15 March 2001


BACKGROUND RELEASE



The Commission on Human Rights will hold its fifty-seventh session at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 19 March to 27 April 2001.
The Commission is the United Nations' principal human rights organ. Created in 1946 by the Economic and Social Council and made up of 53 Member States, the Commission carries out studies, prepares recommendations and elaborates draft international instruments on human rights. It also looks into allegations of violations of human rights.
In addition to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, many dignitaries at ministeral level will participate as guests of honour, especially during the first two weeks of the session. Among Heads of State who will be attending are the President of France, Jacques Chirac; the President of the Swiss Confederation, Moritz Leuenberger; and the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Kabila. The heads of the international organizations who will take the floor include Ruud Lubbers, the new High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Commission will discuss the question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms around the world; questions related to racism, minorities and migrant workers; the rights of women and violence against women; rights of the child; the situation concerning torture, disappearances, summary executions, freedom of expression, and religious intolerance; economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development.
Besides considering items on its agenda, the Commission will devote Monday, 26 March to a special debate on tolerance and respect. The debate will examine tolerance and respect from aspects of religion; freedom of expression; empowerment, social exclusion, gender, minorities, culture and integration; education and children; and migration, trafficking, refugees and internally displaced persons. The special debate will be divided into four parts with participation from eminent personalities.
As in previous years, the Commission will debate violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It will consider reports presented by its Special Rapporteurs, Special Representatives, Independent Experts, the Secretary-General or the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights around the world, including Afghanistan, Burundi, the former Yugoslavia and Kosovo, Chechnya, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, southern Lebanon and west Bekaa, East Timor and Cyprus. It will also take up the question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, on the basis of the report of its human rights inquiry commission, the report of its Special Rapporteur on the question, and the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on her trip to the region.
Under its agenda item on advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights, the Commission will also consider the situation in Cambodia, Haiti, and Somalia. The state of human rights in Colombia is taken up under the Commission's agenda item on the organization of the work of the session. At the same time, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the thematic mechanisms of the Commission will draw the attention of the Commission to situations in other countries and regions which they study within the framework of their respective mandates.
The Commission will also be examining issues related to racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, mainly in the framework of preparations for the World Conference against Racism which will be held in South Africa from 31 August to 7 September in 2001. In this context, a round table will be held on 21 March on the occasion of the International Day against Racism. The Commission's session will be followed by the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism from 21 May to 1 June. The Commission will also have before it the last report of its Special Rapporteur on the question. Under its agenda item on specific groups and individuals, the Commission will consider a report by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. It will also take up questions related to minorities and indigenous populations.
Under its item on the integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective, the Commission will discuss problems related to violence against women, trafficking in women and girls and integrating the human rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations. Within the framework of its agenda item on the rights of the child, the Commission will review the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
The Commission will continue to pay attention to questions related to civil and political rights and it will have before it reports by its thematic mechanisms which were created to examine questions related to religious intolerance, freedom of expression, torture and detention, independence of the judiciary, administration of justice and impunity, as well as disappearances and summary executions. The Commission will also consider the first report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders who was appointed last year.
The Commission will also look at economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development. It will have reports submitted to it concerning the adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes, the right to education, extreme poverty, and human rights and economic adjustment policies arising from foreign debt. Last year, the Commission appointed two Special Rapporteurs, respectively, on the rights to food and access to adequate housing.


Questions to be Examined
Specific Situations Concerning Human Rights
Within the framework of examining specific situations concerning human rights, it is recalled that the Commission held a Special Session from 17 to 19 October 2001 on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories , which decided in resolution
S-5/1 to establish a human rights inquiry commission to gather and compile information on violations of human rights and acts which constituted grave breaches of international humanitarian law by the Israeli occupying power in the occupied Palestinian territories. It also requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake an urgent visit to the occupied Palestinian territories to take stock of the violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupying power. The Commission will have before it the report of the inquiry commission (E/CN.4/2001/121) which visited the occupied territories from 10 to 18 February, and the report of the High Commissioner (E/CN.4/2001/114) who visited the occupied territories, Israel, Egypt and Jordan from 8 to 16 November 2000.
The Commission will also have before it the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, Giorgio Giacomelli (E/CN.4/2001/30). It will also consider the reports of the Secretary-General on the question (E/CN.4/2001/27 and E/CN.4/2001/17) as well as (E/CN.4/2001/28) on the situation of human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan.
Under its agenda item on the question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world , the Commission at its fifty-sixth session asked the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Roberto Garreton, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and the working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, to undertake, security conditions permitting, a joint mission to investigate all massacres carried out on the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a view to bring the guilty parties to justice. The Commission will have before it the report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/2001/40) as well as a note from the secretariat (E/CN.4/2001/41). Mr. Garreton is presently on mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and will return from there on 21 March.
With regards to the situation in the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian Federation , the Commission last year requested the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict to undertake missions without delay to the Republic of Chechnya and neighbouring republics. The Commission will have before it the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (E/CN.4/2001/36).
The Commission will also have before it the reports of the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan , Kamal Hossain (E/CN.4/2001/43); in Iraq , Andreas Mavrommatis (E/CN.4/2001/42); in Rwanda , Michel Moussalli (E/CN.4/2001/45); in Burundi , Marie-Thérèse Kéita-Bocoum (E/CN.4/2001/44); in Sudan, Gerhard Baum, appointed in December 2000 (E/CN.4/2001/48); in Myanmar , Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (C/CN.4/2001/46 - and the report of the Secretary-General E/CN.4/2001/33); in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina , Jiri Dienstbier (E/CN.4/2001/47 and Add.1). With regards to Croatia, the Committee recommended that if the commitment to and progress made on human rights and democratic principles in that State continued, that Croatia be considered at its fifty-seventh session under the agenda item on technical assistance and advisory services.
Also to be considered by the Commission are the reports presented by the Special Representatives charged with investigating the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran , Maurice Copithorne (C/CN.4/2001/39) and in Equatorial Guinea , Gustavo Gallon (E/CN.4/2001/38).
The High Commissioner for Human Rights will also present to the Commission her reports on the situation of human rights in Sierra Leone (E/CN.4/2001/35), and in East Timor (E/CN.4/2001/37).
The Commission will also be considering the reports of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in southern Lebanon and western Bekaa (E/CN.4/2001/32), and on the question of human rights in Cyprus (E/CN.4/2001/31), which it has been examining since 1976.
The Commission decided to further consider the situation of human rights in Cuba at its fifty-seventh session. Its attention has also been drawn to measures taken at the last session of the General Assembly, especially concerning parts of south-eastern Europe.
Also to be considered by the Commission is the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Colombia (E/CN.4/2001/11), presented under its agenda item on organization of the work of the session, which contains an analysis by her Office in Bogota of the human rights situation in the country, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Office of the High Commissioner within the framework of a programme of technical cooperation.
In addition to its consideration of specific situations, the Commission has a procedure for dealing confidentially with communications concerning alleged violations of human rights which was established in 1974. The Commission looks at particular situations referred to it by the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (procedure 1503). Since this practise was started, the Commission has examined situations relating to 78 countries. Following established practise, the Chairperson of the Commission will announce in a public meeting the countries that have been examined under the procedure governed by Council resolutions, as well as the countries no longer being dealt with under the procedure.
Under its agenda item on advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights, the Commission has before it the report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti , Adama Dieng (E/CN.4/2001/106); the report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation in Cambodia , Peter Leuprecht (E/CN.4/2001/103); and the report of the Secretary-General on assisting the Government and people of Cambodia in the promotion and protection of human rights. The Commission will also review a note by the secretariat concerning assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights (E/CN.4/2001/105) after Independent Expert Mona Rishmawi resigned in September 2000. The Commission will also have before it the report of the Secretary-General on progress and concrete achievements made as well as obstacles encountered in the implementation of the programme of advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights and on the operation and administration of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights (E/CN.4/2001/104).
The Commission will also have before it the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.4/2001/34) which contains a compilation and analysis of any available information, from all appropriate sources, on alleged reprisals against private individuals and groups who seek to cooperate with the United Nations and representatives of its human rights bodies . It contains a summary of information describing situations in which persons have reportedly been intimidated or suffered reprisals for having cooperated with United Nations human rights bodies, availed themselves of international procedures, provided legal assistance for this purpose, and/or for being relatives of victims of human rights violations.


Thematic Mandates
The Commission on Human Rights has also created mechanisms to examine questions relating to racism, violence against women, torture, forced disappearances, summary executions, arbitrary detentions, human rights and foreign debt, the effects of structural adjustment policies,
the adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic wastes, the right to education, extreme poverty, the right to food, and the right to adequate housing.
Within the framework of preparations for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which will take place from 31 August to 7 September 2001 in South Africa, the Commission asked the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia , Glélé-Ahanhanzo, to examine the issue of political platforms which promote or incite racial discrimination in violation of human rights and to submit recommendations thereon to the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance at its second session. The Commission also asked the Special Rapporteur to include in his report (E/CN.4/2001/21) information on the measures taken to implement the recommendations contained in his reports on country visits.
Within the framework of examining questions relating to the integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women , Radhika Coomaraswamy, will present her report to the Commission (E/CN.4/2001/73 and Add. 1 to 3). Since the last session of the Commission, the Special Rapporteur has visited Bangladesh, Nepal and India from 28 October to 14 November 2000 to examine the trafficking in women and girls in the region. The Commission will also have before it the report of the Secretary-General on trafficking in women and girls (E/CN.4/2001/72).
Concerning the rights of the child, the Commission will be considering the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography , Ofelia Calcetas-Santos (E/CN.4/2001/78 and Add. 1 to 3), and the report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in charge of the impact of armed conflict on children , Olara Otunnu (E/CN.4/2001/76 and A/55/442).
With regards to the situation of specific groups and individuals, the Commission will examine the report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants , Gabriela Rodriguez Pizarro (E/CN.4/2001/83 and Add. 1), on her mission to Canada in September 2000. The Commission also has before it the report of the Secretary-General on the status of the International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (E/CN.4/2001/79). Francis Deng, the Representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons , will also present his report to the Commission on this question (E/CN.4/2001/5 and Add. 1 to 5).
Concerning indigenous issues, the Commission has created an open-ended inter-sessional working group to elaborate a draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples , which will present its progress report (E/CN.4/2001/85). The Commission will also consider the report of the Secretary-General on expertise on minority issues to be made available to Governments (E/CN.4/2001/81).
As for issues related to civil and political rights , the Commission will consider the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture , Sir Nigel Rodley (E/CN.4/2001/66 and Add. 1 and 2) on his missions to Azerbaijan and Brazil. The Commission also has before it the report of the inter-sessional working group to elaborate a draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, designed to establish a preventive system of visits to places of detention (E/CN.4/2001/67).
Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions , will present her report (E/CN.4/2001/9 and Add. 1 to 3) on her missions to Nepal and Turkey
The Commission will also have before it the report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression , Abid Hussain (E/CN.4/2001/64 and Add. 1), as well as the report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers , Param Cumaraswamy (E/CN.4/2001/65 and Add. 1 to 3), on his missions to South Africa and Indonesia.
Abdelfattah Amor, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief , will present his report (E/CN.4/2001/63) on his mission to Bangladesh.
The Commission will also be considering the reports of the working groups in charge, respectively, of the question of arbitrary detention (E/CN.4/2001/14 and Add. 1) , and enforced or involuntary disappearances (E/CN.4/2001/68).
Hina Jilani, who was appointed as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders in August 2000, will present her first report to the Commission (E/CN.4/2001/94).
Under the agenda item on the right of people to self-determination, the Commission will have before it the report of the Special Rapporteur on the use of mercenaries , Enrique Bernales Ballesteros (E/CN.4/2001/14), as well as the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on a workshop on the traditional and new forms of mercenary activities (E/CN.4/2001/18).
And under the item on economic, social and cultural rights , the Commission will review this year the report by Fantu Cheru, the Independent Expert on the effects of structural adjustment policies and foreign debt on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights (E/CN.4/2001/56).
Fatma Zohra Ouhachi Vesely, the Special Rapporteur on the adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, will present her annual report on the question (E/CN.4/2001/55 and Add. 1).
The Commission will also be reviewing the report of Katarina Tomasevski, the Special Rapporteur on the right to education (E/CN.4/2001/52).
Two new mandates were created last year on the questions of the rights to access to adequate housing and food. The two Special Rapporteurs, appointed in September 2000, will present their first reports to the Commission: Miloon Kothari, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing (E/CN.4/2001/51); and Jean Ziegler, Special Rapporteur on the right to food (E/CN.4/2001/53).
The Commission will also have before it the report of the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty , Anne-Marie Lizin (E/CN.4/2001/54 and Add. 1).
On the question of the right to development , the Commission has established a working group to monitor and review progress made in the promotion and implementation of the right to development as elaborated in the Declaration on the Right to Development. The working group is assisted by the Independent Expert on the right to development, Arjun Sengupta. The Commission will have before it the report of the working group (E/CN.4/2001/26) as well as the reports of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (E/CN.4/2001/25) and the Secretary-General (E/CN.4/2001/24) on the question.
A list of the Special Rapporteurs, Special Representatives and other mechanisms of the Commission can be found at the end of this press release.


Activities of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
At the beginning of the session, the Commission will turn its attention to the activities of the High Commissioner for Human Rights . It will have before it the annual report of the High Commissioner (E/CN.4/2001/16). Since the end of the last session of the Commission, High Commissioner Mary Robinson has carried out a number of visits and missions around the world.
The Commission will also have before it a number of reports which it requested the High Commissioner to prepare concerning the composition of the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (E/CN.4/2001/100); a draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/CN.4/2001/62 and Add. 1); the right to restitution, compensation and rehabilitation for victims of grave violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms (E/CN.4/2001/61); and the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights (E/CN.4/2001/95).


Other Questions
During this session, the Commission will examine the question of the death penalty under its agenda item on the promotion and protection of human rights. It will also consider, within this framework, the yearly supplement of the Secretary-General on changes in law and practice concerning the death penalty worldwide to his quinquennial report on capital punishment and implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty (E/CN.4/2001/89).
The Commission will also have before it a number of reports by the Secretary-General on
human rights and unilateral coercive measures (E/CN.4/2001/50), the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (E/CN.4/2001/82 and Add. 1); regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights (E/CN.4/2001/97); regional cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asian and Pacific Region (E/CN.4/2001/98); national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (E/CN.4/2001/99); and the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights (E/CN.4/2001/104).
The Commission will also review the reports of the Secretary-General on fundamental standards of humanity (E/CN.4/2001/91), the World Public Information Campaign on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2001/92), the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (E/CN.4/2001/90), and human rights and bioethics (E/CN.4/2001/93).
The Commission will also be considering the report of the Expert Seminar on Human Rights and Peace (E/CN.4/2001/120).
And it will have before it the report of its subsidiary organ, the Subcommission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (E/CN.4/2001/2-E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/46).
The annotated agenda of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission can be found under (E/CN.4/2001/1 and Add. 1 and Corr.1).



Composition of the Commission
The composition of the Commission for 2001 is the following. The term of membership of each State expires on 31 December of the year indicated in brackets.
Algeria (2003), Argentina (2002), Belgium (2003), Brazil (2002), Burundi (2002), Cameroon (2003), Canada (2003), China (2002), Colombia (2001), Costa Rica (2003), Cuba (2003), Czech Republic (2002), Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003), Ecuador (2002), France (2001), Germany (2002), Guatemala (2003), India (2003), Indonesia (2002), Italy (2002), Japan (2002), Kenya (2003), Latvia (2001), Liberia (2001), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (2003), Madagascar (2001), Malaysia (2003), Mauritius (2001), Mexico (2001), Niger (2001), Nigeria (2002), Norway (2001), Pakistan (2001), Peru (2003), Poland (2003), Portugal (2002), Qatar (2001), Republic of Korea (2001), Romania (2001), Russian Federation (2003), Saudi Arabia (2003), Senegal (2003), South Africa (2003), Spain (2002), Swaziland (2002), Syrian Arab Republic (2003), Thailand (2003), United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2003), United States of America (2001), Uruguay (2003), Venezuela (2003).



Annex
LIST OF THEMATIC AND COUNTRY SPECIFIC PROCEDURES AND OTHER MECHANISMS OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH COMMISSION RESOLUTION 2000/86)
COUNTRY SPECIFIC PROCEDURES

Afghanistan : Mr. Kamal Hossain (Bangladesh) / Special Rapporteur
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Mr. Jiri Dienstbier (Czech Republic) / Special Rapporteur
Burundi : Ms. Marie-Thérèse Kéita-Bocoum (Côte d'Ivoire) / Special Rapporteur
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Mr. Roberto Garretón (Chile) / Special Rapporteur
Equatorial Guinea : Mr. Gustavo Gallón (Colombia) / Special Representative
Iraq: Mr. Andreas Mavrommatis (Cyprus) / Special Rapporteur
Iran (Islamic Republic of): Mr. Maurice Copithorne (Canada) / Special Representative
Myanmar: Mr. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Brazil) / Special Rapporteur
Palestinian territories
occupied since 1967: Mr. Giorgio Giacomelli (Italy) / Special Rapporteur
Rwanda : Mr. Michel Moussalli (Switzerland) / Special Representative
Sudan : Mr. Gerhart Baum (Germany) / Special Rapporteur
Human rights inquiry commission established pursuant to Commission
resolution S-5/1 of 19 October 2000 :

Mr. John Dugard (South Africa),
Mr. Richard Falk (United States of America)
Mr. Kamal Hossain (Bangladesh)

THEMATIC PROCEDURES
Adequate housing : Mr. Miloon Kothari (India) / Special Rapporteur
Contemporary forms of racism, racial
discrimination and xenophobia: Mr. Maurice Glèlè-Ahanhanzo (Benin) / Special Rapporteur
Education : Ms. Katarina Tomasevski (Croatia) / Special Rapporteur
Extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions : Ms. Asma Jahangir (Pakistan) / Special Rapporteur
Extreme poverty : Ms. Anne-Marie Lizin (Belgium) / Independent expert
Freedom of opinion and expression : Mr. Abid Hussain (India) / Special Rapporteur
Human rights defenders : Ms. Hina Jilani (Pakistan) / Special Representative of the Secretary-General
Human rights of migrants : Ms. Gabriela Rodríguez Pizarro (Costa Rica) / Special Rapporteur
Illicit movement and dumping
of toxic waste: Ms. Fatma Zohra Ouhachi Vesely (Algeria) / Special Rapporteur
Independence of judges
and lawyers : Mr. Param Cumaraswamy (Malaysia) / Special Rapporteur
Internally displaced
persons : Mr. Francis Deng (Sudan) / Representative of the Secretary-General
Mercenaries : Mr. Enrique Bernales Ballesteros (Peru) / Special Rapporteur
Religious intolerance : Mr. Abdelfattah Amor (Tunisia) / Special Rapporteur
Right to development : Mr. Arjun Sengupta (India) / Independent expert
Right to food : Mr. Jean Ziegler (Switzerland) / Special Rapporteur
Sale of children, child prostitution
and child pornography : Ms. Ofelia Calcetas-Santos (Philippines) / Special Rapporteur
Structural adjustment policies
and foreign debt : Mr. Fantu Cheru (United States of America) / Independent expert
Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment : Sir Nigel Rodley (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) / Special Rapporteur
Violence against women, its causes
and consequences : Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy (Sri Lanka) / Special Rapporteur
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention : Chairman: Mr. Kapil Sibal (India)
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances : Chairman: Mr. Ivan Tosevski (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)

TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME

Cambodia : Mr. Peter Leuprecht (Austria) / Special Representative of the Secretary-General
Haiti : Mr. Adama Dieng (Senegal) / Independent expert
Somalia : To be appointed / Independent expert


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