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09 August 2000
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Sub-Commission on the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights
52nd session
9 August 2000
Morning
The Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights this morning continued its debate on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
A number of non-governmental organizations highlighted the growing and frightening economic and social impact of transnational corporations on developing countries. The international arena had changed and it was no longer sufficient that only States be accountable and transparent. Transnational corporations had to be the same. Many organizations emphasized the need for a code of conduct to regulate and monitor transnational corporations according to human rights norms and principles.
The general debate focused on the international economic order and the promotion of human rights, the realization of the right to development, the question of transnational corporations and the realization of the right to education, including human rights education.
Subcommission Experts Asbjorn Eide, David Weissbrodt and Jose Bengoa took the floor this morning.
The following non-governmental organizations also spoke: the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, the International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements, the Indian Movement Tupaj Amaru, the International Institute for Peace, the European Union of Public Relations, Association Tunisienne pour l'Auto-Developpement et la Solidarite, the Indian Council of Education, the International Federation of University Women, the Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation, Franciscans International, Pax Romana, Interfaith International, the Habitat International Coalition, the World Muslim Congress, the Afro Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, Fondation Danielle Mitterand, the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, the World Movement of Mothers, the International Indian Treaty Council and Center-Europe Tiers Monde.
Cuba, Iraq and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya spoke on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
The Subcommission will resume its meeting at 3 p.m. to conclude its consideration of economic, social and cultural rights and to begin its consideration of the implementation of human rights with regard to women.
Statements
YORIO SHIOKAWA, of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, said that the activities of transnational corporations often worsened labour conditions, particularly when they used the old-fashioned labour management of a country with their own modern labour management. An example of these practices was Nestle in Japan which had been antagonistic toward the labour union there and had turned it into a puppet union under the company's control. This unfair labour practice had begun in 1980. There had been several clashes since that time. When workers refused to move out of the old union and join the second one, they had suffered several infringements of their rights. To date, Nestle Japan had not acknowledged its own illegal acts and continued to act illegally. Even after a decision by the Supreme Court, they were still keeping up the malpractice. It was important that the State regulated the activities of transnational corporations.
PIERRE MIOT, of the International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements, said in Honduras, the Yojoa Lake was a vital resource for the riverine populations; yet erosion of its banks and the discharge of wastewater from a major mine was causing heavy-metal pollution in the rivers feeding the lake. The mine was operated by the Breakwater Corporation, headquarted in Toronto, Canada. Reputable studies had shown conclusively that there was widespread contamination by a range of metals in the sediments of the Yojoa Lake; the high levels of some metals could only be explained by outside contamination, and low concentrations of these metals found in the fish represented a danger to those who ate many of the fish.
Soon the contamination might exceed the absorption capacity of the lake, greatly damaging the drinking quality of the water. It was urgently necessary to ensure effective treatment of the wastewaters from the mine; since 1990, when the studies were first published, no measures had apparently been taken in response. There also was deforestation for wood used in the mine, lack of health care and safety measures for workers in the mine and violations of the Honduran safety code there. The Subcommission should urge the Government to invite the Special Rapporteur on toxic wastes to visit, and to ensure that the toxic wastes emanating from the mine were properly treated.
LAZARO PARY, of the Indian Tupaj Amaru Movement, speaking on behalf of North-South XXI and the General Federation of Arab Women, said that the claims of colonized peoples and their process to achieve sovereignty over their resources was actually a claim to national self-determination. Colonial powers had not wished to abandon their needs and reform their code of conduct. There was a desperate need for a change in the code of conduct to regulate the irrational behaviour of powerful economic entities, particularly in trade and foreign investment. This process had began in 1970, yet no consensus had been reached. The collapse of the negotiations was a result of the pressure of powerful economic circles in the west. The organization did not understand the intent nor goals of the working group of the Subcommission on this topic in starting from scratch when they could have drawn positive contributions from the discussions of the past.
Transnational corporations were spinning out of control, incredibly powerful, omnipresent and behaving in an anarchic way with impunity, destroying natural resources through the bribing of high political officials, blackmail and corruption. A few examples were the roles of the following transnational corporation in the following countries: International Telephone and Telegraph in Chile, the Gulf Oil Company in Bolivia and United Food Company in Guatemala. It seemed that sixty countries had adopted regulatory amendments creating favourable conditions for the greed of investors. There was a gap in the international legal system which seemed inadequate to regulate and install a code of conduct. The Subcommission experts were urged to develop specific norms and rules to determine the negative impact of transnational corporations and to define the property rates and their legal structure.
TATAINA SHAUMIAN, of the International Institute of Peace, said States were obligated to ensure that education was directed towards the development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, to prepare children for responsible lives in free societies, in a spirit of understanding and tolerance. A dangerous trend was emerging in some countries of inculcating in young minds ideas of hate and violence. As a scholar of South Asia she had observed with horrified fascination what was happening with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban, like many other armed groups, was a product of the network of madrassas or religious schools run by religious parties in Pakistan. Decay in the State educational structure had left open the space these madrassas had occupied, and they were actively engaged in the assembly line production of child soldiers and in effectively depriving a large percentage of children of the joys of normal childhood and enlightened learning.
The Subcommission should impress upon nation States the imperative need to dismantle educational structures that taught the ideology of violence, hatred and the denial of rights of others on the basis of religion or gender.
JUANITA OLIVIER, of the European Union of Public Relations, spoke of the worrying trends facing the world today. Particular mention was made to the situation of women in Afghanistan. The women had always been part of the society and had contributed to its development. Yet, the Taliban was, through repression and oppression, returning the country to the dark ages. In order for development to be possible, democratic values needed to be re-installed in Afghanistan. Another example was Kashmir, where the people were tired of the conflict, yet the violence continued in the name of religion as a result of a Pakistan-led terrorist Jihad on Kashmiri soil. Pakistan, a poor country, was using its land and resources to aggress its neighbour and was refusing to give its people their democratic rights. Who was to blame for these trends? It was clear that the developed countries needed to take a look at themselves and distract some of their attention away from fashion and sophisticated toys. If indeed the right to development was universal, there had to be an increase in democracy worldwide. International human rights activists could play a major role in this process.
M. BALTI, of the Tunisian Association for Self-Development and Solidarity, said the Association had worked for ten years to combat poverty and to assist the most disadvantaged, whose numbers had dropped considerably but still represented some 5 per cent of the Tunisian population. Numerous programmes, including micro-credit schemes, were underway. Despite progress internationally, it was clear that economic, social and cultural rights still did not receive the emphasis they deserved, although promotion of such rights also bolstered civil and political rights.
Poverty was apparent throughout the world and the Subcommission probably agreed that not enough developed countries had achieved the goal of 0.7 per cent of GDP for official development assistance. There was still not enough solidarity for fighting poverty. The proposed World Solidarity Fund to combat poverty was a valuable idea; the Association called on other NGOs to establish a world solidarity network to support such a fund and to promote economic progress and peace around the world. New information technology could be a great help for spurring development, yet instead these technologies were being used by some to spread hatred and disinformation; it was the Association's sincere hope that these practices could be stopped.
A. S. NARANG, of the Indian Council of Education, said that human beings were poised as worthy entities deserving respect, fair treatment and social justice. The very concept of human rights had become very complex, particularly since the process of globalization had began to take its course. Earlier, it had been felt that the effective implementation of human rights relied on making States accountable, transparent and service oriented.
These days, it was no longer enough to pay attention to the role of the State. It was vital to note that global rules were being developed in various areas related to human rights, environment and trade. However, they were being developed independently with a potential for conflict. There did not seem to exist any effective mechanism to enforce and monitor transnational corporations, particularly with regard to development. Transnational corporations had an immense impact on employment practices, environmental situations, corruption and in advocacy for policy changes. Existing codes of conduct were weak for two basic reasons. They rarely referred to internationally agreed human rights standards and they lacked mechanisms for the implementation and the external monitoring and audits. The organization urged the Subcommission, the Commission on Human Rights and other UN bodies to help in developing a purposeful code of conduct for transnational corporations and an effective mechanism for its implementation and monitoring.
ASBJORN EIDE, Subcommission Expert, said the Independent Expert on the right to development had presented a model starting with three rights: to food, to primary health care, and to primary education, combining international cooperation with the national obligations of States. It was a useful approach that made it possible to move away from the vague and general positions often taken in the discussion on the right to development to very practical matters. He strongly supported the view of Mr. Bengoa that current attention to the elimination of poverty must not be conducted as some kind of marginal relief to placate the conscience of those who were growing rich from globalization, but must be a deliberate effort to empower those who were poor. Among other things, States should consider a framework law, with benchmarks, to set national strategies for the right to food.
The study on globalization and human rights was admirable; it set out the problems well and now it was time to set out possible avenues of action. It was noted in the preliminary study, quite properly, that the UN was entirely on the sidelines in one major respect: it did not participate in dealing with international trade, investment and finance. It and other human-rights bodies must assert themselves more strongly in standard-setting approaches in this field. One task should be to deepen understanding of how the human-rights responsibilities of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization, could be implemented. Since these organizations were composed of States, they were undoubtedly bound by the UN Charter and by international human-rights instruments. One issue had to be examined: the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights which raised particular problems for economic, social and cultural rights.
The continuing study on globalization should go hand-in-hand with efforts to place human-rights responsibility on transnational corporations (TNCs), now under discussion by a Subcommission working group. The first step might be to develop principles which might not be legally binding but could serve as uniform standards applied to States in their regulation of TNCs. Time was short and he wished the Subcommission could revive its thoughts about a Social Forum, as there was a need for more time and more partners in tackling these challenges.
CONCHITA PONCINI, of the International Federation of University Women, speaking on behalf of several non-governmental organizations, said that the General Assembly's Special Session on Beijing plus 5 had confirmed in its conclusions that inequality, discrimination and exclusion on the basis of gender continued to grow. The progress in improving the status of women had been slow and uneven with persistent discrimination against women in the labour market, particularly the gender gap in wages and the unequal access to productive resources and capital. Socio-cultural factors continued to influence gender relations hindering women's economic empowerment and exacerbating the feminization of poverty. It was clear that in theory men and women had equal rights, however, it had proved difficult to put this into practice partly due to the lack of an appropriate division of labour.
Women were fundamentally entitled to have an equal role in decision-making at all levels and their involvement in the conceptual process was necessary in order to provide realistic, sustainable and visionary solutions in structural reforms. Solutions had to be found and addressed, notably in the immediate ratification and implementation of International Labour Organization conventions and other international conventions and principles against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability, immigration status, age or sexual orientation. The rights of women to education and life-long learning was a way to improve the status of women and to reach equality in economic, social and cultural rights. It was also important for the Subcommission to examine customary as well as formal law with regard to women's access to land.
AFRIDAL DARMI, of the Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation, said Indonesia's policy of economic growth, which was based on foreign investment and exploitation of natural resources, had failed to improve the welfare of its people. Investment projects such as factories, plantations and mines had not only destroyed natural resources but had caused human rights violations. The case of the United States multinational Freeport McMoran's gold and copper mining operations in the province of Papua was illustrative. The National Human Rights Commission determined in 1995 that clear violations had occurred in the Freeport project area, including indiscriminate killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and disappearances. To date, Indonesian military authorities had carried out an investigation of only one of the incidents, prosecuting the low-ranking military personnel and convicting them of violations of military procedure -- not for the murders for which they were responsible. No victims had received compensation.
The new Indonesian Government should immediately ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and should adopt transparent systems of decision-making that allowed sufficient public participation to ensure true representation of public interests in the pursuit of development.
DAVID WEISSBRODT, Subcommission Expert, informed the Subcommission that yesterday a bomb had exploded in the centre of Moscow during rush-hour, killing eight people and wounding eleven others. Mr. Weissbrodt extended his condolences to the victims and their families. No organization had as yet claimed responsibility. It was critical that the many efforts toward peace in Chechnya were not halted by this act of terrorism.
PHILIPPE LE BLANC, of Franciscans International, speaking on behalf of Dominicans for Justice and Peace, said racial and gender prejudices were among the greatest obstacles to development. Also, Governments often ignored the elimination of girls by various means, such as abortion and abandonment, and girls were often discriminated against in education, especially for religious and cultural reasons. The loss for humanity was immeasurable. The burden of foreign-debt payments on poor nations was a huge matter, forcing countries to reduce their expenditures on health and education and to cut employment. The behaviour of the countries of the G-7 in relation to reducing debt burdens was profoundly disappointing.
States should establish codes of conduct to protect their citizens from exploitation by transnational corporations (TNCs), and must work to develop an international and enforceable code of conduct to deal with TNCs. Franciscans International, Dominicans for Justice and Peace, and the Lutheran World Federation had held a seminar in Geneva on implementation of the right to development whose success had encouraged a more ambitious project of hosting a series of informal discussions on the topic over the next eight months.
UNISLAWA WSZOLEK, of Pax Romana, said that in the early 1990s the phenomenon of globalization was hailed by the international financial institutions as the way for the south to develop and industrialize. However, the more recent development experience had forced the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and the World Bank to demote structural adjustment programmes such as privatization, from the certain prescriptions for success to mere prerequisites for development. These stringent economic policies remained as harsh as ever, often posing serious challenges to the realization of human rights and in particular to drinking water and thus the right to life. International financial institutions had to acknowledge and respect human rights obligations and had to formulate development policies within the context of these rights. Economic development did not always run counter to human rights, such as the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Even though this had been a clear success, community based and local projects still constituted only a fraction of the World Bank's development programme. The organization proposed that the Subcommission evaluate the relationships between the international financial institutions and human rights, that the effect of privatization of drinking water be included in Mr. Guisse's final report and that a monitoring mechanism on human rights within international financial institutions be established.
MOHAMMAD AHSAN, of Interfaith International, said the ethnic Punjabi majority in Pakistan was denying economic, social and cultural rights to minorities, particularly the Mohajirs in the province of Sindh. Most affected were the urban centres of Sindh, especially Karachi. Karachi alone provided 65 per cent of federal revenues and about 31 per cent of Pakistan's GDP, but the army, establishment and bureaucracy of Punjab swallowed the largest portion, eating away at the assets of the minority provinces. Despite being the local majority in Sindh province, the Mohajirs had been denied their proper right to representation in legislative bodies according to their population ratio, and they were subject to many malevolent measures and punitive laws.
People in Pakistan were being divided and manipulated on ethnic and linguistic lines and were losing their hold on their economic, social and cultural rights, and their right to development. The Subcommission should consider the case of the Mohajirs of Sindh as a classic example of blatant violation of economic, social and cultural rights. It should persuade the Government of Pakistan to reverse its policy of discrimination and repression against the Mohajirs and Sindhi and to allow true democracy and pluralism in the country.
MILOON KOTHARI, of the Habitat International Coalition, speaking on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation and the International Commission of Jurists, said that in the current international environment, any human rights discussion which failed to take the context of economic globalization into account risked becoming entirely academic. The primacy of human rights law over all other regimes of international law was a basic and fundamental principle that could not be departed from. Currently, the assumptions that the policies of the World Trade Organization were based on were grossly unfair and even prejudiced. Those rules also reflected an agenda that served only to promote dominant corporatist interests which already monopolized the arena of international trade. The call by the Special Rapporteurs on this topic for the Subcommission to draft guidelines covering the various regimes and institutions related to trade, investment and finance was endorsed. Concern was raised regarding trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights agreements. The implementation of these agreements had resulted in the restriction of access to patented pharmaceuticals for citizens of developing countries, raising obvious implications for the enjoyment of the right to health.
The pirating of indigenous traditional knowledge and designs for commercial exploitation by others were contrary to human rights law in established jurisprudence. However the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights agreements did not explicitly protect the interests of indigenous and local communities. It was also important to deal with the larger ethical issues surrounding human genome mapping and patenting which carried heavy implications, particularly on the right to self-determination.
The Subcommission was urged to support this call to States for comments and to suggest to the Commission on Human Rights the formation of a working group in which further consideration of the draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights. The Subcommission was also urged to support the organization of an expert meeting on the draft protocol by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
SARDAR AMJAD YOUSAF, of the World Muslim Congress, said it was to be hoped that the upcoming working group on development would create conditions to effectively realize the right to development. One challenge was the foreign-debt burden; initiatives such as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) programme had been launched, and were timely and needed, but insufficient; HIPC only accounted for 10 per cent of total debts. The recently concluded Copenhagen Plus 5 summit had underscored the need for a durable solution to the debt burden, but it was deeply disturbing that an important developed country had dissociated itself from consensus on the relevant paragraph of the declaration.
Also important were efforts to eliminate poverty, to which the Subcommission and working group should pay great attention; and to encourage effective, sustained, and predictable international cooperation. Peace and security were vital -- in many parts of the world, such as Asia and Africa, a major barrier to development was the absence of peace and security. An example was the militarization of Jammu and Kashmir by the Hindu fundamentalist Government of India. It was critical for the Subcommission and the working group to agree on a positive strategy for realizing the right to development.
JOSE BENGOA, Subcommission Expert, raised the issue of the establishment of a Social Forum. It was necessary to examine and decide which avenue to take on this question. The future of the Subcommission was intimately linked with economic, social and cultural rights which favoured the establishment of the Social Forum, where States, organizations, experts and special rapporteurs could meet and conduct a dialogue. This would undoubtedly lead to positive effects. Mr. Bengoa asked his fellow colleagues to comment on his suggestions as this initiative was being prepared in a resolution.
V. K. GUPTA, of the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, said development required peace and freedom, yet those critical ingredients were very often denied the countries most needing them -- nations with tremendous promise and dedication were thwarted by factors outside their control, especially violence. The right to development required deeper understanding and greater attention from the Subcommission, especially when half the world's people lived on less than $ 2 per day and the gap between the rich and the poor had reached alarming proportions.
Tensions born of ideologies or territorial ambitions were increasingly limiting development, whether in Afghanistan, Africa, or Jammu and Kashmir. If anything was owed to future generations, it was not bomb craters and bullet holes but a society that had abandoned conflict based on religion, race, creed or political imperatives and instead had adopted the notion of the world being one truly integrated family working in harmony so that all its members had the just opportunity to participate in the fruits of development.
CELINE BRUN, of the Fondation Danielle Mitterand, said the debt crisis in the world had led to inequalities on an even larger scale. Education was standing still, and there were no funds to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic as all funds were used to service foreign debts. These foreign debts were unpayable. There was a set of plans in action to alleviate the debt-burdened developed countries as the living conditions of the highly indebted countries was worsening at an alarming rate. In fact, these highly indebted countries had already paid their dues. The negative cash-flow of these countries was no longer possible and even the creditor countries recognized that there was no money to service the debt. Indicators of development had dropped in the highly indebted countries which made it even more urgent to call for the immediate and total cancellation of debt in Africa. This would allow the investment in education, health care and social infrastructure. The Jubilee 2000 movement was a clear demonstration that it was time to act on this issue.
Unfortunately the G-8 meeting in Okinawa had not led to any concrete decisions. The HIPC initiatives had already proved inadequate in addressing social issues. The Subcommission was urged to support the total and immediate cancellation of foreign debts.
REENA MARWAH, of the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, said peace and security were necessary for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights -- individuals and groups had to feel assured that they would be able to fully exploit their potential and natural resources without any threat or hindrance. All societies were not equally endowed with resources and therefore developmental theory had always emphasized the need for mobility of resources and labour. But while most countries were keen to allow mobility of resources, there were increasing obstacles placed on the free movement of human beings. One saw the spectacle of nations built by the efforts of migrant workers and guest workers undergoing contortions to prevent a new immigrant wave.
There also were pressures in different States by majorities to eradicate the particular characteristics of minorities. Violence often resulted, and the resulting ghetto mentality among the minorities meant demands for exclusive homelands and the redrawing of borders. As the example of the former Yugoslavia showed, and to an extent East Timor as well, such a process was always accompanied by death and destruction and the loss of years of economic, social and cultural achievement. Development should not be made subservient to oppressive or regressive ideologies.
JULIET SAYEGH, of the World Movement of Mothers, said that the adverse effects on Iraq due to the embargo which had been imposed for ten years were disastrous. For how long and why was this continuing? The economy had been destroyed, the educational system was falling apart, and the health system was fragmenting, all because of an embargo which went against the spirit of the United Nations. In fact, the embargo undermined the credibility of the United Nations in the whole world. The Iraqi people was being denied the right to life, the right to food and the right to education. If a peaceful settlement was to be found in the region, the embargo had to be brought to a halt immediately. The Subcommission should support the struggle to halt the embargo and to give chance to the next generation of Iraqi children.
ANTONIO GONZALEZ, of the International Indian Treaty Council, said that since the World Trade Organization had been created in 1995, there had been an incremental increase in imposed development on indigenous lands which served the interests of transnational corporations (TNCs). In the United States, the Dineh peoples were being forcibly removed due to the interests of the Peabody Coal Company; the Shoshone nation in Nevada was suffering contamination of their land by the transnational mining industry; and the Gwich'in peoples of Alaska were being threatened by Alaskan politicians and the oil industry who wished to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
Also affected were the U'wa nation of Colombia, threatened by the oil industry, led by Occidental Petroleum; indigenous peoples in Nigeria, who opposed a gas pipeline sought by Chevron; and indigenous peoples in Papua New Guinea, where Esmeralda Exploration of Australia had contaminated an important water system -- the same company which had spilled cyanide into the Tisza and Danube Rivers in Romania and Hungary. A World Trade Organization agreement also allowed the private sector to patent and exploit the traditional medicinal and food plants of indigenous peoples. A Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues should be appointed.
MALIK OZDEN, of Centre-Europe Tiers Monde, said that if within the Subcommission one talked about human rights violations made by States, little had been done to date about the human rights violations carried out by transnational corporations. Unfortunately, the report on this topic contained some irregularities and bias. There was a noticeable partiality by one expert attempting to divert attention on the topic of a voluntary code of conduct and the expansion of the mandate to include firms. The mandate stated that it was the group's task to analyse human rights violations and to formulate recommendations and proposals. The negative activities of companies could very well be considered in this context as could the role of the United Nations as a protection mechanism. The NGO contributions were reflected in an unbalanced manner in the report, and it was hoped that amendments would be made in the final rendition. Perhaps the special rapporteurs could use the help of a brochure that had been compiled containing case studies of human rights violations committed by transnational corporations.
CARLOS AMAT FORES (Cuba) said there was a deplorable lack of progress in the fulfilment of the mandate of the intergovernmental working group on the right to development. Certain Governments lacked the political will to meet the needs of portions of their populations which were disadvantaged; infrastructure was often lacking; there were unacceptably wide gaps in wealth; there was confused decision-making on economic, social and cultural rights; there was the damage coming from structural adjustment policies imposed from outside and the damage caused by high debt loads; there were uneven trade balances between rich and poor countries; and there was the decline in official development assistance and the application of conditions to such aid that hindered the right of recipient countries to use the money as they thought best.
There were numerous obstacles to the transfer of technology; there was "brain theft" from underdeveloped countries; there were unilateral measures which violated the UN Charter and the basic human rights of entire peoples. Meanwhile the developed countries wasted billions of dollars on such things as cosmetics, pet food, and military budgets. If only some of that was channelled to helping development in poorer nations, great suffering could be alleviated. Much more had to be done for debt relief. The whole problem could be solved with greater political will.
MOHAMED AL DHOURI (Iraq) said that only three days ago, the Iraqi people had been forced to relive their suffering as the tenth anniversary of the sanctions against Iraq passed by. Previously, the Iraqi people had enjoyed good living conditions, high compared to others in the region. One and a half million Iraqi citizens had been lost as a result of shortages in food and the proliferation of disease. The embargo was an act of war against the people of Iraq, its environment, resources and industry. The people of Iraq were deprived of the most basic social and economic rights. The oil-for-Food programme was a sham; now in its fifth year, the programme had failed to carry out what it was intended to do. The situation had even forced three high-level United Nations officials to resign in protest. Iraq had gone from receiving $ 25 billion for its oil to $ 7.6 billion. That meant $ 250 for every Iraqi in four years. Many things were needed for the industrial, agricultural and the social sector. This embargo had resulted in a violation of all economic, social and cultural rights. Iraq called upon the Subcommission to continue to give the embargo particular attention and to act on a resolution on this issue.
NAJAT AL-HAJJAJI (the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) said the Subcommission's decision to carry out a study on drinking water and sanitation services was commendable. Water was vital for social security and economic productivity. The history of Libya was one of a war against thirst, for Libya was a desert nation. The vast south of the country received little rain, and there were no permanent sources of water. Desertification and successive droughts had led the country to depend on underground water. Aquifer levels had fallen and were being polluted by sea water. New aquifiers had been discovered, however, and the country had started one of the greatest engineering projects in history -- a great, underground manmade river that would move the water to the country's population centres. A network of reinforced, underground, 4-metre-in-diameter pipes was being built. The project was immense.
The catastrophe of drought affected all of the Arab world. Only rainwater was the lot of some, while rivers which flowed through Arab countries originated in other countries which could use them as a weapon against Arabs. The "great river" of Libya was a good solution to at least some of these problems and it could not be threatened by outside forces.
* *** *
and Protection of Human Rights
52nd session
9 August 2000
Morning
The Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights this morning continued its debate on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
A number of non-governmental organizations highlighted the growing and frightening economic and social impact of transnational corporations on developing countries. The international arena had changed and it was no longer sufficient that only States be accountable and transparent. Transnational corporations had to be the same. Many organizations emphasized the need for a code of conduct to regulate and monitor transnational corporations according to human rights norms and principles.
The general debate focused on the international economic order and the promotion of human rights, the realization of the right to development, the question of transnational corporations and the realization of the right to education, including human rights education.
Subcommission Experts Asbjorn Eide, David Weissbrodt and Jose Bengoa took the floor this morning.
The following non-governmental organizations also spoke: the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, the International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements, the Indian Movement Tupaj Amaru, the International Institute for Peace, the European Union of Public Relations, Association Tunisienne pour l'Auto-Developpement et la Solidarite, the Indian Council of Education, the International Federation of University Women, the Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation, Franciscans International, Pax Romana, Interfaith International, the Habitat International Coalition, the World Muslim Congress, the Afro Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, Fondation Danielle Mitterand, the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, the World Movement of Mothers, the International Indian Treaty Council and Center-Europe Tiers Monde.
Cuba, Iraq and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya spoke on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
The Subcommission will resume its meeting at 3 p.m. to conclude its consideration of economic, social and cultural rights and to begin its consideration of the implementation of human rights with regard to women.
Statements
YORIO SHIOKAWA, of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, said that the activities of transnational corporations often worsened labour conditions, particularly when they used the old-fashioned labour management of a country with their own modern labour management. An example of these practices was Nestle in Japan which had been antagonistic toward the labour union there and had turned it into a puppet union under the company's control. This unfair labour practice had begun in 1980. There had been several clashes since that time. When workers refused to move out of the old union and join the second one, they had suffered several infringements of their rights. To date, Nestle Japan had not acknowledged its own illegal acts and continued to act illegally. Even after a decision by the Supreme Court, they were still keeping up the malpractice. It was important that the State regulated the activities of transnational corporations.
PIERRE MIOT, of the International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements, said in Honduras, the Yojoa Lake was a vital resource for the riverine populations; yet erosion of its banks and the discharge of wastewater from a major mine was causing heavy-metal pollution in the rivers feeding the lake. The mine was operated by the Breakwater Corporation, headquarted in Toronto, Canada. Reputable studies had shown conclusively that there was widespread contamination by a range of metals in the sediments of the Yojoa Lake; the high levels of some metals could only be explained by outside contamination, and low concentrations of these metals found in the fish represented a danger to those who ate many of the fish.
Soon the contamination might exceed the absorption capacity of the lake, greatly damaging the drinking quality of the water. It was urgently necessary to ensure effective treatment of the wastewaters from the mine; since 1990, when the studies were first published, no measures had apparently been taken in response. There also was deforestation for wood used in the mine, lack of health care and safety measures for workers in the mine and violations of the Honduran safety code there. The Subcommission should urge the Government to invite the Special Rapporteur on toxic wastes to visit, and to ensure that the toxic wastes emanating from the mine were properly treated.
LAZARO PARY, of the Indian Tupaj Amaru Movement, speaking on behalf of North-South XXI and the General Federation of Arab Women, said that the claims of colonized peoples and their process to achieve sovereignty over their resources was actually a claim to national self-determination. Colonial powers had not wished to abandon their needs and reform their code of conduct. There was a desperate need for a change in the code of conduct to regulate the irrational behaviour of powerful economic entities, particularly in trade and foreign investment. This process had began in 1970, yet no consensus had been reached. The collapse of the negotiations was a result of the pressure of powerful economic circles in the west. The organization did not understand the intent nor goals of the working group of the Subcommission on this topic in starting from scratch when they could have drawn positive contributions from the discussions of the past.
Transnational corporations were spinning out of control, incredibly powerful, omnipresent and behaving in an anarchic way with impunity, destroying natural resources through the bribing of high political officials, blackmail and corruption. A few examples were the roles of the following transnational corporation in the following countries: International Telephone and Telegraph in Chile, the Gulf Oil Company in Bolivia and United Food Company in Guatemala. It seemed that sixty countries had adopted regulatory amendments creating favourable conditions for the greed of investors. There was a gap in the international legal system which seemed inadequate to regulate and install a code of conduct. The Subcommission experts were urged to develop specific norms and rules to determine the negative impact of transnational corporations and to define the property rates and their legal structure.
TATAINA SHAUMIAN, of the International Institute of Peace, said States were obligated to ensure that education was directed towards the development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, to prepare children for responsible lives in free societies, in a spirit of understanding and tolerance. A dangerous trend was emerging in some countries of inculcating in young minds ideas of hate and violence. As a scholar of South Asia she had observed with horrified fascination what was happening with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban, like many other armed groups, was a product of the network of madrassas or religious schools run by religious parties in Pakistan. Decay in the State educational structure had left open the space these madrassas had occupied, and they were actively engaged in the assembly line production of child soldiers and in effectively depriving a large percentage of children of the joys of normal childhood and enlightened learning.
The Subcommission should impress upon nation States the imperative need to dismantle educational structures that taught the ideology of violence, hatred and the denial of rights of others on the basis of religion or gender.
JUANITA OLIVIER, of the European Union of Public Relations, spoke of the worrying trends facing the world today. Particular mention was made to the situation of women in Afghanistan. The women had always been part of the society and had contributed to its development. Yet, the Taliban was, through repression and oppression, returning the country to the dark ages. In order for development to be possible, democratic values needed to be re-installed in Afghanistan. Another example was Kashmir, where the people were tired of the conflict, yet the violence continued in the name of religion as a result of a Pakistan-led terrorist Jihad on Kashmiri soil. Pakistan, a poor country, was using its land and resources to aggress its neighbour and was refusing to give its people their democratic rights. Who was to blame for these trends? It was clear that the developed countries needed to take a look at themselves and distract some of their attention away from fashion and sophisticated toys. If indeed the right to development was universal, there had to be an increase in democracy worldwide. International human rights activists could play a major role in this process.
M. BALTI, of the Tunisian Association for Self-Development and Solidarity, said the Association had worked for ten years to combat poverty and to assist the most disadvantaged, whose numbers had dropped considerably but still represented some 5 per cent of the Tunisian population. Numerous programmes, including micro-credit schemes, were underway. Despite progress internationally, it was clear that economic, social and cultural rights still did not receive the emphasis they deserved, although promotion of such rights also bolstered civil and political rights.
Poverty was apparent throughout the world and the Subcommission probably agreed that not enough developed countries had achieved the goal of 0.7 per cent of GDP for official development assistance. There was still not enough solidarity for fighting poverty. The proposed World Solidarity Fund to combat poverty was a valuable idea; the Association called on other NGOs to establish a world solidarity network to support such a fund and to promote economic progress and peace around the world. New information technology could be a great help for spurring development, yet instead these technologies were being used by some to spread hatred and disinformation; it was the Association's sincere hope that these practices could be stopped.
A. S. NARANG, of the Indian Council of Education, said that human beings were poised as worthy entities deserving respect, fair treatment and social justice. The very concept of human rights had become very complex, particularly since the process of globalization had began to take its course. Earlier, it had been felt that the effective implementation of human rights relied on making States accountable, transparent and service oriented.
These days, it was no longer enough to pay attention to the role of the State. It was vital to note that global rules were being developed in various areas related to human rights, environment and trade. However, they were being developed independently with a potential for conflict. There did not seem to exist any effective mechanism to enforce and monitor transnational corporations, particularly with regard to development. Transnational corporations had an immense impact on employment practices, environmental situations, corruption and in advocacy for policy changes. Existing codes of conduct were weak for two basic reasons. They rarely referred to internationally agreed human rights standards and they lacked mechanisms for the implementation and the external monitoring and audits. The organization urged the Subcommission, the Commission on Human Rights and other UN bodies to help in developing a purposeful code of conduct for transnational corporations and an effective mechanism for its implementation and monitoring.
ASBJORN EIDE, Subcommission Expert, said the Independent Expert on the right to development had presented a model starting with three rights: to food, to primary health care, and to primary education, combining international cooperation with the national obligations of States. It was a useful approach that made it possible to move away from the vague and general positions often taken in the discussion on the right to development to very practical matters. He strongly supported the view of Mr. Bengoa that current attention to the elimination of poverty must not be conducted as some kind of marginal relief to placate the conscience of those who were growing rich from globalization, but must be a deliberate effort to empower those who were poor. Among other things, States should consider a framework law, with benchmarks, to set national strategies for the right to food.
The study on globalization and human rights was admirable; it set out the problems well and now it was time to set out possible avenues of action. It was noted in the preliminary study, quite properly, that the UN was entirely on the sidelines in one major respect: it did not participate in dealing with international trade, investment and finance. It and other human-rights bodies must assert themselves more strongly in standard-setting approaches in this field. One task should be to deepen understanding of how the human-rights responsibilities of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization, could be implemented. Since these organizations were composed of States, they were undoubtedly bound by the UN Charter and by international human-rights instruments. One issue had to be examined: the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights which raised particular problems for economic, social and cultural rights.
The continuing study on globalization should go hand-in-hand with efforts to place human-rights responsibility on transnational corporations (TNCs), now under discussion by a Subcommission working group. The first step might be to develop principles which might not be legally binding but could serve as uniform standards applied to States in their regulation of TNCs. Time was short and he wished the Subcommission could revive its thoughts about a Social Forum, as there was a need for more time and more partners in tackling these challenges.
CONCHITA PONCINI, of the International Federation of University Women, speaking on behalf of several non-governmental organizations, said that the General Assembly's Special Session on Beijing plus 5 had confirmed in its conclusions that inequality, discrimination and exclusion on the basis of gender continued to grow. The progress in improving the status of women had been slow and uneven with persistent discrimination against women in the labour market, particularly the gender gap in wages and the unequal access to productive resources and capital. Socio-cultural factors continued to influence gender relations hindering women's economic empowerment and exacerbating the feminization of poverty. It was clear that in theory men and women had equal rights, however, it had proved difficult to put this into practice partly due to the lack of an appropriate division of labour.
Women were fundamentally entitled to have an equal role in decision-making at all levels and their involvement in the conceptual process was necessary in order to provide realistic, sustainable and visionary solutions in structural reforms. Solutions had to be found and addressed, notably in the immediate ratification and implementation of International Labour Organization conventions and other international conventions and principles against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability, immigration status, age or sexual orientation. The rights of women to education and life-long learning was a way to improve the status of women and to reach equality in economic, social and cultural rights. It was also important for the Subcommission to examine customary as well as formal law with regard to women's access to land.
AFRIDAL DARMI, of the Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation, said Indonesia's policy of economic growth, which was based on foreign investment and exploitation of natural resources, had failed to improve the welfare of its people. Investment projects such as factories, plantations and mines had not only destroyed natural resources but had caused human rights violations. The case of the United States multinational Freeport McMoran's gold and copper mining operations in the province of Papua was illustrative. The National Human Rights Commission determined in 1995 that clear violations had occurred in the Freeport project area, including indiscriminate killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and disappearances. To date, Indonesian military authorities had carried out an investigation of only one of the incidents, prosecuting the low-ranking military personnel and convicting them of violations of military procedure -- not for the murders for which they were responsible. No victims had received compensation.
The new Indonesian Government should immediately ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and should adopt transparent systems of decision-making that allowed sufficient public participation to ensure true representation of public interests in the pursuit of development.
DAVID WEISSBRODT, Subcommission Expert, informed the Subcommission that yesterday a bomb had exploded in the centre of Moscow during rush-hour, killing eight people and wounding eleven others. Mr. Weissbrodt extended his condolences to the victims and their families. No organization had as yet claimed responsibility. It was critical that the many efforts toward peace in Chechnya were not halted by this act of terrorism.
PHILIPPE LE BLANC, of Franciscans International, speaking on behalf of Dominicans for Justice and Peace, said racial and gender prejudices were among the greatest obstacles to development. Also, Governments often ignored the elimination of girls by various means, such as abortion and abandonment, and girls were often discriminated against in education, especially for religious and cultural reasons. The loss for humanity was immeasurable. The burden of foreign-debt payments on poor nations was a huge matter, forcing countries to reduce their expenditures on health and education and to cut employment. The behaviour of the countries of the G-7 in relation to reducing debt burdens was profoundly disappointing.
States should establish codes of conduct to protect their citizens from exploitation by transnational corporations (TNCs), and must work to develop an international and enforceable code of conduct to deal with TNCs. Franciscans International, Dominicans for Justice and Peace, and the Lutheran World Federation had held a seminar in Geneva on implementation of the right to development whose success had encouraged a more ambitious project of hosting a series of informal discussions on the topic over the next eight months.
UNISLAWA WSZOLEK, of Pax Romana, said that in the early 1990s the phenomenon of globalization was hailed by the international financial institutions as the way for the south to develop and industrialize. However, the more recent development experience had forced the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and the World Bank to demote structural adjustment programmes such as privatization, from the certain prescriptions for success to mere prerequisites for development. These stringent economic policies remained as harsh as ever, often posing serious challenges to the realization of human rights and in particular to drinking water and thus the right to life. International financial institutions had to acknowledge and respect human rights obligations and had to formulate development policies within the context of these rights. Economic development did not always run counter to human rights, such as the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Even though this had been a clear success, community based and local projects still constituted only a fraction of the World Bank's development programme. The organization proposed that the Subcommission evaluate the relationships between the international financial institutions and human rights, that the effect of privatization of drinking water be included in Mr. Guisse's final report and that a monitoring mechanism on human rights within international financial institutions be established.
MOHAMMAD AHSAN, of Interfaith International, said the ethnic Punjabi majority in Pakistan was denying economic, social and cultural rights to minorities, particularly the Mohajirs in the province of Sindh. Most affected were the urban centres of Sindh, especially Karachi. Karachi alone provided 65 per cent of federal revenues and about 31 per cent of Pakistan's GDP, but the army, establishment and bureaucracy of Punjab swallowed the largest portion, eating away at the assets of the minority provinces. Despite being the local majority in Sindh province, the Mohajirs had been denied their proper right to representation in legislative bodies according to their population ratio, and they were subject to many malevolent measures and punitive laws.
People in Pakistan were being divided and manipulated on ethnic and linguistic lines and were losing their hold on their economic, social and cultural rights, and their right to development. The Subcommission should consider the case of the Mohajirs of Sindh as a classic example of blatant violation of economic, social and cultural rights. It should persuade the Government of Pakistan to reverse its policy of discrimination and repression against the Mohajirs and Sindhi and to allow true democracy and pluralism in the country.
MILOON KOTHARI, of the Habitat International Coalition, speaking on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation and the International Commission of Jurists, said that in the current international environment, any human rights discussion which failed to take the context of economic globalization into account risked becoming entirely academic. The primacy of human rights law over all other regimes of international law was a basic and fundamental principle that could not be departed from. Currently, the assumptions that the policies of the World Trade Organization were based on were grossly unfair and even prejudiced. Those rules also reflected an agenda that served only to promote dominant corporatist interests which already monopolized the arena of international trade. The call by the Special Rapporteurs on this topic for the Subcommission to draft guidelines covering the various regimes and institutions related to trade, investment and finance was endorsed. Concern was raised regarding trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights agreements. The implementation of these agreements had resulted in the restriction of access to patented pharmaceuticals for citizens of developing countries, raising obvious implications for the enjoyment of the right to health.
The pirating of indigenous traditional knowledge and designs for commercial exploitation by others were contrary to human rights law in established jurisprudence. However the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights agreements did not explicitly protect the interests of indigenous and local communities. It was also important to deal with the larger ethical issues surrounding human genome mapping and patenting which carried heavy implications, particularly on the right to self-determination.
The Subcommission was urged to support this call to States for comments and to suggest to the Commission on Human Rights the formation of a working group in which further consideration of the draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights. The Subcommission was also urged to support the organization of an expert meeting on the draft protocol by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
SARDAR AMJAD YOUSAF, of the World Muslim Congress, said it was to be hoped that the upcoming working group on development would create conditions to effectively realize the right to development. One challenge was the foreign-debt burden; initiatives such as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) programme had been launched, and were timely and needed, but insufficient; HIPC only accounted for 10 per cent of total debts. The recently concluded Copenhagen Plus 5 summit had underscored the need for a durable solution to the debt burden, but it was deeply disturbing that an important developed country had dissociated itself from consensus on the relevant paragraph of the declaration.
Also important were efforts to eliminate poverty, to which the Subcommission and working group should pay great attention; and to encourage effective, sustained, and predictable international cooperation. Peace and security were vital -- in many parts of the world, such as Asia and Africa, a major barrier to development was the absence of peace and security. An example was the militarization of Jammu and Kashmir by the Hindu fundamentalist Government of India. It was critical for the Subcommission and the working group to agree on a positive strategy for realizing the right to development.
JOSE BENGOA, Subcommission Expert, raised the issue of the establishment of a Social Forum. It was necessary to examine and decide which avenue to take on this question. The future of the Subcommission was intimately linked with economic, social and cultural rights which favoured the establishment of the Social Forum, where States, organizations, experts and special rapporteurs could meet and conduct a dialogue. This would undoubtedly lead to positive effects. Mr. Bengoa asked his fellow colleagues to comment on his suggestions as this initiative was being prepared in a resolution.
V. K. GUPTA, of the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, said development required peace and freedom, yet those critical ingredients were very often denied the countries most needing them -- nations with tremendous promise and dedication were thwarted by factors outside their control, especially violence. The right to development required deeper understanding and greater attention from the Subcommission, especially when half the world's people lived on less than $ 2 per day and the gap between the rich and the poor had reached alarming proportions.
Tensions born of ideologies or territorial ambitions were increasingly limiting development, whether in Afghanistan, Africa, or Jammu and Kashmir. If anything was owed to future generations, it was not bomb craters and bullet holes but a society that had abandoned conflict based on religion, race, creed or political imperatives and instead had adopted the notion of the world being one truly integrated family working in harmony so that all its members had the just opportunity to participate in the fruits of development.
CELINE BRUN, of the Fondation Danielle Mitterand, said the debt crisis in the world had led to inequalities on an even larger scale. Education was standing still, and there were no funds to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic as all funds were used to service foreign debts. These foreign debts were unpayable. There was a set of plans in action to alleviate the debt-burdened developed countries as the living conditions of the highly indebted countries was worsening at an alarming rate. In fact, these highly indebted countries had already paid their dues. The negative cash-flow of these countries was no longer possible and even the creditor countries recognized that there was no money to service the debt. Indicators of development had dropped in the highly indebted countries which made it even more urgent to call for the immediate and total cancellation of debt in Africa. This would allow the investment in education, health care and social infrastructure. The Jubilee 2000 movement was a clear demonstration that it was time to act on this issue.
Unfortunately the G-8 meeting in Okinawa had not led to any concrete decisions. The HIPC initiatives had already proved inadequate in addressing social issues. The Subcommission was urged to support the total and immediate cancellation of foreign debts.
REENA MARWAH, of the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, said peace and security were necessary for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights -- individuals and groups had to feel assured that they would be able to fully exploit their potential and natural resources without any threat or hindrance. All societies were not equally endowed with resources and therefore developmental theory had always emphasized the need for mobility of resources and labour. But while most countries were keen to allow mobility of resources, there were increasing obstacles placed on the free movement of human beings. One saw the spectacle of nations built by the efforts of migrant workers and guest workers undergoing contortions to prevent a new immigrant wave.
There also were pressures in different States by majorities to eradicate the particular characteristics of minorities. Violence often resulted, and the resulting ghetto mentality among the minorities meant demands for exclusive homelands and the redrawing of borders. As the example of the former Yugoslavia showed, and to an extent East Timor as well, such a process was always accompanied by death and destruction and the loss of years of economic, social and cultural achievement. Development should not be made subservient to oppressive or regressive ideologies.
JULIET SAYEGH, of the World Movement of Mothers, said that the adverse effects on Iraq due to the embargo which had been imposed for ten years were disastrous. For how long and why was this continuing? The economy had been destroyed, the educational system was falling apart, and the health system was fragmenting, all because of an embargo which went against the spirit of the United Nations. In fact, the embargo undermined the credibility of the United Nations in the whole world. The Iraqi people was being denied the right to life, the right to food and the right to education. If a peaceful settlement was to be found in the region, the embargo had to be brought to a halt immediately. The Subcommission should support the struggle to halt the embargo and to give chance to the next generation of Iraqi children.
ANTONIO GONZALEZ, of the International Indian Treaty Council, said that since the World Trade Organization had been created in 1995, there had been an incremental increase in imposed development on indigenous lands which served the interests of transnational corporations (TNCs). In the United States, the Dineh peoples were being forcibly removed due to the interests of the Peabody Coal Company; the Shoshone nation in Nevada was suffering contamination of their land by the transnational mining industry; and the Gwich'in peoples of Alaska were being threatened by Alaskan politicians and the oil industry who wished to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
Also affected were the U'wa nation of Colombia, threatened by the oil industry, led by Occidental Petroleum; indigenous peoples in Nigeria, who opposed a gas pipeline sought by Chevron; and indigenous peoples in Papua New Guinea, where Esmeralda Exploration of Australia had contaminated an important water system -- the same company which had spilled cyanide into the Tisza and Danube Rivers in Romania and Hungary. A World Trade Organization agreement also allowed the private sector to patent and exploit the traditional medicinal and food plants of indigenous peoples. A Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues should be appointed.
MALIK OZDEN, of Centre-Europe Tiers Monde, said that if within the Subcommission one talked about human rights violations made by States, little had been done to date about the human rights violations carried out by transnational corporations. Unfortunately, the report on this topic contained some irregularities and bias. There was a noticeable partiality by one expert attempting to divert attention on the topic of a voluntary code of conduct and the expansion of the mandate to include firms. The mandate stated that it was the group's task to analyse human rights violations and to formulate recommendations and proposals. The negative activities of companies could very well be considered in this context as could the role of the United Nations as a protection mechanism. The NGO contributions were reflected in an unbalanced manner in the report, and it was hoped that amendments would be made in the final rendition. Perhaps the special rapporteurs could use the help of a brochure that had been compiled containing case studies of human rights violations committed by transnational corporations.
CARLOS AMAT FORES (Cuba) said there was a deplorable lack of progress in the fulfilment of the mandate of the intergovernmental working group on the right to development. Certain Governments lacked the political will to meet the needs of portions of their populations which were disadvantaged; infrastructure was often lacking; there were unacceptably wide gaps in wealth; there was confused decision-making on economic, social and cultural rights; there was the damage coming from structural adjustment policies imposed from outside and the damage caused by high debt loads; there were uneven trade balances between rich and poor countries; and there was the decline in official development assistance and the application of conditions to such aid that hindered the right of recipient countries to use the money as they thought best.
There were numerous obstacles to the transfer of technology; there was "brain theft" from underdeveloped countries; there were unilateral measures which violated the UN Charter and the basic human rights of entire peoples. Meanwhile the developed countries wasted billions of dollars on such things as cosmetics, pet food, and military budgets. If only some of that was channelled to helping development in poorer nations, great suffering could be alleviated. Much more had to be done for debt relief. The whole problem could be solved with greater political will.
MOHAMED AL DHOURI (Iraq) said that only three days ago, the Iraqi people had been forced to relive their suffering as the tenth anniversary of the sanctions against Iraq passed by. Previously, the Iraqi people had enjoyed good living conditions, high compared to others in the region. One and a half million Iraqi citizens had been lost as a result of shortages in food and the proliferation of disease. The embargo was an act of war against the people of Iraq, its environment, resources and industry. The people of Iraq were deprived of the most basic social and economic rights. The oil-for-Food programme was a sham; now in its fifth year, the programme had failed to carry out what it was intended to do. The situation had even forced three high-level United Nations officials to resign in protest. Iraq had gone from receiving $ 25 billion for its oil to $ 7.6 billion. That meant $ 250 for every Iraqi in four years. Many things were needed for the industrial, agricultural and the social sector. This embargo had resulted in a violation of all economic, social and cultural rights. Iraq called upon the Subcommission to continue to give the embargo particular attention and to act on a resolution on this issue.
NAJAT AL-HAJJAJI (the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) said the Subcommission's decision to carry out a study on drinking water and sanitation services was commendable. Water was vital for social security and economic productivity. The history of Libya was one of a war against thirst, for Libya was a desert nation. The vast south of the country received little rain, and there were no permanent sources of water. Desertification and successive droughts had led the country to depend on underground water. Aquifer levels had fallen and were being polluted by sea water. New aquifiers had been discovered, however, and the country had started one of the greatest engineering projects in history -- a great, underground manmade river that would move the water to the country's population centres. A network of reinforced, underground, 4-metre-in-diameter pipes was being built. The project was immense.
The catastrophe of drought affected all of the Arab world. Only rainwater was the lot of some, while rivers which flowed through Arab countries originated in other countries which could use them as a weapon against Arabs. The "great river" of Libya was a good solution to at least some of these problems and it could not be threatened by outside forces.
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