COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OPENS SIXTIETH SESSION

15.03.2004

Hears Addresses from New and Outgoing Chairpersons,
Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights




The Commission on Human Rights this morning opened its sixtieth annual session, beginning six weeks of discussion of human rights matters that will continue through 23 April and hearing expressions of praise and grief, in a series of opening addresses, over the work of the late High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and over his death in a bombing at the Baghdad United Nations office on 19 August 2003.

Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan said Mr. Vieira de Mello should have been present at today’s session, which also happened to be his birthday, and in his inimitable style should have been able to spur everyone on in his or her work. Terrorists had taken him from the Commission and the world, and today the Commission honoured him and its other fallen colleagues. The High-Commissioner-designate, Louise Arbour, would assume her functions later in the year, Mr. Ramcharan said.

The acting High Commissioner appealed, among other things, for greater active participation in human rights matters, noting that problems of poverty, lack of the rule of law, trafficking in human beings, and terrorism – as witnessed by recent, atrocious attacks – were far from being solved and that even as the Commission met, gross violations of human rights were taking place in numerous countries around the globe. He asked national delegations to reflect on the idea of creating an international convention on human rights education, and to think hard about how the Commission could contribute to the prevention and protection of the unfortunate victims of trafficking in human beings.

Mike Smith of Australia, the current Commission Chairman, who was elected along with other Commission officers at a meeting in January, said among other things that terrorism posed a major challenge – the Commission perhaps needed to discuss the human rights dimensions of this modern scourge. The railway station bombings in Madrid last Thursday had killed 200 people and injured hundreds of others, and the rights of people and their families and friends had been grievously compromised, as had the human rights of thousands of other victims of terrorist attacks, including citizens of his own country killed and injured in the Bali bombing of October 2002, Mr. Smith said.

Najat al-Hajjaji, outgoing Chairperson of the Commission, said among other things that each and every Commission session should avoid politicisation of work, and all participants should adhere to objectivity, neutrality and non-selectivity. In her opinion, the universality of human rights meant these standards had the capacity to embrace all characteristics and cultures under their umbrella, and she firmly believed in the advantages of quiet, rational dialogue.

Chairman Smith introduced a series of Bureau recommendations on Commission methods of work contained in document E/CN.4/2004/110/Rev.1. Representatives of Pakistan (on behalf of the Asian Group and, in a separate statement, on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference), Republic of Congo (on behalf of the African Group), Cuba, Egypt, and China (on behalf of the Like-Minded Group of Nations), spoke on the matter, raising concerns over several draft provisions, including those related to speaking times, the number of interventions allowed in general debate, and appointments made under the Commission’s special procedures system. Cuba contended that the proposed rules worked to the advantage of industrialized countries. Consensus could not be reached on adopting the recommendations and the matter was referred back to the extended Bureau for further review.

In other action, the Commission approved its programme of work and timetable for the session.

Along with Mr. Smith, the Commission’s 2004 officers are Saeed Mohamed Al-Faihani (Bahrain), Manual Antonio Gonzalez Sanz (Costa Rica), and Gordan Markotic (Croatia), Vice-Chairpersons; and Michael Gbadebo Omotosho (Nigeria), Rapporteur.

The Commission will reconvene at 3 p.m. to begin its high-level segment. During the segment, which continues through Thursday, 18 March, high-level Government officials from numerous countries will deliver addresses on general human rights matters.

Statements

MIKE SMITH, Chairperson of the Sixtieth Session of the Commission on Human Rights, said it was an enormous honour for him personally and for his country, Australia, to have been elected to oversee the sixtieth session of the Commission. His country had a long tradition of democracy and active domestic debate on human rights issues. It was therefore perhaps not surprising that successive Australian Governments and countless numbers of Australians as individuals had been involved in international efforts, led by the Commission, to promote and protect human rights all around the world. The Australian Presidency was a sign of its ongoing commitment to that body and its work in the cause of international human rights.

Mr. Smith noted that the late High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello had been a man of vision, of great integrity and wide experience, and of enormous energy. Sadly, he had scarcely had an opportunity to bring these qualities to bear in the cause of the Commission. In the early days of its existence, the Commission's energies were directed at drafting, adopting and promulgating international human rights standards and those early pioneers gave the international community the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two Covenants. More recently, although there was still work to be done in standard-setting, the focus was shifting to improving the monitoring, implementation and overcall effectiveness of existing standards. In that context, Australia had, for several years, been encouraging reform of the treaty body system to improve those Committees' capacity to oversee and advise on States' parties implementation of their obligations under the core treaties. As a result, and in accordance with the Secretary-General's reform proposals, the treaty bodies were now coordinating amongst themselves better, were more consistent in their approach to issues and were better focusing their concluding observations.

One new challenge was struggling with terrorism, Mr. Smith said. Perhaps the Commission would need to address the human rights dimensions of that modern scourge. Last week, the international community was reminded graphically of how people's lives could be wrecked by terrorism. The railway station bombing in Madrid last Thursday had killed 200 people and injured hundreds of others. The rights of those people and their families and friends had been grievously compromised, as had the human rights of the thousands of other victims of terrorist attacks over recent years, including citizens of his own country killed in the Bali bombing in October 2002.

BERTRAND RAMCHARAN, Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Sergio Vieira de Mello should have been present at today’s session, which also happened to be his birthday, and in his inimitable style should have been able to spur everyone on in his or her work. Terrorists had taken him from the Commission and the world, and today the Commission honoured him and its other fallen colleagues. The High-Commissioner-designate, Louise Arbour, would assume her functions later in the year. He was confident that this session of the Commission would be exemplary from the point of view of the promotion and protection of human rights, and he hoped that at the end of the session, it would be possible to say that a concrete difference had been made for the protection of the human rights of those being subjected to gross violations of human rights. It would also be fitting to ask what more the Commission could do to prevent genocide in the future.

Today, gross violations of human rights were taking place in numerous countries around the globe. The reports before the Commission indicated that serious violations were taking place the world over. Millions were perishing under the impact of grinding poverty, and one answer to this issue could be application of the principle of non-discrimination in the allocation of national resources. It was a fundamental principle of good governance that the resources of a country and of the international community be deployed equitably, and that special attention be given to eliminating discrimination in access to the means for a dignified life. Democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights were also fundamental requirements, and there was a need to recognize that the effects of globalization were making it difficult for developing countries to meet the basic needs of their people, and this was the essence of the debate on the right to development.

The Secretary-General had called for greater attention to be given to the strengthening of national human rights protection systems in each country. Mr. Ramcharan also urged the delegates to reflect on the idea of an international convention on human rights education, with the purpose of clarifying what governments needed to be doing to prepare and provide educational materials on this topic. It also appeared that the gravity of the problem of trafficking in human beings had not fully registered in the conscience of the international community, and there was a need for the Commission to contribute to the prevention and protection of the unfortunate victims of trafficking.

Terrorism, he said, was a plague upon the world. Innocent civilians, including children, continued to be among the main victims. Terrorism should be countered, and this should be done while striving to uphold basic principles of human rights. Delegates were asked to reflect carefully on how the Commission could sharpen its contribution to the protection of human rights in counter-terrorism strategies, as well as to reflect upon the quest for justice for the victims of gross violations of human rights. At the end of the day, all should continue to strive for the universal realization of human rights through constructive cooperation. International cooperation for the effective protection of human rights was the call of our time.

NAJAT AL-HAJJAJI (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), outgoing Chairperson of the Commission, said 2003 had been a distinctive year in her professional career, but a sad one, as she had suffered the death of her father. The Commission had suffered an awful loss, too, when Sergio Vieira de Mello, High Commissioner for Human Rights, disappeared forever on 19 August. His death was a loss for all of humanity, for the cause of human rights, for his country, family and friends.

Commission members had, no doubt, followed the recent positive developments in her country, Ms. al-Hajjaji said, starting with the declaration on the destruction of programmes and equipment of weapons of mass destruction, the signing of the Protocol on the Non-Proliferation on Nuclear Weapons, and the restoration of normal relations with some western States, following the closure of unresolved files with them, the release of many political prisoners, and other measures.

A major concern of the Bureau over the past year had been developing recommendations to deal efficiently with the challenges faced by the Commission’s working methods. The Bureau’s document before the Commission offered proposals, among other things, for adjusting the format, length and consideration of resolutions – the intent was to reduce their length and to make some resolutions bi- or triennialized – and to improve time management of meetings. The Commission’s working methods needed to be kept under constant review, and time was now of the essence; the subjects discussed during meetings were of the utmost importance – they affected the lives of people throughout the world.

Ms. al-Hajjaji went on to review her activities during her term as Chairperson, which included an address to the European Parliament and visits to numerous conferences and workshops on human rights matters, and said she appreciated the support, encouragement and cooperation she had received from Commission members, even from those who had voted against her candidature for the post.

Each and every Commission session should avoid politicisation of work, Ms. al-Hajjaji said, and all should adhere to objectivity, neutrality and non-selectivity; but soon after work got under way, participants tended to lose this perspective, and States entered into situations of conflict, confrontation and confusion, and entered into wars of position. In her opinion, the universality of human rights meant these standards had the capacity to embrace all characteristics and cultures under their umbrella. She firmly believed that the advantages of quiet, rational dialogue outweighed its many disappointments.