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28 March 2000
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Commission on Human Rights
56th session
28 March 2000
Evening
The Commission on Human Rights took up this evening its agenda item on 'the question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world', annually one of its most contentious topics of discussion.
Jiri Dienstbier of the Czech Republic, the Commission's Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), cited progress in Croatia and said there was hope the country would be able to meet the obligations of UN treaties on human rights in the not very distant future -- and, if current developments continued, hope that not later than next year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Croatia could be changed into one of broad cooperation in educational human-rights programmes and other assistance for representatives of State institutions, journalists and NGOs. One year after the start of the bombing campaign related to the Kosovo conflict, Mr. Dienstbier said, it was clear that the bombing had solved no human problem, had multiplied existing ones, and had created new ones. To change the situation, it was necessary to answer clearly the question of the status of Kosovo, he said.
Maurice Copithorne of Canada, Special Representative on the human-rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, said there had been progress in the country, especially in the holding of elections, but it was necessary for the Government to consolidate freedom of expression, tackle systematic discrimination against women, pursue the rights of citizenship for all ethnic and religious minorities, and address significant problems with the legal system.
Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) spoke from the floor, charging variously that human-rights abuses were occurring in South Korea, the United States, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Saudi Arabia, Chechnya, and China, including Tibet.
Earlier in the evening session, which ended shortly before 9, the Commission completed debate on the question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine.
Speaking over the course of the meeting were representatives of Algeria, Iran, Egypt, Mauritania, Yemen, League of Arab States, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Jordan, and Croatia.
The following non-governmental organizations (NGOs) delivered statements: Amnesty International; in a joint statement, Arab Lawyers Union, Arab Organization for Human Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, International Federation of Human Rights, North-South XXI and World Federation of Democratic Youth; International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racism; Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization; International Association of Jurists; Defense of Children International; International Association against Torture; International Association for Religious Freedom; and Human Rights Watch.
The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 29 March, to continue debate on the question of the violation of human rights in any part of the world.
Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world
Under this agenda item, the Commission has before it a report by the Special Representative on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (E/CN.4/2000/35), which considers freedom of expression, the status of women, the status of minorities, legal subjects, civil society, and disappearances and suspicious deaths. The report terms Iran a society in significant political turmoil; the pace of reform is called uneven and in some areas there seems to be scant recognition of its pressing needs. This need is particularly noted in the area of free expression. Significant progress is under way with regard to the status of women, according to the report, which also says there is insufficient political will to push reform in the field of the status of minorities, ethnic and religious. The legal system needs urgent reform, the document contends, while noting that the Government is clearly aware of human rights issues; a major problem, however, is lack of adequate machinery to address such difficulties, which has resulted in growing public frustration.
There is also a report by the Special Rapporteur on the human-rights situation in Bosnia Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (E/CN.4/2000/39). The report concludes, among other things, that another year has passed with no significant progress in the human-rights situation and the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Concerning Croatia, the report expresses concern, among other things, over the low number of returnees and unreasonable delays in war-crimes prosecutions, as well as a lack of transparency in new indictments. As for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the report expresses, among other things, serious concern about increasing incidents of violations of freedom of expression throughout the country and expresses grave reservations about the conduct of many criminal proceedings under way, with serious implications for human rights.
Statements
MOHAMED HASSAINE (Algeria) said the question of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, had been the source for major concern not only to the countries of the region but also to the all those who hoped for the establishment of peace in that part of the world. The report of the Special Rapporteur had made clear the persistent Israeli practices which had been condemned by the Commission.
The Israeli authorities, who did not collaborate with the Rapporteur, continued to deny the right of return of Palestinian refugees. The displacement of the Palestinian population and the construction of new settlements were yet other violations of human rights with disastrous consequences. The aim of such displacement was to modify the demographic composition of the territory.
ALI KHORRAM (Iran) said a wide range of illegal and inhuman Israeli practices such as the expansion of Jewish settlements, demolition and destruction of Palestinian and other Arabs' homes, arbitrary detention, restriction of movement, closures and torture of detainees, continuation of the policy of evacuation of Arab Palestinian citizens, desecration of Islamic holy places and economic and social exclusion of Palestinians and other Arabs had been consistently condemned in numerous reports of the UN and other relevant international organizations. These violations represented the continued occupation of the Palestinians' territory and had caused the deterioration of their economic and social conditions.
The international community must enhance its efforts to put an end to the Israeli occupation and to bring restoration of all the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of all Palestinian refugees and displaced persons to return to their homeland, the full and free exercise of the right to self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state throughout occupied Palestine.
MOHAMED MOUNIR (Egypt) said the policy of colonialization in the occupied Arab territories was one of the most serious threats to human rights and the right to self-determination -- it involved destruction of the material basis from which a Palestinian State would be formed: structures and land. And that did not take into account the trauma and psychological damage that was caused by such unacceptable activities. Israel's flagrant violations of human rights and international law showed a pattern of expansion and repetition which was heightening concerns and international tension. Sanctions, torture, inhumane treatment, arbitrary detention and confiscation of land were some of the offenses committed.
Until the crisis in the Middle East was ended, the international community could not ignore the violations that continued to occur. It was unacceptable for Israel to continue to declare it was working for peace and was dedicated to the peace process while it was violating human rights; the violations had to stop immediately. Egypt continued to work to that end and towards a just peace for all the peoples of the Middle East region.
MOHAMEDOU OULD TIJANI (Mauritania) said only tangible progress in the Middle East featuring improvements on the ground would lead to lasting peace and would guarantee that Palestinians would finally attain their human rights, including the right to self-determination. Meanwhile the role of the Commission remained important, as human rights were critical to the situation in the Middle East. Conditions for peace and security had clearly been defined in 1991 when the current Middle East peace process began in Madrid.
It was time for the conditions of the peace-process agreement signed in Madrid to be honoured so that withdrawals of Israeli forces could be fully carried out and the Palestinians returned all the territory they were entitled to. It was necessary to act in terms of transforming the peace accords into practical steps and applying those steps.
MOHAMED AL-ATTAR (Yemen) said Israeli violations of human rights in the occupied territories were ongoing, as was the stubbornness of Israel, which was responsible for the deadlock in the peace process in the Middle East. There had been a lot of talk of peace in the Middle East, but the failure to achieve peace in the region was attributable to the fact that Israel was not meeting its commitments. This policy of procrastination by Israel was aimed at enabling it to continue its expansionist policy.
Israel continued to occupy the Golan, Southern Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, in flagrant violation of international law. Violations of human rights by Israel included, inter alia, racial discrimination, genocide, continued occupation of East Jerusalem and the cutting off and isolating of Palestinian villages and cities. A just and global peace could be achieved only with the withdrawal of Israel from all Arab territories and the fulfilment of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their own independent State with Jerusalem as its capital.
SAAD ALFARAGI, of the League of Arab States, said the situation in the occupied Palestine, including Jerusalem, had continued to deteriorate as witnessed by the report of the Special Rapporteur and other relevant United Nations bodies. Israel should refrain from its inhumane practices against the Palestinian people. The acts of torture, arbitrary detention, demolition of houses and other ill-treatment had continued by the occupying authorities.
Israel should be condemned by the Commission. In order that the human rights violations stopped in the region, Israel had to withdraw from the Arab territories it had occupied, including Palestine.
SAEAD ALFUANA (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) said the Special Rapporteur's report had been comprehensive and factual. The Israeli occupying authorities continued to carry out confiscation of land for military and industrial purposes based on the needs of the Jewish population of the region; on what part of this land, then, could Palestinians' exercise their right to self-determination? There were well over a hundred Israeli colonies; bypass roads had been constructed to them; over 15,000 people had been put in the street because their homes had been destroyed; the nature of much Palestinian land had been changed, and it appeared that Israel was taking water resources and was being discriminatory in terms of how much water Israelis got compared to Palestinians.
Israel, by these acts, put itself outside international law. What could be done to get the Israelis to respect it? Palestinians suffered both from international pressure and the pressure of the occupiers. The United Nations should exclude Israel, since it was violating articles 6 and 7 of the United Nations Charter. It should be punished, economically and militarily. If sanctions were applied to Libya and Iraq, why couldn't they be applied to Israel? Why was there a double standard?
SHEHAB MADI (Jordan) said it had done its utmost to bring about peace in the Middle East and to put an end to the climate of insecurity and violence from which the region had suffered for so long. Jordan believed that support for the peace process was essential and appealed for opportunities for negotiations based on the principle of 'land for peace' to be seized.
Jordan expressed its concern at the continued Israeli settlement policy and Israel's use of delaying tactics in the implementation of the peace agreements. It called for an end to the policy of confiscating land and constructing settlements, as well as the practice of collective punishment, killing, arbitrary detention, torture and the destruction of houses. Mutual respect and recognition of the rights of Palestinians were vital for the well-being of Israelis themselves, and the Palestinians. Israel was urged to apply UN instruments and collaborate with the international community in efforts to secure the realization of rights of the Palestinian people.
HELEN DESA, of Amnesty International, said Amnesty International welcomed the Israeli High Court ruling that some interrogation methods used by the General Security Service (GSS) were unlawful. The Committee against Torture also had concluded that such methods constituted torture. Such tactics had been used as violent shaking, chaining of detainees to low sloping chairs in contorted positions for extended periods and forcing them to listen to loud music; forcing detainees to crouch for extended periods; excessive tightening of handcuffs; and sleep deprivation. After the High Court decision the GSS had ceased systematic use of these interrogation techniques against Palestinians, although cases of torture or ill-treatment continued to be reported. But Amnesty International remained concerned that the ruling permitted GSS interrogators to use improper methods, claiming they were justified by necessity.
A bill introduced into the Knesset to allow the GSS to use 'special methods' described as 'physical force on his body' could be interpreted to allow the use of torture. If the legislation were to pass, Israel would be in violation of the Convention against Torture. In occupied south Lebanon, torture of Lebanese nationals continued to be widespread, and Israel, as the occupying power, was responsible and could not claim that the South Lebanon Army was exclusively responsible for the detention facility where such torture occurred. Israel should immediately end the use of torture in all areas under its jurisdiction the Government should oppose the bill on 'special methods' now before the Knesset.
RAJI SOURANI, delivering a joint statement on behalf of Arab Lawyers Union, Arab Organization for Human Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, International Federation of Human Rights, North-South XXI and World Federation of Democratic Youth, said the illegality of Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories had been repeatedly affirmed by the General Assembly in a series of resolutions. If anything, the rate of Israeli settlement activities had increased under the Barak administration. The notable increase in the Gaza Strip, which was not considered a strategic area from the Israeli point of view, suggested an even more dangerous escalation of settlement activity in the West Bank, including Jerusalem.
This escalation had taken place simultaneously with an Israeli campaign to mislead international public opinion; furthermore, there had been approval last October of a proposal to establish 2,600 new housing units in West Bank settlements; and population figures did not accurately reflect the scale of land expropriation. A network of bypass roads crisscrossed the West Bank, reducing Palestinian control to isolated bantustans and depriving Palestinians of anything remotely resembling freedom of movement, and while the area of land actually inhabited by settlers there was estimated at around 78,786 dunams, the Settlers Council estimated that the area under 'settlement jurisdiction' amounted to a million dunams. The international community must refuse to recognize these illegal annexations and settlements; States must ensure that neither they nor their citizens were guilty of supporting these illegal activities; and pressure must be applied to Israel to end these practices. Action also was needed to restore Palestinians' freedom of movement, end Israeli closure of territories, ensure the application of international standards in the treatment of Palestinian detainees, and end torture of detainees, which reliable reports indicated was continuing despite an Israeli High Court decision outlawing such interrogation practices.
HANAN SHARFELDDIN, of the Organization for the Elimination of all Forms of Racism, said it was frequently reiterated that Palestinians were a people without a land. This conveyed the racist mentality of the Israeli leadership as they disputed the Palestinian right to their own leadership. Jewish tenets had been placed above international law. This mentality had resulted in 4 million refugees. This up-for-grabs ideology was a crime against humanity.
Even a few weeks ago Shimon Peres in an international conference had had the arrogance to refer to Israel as the focal point of light. Lebanese resistance was legitimate and in accordance with international law. The organization believed that many Jews did not agree with these racist trends and were aware of their repercussions on world peace. Israel was the only country that had been supplied with nuclear weapons by the leader of the 'New Order', the US. The organization called upon NGOs to abide by their duty and act against this threat to world peace. Just as the international community had rejected Nazism, it should reject this new racism. Humanity had a duty to allow the Palestinians to live with dignity in harmony and peace. This was not an impossible goal.
E. A. VIDYASEKERA, of Afro-Asian Solidarity Organization, said the human-rights situation in Palestine, rather than improving, was deteriorating. In addition, Israel continued to bomb and destroy Lebanon. Many utility facilities such as power installations had been destroyed, affecting civilians. This was nothing but State terrorism in its most naked form.
The Palestinian refugee question was a very serious one. Israel was preventing the return of refugees, which was against both the Madrid and Oslo agreements and also all the UN resolutions which Israel had never honoured. There was a great need for the Commission on Human Rights to pay attention to these violations and to pressure the Israeli Government to implement these resolutions.
NATHALIE PROUVEZ , of the International Commission of Jurists, said an ICJ mission had visited the occupied territories. The closure of the occupied territories and the restriction of movement had turned Gaza into a virtual prison. Expansion of Israeli settlements had increased as the Special Rapporteur noted and was an obstacle to a meaningful peace in the region. The ICJ had visited refugee camps. It was noted that despite the international community's attempts to help and provide aid, the living conditions were appalling. The question of Palestinian refugees had to be given high priority.
The Israeli Court of Justice decision to limit interrogations to a moderate use of force was welcomed. However, concern was raised as to the use of physical pressure at all. The organization was disappointed by the way justice was administered in the Palestinian Authority areas. There was a lack of the right to defence, no proper appeals were carried out and death sentences were swiftly executed. Numerous persons were jailed without charges. They should be given fair trials or be released. Part of the problem with the Palestinian Authority lay in a lack of knowledge and experience, which was a result of the occupation.
GEORGE ABU AL-ZULOF, of Defence of Children International, said that despite political breakthroughs reported by the international media, the rights of Palestinian children continued to be violated on a daily basis by the Israeli occupation authorities. In 1999, the Israeli military once again began implementing a military order which allowed for the arrest of Palestinian children from 12 to 14 years of age. Furthermore, the arrests of children had been characterized by group arrests, targeting groups of children in particular locations. Palestinian children were also routinely abused during interrogations, including beating, humiliation, sleep and food deprivation, threats, solitary confinement and position abuse.
The effects of such abuse were vast, including difficulty re-entering the educational system, unemployment, and psycho-social disorders, primarily Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders. Children were also most frequently the victims of landmines planted by the Israeli army. If peaceful co-existence was ever to exist between Palestinians and Israelis, then the environment of terror which affected Palestinian children's lives had to be abolished through promoting and respecting the Rights of the Child.
GIORGIO GIACOMELLI, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, responding to the debate, said it was absurd that the report had been called political; nothing had been further from his intention. The report had been criticized as 'unbalanced', and he admitted it was; the problem could be corrected by allowing the Rapporteur to use all possible sources of information. Israel had been kind enough to address him directly; he remembered the respectful meeting he had had with a representative of Israel; later there had been a long phone conversation; he could not but regret if there was any misunderstanding.
As for his accepting his mandate, he supposed that if one accepted one's role as a Rapporteur one should accept the mandate, especially during one's first year of work. He was quite aware of the new situation and the dynamic on the ground, and he certainly was aware that the Commission could decide to adjust the mandate if it wished. He thought that the mandate of the Rapporteur, or at least this Rapporteur, should not be open-ended. It was a matter of contributing implicitly to the process towards peace. Nothing was further from his intentions than that his report should become an obstacle to the peace process. He hoped that by September, when final status negotiations were scheduled to be completed, all of this would become irrelevant.
MAURICE COPITHORNE, Special Representative on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, introducing his report (E/CN.4/2000/35) to the Commission, said the election for the Sixth Majirlis in February passed off as planned and with a very high voter turnout. This was the third election in three years in which there had been broad public participation and clear results. The procedural limitations that were still hampering the full exercise of democracy appeared to be declining progressively. Defects remained however, most notably the vetting of candidates. The confrontation was also continuing between the advocates of change, led by the President and his ministers, and apparently widely supported in society, and those elites who were resisting change. Unfortunately, individual Iranians were paying the price, sometimes a very heavy one.
The Special Rapporteur enumerated a number of areas to which he attached priority, including consolidating freedom of expression, tackling systematic discrimination against women, pursuing the rights of citizenship for all ethnic and religious minorities, and addressing the significant problems of the legal system. With regard to the latter, there was significant concern that official enquiries into several of the politically charged violent incidents over the previous 18 months appeared to be making slow progress.
The Special Rapporteur concluded by saying that change in some areas was certainly now evident and the situation in the country was most likely to improve significantly, possibly dramatically over the next year.
ROGER WAREHAM, of the World Association Against Torture, said South Korea should be condemned for continuing human-rights violations of its citizens through the implementation of the National Security and the Social Surveillance Laws. These were Cold War relics punishing anyone who advocated contact with the North. Promises of reform were not enough; these practices had to be abolished.
In the United States, the history of racism, slavery and genocide remained a part of current practices. The Association referred to the suffering of James Byrd Jr., Tyesha Miller, Nathaniel Abraham, and currently Elian Gonzalez to prove the inherent racism within American society. Police brutality and institutional racism were the most evident but not the only clear examples of racism in the United States. The prison population of the United States was 2 million and more than 50 per cent of those incarcerated were black. In the interests of transparency and a single standard of human rights, the Association requested the Commission to appoint a Special Rapporteur to address the pattern of continuing human-rights violations in the United States.
JIRI DIENSTBIER, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), introducing his report (E/CN.4/2000/39), said field officers of international agencies were working in difficult conditions and coping with difficult administrative problems, low pay, insecure contracts, and other challenges. One very disturbing failure was that before the bombing of Kosovo started, all international organizations, Governments, and NGOs recalled their personnel from Kosovo, leaving the people who were to be protected by them at the mercy of the gangsters and killers. It was totally irresponsible that most of the local staff of the international organizations were abandoned on the spot and some of them were among the targeted victims of the paramilitary forces. It was a shame that should never be repeated.
There was nothing much new about Bosnia and Herzegovina. Problems of return and those of the returnees remained mostly the same; some not very significant changes had been recorded as a result of pressure from international institutions. The situation of the media was somewhat better than in the FRY but not at all satisfactory.
New chances for progress came now from developments in Croatia. Among other things, the municipal elections on April 8 would decide if more democratic representatives would replace the old nationalist politicians, who were connected with the division of communities, and if more space for human rights would be opened. The change in Croatia was deeper than even the winners of the Parliamentary elections had expected. Three-quarters of the voters had rejected the former extreme nationalistic and authoritarian policies, and in the presidential elections, only the candidates representing basic change succeeded in getting to the second round. It would be too early to demand and expect dramatic results of this change, but its promise should be welcomed. There was hope that Croatia would be able to meet the obligations of UN treaties on human rights in the not very distant future, and if current developments continued, hope that not later than next year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Croatia could be changed into broad cooperation in educational human-rights programmes and other assistance for representatives of State institutions, journalists and NGOs.
One year after the start of the bombing campaign related to the Kosovo conflict, it was clear that it had solved no human problem, had multiplied existing ones, and had created new ones. To change the situation, it was necessary to answer clearly the question of the status of Kosovo. To proclaim clearly that Kosovo would remain part of Serbia and Yugoslavia would mean armed conflict, at least with the radical factions of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the criminal structures which used the situation to steal from the properties and businesses of many. His view was that the only possible way out of the blind alley of the UN and NATO in Kosovo was to implement Security Council resolution 1244 no matter how much it cost in money, human resources, and -- if need be -- to fight decisively against those who would use arms against the international presence there. This would help those Albanians -- and he had met many of them -- who supported a normal life, democracy, and civil society, but were now under pressure from armed extremists.
SPOMENKA CEK (Croatia) said it welcomed the Special Rapporteur's assessment that Croatia was on the road to becoming a stabilizing factor in the region, and that full support and assistance should be given in its moves towards democracy and the implementation of human rights. Croatia reiterated it was adamant in fulfilling its internal and international obligations in the field of human rights, and had complemented this by taking concrete steps to adopt and implement human-rights reforms on the recommendation of the international community.
In this vein, the Government of Croatia had initiated a campaign to abolish a number of discriminatory provisions in laws dealing with property and minority rights and the media. Moreover, the Government of Croatia had, in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), submitted a project to the Working Table One of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe which envisaged the return and repatriation of 16,500 Croatian Serbs from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Croatia believed it was time for the Commission to reconsider its position and not automatically renew Croatia under agenda item 9, which applied to situations which revealed a consistent pattern of gross human-rights violations, which was certainly not the case in Croatia.
SOPHIE MARSAC, of Amnesty International, said the situation in Sierra Leone was unacceptable. The July 1999 peace agreement had inspired hope but since the signing there had been widespread torture and kidnapping of civilians. All States were responsible for bringing the human-rights offenders to justice without giving any amnesty to them. International humanitarian law had to be adhered to. The organization regretted that there had not been sufficient international support for the civilians of Sierra Leone. No committee to investigate the human-rights violations in Sierra Leone had been established as yet. The authors of the human-rights violations since July 1999 should be brought to justice. It was recommended that a committee be set up to investigate human-rights violations not only since July '99 but since the beginning of the conflict.
In Kosovo there were massive violations of human rights, despite efforts to protect civilians. An effective and independent judiciary had to be established. The police had insufficient power to protect the people. Countries were ignoring the situation of those who had fled the conflict. The region and the safety of the people had to be secured through a strong civil police capable of preventing human-rights violations, and though an independent judiciary. Protection had to be secured for those who had been conscientious objectors during the conflict.
GIANFRANCO ROSSI, of International Association for Religious Freedom, drew attention to the situation in Saudi Arabia, where he said systematic and flagrant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms were carried out. In that country of absolute monarchy, civil and political rights were gravely violated. There were no political parties, no trade unions, and the rights to association and freedom of opinion were non-existent.
Freedom of conscience and religion was also suppressed. Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world where the exercise of any other religion except Islam was formally prohibited. Among the 6 million migrant workers, there were many who were not Muslim and who wanted to practice their religions, but if they did so, they were detained, imprisoned or expelled from the country.
CASSANDRA CAVANAUGH, of Human Rights Watch, said the armed conflict in Chechnya had taken a disastrous toll on civilians. Thousands had been killed and hundreds of thousands had been forced to flee their homes and live in squalid conditions. A Human Rights Watch team in Ingushetia since November had documented abuses by both parties to the conflict. The most serious violations had been three massacres of Chechen civilians by Russian forces. Yet Russian prosecutors had closed the investigation of two of these, concluding that Russian forces had committed no crimes. These closures reflected the overall atmosphere of impunity in Chechnya which allowed Russian forces to loot with abandon, extort civilians for bribes, and torture detainees in custody. The Commission was urged to condemn abuses in Chechnya and to mandate a sustained and through investigation by a team of UN investigators.
The situation in China and Tibet continued to deteriorate, with increasing restraints of freedom of association, assembly, expression and religion. Freedom of religion had been a particular casualty. The most prominent target was the Falun Gong. In Tibet and Xinjiang, the crackdown on so-called splittists had intensified. In Tibet, monks and nuns who refused the Government's demands to renounce the Dalai Lama or to accept Government-chosen religious leaders had been expelled from their monasteries, arrested and sentenced. Some had died in prison. The Commission was urged to censure China and to call on its Government to take immediate positive steps to end these abuses. Alarm was also expressed at the ongoing abuses by rebel groups in Sierra Leone; the Commission was urged to call for the full deployment of UNAMSIL throughout the country and for it to report promptly and publicly on abuses against civilians.
*****
56th session
28 March 2000
Evening
The Commission on Human Rights took up this evening its agenda item on 'the question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world', annually one of its most contentious topics of discussion.
Jiri Dienstbier of the Czech Republic, the Commission's Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), cited progress in Croatia and said there was hope the country would be able to meet the obligations of UN treaties on human rights in the not very distant future -- and, if current developments continued, hope that not later than next year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Croatia could be changed into one of broad cooperation in educational human-rights programmes and other assistance for representatives of State institutions, journalists and NGOs. One year after the start of the bombing campaign related to the Kosovo conflict, Mr. Dienstbier said, it was clear that the bombing had solved no human problem, had multiplied existing ones, and had created new ones. To change the situation, it was necessary to answer clearly the question of the status of Kosovo, he said.
Maurice Copithorne of Canada, Special Representative on the human-rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, said there had been progress in the country, especially in the holding of elections, but it was necessary for the Government to consolidate freedom of expression, tackle systematic discrimination against women, pursue the rights of citizenship for all ethnic and religious minorities, and address significant problems with the legal system.
Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) spoke from the floor, charging variously that human-rights abuses were occurring in South Korea, the United States, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Saudi Arabia, Chechnya, and China, including Tibet.
Earlier in the evening session, which ended shortly before 9, the Commission completed debate on the question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine.
Speaking over the course of the meeting were representatives of Algeria, Iran, Egypt, Mauritania, Yemen, League of Arab States, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Jordan, and Croatia.
The following non-governmental organizations (NGOs) delivered statements: Amnesty International; in a joint statement, Arab Lawyers Union, Arab Organization for Human Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, International Federation of Human Rights, North-South XXI and World Federation of Democratic Youth; International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racism; Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization; International Association of Jurists; Defense of Children International; International Association against Torture; International Association for Religious Freedom; and Human Rights Watch.
The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 29 March, to continue debate on the question of the violation of human rights in any part of the world.
Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world
Under this agenda item, the Commission has before it a report by the Special Representative on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (E/CN.4/2000/35), which considers freedom of expression, the status of women, the status of minorities, legal subjects, civil society, and disappearances and suspicious deaths. The report terms Iran a society in significant political turmoil; the pace of reform is called uneven and in some areas there seems to be scant recognition of its pressing needs. This need is particularly noted in the area of free expression. Significant progress is under way with regard to the status of women, according to the report, which also says there is insufficient political will to push reform in the field of the status of minorities, ethnic and religious. The legal system needs urgent reform, the document contends, while noting that the Government is clearly aware of human rights issues; a major problem, however, is lack of adequate machinery to address such difficulties, which has resulted in growing public frustration.
There is also a report by the Special Rapporteur on the human-rights situation in Bosnia Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (E/CN.4/2000/39). The report concludes, among other things, that another year has passed with no significant progress in the human-rights situation and the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Concerning Croatia, the report expresses concern, among other things, over the low number of returnees and unreasonable delays in war-crimes prosecutions, as well as a lack of transparency in new indictments. As for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the report expresses, among other things, serious concern about increasing incidents of violations of freedom of expression throughout the country and expresses grave reservations about the conduct of many criminal proceedings under way, with serious implications for human rights.
Statements
MOHAMED HASSAINE (Algeria) said the question of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, had been the source for major concern not only to the countries of the region but also to the all those who hoped for the establishment of peace in that part of the world. The report of the Special Rapporteur had made clear the persistent Israeli practices which had been condemned by the Commission.
The Israeli authorities, who did not collaborate with the Rapporteur, continued to deny the right of return of Palestinian refugees. The displacement of the Palestinian population and the construction of new settlements were yet other violations of human rights with disastrous consequences. The aim of such displacement was to modify the demographic composition of the territory.
ALI KHORRAM (Iran) said a wide range of illegal and inhuman Israeli practices such as the expansion of Jewish settlements, demolition and destruction of Palestinian and other Arabs' homes, arbitrary detention, restriction of movement, closures and torture of detainees, continuation of the policy of evacuation of Arab Palestinian citizens, desecration of Islamic holy places and economic and social exclusion of Palestinians and other Arabs had been consistently condemned in numerous reports of the UN and other relevant international organizations. These violations represented the continued occupation of the Palestinians' territory and had caused the deterioration of their economic and social conditions.
The international community must enhance its efforts to put an end to the Israeli occupation and to bring restoration of all the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of all Palestinian refugees and displaced persons to return to their homeland, the full and free exercise of the right to self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state throughout occupied Palestine.
MOHAMED MOUNIR (Egypt) said the policy of colonialization in the occupied Arab territories was one of the most serious threats to human rights and the right to self-determination -- it involved destruction of the material basis from which a Palestinian State would be formed: structures and land. And that did not take into account the trauma and psychological damage that was caused by such unacceptable activities. Israel's flagrant violations of human rights and international law showed a pattern of expansion and repetition which was heightening concerns and international tension. Sanctions, torture, inhumane treatment, arbitrary detention and confiscation of land were some of the offenses committed.
Until the crisis in the Middle East was ended, the international community could not ignore the violations that continued to occur. It was unacceptable for Israel to continue to declare it was working for peace and was dedicated to the peace process while it was violating human rights; the violations had to stop immediately. Egypt continued to work to that end and towards a just peace for all the peoples of the Middle East region.
MOHAMEDOU OULD TIJANI (Mauritania) said only tangible progress in the Middle East featuring improvements on the ground would lead to lasting peace and would guarantee that Palestinians would finally attain their human rights, including the right to self-determination. Meanwhile the role of the Commission remained important, as human rights were critical to the situation in the Middle East. Conditions for peace and security had clearly been defined in 1991 when the current Middle East peace process began in Madrid.
It was time for the conditions of the peace-process agreement signed in Madrid to be honoured so that withdrawals of Israeli forces could be fully carried out and the Palestinians returned all the territory they were entitled to. It was necessary to act in terms of transforming the peace accords into practical steps and applying those steps.
MOHAMED AL-ATTAR (Yemen) said Israeli violations of human rights in the occupied territories were ongoing, as was the stubbornness of Israel, which was responsible for the deadlock in the peace process in the Middle East. There had been a lot of talk of peace in the Middle East, but the failure to achieve peace in the region was attributable to the fact that Israel was not meeting its commitments. This policy of procrastination by Israel was aimed at enabling it to continue its expansionist policy.
Israel continued to occupy the Golan, Southern Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, in flagrant violation of international law. Violations of human rights by Israel included, inter alia, racial discrimination, genocide, continued occupation of East Jerusalem and the cutting off and isolating of Palestinian villages and cities. A just and global peace could be achieved only with the withdrawal of Israel from all Arab territories and the fulfilment of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their own independent State with Jerusalem as its capital.
SAAD ALFARAGI, of the League of Arab States, said the situation in the occupied Palestine, including Jerusalem, had continued to deteriorate as witnessed by the report of the Special Rapporteur and other relevant United Nations bodies. Israel should refrain from its inhumane practices against the Palestinian people. The acts of torture, arbitrary detention, demolition of houses and other ill-treatment had continued by the occupying authorities.
Israel should be condemned by the Commission. In order that the human rights violations stopped in the region, Israel had to withdraw from the Arab territories it had occupied, including Palestine.
SAEAD ALFUANA (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) said the Special Rapporteur's report had been comprehensive and factual. The Israeli occupying authorities continued to carry out confiscation of land for military and industrial purposes based on the needs of the Jewish population of the region; on what part of this land, then, could Palestinians' exercise their right to self-determination? There were well over a hundred Israeli colonies; bypass roads had been constructed to them; over 15,000 people had been put in the street because their homes had been destroyed; the nature of much Palestinian land had been changed, and it appeared that Israel was taking water resources and was being discriminatory in terms of how much water Israelis got compared to Palestinians.
Israel, by these acts, put itself outside international law. What could be done to get the Israelis to respect it? Palestinians suffered both from international pressure and the pressure of the occupiers. The United Nations should exclude Israel, since it was violating articles 6 and 7 of the United Nations Charter. It should be punished, economically and militarily. If sanctions were applied to Libya and Iraq, why couldn't they be applied to Israel? Why was there a double standard?
SHEHAB MADI (Jordan) said it had done its utmost to bring about peace in the Middle East and to put an end to the climate of insecurity and violence from which the region had suffered for so long. Jordan believed that support for the peace process was essential and appealed for opportunities for negotiations based on the principle of 'land for peace' to be seized.
Jordan expressed its concern at the continued Israeli settlement policy and Israel's use of delaying tactics in the implementation of the peace agreements. It called for an end to the policy of confiscating land and constructing settlements, as well as the practice of collective punishment, killing, arbitrary detention, torture and the destruction of houses. Mutual respect and recognition of the rights of Palestinians were vital for the well-being of Israelis themselves, and the Palestinians. Israel was urged to apply UN instruments and collaborate with the international community in efforts to secure the realization of rights of the Palestinian people.
HELEN DESA, of Amnesty International, said Amnesty International welcomed the Israeli High Court ruling that some interrogation methods used by the General Security Service (GSS) were unlawful. The Committee against Torture also had concluded that such methods constituted torture. Such tactics had been used as violent shaking, chaining of detainees to low sloping chairs in contorted positions for extended periods and forcing them to listen to loud music; forcing detainees to crouch for extended periods; excessive tightening of handcuffs; and sleep deprivation. After the High Court decision the GSS had ceased systematic use of these interrogation techniques against Palestinians, although cases of torture or ill-treatment continued to be reported. But Amnesty International remained concerned that the ruling permitted GSS interrogators to use improper methods, claiming they were justified by necessity.
A bill introduced into the Knesset to allow the GSS to use 'special methods' described as 'physical force on his body' could be interpreted to allow the use of torture. If the legislation were to pass, Israel would be in violation of the Convention against Torture. In occupied south Lebanon, torture of Lebanese nationals continued to be widespread, and Israel, as the occupying power, was responsible and could not claim that the South Lebanon Army was exclusively responsible for the detention facility where such torture occurred. Israel should immediately end the use of torture in all areas under its jurisdiction the Government should oppose the bill on 'special methods' now before the Knesset.
RAJI SOURANI, delivering a joint statement on behalf of Arab Lawyers Union, Arab Organization for Human Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, International Federation of Human Rights, North-South XXI and World Federation of Democratic Youth, said the illegality of Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories had been repeatedly affirmed by the General Assembly in a series of resolutions. If anything, the rate of Israeli settlement activities had increased under the Barak administration. The notable increase in the Gaza Strip, which was not considered a strategic area from the Israeli point of view, suggested an even more dangerous escalation of settlement activity in the West Bank, including Jerusalem.
This escalation had taken place simultaneously with an Israeli campaign to mislead international public opinion; furthermore, there had been approval last October of a proposal to establish 2,600 new housing units in West Bank settlements; and population figures did not accurately reflect the scale of land expropriation. A network of bypass roads crisscrossed the West Bank, reducing Palestinian control to isolated bantustans and depriving Palestinians of anything remotely resembling freedom of movement, and while the area of land actually inhabited by settlers there was estimated at around 78,786 dunams, the Settlers Council estimated that the area under 'settlement jurisdiction' amounted to a million dunams. The international community must refuse to recognize these illegal annexations and settlements; States must ensure that neither they nor their citizens were guilty of supporting these illegal activities; and pressure must be applied to Israel to end these practices. Action also was needed to restore Palestinians' freedom of movement, end Israeli closure of territories, ensure the application of international standards in the treatment of Palestinian detainees, and end torture of detainees, which reliable reports indicated was continuing despite an Israeli High Court decision outlawing such interrogation practices.
HANAN SHARFELDDIN, of the Organization for the Elimination of all Forms of Racism, said it was frequently reiterated that Palestinians were a people without a land. This conveyed the racist mentality of the Israeli leadership as they disputed the Palestinian right to their own leadership. Jewish tenets had been placed above international law. This mentality had resulted in 4 million refugees. This up-for-grabs ideology was a crime against humanity.
Even a few weeks ago Shimon Peres in an international conference had had the arrogance to refer to Israel as the focal point of light. Lebanese resistance was legitimate and in accordance with international law. The organization believed that many Jews did not agree with these racist trends and were aware of their repercussions on world peace. Israel was the only country that had been supplied with nuclear weapons by the leader of the 'New Order', the US. The organization called upon NGOs to abide by their duty and act against this threat to world peace. Just as the international community had rejected Nazism, it should reject this new racism. Humanity had a duty to allow the Palestinians to live with dignity in harmony and peace. This was not an impossible goal.
E. A. VIDYASEKERA, of Afro-Asian Solidarity Organization, said the human-rights situation in Palestine, rather than improving, was deteriorating. In addition, Israel continued to bomb and destroy Lebanon. Many utility facilities such as power installations had been destroyed, affecting civilians. This was nothing but State terrorism in its most naked form.
The Palestinian refugee question was a very serious one. Israel was preventing the return of refugees, which was against both the Madrid and Oslo agreements and also all the UN resolutions which Israel had never honoured. There was a great need for the Commission on Human Rights to pay attention to these violations and to pressure the Israeli Government to implement these resolutions.
NATHALIE PROUVEZ , of the International Commission of Jurists, said an ICJ mission had visited the occupied territories. The closure of the occupied territories and the restriction of movement had turned Gaza into a virtual prison. Expansion of Israeli settlements had increased as the Special Rapporteur noted and was an obstacle to a meaningful peace in the region. The ICJ had visited refugee camps. It was noted that despite the international community's attempts to help and provide aid, the living conditions were appalling. The question of Palestinian refugees had to be given high priority.
The Israeli Court of Justice decision to limit interrogations to a moderate use of force was welcomed. However, concern was raised as to the use of physical pressure at all. The organization was disappointed by the way justice was administered in the Palestinian Authority areas. There was a lack of the right to defence, no proper appeals were carried out and death sentences were swiftly executed. Numerous persons were jailed without charges. They should be given fair trials or be released. Part of the problem with the Palestinian Authority lay in a lack of knowledge and experience, which was a result of the occupation.
GEORGE ABU AL-ZULOF, of Defence of Children International, said that despite political breakthroughs reported by the international media, the rights of Palestinian children continued to be violated on a daily basis by the Israeli occupation authorities. In 1999, the Israeli military once again began implementing a military order which allowed for the arrest of Palestinian children from 12 to 14 years of age. Furthermore, the arrests of children had been characterized by group arrests, targeting groups of children in particular locations. Palestinian children were also routinely abused during interrogations, including beating, humiliation, sleep and food deprivation, threats, solitary confinement and position abuse.
The effects of such abuse were vast, including difficulty re-entering the educational system, unemployment, and psycho-social disorders, primarily Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders. Children were also most frequently the victims of landmines planted by the Israeli army. If peaceful co-existence was ever to exist between Palestinians and Israelis, then the environment of terror which affected Palestinian children's lives had to be abolished through promoting and respecting the Rights of the Child.
GIORGIO GIACOMELLI, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, responding to the debate, said it was absurd that the report had been called political; nothing had been further from his intention. The report had been criticized as 'unbalanced', and he admitted it was; the problem could be corrected by allowing the Rapporteur to use all possible sources of information. Israel had been kind enough to address him directly; he remembered the respectful meeting he had had with a representative of Israel; later there had been a long phone conversation; he could not but regret if there was any misunderstanding.
As for his accepting his mandate, he supposed that if one accepted one's role as a Rapporteur one should accept the mandate, especially during one's first year of work. He was quite aware of the new situation and the dynamic on the ground, and he certainly was aware that the Commission could decide to adjust the mandate if it wished. He thought that the mandate of the Rapporteur, or at least this Rapporteur, should not be open-ended. It was a matter of contributing implicitly to the process towards peace. Nothing was further from his intentions than that his report should become an obstacle to the peace process. He hoped that by September, when final status negotiations were scheduled to be completed, all of this would become irrelevant.
MAURICE COPITHORNE, Special Representative on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, introducing his report (E/CN.4/2000/35) to the Commission, said the election for the Sixth Majirlis in February passed off as planned and with a very high voter turnout. This was the third election in three years in which there had been broad public participation and clear results. The procedural limitations that were still hampering the full exercise of democracy appeared to be declining progressively. Defects remained however, most notably the vetting of candidates. The confrontation was also continuing between the advocates of change, led by the President and his ministers, and apparently widely supported in society, and those elites who were resisting change. Unfortunately, individual Iranians were paying the price, sometimes a very heavy one.
The Special Rapporteur enumerated a number of areas to which he attached priority, including consolidating freedom of expression, tackling systematic discrimination against women, pursuing the rights of citizenship for all ethnic and religious minorities, and addressing the significant problems of the legal system. With regard to the latter, there was significant concern that official enquiries into several of the politically charged violent incidents over the previous 18 months appeared to be making slow progress.
The Special Rapporteur concluded by saying that change in some areas was certainly now evident and the situation in the country was most likely to improve significantly, possibly dramatically over the next year.
ROGER WAREHAM, of the World Association Against Torture, said South Korea should be condemned for continuing human-rights violations of its citizens through the implementation of the National Security and the Social Surveillance Laws. These were Cold War relics punishing anyone who advocated contact with the North. Promises of reform were not enough; these practices had to be abolished.
In the United States, the history of racism, slavery and genocide remained a part of current practices. The Association referred to the suffering of James Byrd Jr., Tyesha Miller, Nathaniel Abraham, and currently Elian Gonzalez to prove the inherent racism within American society. Police brutality and institutional racism were the most evident but not the only clear examples of racism in the United States. The prison population of the United States was 2 million and more than 50 per cent of those incarcerated were black. In the interests of transparency and a single standard of human rights, the Association requested the Commission to appoint a Special Rapporteur to address the pattern of continuing human-rights violations in the United States.
JIRI DIENSTBIER, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), introducing his report (E/CN.4/2000/39), said field officers of international agencies were working in difficult conditions and coping with difficult administrative problems, low pay, insecure contracts, and other challenges. One very disturbing failure was that before the bombing of Kosovo started, all international organizations, Governments, and NGOs recalled their personnel from Kosovo, leaving the people who were to be protected by them at the mercy of the gangsters and killers. It was totally irresponsible that most of the local staff of the international organizations were abandoned on the spot and some of them were among the targeted victims of the paramilitary forces. It was a shame that should never be repeated.
There was nothing much new about Bosnia and Herzegovina. Problems of return and those of the returnees remained mostly the same; some not very significant changes had been recorded as a result of pressure from international institutions. The situation of the media was somewhat better than in the FRY but not at all satisfactory.
New chances for progress came now from developments in Croatia. Among other things, the municipal elections on April 8 would decide if more democratic representatives would replace the old nationalist politicians, who were connected with the division of communities, and if more space for human rights would be opened. The change in Croatia was deeper than even the winners of the Parliamentary elections had expected. Three-quarters of the voters had rejected the former extreme nationalistic and authoritarian policies, and in the presidential elections, only the candidates representing basic change succeeded in getting to the second round. It would be too early to demand and expect dramatic results of this change, but its promise should be welcomed. There was hope that Croatia would be able to meet the obligations of UN treaties on human rights in the not very distant future, and if current developments continued, hope that not later than next year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Croatia could be changed into broad cooperation in educational human-rights programmes and other assistance for representatives of State institutions, journalists and NGOs.
One year after the start of the bombing campaign related to the Kosovo conflict, it was clear that it had solved no human problem, had multiplied existing ones, and had created new ones. To change the situation, it was necessary to answer clearly the question of the status of Kosovo. To proclaim clearly that Kosovo would remain part of Serbia and Yugoslavia would mean armed conflict, at least with the radical factions of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the criminal structures which used the situation to steal from the properties and businesses of many. His view was that the only possible way out of the blind alley of the UN and NATO in Kosovo was to implement Security Council resolution 1244 no matter how much it cost in money, human resources, and -- if need be -- to fight decisively against those who would use arms against the international presence there. This would help those Albanians -- and he had met many of them -- who supported a normal life, democracy, and civil society, but were now under pressure from armed extremists.
SPOMENKA CEK (Croatia) said it welcomed the Special Rapporteur's assessment that Croatia was on the road to becoming a stabilizing factor in the region, and that full support and assistance should be given in its moves towards democracy and the implementation of human rights. Croatia reiterated it was adamant in fulfilling its internal and international obligations in the field of human rights, and had complemented this by taking concrete steps to adopt and implement human-rights reforms on the recommendation of the international community.
In this vein, the Government of Croatia had initiated a campaign to abolish a number of discriminatory provisions in laws dealing with property and minority rights and the media. Moreover, the Government of Croatia had, in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), submitted a project to the Working Table One of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe which envisaged the return and repatriation of 16,500 Croatian Serbs from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Croatia believed it was time for the Commission to reconsider its position and not automatically renew Croatia under agenda item 9, which applied to situations which revealed a consistent pattern of gross human-rights violations, which was certainly not the case in Croatia.
SOPHIE MARSAC, of Amnesty International, said the situation in Sierra Leone was unacceptable. The July 1999 peace agreement had inspired hope but since the signing there had been widespread torture and kidnapping of civilians. All States were responsible for bringing the human-rights offenders to justice without giving any amnesty to them. International humanitarian law had to be adhered to. The organization regretted that there had not been sufficient international support for the civilians of Sierra Leone. No committee to investigate the human-rights violations in Sierra Leone had been established as yet. The authors of the human-rights violations since July 1999 should be brought to justice. It was recommended that a committee be set up to investigate human-rights violations not only since July '99 but since the beginning of the conflict.
In Kosovo there were massive violations of human rights, despite efforts to protect civilians. An effective and independent judiciary had to be established. The police had insufficient power to protect the people. Countries were ignoring the situation of those who had fled the conflict. The region and the safety of the people had to be secured through a strong civil police capable of preventing human-rights violations, and though an independent judiciary. Protection had to be secured for those who had been conscientious objectors during the conflict.
GIANFRANCO ROSSI, of International Association for Religious Freedom, drew attention to the situation in Saudi Arabia, where he said systematic and flagrant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms were carried out. In that country of absolute monarchy, civil and political rights were gravely violated. There were no political parties, no trade unions, and the rights to association and freedom of opinion were non-existent.
Freedom of conscience and religion was also suppressed. Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world where the exercise of any other religion except Islam was formally prohibited. Among the 6 million migrant workers, there were many who were not Muslim and who wanted to practice their religions, but if they did so, they were detained, imprisoned or expelled from the country.
CASSANDRA CAVANAUGH, of Human Rights Watch, said the armed conflict in Chechnya had taken a disastrous toll on civilians. Thousands had been killed and hundreds of thousands had been forced to flee their homes and live in squalid conditions. A Human Rights Watch team in Ingushetia since November had documented abuses by both parties to the conflict. The most serious violations had been three massacres of Chechen civilians by Russian forces. Yet Russian prosecutors had closed the investigation of two of these, concluding that Russian forces had committed no crimes. These closures reflected the overall atmosphere of impunity in Chechnya which allowed Russian forces to loot with abandon, extort civilians for bribes, and torture detainees in custody. The Commission was urged to condemn abuses in Chechnya and to mandate a sustained and through investigation by a team of UN investigators.
The situation in China and Tibet continued to deteriorate, with increasing restraints of freedom of association, assembly, expression and religion. Freedom of religion had been a particular casualty. The most prominent target was the Falun Gong. In Tibet and Xinjiang, the crackdown on so-called splittists had intensified. In Tibet, monks and nuns who refused the Government's demands to renounce the Dalai Lama or to accept Government-chosen religious leaders had been expelled from their monasteries, arrested and sentenced. Some had died in prison. The Commission was urged to censure China and to call on its Government to take immediate positive steps to end these abuses. Alarm was also expressed at the ongoing abuses by rebel groups in Sierra Leone; the Commission was urged to call for the full deployment of UNAMSIL throughout the country and for it to report promptly and publicly on abuses against civilians.
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