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COMMISSION STARTS CONSIDERATION OF CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
31 March 2005
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Commission on Human Rights
MORNING
31 March 2005
Concludes General Debate on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights after Hearing Statements from 42 Non-Governmental Organizations
Civil and political rights represent the cornerstone of democracy, development and the international human rights edifice affirmed Egypt and India this morning as the Commission on Human Rights began its consideration of civil and political rights, after concluding its general debate on economic, social and cultural rights.
Egypt said there was a need to balance civil and political rights, which represented the cornerstone of democracy, peace, and development. Despite suffering armed conflict and wars that halted development, efforts continued to be focused so that peace and development could be enjoyed by all peoples in the region, along with economic, social and cultural rights. Similarly, India affirmed that the extent of civil and political rights enjoyed by the citizens of a State defined the essence of a society. India had never accepted the argument that there had been an implicit trade-off between civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. Democracy, and the values and principles that accompanied it, presented the only sustainable framework within which the welfare of the people could be ensured.
Also this morning, the Commission concluded its general debate on economic, social and cultural rights, after hearing from the representatives of 42 non-governmental organizations who stressed issues related to the right to health, right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living, including access to drinking water, sanitation and other basic infrastructures and resources, among others. The speakers raised awareness about the situations of specific groups and communities in many countries. Many of the non-governmental organizations expressed concern about the impact of globalization, especially on the development of developing countries, and emphasized the importance of reaffirming the universality, interdependence, indivisibility and interrelatedness of all human rights -- civil, cultural, economic, political and social -- in the lead up to the five-year review of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
Representatives of the following non-governmental organizations addressed the Commission this morning during its discussion of economic, social and cultural rights: International Movement ATD Fourth World; World Peace Council; Liberal International; Open Society Institute; International Alliance of Women; International Association against Torture; Ius Primi Viri International Association; Movimiento Cubano por la Paz y la Soberania de los Pueblos; Society for Threatened Peoples; International Educational Development; Human Rights Council of Australia; International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations; Organization for Defending Victims of Violence; Union of Arab Jurists; International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development; Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action; Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization; Tebtebba Foundation (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education); International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development - Rights and Democracy (speaking on behalf of several NGOs1); Asian Legal Resource Centre; International Association of Democratic Lawyers.
Additionally, Representatives of the International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations; Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development; Pax Romana; International Federation of Social Workers; Indigenous World Association; World Muslim Congress; MADRE; International Human Rights Association of American Minorities; Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network; Pax Romana (speaking on behalf of International Young Catholic Students); Rural Development Foundation of Pakistan; Association Tunisienne pour l'Auto-Developpement et la Solidarite; Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development; Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Rural Reconstruction Nepal; Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches; North-South XXI; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation; International Religious Liberty Association; and International Pen also spoke.
Speaking in exercise of the right of reply this morning were the Representatives of China, Cameroon and Chile.
The Commission will meet at 3 p.m. this afternoon to continue its consideration of civil and political rights.
General Debate on Civil and Political Rights
TAMIM KHALLAF (Egypt) said when speaking of the importance of civil and political rights which could give rise to a society of equality, justice and fairness, this was a topic which had existed since the dawn of time. All should be able to enjoy these rights fairly. Civil and political rights were being given to the people of Egypt with no discrimination or exclusion. Equality was being sought among these rights so as to implement a harmonious democracy. It required of citizens that they behave appropriately. There was a need for a balance within these rights, which were the cornerstone of democracy, peace, and development. Despite suffering armed conflict and wars that halted development, efforts continued to be focused so that peace and development could be enjoyed by all peoples in the region, along with economic, social and cultural rights.
Egypt had ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Eights, and had tried to reinforce the links between peace, development, democracy and fundamental rights and freedoms. There should be no pretext preventing anybody from this goal and Egypt had therefore adopted all main human rights instruments and was seeking to implement the duties through mechanisms and assemblies devoted to trying to help women and children. A mechanism was in place specialised in human rights in the Parliament and in the National Council. There was a reporting mechanism among authorities in this field so that Special Rapporteurs could respond to the information received. The President had begun reforms in the civil and political and in the economic, social and cultural fields to ensure that citizens could vote freely and democratically in elections.
HARDEEP SINGH PURI (India) said that civil and political rights represented the cornerstone of the international edifice of human rights. The extent of civil and political rights enjoyed by the citizens of a State defined the essence of a society. The denial or enjoyment of those rights shaped the way that a people thought, the way they related to one another, and their entire value system. Above all, civil and political rights shaped the nation. India had won its independence at a time when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had been taking shape, and the framers of its Constitution had been enlightened visionaries with a deep concern for human rights. They had been determined to establish a political framework in which the most basic aspirations of the people -- to live with freedom and dignity -- would be secured. India had never accepted the argument that there had been an implicit trade-off between civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. Instead, democracy, and the values and principles that accompanied it, presented the only sustainable framework within which the welfare of the people could be ensured.
Doubtlessly, the lack of adequate resources and insufficient national capacity in developing countries had handicapped their ability to secure the people's full enjoyment of civil and political rights, he said, but that did not mean that restricting civil and political rights was necessary for economic and social advancement. None would claim that democratic States were beyond reproach on each and every issue relating to the protection and promotion of civil and political rights, but the safeguards provided by the institutions of a democratic society, including independence of the judiciary, free press, and vibrant civil society, made democratic societies far less likely to tolerate abuses of human rights than closed societies. Turning to the issue of terrorism, he said that nothing justified terrorism, and that terrorists remained the greatest violators of the most basic human right, the right to life. Democracies must rally against that international menace.
General Debate on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
THIERRY VIARD, of International Movement ATD Fourth World, said throughout the world, in all countries, even the most prosperous, extreme poverty and social exclusion continued to deny millions of families their rights to a dignified life and also of all ability to exercise freedom of thought and to act for their own good and that of others. The participation of the very poor was fundamental in the work of the Commission in this regard, and the Millennium Declaration equally underlined the importance of participation of all citizens. To work to build such a partnership was to recognise that men, women, families and groups of concerned populations, due to the misery they were suffering, had a unique contribution to bring, and it was also to allow them to exercise, in the heart of their communities and more generally in society, their rights and responsibilities.
KADIR BUX JATOI, of World Peace Council, said that the Sindhis of Sindh and the Balochs of Balochistan comprised two unique national groups within Pakistan. Historically, they had either been free and sovereign countries, or had enjoyed relative autonomy under various colonial rulers, until the partition of the Indian subcontinent. Yet these provinces were now recognized more for their valuable natural resources than for the richness of the culture and people. They received only a pittance of the country's provincial development contributions, although they contributed more than 70 per cent of Pakistan's gross domestic product. Among their chief concerns was the future of the Indus River, from which millions of Sindhis derived their livelihood, but which was choked by a multitude of dam and canal projects in the north. The future of the Sindhi language was also being threatened. Balochistan was also feeling profound threats to economic, social and cultural rights, as the President of Pakistan had recently announced the construction of three garrisons in the province, which would uproot as many as 25,000 locals from their homes. Women's rights also constituted a source of concern.
CALIXTO ARTURO NAVARRO, of Liberal International, said freedom was the basis for economic, social and cultural developments. In countries where there was no freedom, there was no progress. In countries where there were frequent elections and institutional independence, corruption was monitored. In China, where capitalism was being developed, one group was exploiting a large number of citizens. In Sudan, in the conflict between the rebels and the Government in Darfur, the population had been marginalized politically and economically. In Cuba, economic and social development had been limited for the last 46 years by the dictatorial regime.
CLAIRE BISIAUX, of Open Society Institute, said in many countries drug addiction was still considered a matter of criminal law rather than a public health issue. It had been demonstrated that enforcement of anti-drug laws and policies without due attention to public health could have the effect of driving drug users underground and away from HIV/AIDS services that could save their lives and the lives of those around them. Upholding the right to health for injection drug users was a critical component of successful HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment efforts. The right to health included the right to obtain health services without fear of punishment. Those who enforced existing drug laws in many countries violated this right regularly. Pragmatism and compassion should guide all policy decisions in order to allow and support injection drug users' right to health.
HELENA SACKSTEIN, of International Alliance of Women, recalled that three of the eight Millennium Development Goals, eight of the 16 targets, and 18 of the 48 indicators, related directly to health. The Millennium Goals provided a vision of development in which health and education had been placed squarely at the centre. None could say that development concerned economic growth alone. Regarding the right of all to the highest attainable standard of health, non-governmental organizations called upon Governments to address health within a broad developmental framework, strengthen public health systems, ensure equitable health systems to meet and sustain the goal of combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure that earmarked health funding from private funds provided adequate funds to national health systems to ensure sustainability and monitor accountability, and curb the drain of trained health professionals from poor countries, among other actions.
FERNANDO RUIZ, of International Association against Torture, said in Chile, the Government's political party had been governing the country since 1990 by inheriting the institutions that existed during the dictatorial regime of 1973. The international community had condemned the practices of the dictatorial regime. However, the political regime in power had perpetuated the structures of the institutions that had served the dictatorial regime. Those institutions had been identified as affecting the economic and social rights of the population. The neo-liberal practices of the Government were seriously affecting the rights to health, education, social, economic and cultural rights of the Chilean population.
ANGELAMARIA LORETO, of Ius Primi Viri International Association, said among the Millennium Development Goals to defeat poverty was the need to eliminate education disparities worldwide by ensuring full primary education to all children of the world before 2015 and full gender primary and secondary education, if possible, before 2050. But such an education should not be considered only as a tool. It was the right of a child not to be conditioned by violence, power, force or pleasure, but to be educated so that she or he could comprehend her or his surroundings, and express thinking while respecting the different ideas of others. For this reason the first step to implement human rights consisted of training educators, and all Governments of the world should devote themselves mainly to education.
BORIS CASTILLO BARROSO, of Movimiento Cubano por la Paz y la Soberania de los Pueblos, said neo-liberal globalization, which was an imperialist, hegemonic project of domination pushed by the United States Government, denied progress made in development and international peace. It was a shield for the systematic defense of an unfeasible system. Of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 did not represent countries but corporations, which disregarded sovereignty and delegitimized nationalist feeling. The Free Trade Area for the Americas had not been established in 2005; however, new bilateral agreements had been concluded. Cuba, which had remained under a unilateral blockade for more than four decades, had not been invited to join in any such trade agreements. There had been many violations of economic, social and cultural rights by the United States Government in its undeclared war on Cuba, which even extended to United States citizens. The Commission should condemn such acts, and cease to be a forum for the hypocritical condemnation of Cuba.
TENZIN SAMPHEL KAYTA, of Society for Threatened Peoples, said in 1999, China had launched the Western Development Strategy comprising key projects including construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway; transmission of electric and natural gas from western areas to the east; protection of natural forests, grassland and rivers; promotion of elementary, occupational and higher education; and fostering specialized farming, among other things. The greatest beneficiaries appeared to be the Chinese migrants residing in the region and not the local Tibetans. The disparity between the rich and poor grew ever wider. Over the past decade, the State's policies on administrative, economic and infrastructure measures had facilitated the migration of Han Chinese into Tibet, so posing a serious threat to the survival of Tibet's distinct culture and identity.
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said conflicts in Africa, especially in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, had caused much homelessness. As serious as these situations were, the situation in Iraq was the most serious, as the occupying power had completely defied the Geneva Conventions. Nowhere was the callous defiance of long-accepted rules of humanitarian law more apparent than in the attack on Falluja. The international community as a whole should seek out and try persons accused of ordering or taking part in the grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions that so overtly took place in Falluja, and the Special Rapporteurs on housing, food, health and toxics should undertake a joint mission to Iraq and to Falluja specifically.
BEN LEE, of Human Rights Council of Australia, speaking in a joint statement with the NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, said that members of the coalition had been heartened by the significant developments witnessed during the sessions of the Open-Ended Working Group to elaborate an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights during 2004 and 2005. The option of no Optional Protocol was not an option. It would perpetuate a historical hierarchy of human rights, wrought in a different political age, and foster an inequality of review procedures with the human rights monitoring mechanisms. It would ignore the broad-ranging implementation of economic, social and cultural rights in all regions of the world and deny the growing, global jurisprudence on those rights, which had derived from increasingly comprehensive domestic mechanisms to address economic, social and cultural rights. The need for access to justice was the imperative that drove the discussion, and the coalition's participation in the process. It was equally unthinkable to provide for a complaints mechanism only for certain components of economic, social and cultural rights. All aspects of those rights must be made subject to complaints procedures.
ANWAR ATTIA ZOON, of International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, living under Indian occupation for more than 50 years now, were suffering from acute social and economic underdevelopment. Due to the stationing of more than 80,000 Indian army personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, economic resources and opportunities had gradually depleted. The tourism industry on which the beautiful Kashmir valley had been thriving for many centuries stood decimated. Agriculture and industry, the two main contributions for the social and economic development of any society, remained totally neglected. The agricultural farmlands had to provide a big share of their produce to the security forces. Economic prosperity and development needed policies to strengthen the social fabric of the society and an efficient infrastructure to fulfil the social needs of the people.
POURIA ASKARY, of Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, said globalization was potentially influential on economic, social and cultural rights, and perhaps in a short phrase it could be defined as the bringing together of societies. It had caused an increase in clashes. It had had negative and violent consequences such as trafficking in women, drugs, international terrorism, and international organised crime. While the inequality between rich and poor was not reduced by globalization, the danger of having a world of unstable and frightening classes was looming. Globalization could be a suitable means for the development of the countries of the South, and the development of self-awareness in an environment that required structural development. Only this way would there be development of human rights standards, and the improvement of standards of living in this environment.
ELIAS KHOURI, of Union of Arab Jurists, said that the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights rested upon the Charter of the United Nations. The enjoyment of these rights by the people of the Middle East had been undermined by decades of conflict, among other causes. For example, in Iraq, it continued to be difficult to access gasoline and other basic resources, although the country's oil resources were the second largest in the world. There was a lack of access to drinking water as well, and inhabitants were forced to use the water from the polluted Tigris river. In another example, Israel ignored peace initiatives from the Arab world, pushing its expansionist policies, and leaving the Palestinians unable to exercise their right to self-determination and to defend themselves. The focus should be placed upon the individual rights and responsibilities, and collective rights and responsibilities, of the people of the region. The Union also called upon the Commission to adopt a resolution calling upon the region not to use armed conflict.
DEDY PRIHAMBUDI, of International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, said up to now, violations of economic, social and cultural rights happened quite a lot in Indonesia. Even though politically, Indonesia was in the middle of a democratic transition, many political changes did not directly correlate to positive changes in prosperity. The number of cases of lay-offs had been high; families had been victims of agrarian and plantation disputes; and the rate of pollution affecting the health of people had also been high. Cases of forced eviction and the allocation of low level housing facilities had been frequent. The country had failed to assume its responsibility to guarantee the economic, social and cultural rights of the people. He urged the Government of Indonesia to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the United Nations Convention on Migrant Workers and Their Families.
LES MALEZER, of Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, said the human rights of indigenous peoples to own and control their lands and resources was already recognised in international law. The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights had recognised that despite the development of international standards and programmes which promoted and affirmed the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands and resources, problems continued to abound to impede the effective enjoyment of indigenous land rights. Progress in the open-ended Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was being frustrated by those States with indigenous peoples who could not accept responsibilities of racial equality. The Commission should not tolerate political and unethical interference in the completion of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and should act by including in a resolution on indigenous peoples and human rights a clear statement on the land rights of indigenous peoples.
TAHIR NASEEM MANHAS, of Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, said that economic, social and cultural rights continued to be ignored within the international human rights regime because of their very nature. They were less ideologically attractive than political rights, yet the economic, social and cultural well-being of peoples struck to the very heart of their existence. Altruistic aspirations towards political self-realization and full participation in international affairs were not among the foremost needs of those who, day to day, faced economic deprivation, social ostracism, and cultural discrimination. For example, in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, which comprised approximately one-third of the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the people continued to suffer from denial of royalties for the exploitation of their economic resources, denial of the right to own and administer properties, infrastructural isolation, destruction of cultural identity, lack of access to education, and suppression of the region's tourist potential.
SANGEETA SHASHIKANT, of Tebtebba Foundation (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education), said that in many developing countries, the available resources for health were diminishing each day. The underlying causes for that included the absence of funds because of debt servicing obligations and the inability to make available affordable essential medicines because of obligations from trade agreements and other bilateral trade agreements. In his report on his mission to Peru, the Special Rapporteur on Health had expressed his concern about the bilateral trade agreement between the Government and the United States. In the past, Peruvian legislation did not allow for patents for pharmaceutical products. But the agreement might require a 20-year patent for each new use of a product, and the probable establishment of a national drug regulatory body to monitor the enforcement of drug patents, including by delaying or blocking genetic medicines.
DIANA BRANSON, of International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development - Rights and Democracy, speaking on behalf of several NGOs2, said in a world that had more than enough food to feed itself, the number of people who suffered from hunger and malnutrition was increasing. The ability of States to meet domestic obligations related to the human right to food was inextricably linked to the international trade in agriculture. The human right to adequate food could not be separated from the human right to water. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should undertake research with a view to clarifying the nature of extra-territorial human rights obligations as applied to the international trade in agriculture and respect for the human rights to adequate food, including the right to water. Member States of the United Nations should ensure that achievement of human rights, including the human rights to adequate food and water, formed the framework for trade negotiations and practices.
MICHAEL ANTHONY, of Asian Legal Resource Centre, spoke of a child from West Bengal, India, who had starved to death on 11 March 2005. Her brother and sister had also died from hunger, and her father from tuberculosis. Her mother and surviving sister were both sick. That girl had been the victim of administrative brutality and systemic neglect. Her death demonstrated the nexus between the right to food and the rule of law; where the latter was absent, the former could not be guaranteed. And that little girl had not been living in a remote area, but next to a garbage dump in Kolkata, because her family had been thrown out of their house and had had nowhere to go. Nearly 7,000 other people had been thrown out of their houses at the same time because they were Dalits -- untouchables. The municipal corporation and state Government had offered them nothing; the response from international organizations had been no better. UNICEF had expressed disinterest in their situation. Perhaps the mandate of the person appointed to monitor the spending of tsunami relief money should be extended to cover all relief work involving United Nations agencies.
RI POKHAK, of International Association of Democratic Lawyers, drew attention to the human rights infringement by the Japanese Government of Korean residents in Japan who were the descendents of the victims of the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. Koreans who inevitably came to reside in Japan due to the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula had started to establish more than 100 Korean schools to retrieve Korean names and cultures which they were deprived of by the colonial policies of the Government of Japan after the Second World War. However, the Government had been implementing a discriminatory policy against Korean schools since their establishment. The Japanese Government provided no financial aid and necessary education materials to these schools and the graduates of Korean schools were denied access to the higher education and national qualifications. That was a clear denial of the right to maintain one's culture and ethnicity and severe infringement of human rights ensured by human rights treaties.
M'HAMED MOHAMED CHEIKH, of International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, said the situation in Western Sahara was of grave concern. The occupation of that country by Morocco for 30 years, in violation of international law which guaranteed to all the free exercise of the right to self-determination and independence, was accompanied by flagrant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and also of the dispossession of the people of their wealth. International law and the institutions representing it had never recognised either any legitimacy or sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara any more than any other country, or non-governmental organization, and no political party had ever done it either. The Sahrawi people suffered from the occupation and the injustice which had lasted for 30 years, as had the right of all peoples to live in security and peace, and to decide on their freedom to self-determination. The United Nations should impose the respect of its Charter and lead to fruition the decolonisation process of Western Sahara.
YAMINI MISHRA, of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, said the Forum remained concerned by the lack of attention given to the issue of violence against women in the Millennium Development Goals. There was also concern about the impact of the December 2004 tsunami on human rights, and on women's rights in particular. The Forum wished to emphasize that gender-neutral relief and rehabilitation efforts in response to the tsunami were, in reality, gender blind, as they did not take women's specific needs and vulnerabilities into account. Women in camps for internally displaced persons were worse off than their male counterparts, as they had no privacy, no separate bathrooms and no sanitary necessities. The concept of adequate housing must go beyond private homes to include different types of accommodation including shelters and refugee camps. Cultural norms and practices had long been used to deny women equality; the realm of culture could not remain untouched if Governments were serious about the commitment to gender equality.
ANNA BATALLA, of Pax Romana, said that while the first seven goals contained in the Millennium Declaration were aimed at developing countries themselves, the last goal – the endorsement of a global partnership for development – was intended mainly for developed countries, their participation being regarded as indispensable in order to meet the 2015 deadlines. As the United Nations Secretary-General indicated in his report on the Implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, the Goals should be understood as a global deal that was built on mutual commitments from both developing and developed countries, inasmuch as those Goals could only be achieved through the unity of the international community. The struggle for the Goals could only be fruitful if it was based on shared responsibilities from the different members of the international community.
ELLEN MOURAVIEFF APOSTAL, of International Federation of Social Workers, said social exclusion, a relatively recent term in human rights terminology, related as much to economic, social and cultural rights as to civil and political ones, thus proving again the indivisibility of all human rights. It was linked to capability poverty composed of income and development poverty. Fulfilment of the first three Millennium Development Goals would go a long way. Governments could do much to overcome the social exclusion of their destitute populations, and it would be helpful where they were ready to include marginalized groups in their efforts. Participation and solidarity were not only excellent principles but also effective tools to bring about the implementation of the rights the Commission tried to further, and could even be of help in an attempt to break the vicious circle of social exclusion.
RONALD BARNES, of Indigenous World Association, said the Association continued to submit its diplomatic protest against the subjugation, domination and exploitation of Alaska and Hawaii by the United States. The United States could not reduce the status of the Alaskan First Nations to the discriminatory Federal Indian Law, nor allow for a settlement under the domestic law of the United States. The United States and the State of Alaska were attempting to invent a new relationship with the Alaskan First Nations called regionalization, which the majority of Alaskan First Nations were rejecting. The situation also applied to the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Kanaka Maoli peoples. The more than 30 international treaties with countries including the United Kingdom, United States and Switzerland, made it more pressing than ever that their independent relationship and international trade relations and recognition be invoked. The right to development in association with the land and resources of the islands was being denied. This continued to result in poverty, ill health and tragic statistics due to the denial of self-determination and economic development. The Commission should address the unresolved question of absolute title and dominion for the Alaska and Hawaii situations.
ISHTIYAQ HAMEED, of World Muslim Congress, said that the notion of impunity should not be restricted to civil and political rights. The realization of economic, social and cultural rights required a just dispensation of resources towards the welfare and development of the people, which could not be achieved without ensuring sovereignty of the people over their resources. Also recalling that the right to self-determination was a sine qua non of all other rights, he said that the idealism of democratic accountability and transparency was, however, irrelevant to regions struck by conflict and foreign occupation. Poverty, hunger, destruction and disease reigned in such situations. Of particular concern was the situation of the economic, social and cultural rights of the people in the Indian-occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The Commission should send a fact-finding mission to that region, with a view to determining the extent of violations and abuses of economic, social and cultural rights.
DELVIS FERNANDEZ LEVY, of MADRE, said members of the Commission should consider violations of human and civil rights by the Government of the United States of America against people of Cuban origin living within the confines of the United States or in territories under its jurisdiction. Disabled Cubans were also casualties of policies by the Government of the United States that impeded assistance to Cubans in vulnerable situations of human existence. Almost all Cuban artists were prevented from visiting the United States, and these included worldwide renowned artists who had won awards of high recognition in the Music World. The prevention of cultural manifestations of Cuban origin was in contravention of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
MUHAMMAD YAQOOB SHEIKH, of International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, said the people of Palestine and Kashmir had been totally deprived of enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights by the occupation forces thorough unrelenting and brutal use of force. Their socio-economic and cultural development had been under illegal hostage for more than 58 years now. Kashmir, once paradise on earth, was kept under the yoke of occupation by the deployment of more than 70,000 Indian troops, which had converted the entire Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir into a gigantic concentration camp. All that was happening in flagrant violation of the whole range of core human rights instruments. The deprivation of Kashmiris was evident from lack of economic activity and poor indicators, which remained at the lowest level in the region.
TSERING JAMPA, of Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network, drew attention to the transmigration of people belonging to the majority communities on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by those who required special protections. The World Bank lucidly explained the effects of such population transfers while describing the effects of the transmigration of the majority Kinh in the Northern and Central Highlands of Viet Nam. In China, the Chinese at present outnumbered the Tibetans. The Chittagong Hill Traces of Bangladesh, indigenous Jumma peoples had been reduced to being minority because of the implantation of over half a million Bengali settlers from 1979-1983. Similarly, West Papuans had become victims of transmigration of the majority Javanese. The Network urged the Commission to adequately take up the issue of population transfer and implantation of settlers as a separate sub-item of item 10.
JOSEPH ZOBEL BEHALAL, of Pax Romana, speaking on behalf of International Young Catholic Students, said there was concern for the conditions that were being put together so that the possibility of having a high-quality secondary education remained a luxury for the few. The Millennium Development Goals referred only to basic education. The majority of regions where illiteracy was high were those in which almost everything remained to be built. There was concern that policies did not take in consideration that a level of teaching that was inadequate for training upper levels did not confine further these countries in the defavourable development conditions current today. Education was indispensable within the development context.
ALI RAZA SYED, of Rural Development Foundation of Pakistan, said that when Governments failed to discharge their obligations to protect and promote economic, social and cultural rights, they created conditions of poverty, deprivation and inequality. The eight million people of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir faced extreme poverty as a result of neglect and social exclusion. The Indian occupation forces blatantly disregarded any human rights obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Income poverty in the region was absolute; the lack of normalcy and presence of security forces had led to the creation of a society with extremely low income and high deprivation levels. Similarly, the Kashmiri people figured poorly in terms of human development poverty, while the third dimension of extreme poverty -- social exclusion -- was the logical product of extreme income and human development poverty. The Commission should assist Kashmiris to combat the extreme poverty they faced, and the Independent Expert should undertake a mission to the region.
MONCEF BALTI, of Association Tunisienne pour l'Auto-Developpement et la Solidarite, said the Association worked for the promotion and protection of human rights and their interdependence. For the last 15 years, it had been working in the rural areas of northern Tunisia where certain groups of people still needed material and financial support for the development of their capacity to produce in order to generate income. Together with the process of globalization, the notion of international solidarity should find its place. The solidarity shown in the fight against terrorism could also be demonstrated in the fight against poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and inequalities. The Association noted with satisfaction the adoption by the international community and the creation of a solidarity fund to fight poverty.
SAYEED AHMAD, of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, said there was concern that fundamental human rights were being ignored in the reconstruction process for post-Tsunami victims. Reconstruction authorities had a duty to guarantee every survivor's economic, social and cultural rights, so that all individuals and communities were able to rebuild their lives and live independently of sustenance-level Government aid. The Commission should monitor governmental efforts to fulfil these rights, particularly with regard to the rights to food, housing, and health. The special procedures of the Commission should continue working on tsunami-related issues, and it should adopt the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at the earliest possible time. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should take a lead role in mainstreaming human rights in response to the disaster and all natural and man-made disasters hereafter.
EMILIE KAO, of Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said that the order to which Mother Teresa had belonged, and the individuals for which it cared, were in grave danger in Sri Lanka. The Government of that country was considering legislation that would block any person of faith from offering aid to someone of another belief. Radical Theravada Buddhist politicians, who did not tolerate any religion but their own, had pressured the Government to pass this legislation, ostensibly as a means of curbing "unethical conversions". If that legislation was passed, it would undermine the Sri Lankan people's economic and social recovery. Of tsunami relief organizations from the United States alone, 30 of 67 groups were faith-based, including Jewish, Christian and Muslim organizations. The proposed legislation would also put faith-based aid workers in jail for up to seven years if found guilty of providing assistance to someone of another religion. In the face of such penalties, what would happen to the stream of aid that people of faith from around the world had extended to Sri Lanka? The Commission should ask the Government to withdraw the proposed legislation.
ARJUN KARKI, of Rural Reconstruction Nepal, said Rural Reconstruction Nepal was seriously concerned about the ongoing violation of the economic, social and cultural rights of the people of Nepal. Despite having ratified the six major human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Successive Governments in Nepal had failed to alter structures that created and perpetuated the extreme poverty, injustice and unequal relationships among and between castes, classes, ethnic groups and men and women. The growing conflict, political instability and violence had affected the poorest of the poor, mainly women, children and the elderly who continued to be denied their fundamental rights. Those violations had been further aggravated by the 1 February declaration of a state of emergency.
WELLY MANDOWEN, of Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches, said the people of West Papua had suffered under the Indonesian Government since 1963. Papuans who protested against the militaristic policies of the Indonesian Government were harassed by the security forces. In addition to violations of civil and political rights, there was evidence which showed a systematic denial of their economic, social and cultural rights. To support Indonesia's implementation of a human rights-oriented policy in the country, the Commission should mandate an Independent Expert to visit West Papua and Indonesia; play an active role and provide technical cooperation for the dialogue between the Government and the Papuan people; and grant the new Government of Indonesia technical assistance for a constructive policy on economic, social and cultural rights, and the ratification of the Covenant and its implementation.
WENCESLAO MANSOGO ALO, of North-South XXI, said that the social deterioration of life in Equatorial Guinea, despite having significant oil wealth, was one of worst situations on the planet. The general health situation was gravely deficient. There was no policy for a rational health system based on the needs of the population. Moreover, the majority of the population lacked access to drinking water and electricity. In spite of the massive resources accessed by the ruling class, many people suffered from a raging cholera epidemic, and HIV/AIDS raged throughout the country. Many other instances of social exclusion against the poor could also be seen. The Commission on Human Rights must include the situation of human rights in Equatorial Guinea on its agenda once more, and appoint a Special Rapporteur to examine that situation.
ANNEKE VAN DEN BERG, of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said 70 per cent of the earth was covered with water, while only one per cent was available for human consumption and use. That one per cent was still enough to fulfil all the needs of mankind. However, water was growing ever more scarce, not due to a lack of water but because of misuse. Seventy per cent of the water used was for agricultural purposes, but 60 per cent of that irrigation water never reached its intended destination and was instead lost to evaporation and run-off. That was mainly caused by the lack of efficient irrigation systems in many parts of the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, rural households spent over a quarter of their time fetching water and that was done mainly be women and girls. Every year, about 2 million people died due to water-related diseases. Water was also a potential cause of armed conflict. In India, Ethiopia and China, allocation of water resources had led directly to conflict.
SHARAD KUMAR SONI, of Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said the struggle against economic, social and cultural oppression as well as against injustice and inequalities had been an integral part of the history of all human societies. In the age of globalization, the economic, social and cultural rights of people in the developing and third world countries were under greater stress. The adverse effects of foreign debt and structural adjustment policies on the full enjoyment of all human rights in developing countries were now widely acknowledged and well documented. Human rights principles should be the guiding principles for donor agencies and international monetary institutions in providing assistance in terms of foreign aid and debt relief. The Commission should exert pressure on the countries which continued to sponsor terrorist outfits and their activities so that the people were able to enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights.
GIANFRANCO ROSSI, of International Religious Liberty Association, said that the current period remained characterized by international terrorism, which violated all human rights and fundamental liberties. This scourge must be destroyed, as well as its supporting ideology of religious extremism, and in particular Islamic extremism. Extremist terrorists like Bin Laden and his associates professed to defend Islam; in reality they had distorted that religion. The Islam of the Koran, and of the Prophet Muhammad, was not an extremist religion of hate, violence and death, but one of empathy, liberty and life. Unfortunately, in some Muslim countries, conditions favourable to extremism continued to be found, including in Saudi Arabia. In that country, which had produced the strongest manifestations of Islamic extremism, all must be Muslim, and one was forbidden, on pain of death, to convert to another religion. The Commission must not avoid the issue of Islamic extremism, but should concern itself with the situation of human rights in Saudi Arabia.
ELIZABETH MIDDLETON, of International Pen, noted a global rise in attacks against writers and journalists who utilized the Internet to practice their right to freedom of expression. In 2004, PEN had monitored over 80 attacks against "cyber-dissidents" in 16 countries. While those included some instances of harassment and threat -- there was even one murder of a "cyber-dissident" in Kazakhstan -- the chosen method of repression was long-term detention. China appeared most intolerant of its Internet dissidents, and accounted for a third of the total attacks against cyber-dissidents. Last year, it had imprisoned 27 writers and journalists who had chosen to circumvent censorship by publishing articles on independent web sites. Vietnamese writers who turned to the Internet as a means of getting their ideas known also faced imprisonment. Iranian cyber-dissidents were also under heavy scrutiny. Other countries that held Internet writers in prison included the Maldives, Cuba and Syria.
Right of Reply
XIA JINGGE (China), speaking in exercise of its right of reply, said since the reform of Tibet, under the care of the Chinese Government, Tibet had continued, under the guidance of China, to progress in many areas, including development and the economy. The situation of human rights there was at its historical best. Tibetans of different nationalities enjoyed an unprecedented range of human rights. There had never been any policy of racial implantation in Tibet, with 95 per cent or more of the population made up of native Tibetans. Full account had been given of the local situation in Tibet. The anti-secession law adopted by the Chinese parliament represented the will of the Chinese people, but this had nothing to do with the item under discussion in the Commission.
JEAN SIMPLICE NDJEMBA ENDEZOUMOU (Cameroon), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the non-governmental organization International Federation for the Protection of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic and other Minorities had been represented by a member of the SCNC, which was a secessionist, terrorist group that used violent means to agitate the southwestern province of Cameroon. Recognizing the important role of non-governmental organizations in the Commission, he requested that only true representatives of those organizations be allowed to participate in the work of the Commission.
Cameroon continued to be a country in which many ethnic groups had peacefully coexisted since independence, he stressed. Following the 1972 referendum, the federal structure had been established with two English-speaking and eight-French speaking provinces, and that process had been by consensus. Cameroon was a founding member of the African Union, and had enshrined respect for the economic, social and cultural rights of all citizens, as exemplified by the national poverty reduction strategy. The country was decentralized. It recognized the territorial integrity of the provinces and gave them autonomy. Such activists speaking out against the country must be refuted.
JUAN EDUARDO EGUIGUREN (Chile), speaking in a right of reply in reference to statements which alluded to his country this morning, said a number of positive developments had been made since the restoration of democracy in Chile. Following the consideration of Chile's periodic report, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had enumerated several positive measures and achievements in the country. The State had made progress in the field of health, education, social and economy. Although much remained to be done, Chile would endeavour to strengthen its efforts and would uphold its achievements.
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1Joint statement on behalf of: International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights and Democracy); International Federation of Human Rights Leagues; Foodfirst Information and Action Network (FIAN); Franciscans International; Greenpeace International; Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; Lutheran World Federation and World Young Women's Christian Association.
For information media only; not an official record
MORNING
31 March 2005
Concludes General Debate on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights after Hearing Statements from 42 Non-Governmental Organizations
Civil and political rights represent the cornerstone of democracy, development and the international human rights edifice affirmed Egypt and India this morning as the Commission on Human Rights began its consideration of civil and political rights, after concluding its general debate on economic, social and cultural rights.
Egypt said there was a need to balance civil and political rights, which represented the cornerstone of democracy, peace, and development. Despite suffering armed conflict and wars that halted development, efforts continued to be focused so that peace and development could be enjoyed by all peoples in the region, along with economic, social and cultural rights. Similarly, India affirmed that the extent of civil and political rights enjoyed by the citizens of a State defined the essence of a society. India had never accepted the argument that there had been an implicit trade-off between civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. Democracy, and the values and principles that accompanied it, presented the only sustainable framework within which the welfare of the people could be ensured.
Also this morning, the Commission concluded its general debate on economic, social and cultural rights, after hearing from the representatives of 42 non-governmental organizations who stressed issues related to the right to health, right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living, including access to drinking water, sanitation and other basic infrastructures and resources, among others. The speakers raised awareness about the situations of specific groups and communities in many countries. Many of the non-governmental organizations expressed concern about the impact of globalization, especially on the development of developing countries, and emphasized the importance of reaffirming the universality, interdependence, indivisibility and interrelatedness of all human rights -- civil, cultural, economic, political and social -- in the lead up to the five-year review of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
Representatives of the following non-governmental organizations addressed the Commission this morning during its discussion of economic, social and cultural rights: International Movement ATD Fourth World; World Peace Council; Liberal International; Open Society Institute; International Alliance of Women; International Association against Torture; Ius Primi Viri International Association; Movimiento Cubano por la Paz y la Soberania de los Pueblos; Society for Threatened Peoples; International Educational Development; Human Rights Council of Australia; International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations; Organization for Defending Victims of Violence; Union of Arab Jurists; International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development; Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action; Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization; Tebtebba Foundation (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education); International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development - Rights and Democracy (speaking on behalf of several NGOs1); Asian Legal Resource Centre; International Association of Democratic Lawyers.
Additionally, Representatives of the International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations; Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development; Pax Romana; International Federation of Social Workers; Indigenous World Association; World Muslim Congress; MADRE; International Human Rights Association of American Minorities; Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network; Pax Romana (speaking on behalf of International Young Catholic Students); Rural Development Foundation of Pakistan; Association Tunisienne pour l'Auto-Developpement et la Solidarite; Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development; Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Rural Reconstruction Nepal; Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches; North-South XXI; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation; International Religious Liberty Association; and International Pen also spoke.
Speaking in exercise of the right of reply this morning were the Representatives of China, Cameroon and Chile.
The Commission will meet at 3 p.m. this afternoon to continue its consideration of civil and political rights.
General Debate on Civil and Political Rights
TAMIM KHALLAF (Egypt) said when speaking of the importance of civil and political rights which could give rise to a society of equality, justice and fairness, this was a topic which had existed since the dawn of time. All should be able to enjoy these rights fairly. Civil and political rights were being given to the people of Egypt with no discrimination or exclusion. Equality was being sought among these rights so as to implement a harmonious democracy. It required of citizens that they behave appropriately. There was a need for a balance within these rights, which were the cornerstone of democracy, peace, and development. Despite suffering armed conflict and wars that halted development, efforts continued to be focused so that peace and development could be enjoyed by all peoples in the region, along with economic, social and cultural rights.
Egypt had ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Eights, and had tried to reinforce the links between peace, development, democracy and fundamental rights and freedoms. There should be no pretext preventing anybody from this goal and Egypt had therefore adopted all main human rights instruments and was seeking to implement the duties through mechanisms and assemblies devoted to trying to help women and children. A mechanism was in place specialised in human rights in the Parliament and in the National Council. There was a reporting mechanism among authorities in this field so that Special Rapporteurs could respond to the information received. The President had begun reforms in the civil and political and in the economic, social and cultural fields to ensure that citizens could vote freely and democratically in elections.
HARDEEP SINGH PURI (India) said that civil and political rights represented the cornerstone of the international edifice of human rights. The extent of civil and political rights enjoyed by the citizens of a State defined the essence of a society. The denial or enjoyment of those rights shaped the way that a people thought, the way they related to one another, and their entire value system. Above all, civil and political rights shaped the nation. India had won its independence at a time when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had been taking shape, and the framers of its Constitution had been enlightened visionaries with a deep concern for human rights. They had been determined to establish a political framework in which the most basic aspirations of the people -- to live with freedom and dignity -- would be secured. India had never accepted the argument that there had been an implicit trade-off between civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. Instead, democracy, and the values and principles that accompanied it, presented the only sustainable framework within which the welfare of the people could be ensured.
Doubtlessly, the lack of adequate resources and insufficient national capacity in developing countries had handicapped their ability to secure the people's full enjoyment of civil and political rights, he said, but that did not mean that restricting civil and political rights was necessary for economic and social advancement. None would claim that democratic States were beyond reproach on each and every issue relating to the protection and promotion of civil and political rights, but the safeguards provided by the institutions of a democratic society, including independence of the judiciary, free press, and vibrant civil society, made democratic societies far less likely to tolerate abuses of human rights than closed societies. Turning to the issue of terrorism, he said that nothing justified terrorism, and that terrorists remained the greatest violators of the most basic human right, the right to life. Democracies must rally against that international menace.
General Debate on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
THIERRY VIARD, of International Movement ATD Fourth World, said throughout the world, in all countries, even the most prosperous, extreme poverty and social exclusion continued to deny millions of families their rights to a dignified life and also of all ability to exercise freedom of thought and to act for their own good and that of others. The participation of the very poor was fundamental in the work of the Commission in this regard, and the Millennium Declaration equally underlined the importance of participation of all citizens. To work to build such a partnership was to recognise that men, women, families and groups of concerned populations, due to the misery they were suffering, had a unique contribution to bring, and it was also to allow them to exercise, in the heart of their communities and more generally in society, their rights and responsibilities.
KADIR BUX JATOI, of World Peace Council, said that the Sindhis of Sindh and the Balochs of Balochistan comprised two unique national groups within Pakistan. Historically, they had either been free and sovereign countries, or had enjoyed relative autonomy under various colonial rulers, until the partition of the Indian subcontinent. Yet these provinces were now recognized more for their valuable natural resources than for the richness of the culture and people. They received only a pittance of the country's provincial development contributions, although they contributed more than 70 per cent of Pakistan's gross domestic product. Among their chief concerns was the future of the Indus River, from which millions of Sindhis derived their livelihood, but which was choked by a multitude of dam and canal projects in the north. The future of the Sindhi language was also being threatened. Balochistan was also feeling profound threats to economic, social and cultural rights, as the President of Pakistan had recently announced the construction of three garrisons in the province, which would uproot as many as 25,000 locals from their homes. Women's rights also constituted a source of concern.
CALIXTO ARTURO NAVARRO, of Liberal International, said freedom was the basis for economic, social and cultural developments. In countries where there was no freedom, there was no progress. In countries where there were frequent elections and institutional independence, corruption was monitored. In China, where capitalism was being developed, one group was exploiting a large number of citizens. In Sudan, in the conflict between the rebels and the Government in Darfur, the population had been marginalized politically and economically. In Cuba, economic and social development had been limited for the last 46 years by the dictatorial regime.
CLAIRE BISIAUX, of Open Society Institute, said in many countries drug addiction was still considered a matter of criminal law rather than a public health issue. It had been demonstrated that enforcement of anti-drug laws and policies without due attention to public health could have the effect of driving drug users underground and away from HIV/AIDS services that could save their lives and the lives of those around them. Upholding the right to health for injection drug users was a critical component of successful HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment efforts. The right to health included the right to obtain health services without fear of punishment. Those who enforced existing drug laws in many countries violated this right regularly. Pragmatism and compassion should guide all policy decisions in order to allow and support injection drug users' right to health.
HELENA SACKSTEIN, of International Alliance of Women, recalled that three of the eight Millennium Development Goals, eight of the 16 targets, and 18 of the 48 indicators, related directly to health. The Millennium Goals provided a vision of development in which health and education had been placed squarely at the centre. None could say that development concerned economic growth alone. Regarding the right of all to the highest attainable standard of health, non-governmental organizations called upon Governments to address health within a broad developmental framework, strengthen public health systems, ensure equitable health systems to meet and sustain the goal of combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure that earmarked health funding from private funds provided adequate funds to national health systems to ensure sustainability and monitor accountability, and curb the drain of trained health professionals from poor countries, among other actions.
FERNANDO RUIZ, of International Association against Torture, said in Chile, the Government's political party had been governing the country since 1990 by inheriting the institutions that existed during the dictatorial regime of 1973. The international community had condemned the practices of the dictatorial regime. However, the political regime in power had perpetuated the structures of the institutions that had served the dictatorial regime. Those institutions had been identified as affecting the economic and social rights of the population. The neo-liberal practices of the Government were seriously affecting the rights to health, education, social, economic and cultural rights of the Chilean population.
ANGELAMARIA LORETO, of Ius Primi Viri International Association, said among the Millennium Development Goals to defeat poverty was the need to eliminate education disparities worldwide by ensuring full primary education to all children of the world before 2015 and full gender primary and secondary education, if possible, before 2050. But such an education should not be considered only as a tool. It was the right of a child not to be conditioned by violence, power, force or pleasure, but to be educated so that she or he could comprehend her or his surroundings, and express thinking while respecting the different ideas of others. For this reason the first step to implement human rights consisted of training educators, and all Governments of the world should devote themselves mainly to education.
BORIS CASTILLO BARROSO, of Movimiento Cubano por la Paz y la Soberania de los Pueblos, said neo-liberal globalization, which was an imperialist, hegemonic project of domination pushed by the United States Government, denied progress made in development and international peace. It was a shield for the systematic defense of an unfeasible system. Of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 did not represent countries but corporations, which disregarded sovereignty and delegitimized nationalist feeling. The Free Trade Area for the Americas had not been established in 2005; however, new bilateral agreements had been concluded. Cuba, which had remained under a unilateral blockade for more than four decades, had not been invited to join in any such trade agreements. There had been many violations of economic, social and cultural rights by the United States Government in its undeclared war on Cuba, which even extended to United States citizens. The Commission should condemn such acts, and cease to be a forum for the hypocritical condemnation of Cuba.
TENZIN SAMPHEL KAYTA, of Society for Threatened Peoples, said in 1999, China had launched the Western Development Strategy comprising key projects including construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway; transmission of electric and natural gas from western areas to the east; protection of natural forests, grassland and rivers; promotion of elementary, occupational and higher education; and fostering specialized farming, among other things. The greatest beneficiaries appeared to be the Chinese migrants residing in the region and not the local Tibetans. The disparity between the rich and poor grew ever wider. Over the past decade, the State's policies on administrative, economic and infrastructure measures had facilitated the migration of Han Chinese into Tibet, so posing a serious threat to the survival of Tibet's distinct culture and identity.
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said conflicts in Africa, especially in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, had caused much homelessness. As serious as these situations were, the situation in Iraq was the most serious, as the occupying power had completely defied the Geneva Conventions. Nowhere was the callous defiance of long-accepted rules of humanitarian law more apparent than in the attack on Falluja. The international community as a whole should seek out and try persons accused of ordering or taking part in the grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions that so overtly took place in Falluja, and the Special Rapporteurs on housing, food, health and toxics should undertake a joint mission to Iraq and to Falluja specifically.
BEN LEE, of Human Rights Council of Australia, speaking in a joint statement with the NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, said that members of the coalition had been heartened by the significant developments witnessed during the sessions of the Open-Ended Working Group to elaborate an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights during 2004 and 2005. The option of no Optional Protocol was not an option. It would perpetuate a historical hierarchy of human rights, wrought in a different political age, and foster an inequality of review procedures with the human rights monitoring mechanisms. It would ignore the broad-ranging implementation of economic, social and cultural rights in all regions of the world and deny the growing, global jurisprudence on those rights, which had derived from increasingly comprehensive domestic mechanisms to address economic, social and cultural rights. The need for access to justice was the imperative that drove the discussion, and the coalition's participation in the process. It was equally unthinkable to provide for a complaints mechanism only for certain components of economic, social and cultural rights. All aspects of those rights must be made subject to complaints procedures.
ANWAR ATTIA ZOON, of International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, living under Indian occupation for more than 50 years now, were suffering from acute social and economic underdevelopment. Due to the stationing of more than 80,000 Indian army personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, economic resources and opportunities had gradually depleted. The tourism industry on which the beautiful Kashmir valley had been thriving for many centuries stood decimated. Agriculture and industry, the two main contributions for the social and economic development of any society, remained totally neglected. The agricultural farmlands had to provide a big share of their produce to the security forces. Economic prosperity and development needed policies to strengthen the social fabric of the society and an efficient infrastructure to fulfil the social needs of the people.
POURIA ASKARY, of Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, said globalization was potentially influential on economic, social and cultural rights, and perhaps in a short phrase it could be defined as the bringing together of societies. It had caused an increase in clashes. It had had negative and violent consequences such as trafficking in women, drugs, international terrorism, and international organised crime. While the inequality between rich and poor was not reduced by globalization, the danger of having a world of unstable and frightening classes was looming. Globalization could be a suitable means for the development of the countries of the South, and the development of self-awareness in an environment that required structural development. Only this way would there be development of human rights standards, and the improvement of standards of living in this environment.
ELIAS KHOURI, of Union of Arab Jurists, said that the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights rested upon the Charter of the United Nations. The enjoyment of these rights by the people of the Middle East had been undermined by decades of conflict, among other causes. For example, in Iraq, it continued to be difficult to access gasoline and other basic resources, although the country's oil resources were the second largest in the world. There was a lack of access to drinking water as well, and inhabitants were forced to use the water from the polluted Tigris river. In another example, Israel ignored peace initiatives from the Arab world, pushing its expansionist policies, and leaving the Palestinians unable to exercise their right to self-determination and to defend themselves. The focus should be placed upon the individual rights and responsibilities, and collective rights and responsibilities, of the people of the region. The Union also called upon the Commission to adopt a resolution calling upon the region not to use armed conflict.
DEDY PRIHAMBUDI, of International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, said up to now, violations of economic, social and cultural rights happened quite a lot in Indonesia. Even though politically, Indonesia was in the middle of a democratic transition, many political changes did not directly correlate to positive changes in prosperity. The number of cases of lay-offs had been high; families had been victims of agrarian and plantation disputes; and the rate of pollution affecting the health of people had also been high. Cases of forced eviction and the allocation of low level housing facilities had been frequent. The country had failed to assume its responsibility to guarantee the economic, social and cultural rights of the people. He urged the Government of Indonesia to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the United Nations Convention on Migrant Workers and Their Families.
LES MALEZER, of Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, said the human rights of indigenous peoples to own and control their lands and resources was already recognised in international law. The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights had recognised that despite the development of international standards and programmes which promoted and affirmed the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands and resources, problems continued to abound to impede the effective enjoyment of indigenous land rights. Progress in the open-ended Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was being frustrated by those States with indigenous peoples who could not accept responsibilities of racial equality. The Commission should not tolerate political and unethical interference in the completion of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and should act by including in a resolution on indigenous peoples and human rights a clear statement on the land rights of indigenous peoples.
TAHIR NASEEM MANHAS, of Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, said that economic, social and cultural rights continued to be ignored within the international human rights regime because of their very nature. They were less ideologically attractive than political rights, yet the economic, social and cultural well-being of peoples struck to the very heart of their existence. Altruistic aspirations towards political self-realization and full participation in international affairs were not among the foremost needs of those who, day to day, faced economic deprivation, social ostracism, and cultural discrimination. For example, in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, which comprised approximately one-third of the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the people continued to suffer from denial of royalties for the exploitation of their economic resources, denial of the right to own and administer properties, infrastructural isolation, destruction of cultural identity, lack of access to education, and suppression of the region's tourist potential.
SANGEETA SHASHIKANT, of Tebtebba Foundation (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education), said that in many developing countries, the available resources for health were diminishing each day. The underlying causes for that included the absence of funds because of debt servicing obligations and the inability to make available affordable essential medicines because of obligations from trade agreements and other bilateral trade agreements. In his report on his mission to Peru, the Special Rapporteur on Health had expressed his concern about the bilateral trade agreement between the Government and the United States. In the past, Peruvian legislation did not allow for patents for pharmaceutical products. But the agreement might require a 20-year patent for each new use of a product, and the probable establishment of a national drug regulatory body to monitor the enforcement of drug patents, including by delaying or blocking genetic medicines.
DIANA BRANSON, of International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development - Rights and Democracy, speaking on behalf of several NGOs2, said in a world that had more than enough food to feed itself, the number of people who suffered from hunger and malnutrition was increasing. The ability of States to meet domestic obligations related to the human right to food was inextricably linked to the international trade in agriculture. The human right to adequate food could not be separated from the human right to water. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should undertake research with a view to clarifying the nature of extra-territorial human rights obligations as applied to the international trade in agriculture and respect for the human rights to adequate food, including the right to water. Member States of the United Nations should ensure that achievement of human rights, including the human rights to adequate food and water, formed the framework for trade negotiations and practices.
MICHAEL ANTHONY, of Asian Legal Resource Centre, spoke of a child from West Bengal, India, who had starved to death on 11 March 2005. Her brother and sister had also died from hunger, and her father from tuberculosis. Her mother and surviving sister were both sick. That girl had been the victim of administrative brutality and systemic neglect. Her death demonstrated the nexus between the right to food and the rule of law; where the latter was absent, the former could not be guaranteed. And that little girl had not been living in a remote area, but next to a garbage dump in Kolkata, because her family had been thrown out of their house and had had nowhere to go. Nearly 7,000 other people had been thrown out of their houses at the same time because they were Dalits -- untouchables. The municipal corporation and state Government had offered them nothing; the response from international organizations had been no better. UNICEF had expressed disinterest in their situation. Perhaps the mandate of the person appointed to monitor the spending of tsunami relief money should be extended to cover all relief work involving United Nations agencies.
RI POKHAK, of International Association of Democratic Lawyers, drew attention to the human rights infringement by the Japanese Government of Korean residents in Japan who were the descendents of the victims of the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. Koreans who inevitably came to reside in Japan due to the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula had started to establish more than 100 Korean schools to retrieve Korean names and cultures which they were deprived of by the colonial policies of the Government of Japan after the Second World War. However, the Government had been implementing a discriminatory policy against Korean schools since their establishment. The Japanese Government provided no financial aid and necessary education materials to these schools and the graduates of Korean schools were denied access to the higher education and national qualifications. That was a clear denial of the right to maintain one's culture and ethnicity and severe infringement of human rights ensured by human rights treaties.
M'HAMED MOHAMED CHEIKH, of International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, said the situation in Western Sahara was of grave concern. The occupation of that country by Morocco for 30 years, in violation of international law which guaranteed to all the free exercise of the right to self-determination and independence, was accompanied by flagrant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and also of the dispossession of the people of their wealth. International law and the institutions representing it had never recognised either any legitimacy or sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara any more than any other country, or non-governmental organization, and no political party had ever done it either. The Sahrawi people suffered from the occupation and the injustice which had lasted for 30 years, as had the right of all peoples to live in security and peace, and to decide on their freedom to self-determination. The United Nations should impose the respect of its Charter and lead to fruition the decolonisation process of Western Sahara.
YAMINI MISHRA, of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, said the Forum remained concerned by the lack of attention given to the issue of violence against women in the Millennium Development Goals. There was also concern about the impact of the December 2004 tsunami on human rights, and on women's rights in particular. The Forum wished to emphasize that gender-neutral relief and rehabilitation efforts in response to the tsunami were, in reality, gender blind, as they did not take women's specific needs and vulnerabilities into account. Women in camps for internally displaced persons were worse off than their male counterparts, as they had no privacy, no separate bathrooms and no sanitary necessities. The concept of adequate housing must go beyond private homes to include different types of accommodation including shelters and refugee camps. Cultural norms and practices had long been used to deny women equality; the realm of culture could not remain untouched if Governments were serious about the commitment to gender equality.
ANNA BATALLA, of Pax Romana, said that while the first seven goals contained in the Millennium Declaration were aimed at developing countries themselves, the last goal – the endorsement of a global partnership for development – was intended mainly for developed countries, their participation being regarded as indispensable in order to meet the 2015 deadlines. As the United Nations Secretary-General indicated in his report on the Implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, the Goals should be understood as a global deal that was built on mutual commitments from both developing and developed countries, inasmuch as those Goals could only be achieved through the unity of the international community. The struggle for the Goals could only be fruitful if it was based on shared responsibilities from the different members of the international community.
ELLEN MOURAVIEFF APOSTAL, of International Federation of Social Workers, said social exclusion, a relatively recent term in human rights terminology, related as much to economic, social and cultural rights as to civil and political ones, thus proving again the indivisibility of all human rights. It was linked to capability poverty composed of income and development poverty. Fulfilment of the first three Millennium Development Goals would go a long way. Governments could do much to overcome the social exclusion of their destitute populations, and it would be helpful where they were ready to include marginalized groups in their efforts. Participation and solidarity were not only excellent principles but also effective tools to bring about the implementation of the rights the Commission tried to further, and could even be of help in an attempt to break the vicious circle of social exclusion.
RONALD BARNES, of Indigenous World Association, said the Association continued to submit its diplomatic protest against the subjugation, domination and exploitation of Alaska and Hawaii by the United States. The United States could not reduce the status of the Alaskan First Nations to the discriminatory Federal Indian Law, nor allow for a settlement under the domestic law of the United States. The United States and the State of Alaska were attempting to invent a new relationship with the Alaskan First Nations called regionalization, which the majority of Alaskan First Nations were rejecting. The situation also applied to the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Kanaka Maoli peoples. The more than 30 international treaties with countries including the United Kingdom, United States and Switzerland, made it more pressing than ever that their independent relationship and international trade relations and recognition be invoked. The right to development in association with the land and resources of the islands was being denied. This continued to result in poverty, ill health and tragic statistics due to the denial of self-determination and economic development. The Commission should address the unresolved question of absolute title and dominion for the Alaska and Hawaii situations.
ISHTIYAQ HAMEED, of World Muslim Congress, said that the notion of impunity should not be restricted to civil and political rights. The realization of economic, social and cultural rights required a just dispensation of resources towards the welfare and development of the people, which could not be achieved without ensuring sovereignty of the people over their resources. Also recalling that the right to self-determination was a sine qua non of all other rights, he said that the idealism of democratic accountability and transparency was, however, irrelevant to regions struck by conflict and foreign occupation. Poverty, hunger, destruction and disease reigned in such situations. Of particular concern was the situation of the economic, social and cultural rights of the people in the Indian-occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The Commission should send a fact-finding mission to that region, with a view to determining the extent of violations and abuses of economic, social and cultural rights.
DELVIS FERNANDEZ LEVY, of MADRE, said members of the Commission should consider violations of human and civil rights by the Government of the United States of America against people of Cuban origin living within the confines of the United States or in territories under its jurisdiction. Disabled Cubans were also casualties of policies by the Government of the United States that impeded assistance to Cubans in vulnerable situations of human existence. Almost all Cuban artists were prevented from visiting the United States, and these included worldwide renowned artists who had won awards of high recognition in the Music World. The prevention of cultural manifestations of Cuban origin was in contravention of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
MUHAMMAD YAQOOB SHEIKH, of International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, said the people of Palestine and Kashmir had been totally deprived of enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights by the occupation forces thorough unrelenting and brutal use of force. Their socio-economic and cultural development had been under illegal hostage for more than 58 years now. Kashmir, once paradise on earth, was kept under the yoke of occupation by the deployment of more than 70,000 Indian troops, which had converted the entire Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir into a gigantic concentration camp. All that was happening in flagrant violation of the whole range of core human rights instruments. The deprivation of Kashmiris was evident from lack of economic activity and poor indicators, which remained at the lowest level in the region.
TSERING JAMPA, of Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network, drew attention to the transmigration of people belonging to the majority communities on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by those who required special protections. The World Bank lucidly explained the effects of such population transfers while describing the effects of the transmigration of the majority Kinh in the Northern and Central Highlands of Viet Nam. In China, the Chinese at present outnumbered the Tibetans. The Chittagong Hill Traces of Bangladesh, indigenous Jumma peoples had been reduced to being minority because of the implantation of over half a million Bengali settlers from 1979-1983. Similarly, West Papuans had become victims of transmigration of the majority Javanese. The Network urged the Commission to adequately take up the issue of population transfer and implantation of settlers as a separate sub-item of item 10.
JOSEPH ZOBEL BEHALAL, of Pax Romana, speaking on behalf of International Young Catholic Students, said there was concern for the conditions that were being put together so that the possibility of having a high-quality secondary education remained a luxury for the few. The Millennium Development Goals referred only to basic education. The majority of regions where illiteracy was high were those in which almost everything remained to be built. There was concern that policies did not take in consideration that a level of teaching that was inadequate for training upper levels did not confine further these countries in the defavourable development conditions current today. Education was indispensable within the development context.
ALI RAZA SYED, of Rural Development Foundation of Pakistan, said that when Governments failed to discharge their obligations to protect and promote economic, social and cultural rights, they created conditions of poverty, deprivation and inequality. The eight million people of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir faced extreme poverty as a result of neglect and social exclusion. The Indian occupation forces blatantly disregarded any human rights obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Income poverty in the region was absolute; the lack of normalcy and presence of security forces had led to the creation of a society with extremely low income and high deprivation levels. Similarly, the Kashmiri people figured poorly in terms of human development poverty, while the third dimension of extreme poverty -- social exclusion -- was the logical product of extreme income and human development poverty. The Commission should assist Kashmiris to combat the extreme poverty they faced, and the Independent Expert should undertake a mission to the region.
MONCEF BALTI, of Association Tunisienne pour l'Auto-Developpement et la Solidarite, said the Association worked for the promotion and protection of human rights and their interdependence. For the last 15 years, it had been working in the rural areas of northern Tunisia where certain groups of people still needed material and financial support for the development of their capacity to produce in order to generate income. Together with the process of globalization, the notion of international solidarity should find its place. The solidarity shown in the fight against terrorism could also be demonstrated in the fight against poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and inequalities. The Association noted with satisfaction the adoption by the international community and the creation of a solidarity fund to fight poverty.
SAYEED AHMAD, of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, said there was concern that fundamental human rights were being ignored in the reconstruction process for post-Tsunami victims. Reconstruction authorities had a duty to guarantee every survivor's economic, social and cultural rights, so that all individuals and communities were able to rebuild their lives and live independently of sustenance-level Government aid. The Commission should monitor governmental efforts to fulfil these rights, particularly with regard to the rights to food, housing, and health. The special procedures of the Commission should continue working on tsunami-related issues, and it should adopt the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at the earliest possible time. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should take a lead role in mainstreaming human rights in response to the disaster and all natural and man-made disasters hereafter.
EMILIE KAO, of Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said that the order to which Mother Teresa had belonged, and the individuals for which it cared, were in grave danger in Sri Lanka. The Government of that country was considering legislation that would block any person of faith from offering aid to someone of another belief. Radical Theravada Buddhist politicians, who did not tolerate any religion but their own, had pressured the Government to pass this legislation, ostensibly as a means of curbing "unethical conversions". If that legislation was passed, it would undermine the Sri Lankan people's economic and social recovery. Of tsunami relief organizations from the United States alone, 30 of 67 groups were faith-based, including Jewish, Christian and Muslim organizations. The proposed legislation would also put faith-based aid workers in jail for up to seven years if found guilty of providing assistance to someone of another religion. In the face of such penalties, what would happen to the stream of aid that people of faith from around the world had extended to Sri Lanka? The Commission should ask the Government to withdraw the proposed legislation.
ARJUN KARKI, of Rural Reconstruction Nepal, said Rural Reconstruction Nepal was seriously concerned about the ongoing violation of the economic, social and cultural rights of the people of Nepal. Despite having ratified the six major human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Successive Governments in Nepal had failed to alter structures that created and perpetuated the extreme poverty, injustice and unequal relationships among and between castes, classes, ethnic groups and men and women. The growing conflict, political instability and violence had affected the poorest of the poor, mainly women, children and the elderly who continued to be denied their fundamental rights. Those violations had been further aggravated by the 1 February declaration of a state of emergency.
WELLY MANDOWEN, of Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches, said the people of West Papua had suffered under the Indonesian Government since 1963. Papuans who protested against the militaristic policies of the Indonesian Government were harassed by the security forces. In addition to violations of civil and political rights, there was evidence which showed a systematic denial of their economic, social and cultural rights. To support Indonesia's implementation of a human rights-oriented policy in the country, the Commission should mandate an Independent Expert to visit West Papua and Indonesia; play an active role and provide technical cooperation for the dialogue between the Government and the Papuan people; and grant the new Government of Indonesia technical assistance for a constructive policy on economic, social and cultural rights, and the ratification of the Covenant and its implementation.
WENCESLAO MANSOGO ALO, of North-South XXI, said that the social deterioration of life in Equatorial Guinea, despite having significant oil wealth, was one of worst situations on the planet. The general health situation was gravely deficient. There was no policy for a rational health system based on the needs of the population. Moreover, the majority of the population lacked access to drinking water and electricity. In spite of the massive resources accessed by the ruling class, many people suffered from a raging cholera epidemic, and HIV/AIDS raged throughout the country. Many other instances of social exclusion against the poor could also be seen. The Commission on Human Rights must include the situation of human rights in Equatorial Guinea on its agenda once more, and appoint a Special Rapporteur to examine that situation.
ANNEKE VAN DEN BERG, of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said 70 per cent of the earth was covered with water, while only one per cent was available for human consumption and use. That one per cent was still enough to fulfil all the needs of mankind. However, water was growing ever more scarce, not due to a lack of water but because of misuse. Seventy per cent of the water used was for agricultural purposes, but 60 per cent of that irrigation water never reached its intended destination and was instead lost to evaporation and run-off. That was mainly caused by the lack of efficient irrigation systems in many parts of the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, rural households spent over a quarter of their time fetching water and that was done mainly be women and girls. Every year, about 2 million people died due to water-related diseases. Water was also a potential cause of armed conflict. In India, Ethiopia and China, allocation of water resources had led directly to conflict.
SHARAD KUMAR SONI, of Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said the struggle against economic, social and cultural oppression as well as against injustice and inequalities had been an integral part of the history of all human societies. In the age of globalization, the economic, social and cultural rights of people in the developing and third world countries were under greater stress. The adverse effects of foreign debt and structural adjustment policies on the full enjoyment of all human rights in developing countries were now widely acknowledged and well documented. Human rights principles should be the guiding principles for donor agencies and international monetary institutions in providing assistance in terms of foreign aid and debt relief. The Commission should exert pressure on the countries which continued to sponsor terrorist outfits and their activities so that the people were able to enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights.
GIANFRANCO ROSSI, of International Religious Liberty Association, said that the current period remained characterized by international terrorism, which violated all human rights and fundamental liberties. This scourge must be destroyed, as well as its supporting ideology of religious extremism, and in particular Islamic extremism. Extremist terrorists like Bin Laden and his associates professed to defend Islam; in reality they had distorted that religion. The Islam of the Koran, and of the Prophet Muhammad, was not an extremist religion of hate, violence and death, but one of empathy, liberty and life. Unfortunately, in some Muslim countries, conditions favourable to extremism continued to be found, including in Saudi Arabia. In that country, which had produced the strongest manifestations of Islamic extremism, all must be Muslim, and one was forbidden, on pain of death, to convert to another religion. The Commission must not avoid the issue of Islamic extremism, but should concern itself with the situation of human rights in Saudi Arabia.
ELIZABETH MIDDLETON, of International Pen, noted a global rise in attacks against writers and journalists who utilized the Internet to practice their right to freedom of expression. In 2004, PEN had monitored over 80 attacks against "cyber-dissidents" in 16 countries. While those included some instances of harassment and threat -- there was even one murder of a "cyber-dissident" in Kazakhstan -- the chosen method of repression was long-term detention. China appeared most intolerant of its Internet dissidents, and accounted for a third of the total attacks against cyber-dissidents. Last year, it had imprisoned 27 writers and journalists who had chosen to circumvent censorship by publishing articles on independent web sites. Vietnamese writers who turned to the Internet as a means of getting their ideas known also faced imprisonment. Iranian cyber-dissidents were also under heavy scrutiny. Other countries that held Internet writers in prison included the Maldives, Cuba and Syria.
Right of Reply
XIA JINGGE (China), speaking in exercise of its right of reply, said since the reform of Tibet, under the care of the Chinese Government, Tibet had continued, under the guidance of China, to progress in many areas, including development and the economy. The situation of human rights there was at its historical best. Tibetans of different nationalities enjoyed an unprecedented range of human rights. There had never been any policy of racial implantation in Tibet, with 95 per cent or more of the population made up of native Tibetans. Full account had been given of the local situation in Tibet. The anti-secession law adopted by the Chinese parliament represented the will of the Chinese people, but this had nothing to do with the item under discussion in the Commission.
JEAN SIMPLICE NDJEMBA ENDEZOUMOU (Cameroon), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the non-governmental organization International Federation for the Protection of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic and other Minorities had been represented by a member of the SCNC, which was a secessionist, terrorist group that used violent means to agitate the southwestern province of Cameroon. Recognizing the important role of non-governmental organizations in the Commission, he requested that only true representatives of those organizations be allowed to participate in the work of the Commission.
Cameroon continued to be a country in which many ethnic groups had peacefully coexisted since independence, he stressed. Following the 1972 referendum, the federal structure had been established with two English-speaking and eight-French speaking provinces, and that process had been by consensus. Cameroon was a founding member of the African Union, and had enshrined respect for the economic, social and cultural rights of all citizens, as exemplified by the national poverty reduction strategy. The country was decentralized. It recognized the territorial integrity of the provinces and gave them autonomy. Such activists speaking out against the country must be refuted.
JUAN EDUARDO EGUIGUREN (Chile), speaking in a right of reply in reference to statements which alluded to his country this morning, said a number of positive developments had been made since the restoration of democracy in Chile. Following the consideration of Chile's periodic report, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had enumerated several positive measures and achievements in the country. The State had made progress in the field of health, education, social and economy. Although much remained to be done, Chile would endeavour to strengthen its efforts and would uphold its achievements.
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1Joint statement on behalf of: International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights and Democracy); International Federation of Human Rights Leagues; Foodfirst Information and Action Network (FIAN); Franciscans International; Greenpeace International; Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; Lutheran World Federation and World Young Women's Christian Association.
For information media only; not an official record
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