labour complaints and steps taken to establish a labour monitoring team; urged the Government to continue measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, to combat violence against women, and to prevent trafficking in and sexual exploitation of women; requested the Government to address the problems of trafficking and sexual exploitation of children; noted with serious concern the problem of child labour in its worst forms, and called for steps to outlaw, in particular, the worst forms of child labour; encouraged further strengthening and wider dissemination of human rights education and training programmes; encouraged the Government in its efforts to establish an independent national mechanism for the promotion and protection of human rights; requested the Government to follow up on recommendations made by human rights treaty monitoring bodies; encouraged the Government to continue efforts for the removal of landmines, which were having devastating consequences on society; and expressed concern about the large number of small arms in society and commended the efforts of the Government to control their spread and reduce their number.

In a Chairman’s statement concerning technical cooperation and the situation of human rights in Haiti, the Commission welcomed the visit of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Haiti to the Commission and took note of his recognition that, while there has been some progress on human rights in Haiti, problems persisted with regard to the administration of justice, impunity, prolonged detention and prison conditions; took note of the request by the Government of Haiti for assistance in addressing these issues and pledged serious consideration to the request; encouraged the Government of Haiti and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to consider undertaking a program of technical cooperation and assistance for capacity building in the administration of justice and civil society; called upon the Government to consider ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; expressed deep concern that the political impasse in Haiti remained unresolved and stemmed originally from the May 2000 legislative elections; called upon Haiti to investigate and prosecute politically motivated crimes including the assassination of journalist Jean Dominique and to institute legal proceedings against perpetrators of human rights violations and ensure the neutrality of the police; encouraged Haiti to take vigorous action to eliminate human rights violations, improve prison conditions, to ensure due process, and in this regard to strengthen the Office of the Ombudsman; condemned acts of violence, particularly politically motivated violence, and urged the Haitian Government to protect the rights of all Haitian citizens to assemble peacefully and express their political opinions; expressed concern over Haiti's "restaveks", children who were placed in domestic service, sometimes against their will and in deplorable conditions; and encouraged Haiti to work with the international community to promote the rights of children.





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