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08 August 2000
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Sub-Commission on the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights
52nd session
8 August 2000
Afternoon
A series of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) told the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights this afternoon that more had to be done to counter the negative effects of economic globalization on poor people and poor countries and to hold international financial institutions and transnational corporations responsible for respecting human rights.
The remarks came as the Subcommission continued its annual consideration of economic, social and cultural rights and followed presentation this morning by two Subcommission members of a preliminary report on the effects of globalization on human rights.
Several NGOs said the behaviour of transnational corporations and that of institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization should be subject to review for compliance with human-rights norms. There were calls for further debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries. The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues cited World Bank investment in a petrol pipeline to be built from Chad through Cameroon as an example of the Bank's backing of commercial interests without sufficient regard for the well-being of the people of developing countries.
Also mentioned by NGOs were the right to clean drinking water, the right to education, the right to development, and minimum labour standards.
A representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told the meeting that the Fund had decided to replace its enhanced structural adjustment facility with a new poverty reduction and growth facility as the principal instrument for providing highly concessional financial assistance to poorer member countries.
At the end of the meeting, Subcommission Expert Manuel Rodriguez Cuadros said the Supreme Court of Chile and the people of Chile, reflecting the standards of the Subcommission, had just revoked the immunity of General Pinochet. This showed what happened when a legal system had independence, and it showed that there was true Constitutional protection of human rights in Chile. Through this decision the protection of human rights throughout Latin America was strengthened.
Speaking this afternoon were representatives of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, the World Federation of United Nations Associations, the Indian Law Resource Centre, Liberation, the World Federation of Trade Unions, the American Association of Jurists, the International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the Movement against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples, the Union of Arab Jurists, the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, the Minority Rights Group, the International Council of Environmental Law, and the Association of World Citizens.
Subcommission Experts Stanislav Ogurtsov, Francoise Jane Hampson, and Manuel Rodriguez Cuadros also provided statements.
The Subcommission will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 9 August, to continue its debate on economic, social and cultural rights.
Statements
GRANT TAPLIN, of the International Monetary Fund, said it would perhaps be of interest to the members of the Subcommission to hear of recent developments in Fund policies. The Fund, its policies and its operations were under constant scrutiny and control of, and were accountable to, its member countries, through the Executive Board, its ministerial oversight committee and its Boards of Governors. The Fund had decided to replace the enhanced structural adjustment facility with a new poverty reduction and growth facility as the principal instrument for providing highly concessional financial assistance to its poorer members. The cornerstones of this instrument included sound macroeconomic policies; a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy paper; social and sectoral programmes aimed at poverty reduction which would be taken into account in the design of economic policies for promoting faster sustainable growth; greater emphasis on good governance; and giving a high priority to achieving social goals of Governments.
This approach was to proceed hand in hand with the enhanced HIPC Initiative (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) which would build upon wide-ranging comments from civil society and the international community, with the intent to provide faster, deeper and broader debt relief. The participation by civil society was of key importance to successful poverty reduction. The initiative was a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approach to debt reduction and required the participation of all creditors. Central to the initiative was the country's continued effort toward macroeconomic adjustment and structural and social policy reform.
ELENI PETROULA, of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, said globalization had considerable consequences on human rights, and the matter should be given the full attention of the Subcommission. The control over Governments exercised by international financial institutions had reduced the capacity of Governments to control their own affairs. There should be an establishment within the United Nations system of a mechanism for oversight of the activities of international financial institutions and transnational corporations.
One matter of concern was investment by the World Bank in a pipeline for Chadian petrol traversing Cameroon; the project was certainly a great opportunity for transnationals, and major tax exemptions would be provided; but Chad should benefit more from the project, and steps should be taken to help the social and development situation of the poor of the country. The project seemed to be aimed at helping the consortium behind the pipeline more than the public. The project should be carefully monitored, and legal proceedings should be entered into to hold accountable members of the Chadian army for human-rights abuses committed in the oil-producing areas. The public should be the true beneficiary of the construction of the pipeline.
L. U. HORACE PERERA, of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, speaking on behalf of the International Baccalaureate Organization and the Association for World Education, said that the slogan 'free and compulsory education for all' had been heard ad nauseam since the early sixties, and yet there were still 130 million children not in school. No account appeared to be taken, except by UNICEF and UNESCO, as to the great number of children in substandard learning facilities where little learning took place. What was seen was overcrowded class rooms of children massed together, struggling for space and attention from untrained, unqualified, overtaxed and underpaid teachers. UNICEF estimated that the world would need to spend an additional $7,000 billion per year for the next 10 years to provide all children with skills for life, respect for human rights and responsibilities as well as basic education in literacy and numeracy. If the goal of free primary education for all was to be reached by the year 2015, there had to be an immediate acceleration of debt cancellation. In addition, wealthier countries should join in with additional aid programmes.
There was also a need to impart knowledge through formal, non-formal and informal education to raise awareness on human rights. The responsibility for the elimination of racism and racial discrimination was not only on the authorities but also on the entire teaching profession. One would have expected that education in human rights would by now be an integral part of school and college curricula. The preparation and motivation of teachers for such education was an essential element of the curriculum in teacher training institutes.
CORBIN HARNEY, of the Indian Law Resource Centre, said indigenous peoples' water supplies were being targeted around the world. Mining and nuclear activities were being carried out on the homelands of the Western Shoshone people in the United States, and similar offenses were going on in other indigenous homelands, such as those of the Pacific Island peoples. In Western Shoshone County, transnational gold mining companies were mining below the water table, and pumping millions of gallons a day, lowering the water table and contaminating the water with cyanide and other materials in at least a dozen areas. There was nuclear testing above and below ground and a nuclear waste dump at the Shoshone people's sacred Yucca Mountain.
The United States was now trying to push through approval for an even more high-level nuclear-waste dump at Yucca Mountain. The Western Shoshone asked the Subcommission to communicate with the United States and tell the Government to stop these harmful activities and to sit down and talk with Shoshone leaders.
STANISLAV OGURTSOV, Subcommission Expert, said the report on globalization was one of the most interesting reports in front of the Subcommission. In many ways, he agreed with the assessment of the activities of the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. There were equally alarming shortcomings in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Unfortunately the criticism made by the Subcommission would probably fall on deaf ears. However, it was important to make one's opinion heard. The part of the report on women and globalization demonstrated the urgent need of gender analysis on many aspects of globalization. He encouraged the participation of treaty bodies on human rights in discussions on globalization. It would be particularly useful to give inputs to States.
It had been saddening to listen to the difficulty one billion people had in gaining access to drinking water and sanitation. The diseases caused by the inadequate sanitation were equally alarming. The Subcommission had shown great wisdom in appointing a Special Rapporteur on this topic and Mr. Guisse should receive all possible support to ensure that the particular impact of foreign indebtedness and the lack of family planning were included in the report so that the shortcomings that still existed under this sphere were eliminated.
JASDEV SINGH RAI, of Liberation, said Subcommission Expert David Weissbrodt's draft human rights code for transnational companies was welcome, but there were questions that needed to be addressed. Would companies be invited to sign the code? Who would monitor their conduct? Would the UN have the right to inspect the working methods of companies and their adherence to the code? Could individual States parties insist on the UN investigating despite objections from companies? Such a code only would work if transnationals were committed to cooperating and understood the responsibilities imposed on them by their own power and influence. Meanwhile, transnationals had varying degrees of equity sharing depending on domestic legislation; some powerful countries such as India could insist on up to 51 per cent of equity for their own nationals, while others could not afford to impose any, fearing loss of the potential economic advantage a transnational could bring.
Liberation also called on the Subcommission to help stop the Government of Pakistan from constructing the proposed Kalabagh Dam, which had been criticized by environmental and irrigation experts and by three of the four provinces of Pakistan. It would displace thousands of people, decrease net agricultural production, and cause damage to the Sindh region.
AIDA AVELLA, of the World Federation of Trade Unions, agreed with the views expressed in the Subcommission's working paper on globalization. The negative impacts of globalization on the enjoyment of human rights had a multi-faceted nature. Services that had previously been provided by States were now non-existent due to privatization. There was no protection against the increased level of inflation, no provision of social security nor medical services. Many workers wanted to know where the opportunities of globalization were hiding, as they were certainly not present everywhere. Thousands of migrant workers undertook terrible journeys in the quest for opportunities that were not available to them in their county of origin. In this context, women were particularly badly treated and vulnerable, often forced to accept situations of virtual slavery. Child labour was also a result of globalization as no labour law prevailed.
It was urgent that a code of conduct was set to protect workers, the environment and sometimes the sovereignty of a country. Many people were suffering, women, children, minorities, migrants and the aged. Action was required to create possibilities for people who were currently curtailed and underpinned by the increasing concentration and consideration of power with a few people.
DINORAH LA LUZ, of the American Association of Jurists, speaking on behalf of 17 other non-governmental organizations, said the NGOs had submitted a document to the United Nations on the promotion of the right to development which expressed alarm that for some time now the main authorities in the UN were implementing a policy of opening wide the doors of the organization to transnational corporations. More and more power of decision was being given to financial and business conglomerates at the expense of the true members of the UN -- the States members and the people. The UN should be careful about aligning itself with this rich minority. The Secretary-General's initiative for a partnership with business was most worrisome, as many international businesses did not respect human rights. This unprecedented distortion of the role of the United Nations should be reacted to immediately.
Further in-depth study of the activities of transnational corporations was needed. The draft code of conduct proposed by Subcommission Expert David Weissbrodt was not sufficient, as it was voluntary and had various shortcomings, including the inclusion of all companies, not just transnationals, which would dilute the code and would not sufficiently distinguish transnationals from other firms or hold them especially accountable.
FRANCOISE JANE HAMPSON, Subcommission Expert, said that globalization and neo-economics were often presented as fundamental realities of the planet in the same way as gravity. States and non-States gave the impression that globalization was set in stone. There was nothing value-neutral or free in neo-economics. There was a tendency to speak of linkages, such as between trade and human rights. This was not always appropriate. The overriding goal of international activity was to promote peace and security. Any activity which threatened peace and security was incompatible with that goal. Trade and financial exchanges should be subject to human rights, and not described in terms of linkages. States had the responsibility to protect human rights and the international community as a whole and was obliged to adopt principles which did not prevent the protection of human rights. As part of the same picture, States had a monopoly over law making and should not be allowed to pretend that globalization was too big to address. Treaty bodies had a particular responsibility in this field and non-governmental organizations could assist. Ms. Hampson said that there appeared to be a level of confusion as to deregulation. Economic deregulation was perhaps required, but not deregulation across the board which ignored labour laws and minimum pay. The feminization of poverty was actually different in all countries but part of the same problem. If the goal of States was to address the actual conduct of companies, then a code of principles had to address all companies, without exception.
Regarding the right to drinking water, it would be helpful if right of access to drinking water was analysed. Failure to address these issues would soon result in the emergence of conflicts over access to water.
HANAN SHARFELDDIN, of the International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, said history had shown that ignorance and the lack of knowledge and planning were the main factors leading to poverty and hunger, which then led to backwardness, illiteracy, and an inability to be educated and to provide for the education of subsequent generations -- a truly vicious circle. Such inequitable circumstances had created racial discrimination, as racism was based on peoples whose favourable circumstances contributed to their advancement, and on others whose unfavourable circumstances exposed them to backwardness.
The best solution was education. Hundreds of thousands of schools should be opened in the Third World and staffed with qualified teachers. How? The United States should pay thousands of billions of dollars to Africa as compensation for the millions who were transported as slaves over three centuries ago. Europe should also pay such an amount to Africa, Latin America and a large region of Asia since it was European colonization that destroyed local economies in those countries. They could pay these debts by building hundreds of thousands of schools and encouraging millions of immigrants from those countries to take charge of educational leadership in those schools.
ANNA BIONDI BIRD, of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, said that some progress, if modest, had been made such as the Tobin tax on speculative capital transfers, new action to address the issue of corruption and transnational crime and a series of measures to help African countries affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, there was disappointment concerning the considerable watering down of the references to worker's rights, including basic human rights, due to the hard-line block of a handful of authoritarian regimes. The recent poverty reduction strategy, drawn up by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, as well as the conclusions of the G-8 discussion in Okinawa, while looking good on paper, had to pass the scrutiny of being translated into clear national and international poverty reduction programmes. Cancellation of the debt for the poorest countries was one coherent first step that should be implemented quickly showing the real will to start a virtuous cycle. Countries were urged to reduce the instability of major currencies through effective policy coordination and to combat footloose investors who undermined the respect of core labour standards as well as endangering governments and companies that wanted to set in place socially responsible policies. Core labour standards had to become a benchmark for national and international programmes. Trade union rights were human rights.
ROLANDE DE BORRELLY, of the Movement against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples, said the reports being discussed here were being distributed very late -- too late for them to be carefully studied. Work done under this agenda item should give the right to development the great importance it deserved. The right was linked to all other human rights; in the current economic context, this right, because it was collective in nature, prevailed, if anything, over other rights, since if it was not exercised the other rights could not be either. The current worrisome rise of racism and xenophobia had its most basic cause in the growing gaps in income, wealth, and living conditions which were linked with globalization. There was a whole array of upheavals caused by economic liberalization.
The countries of the Third World had been hit hard, and these inequalities were growing. Was the right to development becoming wishful thinking? Spreading poverty was almost being seen as politically correct. And anti-poverty work, if done improperly, could work against development. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative had this flaw. The World Bank also needed to revise its approach.
ELIAS KHOURI, of the Union of Arab Jurists, said the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights as well as the right to development had been catered to in the United Nations Charter, which aimed to improve peoples lives, eradicate disease and the reasons of wars. The Charter had laid down a sound foundation to achieve this though the encouragement of cooperation. Yet, these principles were acted against in a most hypocritical way in the policies of the superpowers in the Middle East, without any respect for the dignity of the people. Israel continued to break and violate international conventions. Also despicable were the crimes carried out in the past 10 years against Iraq in the form of the embargo and the daily attacks on the sovereignty and dignity of the people of Iraq. There had been a conference on this issue which concluded that the embargo had caused hundreds of thousands of victims, particularly civilians. Twenty two million Iraqis were suffering as a result of this blockade. Only 53 percent of the Iraqi children were able to attend school and the bombings that had been carried out without interruption had destroyed the infrastructure of Iraq, not to mention the dumping of depleted uranium. This was not only a violation of human rights but represented crimes against international law to the proportion of genocide. These crimes shaped the conscience of the world, a child died every six minutes due to the embargo. The Subcommission was asked to adopt a resolution banning the utilization of embargos as a weapon of destruction and banning the use of depleted uranium.
RIYAZ PUNJABI, of the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said the right to development required relevant evaluation mechanisms; the recognition of the human being as the central subject of development; the promotion of the relationship between democracy, development, and human rights; a strong relationship between the right to development and poverty eradication; and respect for the specific contexts of developing countries. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was contributing immensely towards sustainable human development and poverty eradication, but a mechanism was needed to monitor and evaluate whether or not it was meeting its objectives; the Subcommission could provide a service by developing such a mechanism, which could also show if the indicators recognized by UN agencies were kept in view in the programmes and activities supported by UNDP.
The Subcommission had stressed the relationship between democracy, development and human rights, and the need for a "favourable environment". This element could not be overemphasized. Asymmetrical economic structures were not always an impediment to development. Marginalized democratic institutions and unhealthy social structures proved to be greater stumbling blocks.
ANTONELLA ALTARDO, of the Minority Rights Group, drew attention to the situation of the Batwa, some of the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the Great Lakes sub-region of Africa. The Batwa people were suffering in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. The Batwa were a numerical and political minority in the region they inhabited. They suffered from systematic discrimination, through negative stereotyping, segregation and the denial of rights, including land rights and the right to development. Up to 30 percent of the Rwandan Batwa were believed to have been killed during the conflicts in the mid-90s. In recent times, the Batwa communities had often been ignored by local, national and international development and relief agencies. They had been neither consulted nor compensated for the impact of development or conservation projects in the areas they inhibited.
The Subcommission was recommended to urge the countries of the Great Lakes region to demonstrate their commitment to respecting Batwa rights by upholding their international obligations, ratifying the ILO Convention 169, encouraging awareness in development projects of the specific problems created by discrimination against the Batwa; and encouraging long-term skill training, education, advocacy and legal support in their projects. Finally, donor agencies were urged to consult fully the Batwa communities on development, conservation and other projects which were likely to have an impact on Batwa communities.
HENRI SMETS, of the International Council of Environmental Law, said the organization had considered the concept of the right to water in the context of developed countries; it was its conclusion that water was available to everyone -- at least, everyone who could pay. Yet in the midst of such wealth there were pockets of poverty and excluded individuals who could not afford water. But providing water free of charge, as was needed in this case, was seen as an affront to the operation of a free economy. The
basic requirement was about 40 litres per person per day. The right to water was a corollary to the rights to health, food and housing. The right was the right to a little water -- not a lot. Yet States seemed afraid to acknowledge this right.
Acknowledgement was needed that water was becoming too expensive for the poor -- and he was talking about developed countries. Also, it should be stressed that water should be provided through public utilities rather than private, profit-based companies. Prices should be reduced for those who were sufficiently poor; and prices should be monitored, as they were getting out of control.
PIERRE PORRET, of the Association of World Citizens, said that the Subcommission had been working on economic, social and cultural rights for a long time. At the end of the Cold War and the taking over of neo-liberal policies, economic and social rights were more threatened than ever. It was not a lack of economic resources, on the contrary; however the resources available were being used for other purposes than development. The Association mentioned many problems currently facing the world and the Subcommission such as the regression in education in Afghanistan, particularly affecting girls. The situation for minorities was not improving, there was a regression in access to education due to attitudes which feared anything or anyone who was different. In Latin America, it was often Christian fundamentalists who tried to destroy cultural traditions, humiliating children from minorities. The environment was being destroyed as an impact of globalization. When there were laws, they were most often ignored. The Association recommended that the Subcommission continue its analysis of the phenomenon of globalization and transnational companies. It was particularly important that the work of the Subcommission be heard so that the laws and principles developed could be applied in practice. This was a requirement for human survival.
MANUEL RODRIGUEZ CUADROS, Subcommission Expert, said the Supreme Court of Chile and the people of Chile, reflecting the standards of the Subcommission, had just revoked the immunity of General Pinochet. This showed what happened when a legal system had independence, and it showed that there was true Constitutional protection of human rights in Chile. Through this decision the protection of human rights throughout Latin America was strengthened.
* *** *
and Protection of Human Rights
52nd session
8 August 2000
Afternoon
A series of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) told the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights this afternoon that more had to be done to counter the negative effects of economic globalization on poor people and poor countries and to hold international financial institutions and transnational corporations responsible for respecting human rights.
The remarks came as the Subcommission continued its annual consideration of economic, social and cultural rights and followed presentation this morning by two Subcommission members of a preliminary report on the effects of globalization on human rights.
Several NGOs said the behaviour of transnational corporations and that of institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization should be subject to review for compliance with human-rights norms. There were calls for further debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries. The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues cited World Bank investment in a petrol pipeline to be built from Chad through Cameroon as an example of the Bank's backing of commercial interests without sufficient regard for the well-being of the people of developing countries.
Also mentioned by NGOs were the right to clean drinking water, the right to education, the right to development, and minimum labour standards.
A representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told the meeting that the Fund had decided to replace its enhanced structural adjustment facility with a new poverty reduction and growth facility as the principal instrument for providing highly concessional financial assistance to poorer member countries.
At the end of the meeting, Subcommission Expert Manuel Rodriguez Cuadros said the Supreme Court of Chile and the people of Chile, reflecting the standards of the Subcommission, had just revoked the immunity of General Pinochet. This showed what happened when a legal system had independence, and it showed that there was true Constitutional protection of human rights in Chile. Through this decision the protection of human rights throughout Latin America was strengthened.
Speaking this afternoon were representatives of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, the World Federation of United Nations Associations, the Indian Law Resource Centre, Liberation, the World Federation of Trade Unions, the American Association of Jurists, the International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the Movement against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples, the Union of Arab Jurists, the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, the Minority Rights Group, the International Council of Environmental Law, and the Association of World Citizens.
Subcommission Experts Stanislav Ogurtsov, Francoise Jane Hampson, and Manuel Rodriguez Cuadros also provided statements.
The Subcommission will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 9 August, to continue its debate on economic, social and cultural rights.
Statements
GRANT TAPLIN, of the International Monetary Fund, said it would perhaps be of interest to the members of the Subcommission to hear of recent developments in Fund policies. The Fund, its policies and its operations were under constant scrutiny and control of, and were accountable to, its member countries, through the Executive Board, its ministerial oversight committee and its Boards of Governors. The Fund had decided to replace the enhanced structural adjustment facility with a new poverty reduction and growth facility as the principal instrument for providing highly concessional financial assistance to its poorer members. The cornerstones of this instrument included sound macroeconomic policies; a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy paper; social and sectoral programmes aimed at poverty reduction which would be taken into account in the design of economic policies for promoting faster sustainable growth; greater emphasis on good governance; and giving a high priority to achieving social goals of Governments.
This approach was to proceed hand in hand with the enhanced HIPC Initiative (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) which would build upon wide-ranging comments from civil society and the international community, with the intent to provide faster, deeper and broader debt relief. The participation by civil society was of key importance to successful poverty reduction. The initiative was a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approach to debt reduction and required the participation of all creditors. Central to the initiative was the country's continued effort toward macroeconomic adjustment and structural and social policy reform.
ELENI PETROULA, of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, said globalization had considerable consequences on human rights, and the matter should be given the full attention of the Subcommission. The control over Governments exercised by international financial institutions had reduced the capacity of Governments to control their own affairs. There should be an establishment within the United Nations system of a mechanism for oversight of the activities of international financial institutions and transnational corporations.
One matter of concern was investment by the World Bank in a pipeline for Chadian petrol traversing Cameroon; the project was certainly a great opportunity for transnationals, and major tax exemptions would be provided; but Chad should benefit more from the project, and steps should be taken to help the social and development situation of the poor of the country. The project seemed to be aimed at helping the consortium behind the pipeline more than the public. The project should be carefully monitored, and legal proceedings should be entered into to hold accountable members of the Chadian army for human-rights abuses committed in the oil-producing areas. The public should be the true beneficiary of the construction of the pipeline.
L. U. HORACE PERERA, of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, speaking on behalf of the International Baccalaureate Organization and the Association for World Education, said that the slogan 'free and compulsory education for all' had been heard ad nauseam since the early sixties, and yet there were still 130 million children not in school. No account appeared to be taken, except by UNICEF and UNESCO, as to the great number of children in substandard learning facilities where little learning took place. What was seen was overcrowded class rooms of children massed together, struggling for space and attention from untrained, unqualified, overtaxed and underpaid teachers. UNICEF estimated that the world would need to spend an additional $7,000 billion per year for the next 10 years to provide all children with skills for life, respect for human rights and responsibilities as well as basic education in literacy and numeracy. If the goal of free primary education for all was to be reached by the year 2015, there had to be an immediate acceleration of debt cancellation. In addition, wealthier countries should join in with additional aid programmes.
There was also a need to impart knowledge through formal, non-formal and informal education to raise awareness on human rights. The responsibility for the elimination of racism and racial discrimination was not only on the authorities but also on the entire teaching profession. One would have expected that education in human rights would by now be an integral part of school and college curricula. The preparation and motivation of teachers for such education was an essential element of the curriculum in teacher training institutes.
CORBIN HARNEY, of the Indian Law Resource Centre, said indigenous peoples' water supplies were being targeted around the world. Mining and nuclear activities were being carried out on the homelands of the Western Shoshone people in the United States, and similar offenses were going on in other indigenous homelands, such as those of the Pacific Island peoples. In Western Shoshone County, transnational gold mining companies were mining below the water table, and pumping millions of gallons a day, lowering the water table and contaminating the water with cyanide and other materials in at least a dozen areas. There was nuclear testing above and below ground and a nuclear waste dump at the Shoshone people's sacred Yucca Mountain.
The United States was now trying to push through approval for an even more high-level nuclear-waste dump at Yucca Mountain. The Western Shoshone asked the Subcommission to communicate with the United States and tell the Government to stop these harmful activities and to sit down and talk with Shoshone leaders.
STANISLAV OGURTSOV, Subcommission Expert, said the report on globalization was one of the most interesting reports in front of the Subcommission. In many ways, he agreed with the assessment of the activities of the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. There were equally alarming shortcomings in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Unfortunately the criticism made by the Subcommission would probably fall on deaf ears. However, it was important to make one's opinion heard. The part of the report on women and globalization demonstrated the urgent need of gender analysis on many aspects of globalization. He encouraged the participation of treaty bodies on human rights in discussions on globalization. It would be particularly useful to give inputs to States.
It had been saddening to listen to the difficulty one billion people had in gaining access to drinking water and sanitation. The diseases caused by the inadequate sanitation were equally alarming. The Subcommission had shown great wisdom in appointing a Special Rapporteur on this topic and Mr. Guisse should receive all possible support to ensure that the particular impact of foreign indebtedness and the lack of family planning were included in the report so that the shortcomings that still existed under this sphere were eliminated.
JASDEV SINGH RAI, of Liberation, said Subcommission Expert David Weissbrodt's draft human rights code for transnational companies was welcome, but there were questions that needed to be addressed. Would companies be invited to sign the code? Who would monitor their conduct? Would the UN have the right to inspect the working methods of companies and their adherence to the code? Could individual States parties insist on the UN investigating despite objections from companies? Such a code only would work if transnationals were committed to cooperating and understood the responsibilities imposed on them by their own power and influence. Meanwhile, transnationals had varying degrees of equity sharing depending on domestic legislation; some powerful countries such as India could insist on up to 51 per cent of equity for their own nationals, while others could not afford to impose any, fearing loss of the potential economic advantage a transnational could bring.
Liberation also called on the Subcommission to help stop the Government of Pakistan from constructing the proposed Kalabagh Dam, which had been criticized by environmental and irrigation experts and by three of the four provinces of Pakistan. It would displace thousands of people, decrease net agricultural production, and cause damage to the Sindh region.
AIDA AVELLA, of the World Federation of Trade Unions, agreed with the views expressed in the Subcommission's working paper on globalization. The negative impacts of globalization on the enjoyment of human rights had a multi-faceted nature. Services that had previously been provided by States were now non-existent due to privatization. There was no protection against the increased level of inflation, no provision of social security nor medical services. Many workers wanted to know where the opportunities of globalization were hiding, as they were certainly not present everywhere. Thousands of migrant workers undertook terrible journeys in the quest for opportunities that were not available to them in their county of origin. In this context, women were particularly badly treated and vulnerable, often forced to accept situations of virtual slavery. Child labour was also a result of globalization as no labour law prevailed.
It was urgent that a code of conduct was set to protect workers, the environment and sometimes the sovereignty of a country. Many people were suffering, women, children, minorities, migrants and the aged. Action was required to create possibilities for people who were currently curtailed and underpinned by the increasing concentration and consideration of power with a few people.
DINORAH LA LUZ, of the American Association of Jurists, speaking on behalf of 17 other non-governmental organizations, said the NGOs had submitted a document to the United Nations on the promotion of the right to development which expressed alarm that for some time now the main authorities in the UN were implementing a policy of opening wide the doors of the organization to transnational corporations. More and more power of decision was being given to financial and business conglomerates at the expense of the true members of the UN -- the States members and the people. The UN should be careful about aligning itself with this rich minority. The Secretary-General's initiative for a partnership with business was most worrisome, as many international businesses did not respect human rights. This unprecedented distortion of the role of the United Nations should be reacted to immediately.
Further in-depth study of the activities of transnational corporations was needed. The draft code of conduct proposed by Subcommission Expert David Weissbrodt was not sufficient, as it was voluntary and had various shortcomings, including the inclusion of all companies, not just transnationals, which would dilute the code and would not sufficiently distinguish transnationals from other firms or hold them especially accountable.
FRANCOISE JANE HAMPSON, Subcommission Expert, said that globalization and neo-economics were often presented as fundamental realities of the planet in the same way as gravity. States and non-States gave the impression that globalization was set in stone. There was nothing value-neutral or free in neo-economics. There was a tendency to speak of linkages, such as between trade and human rights. This was not always appropriate. The overriding goal of international activity was to promote peace and security. Any activity which threatened peace and security was incompatible with that goal. Trade and financial exchanges should be subject to human rights, and not described in terms of linkages. States had the responsibility to protect human rights and the international community as a whole and was obliged to adopt principles which did not prevent the protection of human rights. As part of the same picture, States had a monopoly over law making and should not be allowed to pretend that globalization was too big to address. Treaty bodies had a particular responsibility in this field and non-governmental organizations could assist. Ms. Hampson said that there appeared to be a level of confusion as to deregulation. Economic deregulation was perhaps required, but not deregulation across the board which ignored labour laws and minimum pay. The feminization of poverty was actually different in all countries but part of the same problem. If the goal of States was to address the actual conduct of companies, then a code of principles had to address all companies, without exception.
Regarding the right to drinking water, it would be helpful if right of access to drinking water was analysed. Failure to address these issues would soon result in the emergence of conflicts over access to water.
HANAN SHARFELDDIN, of the International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, said history had shown that ignorance and the lack of knowledge and planning were the main factors leading to poverty and hunger, which then led to backwardness, illiteracy, and an inability to be educated and to provide for the education of subsequent generations -- a truly vicious circle. Such inequitable circumstances had created racial discrimination, as racism was based on peoples whose favourable circumstances contributed to their advancement, and on others whose unfavourable circumstances exposed them to backwardness.
The best solution was education. Hundreds of thousands of schools should be opened in the Third World and staffed with qualified teachers. How? The United States should pay thousands of billions of dollars to Africa as compensation for the millions who were transported as slaves over three centuries ago. Europe should also pay such an amount to Africa, Latin America and a large region of Asia since it was European colonization that destroyed local economies in those countries. They could pay these debts by building hundreds of thousands of schools and encouraging millions of immigrants from those countries to take charge of educational leadership in those schools.
ANNA BIONDI BIRD, of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, said that some progress, if modest, had been made such as the Tobin tax on speculative capital transfers, new action to address the issue of corruption and transnational crime and a series of measures to help African countries affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, there was disappointment concerning the considerable watering down of the references to worker's rights, including basic human rights, due to the hard-line block of a handful of authoritarian regimes. The recent poverty reduction strategy, drawn up by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, as well as the conclusions of the G-8 discussion in Okinawa, while looking good on paper, had to pass the scrutiny of being translated into clear national and international poverty reduction programmes. Cancellation of the debt for the poorest countries was one coherent first step that should be implemented quickly showing the real will to start a virtuous cycle. Countries were urged to reduce the instability of major currencies through effective policy coordination and to combat footloose investors who undermined the respect of core labour standards as well as endangering governments and companies that wanted to set in place socially responsible policies. Core labour standards had to become a benchmark for national and international programmes. Trade union rights were human rights.
ROLANDE DE BORRELLY, of the Movement against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples, said the reports being discussed here were being distributed very late -- too late for them to be carefully studied. Work done under this agenda item should give the right to development the great importance it deserved. The right was linked to all other human rights; in the current economic context, this right, because it was collective in nature, prevailed, if anything, over other rights, since if it was not exercised the other rights could not be either. The current worrisome rise of racism and xenophobia had its most basic cause in the growing gaps in income, wealth, and living conditions which were linked with globalization. There was a whole array of upheavals caused by economic liberalization.
The countries of the Third World had been hit hard, and these inequalities were growing. Was the right to development becoming wishful thinking? Spreading poverty was almost being seen as politically correct. And anti-poverty work, if done improperly, could work against development. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative had this flaw. The World Bank also needed to revise its approach.
ELIAS KHOURI, of the Union of Arab Jurists, said the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights as well as the right to development had been catered to in the United Nations Charter, which aimed to improve peoples lives, eradicate disease and the reasons of wars. The Charter had laid down a sound foundation to achieve this though the encouragement of cooperation. Yet, these principles were acted against in a most hypocritical way in the policies of the superpowers in the Middle East, without any respect for the dignity of the people. Israel continued to break and violate international conventions. Also despicable were the crimes carried out in the past 10 years against Iraq in the form of the embargo and the daily attacks on the sovereignty and dignity of the people of Iraq. There had been a conference on this issue which concluded that the embargo had caused hundreds of thousands of victims, particularly civilians. Twenty two million Iraqis were suffering as a result of this blockade. Only 53 percent of the Iraqi children were able to attend school and the bombings that had been carried out without interruption had destroyed the infrastructure of Iraq, not to mention the dumping of depleted uranium. This was not only a violation of human rights but represented crimes against international law to the proportion of genocide. These crimes shaped the conscience of the world, a child died every six minutes due to the embargo. The Subcommission was asked to adopt a resolution banning the utilization of embargos as a weapon of destruction and banning the use of depleted uranium.
RIYAZ PUNJABI, of the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said the right to development required relevant evaluation mechanisms; the recognition of the human being as the central subject of development; the promotion of the relationship between democracy, development, and human rights; a strong relationship between the right to development and poverty eradication; and respect for the specific contexts of developing countries. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was contributing immensely towards sustainable human development and poverty eradication, but a mechanism was needed to monitor and evaluate whether or not it was meeting its objectives; the Subcommission could provide a service by developing such a mechanism, which could also show if the indicators recognized by UN agencies were kept in view in the programmes and activities supported by UNDP.
The Subcommission had stressed the relationship between democracy, development and human rights, and the need for a "favourable environment". This element could not be overemphasized. Asymmetrical economic structures were not always an impediment to development. Marginalized democratic institutions and unhealthy social structures proved to be greater stumbling blocks.
ANTONELLA ALTARDO, of the Minority Rights Group, drew attention to the situation of the Batwa, some of the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the Great Lakes sub-region of Africa. The Batwa people were suffering in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. The Batwa were a numerical and political minority in the region they inhabited. They suffered from systematic discrimination, through negative stereotyping, segregation and the denial of rights, including land rights and the right to development. Up to 30 percent of the Rwandan Batwa were believed to have been killed during the conflicts in the mid-90s. In recent times, the Batwa communities had often been ignored by local, national and international development and relief agencies. They had been neither consulted nor compensated for the impact of development or conservation projects in the areas they inhibited.
The Subcommission was recommended to urge the countries of the Great Lakes region to demonstrate their commitment to respecting Batwa rights by upholding their international obligations, ratifying the ILO Convention 169, encouraging awareness in development projects of the specific problems created by discrimination against the Batwa; and encouraging long-term skill training, education, advocacy and legal support in their projects. Finally, donor agencies were urged to consult fully the Batwa communities on development, conservation and other projects which were likely to have an impact on Batwa communities.
HENRI SMETS, of the International Council of Environmental Law, said the organization had considered the concept of the right to water in the context of developed countries; it was its conclusion that water was available to everyone -- at least, everyone who could pay. Yet in the midst of such wealth there were pockets of poverty and excluded individuals who could not afford water. But providing water free of charge, as was needed in this case, was seen as an affront to the operation of a free economy. The
basic requirement was about 40 litres per person per day. The right to water was a corollary to the rights to health, food and housing. The right was the right to a little water -- not a lot. Yet States seemed afraid to acknowledge this right.
Acknowledgement was needed that water was becoming too expensive for the poor -- and he was talking about developed countries. Also, it should be stressed that water should be provided through public utilities rather than private, profit-based companies. Prices should be reduced for those who were sufficiently poor; and prices should be monitored, as they were getting out of control.
PIERRE PORRET, of the Association of World Citizens, said that the Subcommission had been working on economic, social and cultural rights for a long time. At the end of the Cold War and the taking over of neo-liberal policies, economic and social rights were more threatened than ever. It was not a lack of economic resources, on the contrary; however the resources available were being used for other purposes than development. The Association mentioned many problems currently facing the world and the Subcommission such as the regression in education in Afghanistan, particularly affecting girls. The situation for minorities was not improving, there was a regression in access to education due to attitudes which feared anything or anyone who was different. In Latin America, it was often Christian fundamentalists who tried to destroy cultural traditions, humiliating children from minorities. The environment was being destroyed as an impact of globalization. When there were laws, they were most often ignored. The Association recommended that the Subcommission continue its analysis of the phenomenon of globalization and transnational companies. It was particularly important that the work of the Subcommission be heard so that the laws and principles developed could be applied in practice. This was a requirement for human survival.
MANUEL RODRIGUEZ CUADROS, Subcommission Expert, said the Supreme Court of Chile and the people of Chile, reflecting the standards of the Subcommission, had just revoked the immunity of General Pinochet. This showed what happened when a legal system had independence, and it showed that there was true Constitutional protection of human rights in Chile. Through this decision the protection of human rights throughout Latin America was strengthened.
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