Commission on Human Rights
57th session
19 March 2001
Morning




High Commissioner for Human Rights
Reviews Activities, Previews Upcoming World
Conference against Racism,
Says She Will Not Seek a Second Term



The Commission on Human Rights opened this morning its fifty-seventh session and was urged by the High Commissioner for Human Rights to focus on tolerance and respect for fundamental freedoms in a year that would culminate in the holding of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

High Commissioner Mary Robinson also said that human-rights violations continued around the world -- among other things, hundreds recently had been killed on the grounds of their ethnicity; refugees and asylum-seekers continued to arrive in wealthier countries to cold and often hostile receptions; and insidious, subtle forms of discrimination continued to operate, closing off employment and promotion and barring people of particular races, religions or social backgrounds from housing and other necessities.

Mrs. Robinson went on to tell the Commission that the World Conference against Racism -- to be held from 31 August to 7 September in Durban, South Africa -- would mark the end of her four-year term of office, and that she would not be seeking a second term.

The Commission's six-week series of meetings, during which matters will be discussed ranging from situations in specific countries to the rights of indigenous peoples to problems of racism to the challenges of development, will end on 27 April.

Elected Chairman was Ambassador Leandro Despouy of Argentina, who said in opening remarks that this was a period of enormous contrast; some were living in the space age and the information revolution while others were trying merely to survive -- and, paradoxically, while poverty threatened human rights, so did much scientific and technological progress.

The Commission's outgoing Chairman, Ambassador Shambhu Ram Simkhada of Nepal, said, among other things, that successes over the past year had included two Optional Protocols -- on children in armed conflict and the sale of children -- which had been adopted by the Commission and the General Assembly, and the beginning of work by three new mandate holders of the Commission on the topics of protection of human-rights defenders, the right to food, and the right to housing.

Chosen as Vice Chairpersons were Najat Al-Hajjaji of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Anda Filip of Romania, and Alvaro de Mendonca e Moura of Portugal. Selected as Rapporteur was Imtiaz Hussain of Pakistan. In other action, the Commission adopted its agenda for the session.

The Commission's bureau was scheduled to meet privately during the afternoon. The Commission will meet in plenary to begin its substantive work for the year at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 20 March.


Statements

SHAMBHU RAM SIMKHADA (Nepal), outgoing Chairperson of the Commission, said his term as chairman had made this a "full year". There had been successes such as the two Optional Protocols on children in armed conflict and sale of children, the work of the three new mandate holders for human rights defenders, the right to food, and the right to housing, and the adoption of Working Group reports such as that on enhancing the effectiveness of the mechanisms of the commission. There also had been the fifth Special Session in the Commission's history, held on the tragic situation in the Palestinian territories, which had added to the complexity and challenge of the work of the Commission.

Mr. Simkhada drew attention to the passing from the Twentieth to the Twenty-First Century noting that while developments in science and technology had created tremendous opportunities for positive transformation, many continued to live in destitution and persecution, suffering from extreme poverty, conflict and violence, disease and ignorance. He noted with sadness the descent of his own country into a growing cycle of violence and lamented the slow progress of humanity in the face of the rapid development of technology.

Mr. Simkhada noted the Commission's progress in organizing a seminar on human rights and extreme poverty and suggested that the Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Brussels could be an appropriate venue for the international community to demonstrate its goodwill and come together. He noted that poverty eradication and peace building would depend on the development of a new paradigm of thinking and that the growing role of non-state actors would be important. The Commission must move beyond "bashing others" and he advocated the creation of an internationally agreed institutional arrangement to monitor and report on the situation of human rights worldwide on the basis of internationally agreed upon norms and standards which might lead to greater moral obligation for introspection and self appraisal.

Mr. Simkhada concluded by noting the need to emphasise rights with responsibility. Building capacity and strengthening institutions were vital components of the global human rights agenda.


MARY ROBINSON, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, underlined that in the months ahead, the overriding challenge for her Office and the Commission should be the successful stewardship of the World Conference against Racism Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in Durban. The Conference was of the highest significance for the Commission because the issues it would address were evils which the internal community combatted with all its power; because racism and xenophobia -- manifesting themselves through discrimination and all forms of intolerance -- were the wellsprings of many of the world's conflicts; because they were a key element of the vicious of poverty and social exclusion; and because those forces ran directly contrary to the fundamental message of human rights which was that every member of the human family had equal and inalienable rights.

The international community was daily surrounded by examples of the evil effects of racism and xenophobia, Mrs. Robinson went on to state. During the past month alone, hundreds had been killed in Borneo, Burundi, and countless other parts of the world on the grounds of their ethnicity. Ethnic conflict had surfaced in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in a way which could threaten again the stability of that region. Refugees and asylum-seekers continued to arrive in wealthier countries to a cold and often hostile reception. And the insidious, subtle forms of discrimination continued to operate, closing off employment and promotion, and barring people of particular races, religions or social backgrounds from housing and amenities that should be open to all. Combatting those abuses, working to end the wretched practice of trafficking in humans; focusing on the gender dimension of racism; respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities in deed as well as word; extending human rights education to inform everyone, especially young people, about where intolerance led -- those were the issues that would go to the heart of the World Conference.

Turning to the work of her Office, Mrs. Robinson said that activities had been undertaken on a number of fronts to shape the human rights message and to bridge the gap between principles and practice. With the strong support and encouragement of the Secretary-General, the voice of human rights had been strengthened with the UN family. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was committed to being a reliable partner which took the role of main streaming human rights throughout the organization seriously. The Office was now well established at its headquarters at the Palais Wilson with improved conference and working facilities. It had become in a true sense the home of human rights.

Accountability was crucial to prevention, Mrs. Robinson said. How a government responded to allegations of gross violations was a benchmark of whether a various commitment to human rights existed. The fact that more countries were ratifying the Statute of the International Criminal Court was to be welcomed. Further to be welcomed was that the valuable work being done which had led to the first convictions for rape and enslavement as crimes against humanity by the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Wherever there were allegations of extrajudicial killings, torture and illegal detention -- whether in East Timor, the Former Yugoslavia or central Africa -- there should be a credible response.

Mrs. Robinson said that in integrating human rights and a gender perspective into the programmes of the UN as a whole, her Office had been advocating the added value of the rights based approach centred on the framework of the core human rights treaties that States had ratified and on the obligations they had thereby assumed. Many examples were seen of gross human violations in conflict situations, with women and children often the worst affected.


Speaking on conditions in the Middle East, Colombia and Sierra Leone, Mrs. Robinson said that the situations remained grave. In the occupied Palestinian territories, the efforts of the international community, including those of the Commission, had not brought an end to the hostilities and human rights violations. The human rights situation in Colombia remained grave; and Sierra Leone continued to face serious problems caused by the ongoing internal conflict.

In conclusion, Mrs. Robinson announced that upon termination of her current four-year mandate, which would end immediately after the World Conference against Racism and Racial Discrimination, she would not seek another term in office as High Commissioner for Human Rights. She said that she believed that she was extraordinarily lucky to have been nominated as High Commissioner by the Secretary-General whose own moral courage and integrity had made it possible for her to achieve many of her goals. She said it had not been an easy decision to make -- and she knew it was one that might lead to surprise and perhaps disappointment by many. She would continue to work whole-heartedly for human rights in the way that she knew that she knew best -- as an advocate. The United Nations was the most important international organization in the world and she would continue to support it in whatever way she could.

LEANDRO DESPOUY (Argentina) , the newly elected Chairperson of the Commission, said a great deal had occurred in recent years in terms of peacemaking and the rule of law in the Latin American and Caribbean region; democracy was taking root and institutional mechanisms were being developed. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was playing a major role in that region and throughout the world, and he hoped further support and resources would be provided for the Office's work.

The World Conference against Racism was a signal event this year, as was the declaration by the General Assembly of the year 2001 as a year for dialogue on human rights, Mr. Despouy said. In fact dialogue and cooperation were vital for the success of the World Conference. Other issues of growing importance and focus were the situations of indigenous peoples and various minority groups around the world, and in their cases, too, the resolution of problems depended on dedication to dialogue based on a spirit of tolerance and cooperation.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were vital to the Commission's work and to the progress of human rights around the world, the Chairperson said; he felt a personal gratitude to NGOs for the role they had played during the harsh years of military dictatorship in Argentina. NGO activists and other human-rights promoters deserved respect and personal security while carrying out their work.

The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 had marked a rebirth of humanism after the ravages of World War II and had contributed to major changes in international law. In fact, it had begun to give individual humans a status in international law which previously had focused on the rights of States, Mr. Despouy said; the Commission over the ensuing decades had expanded on the Declaration by developing mechanisms that would help to realize the rights the document contained.

This was a period of enormous contrast; some were living in the space age and the information revolution while others were trying merely to survive. Poverty not only threatened human rights, but -- in the absence of ethics -- so did much scientific and technological progress. Regulation and control were necessary to ensure that "progress" equalled progress in human rights. Economic globalization was complex and wide-ranging, and its effects had to be further studied and its negative impacts reduced; one way to do that was to give equal weight to all categories of human rights.



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