NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR GREATER EMPHASISON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

EVENING
HR/CN/99/27
8 April 1999


Commission on Human Rights Urged to
Back Foreign Debt Relief and Combat Rising Poverty


A long series of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) called this evening for greater debt relief for the globe's poorest nations, more intensive international efforts to alleviate poverty, and more practical steps to help all countries reap the benefits of global trade and financial activity.

The remarks came as the Commission on Human Rights continued its review of the status of economic, social and cultural rights around the world.

Among those speaking was Pax Romana, which contended that poverty was becoming "the new slavery", and that the globalization of finance had seriously affected the role of the nation State, causing many countries in effect to lose their sovereignty.

Centre Europe - Tiers Monde (CETIM) said the indebted countries of the South and East should refuse the debt-repayment demands of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund because the policies of those international financial organizations were contrary to the interests of the people of such countries. CETIM called for a united approach in opposition to what it termed a reign of money, transnational corporations and financial speculators.

The Lutheran World Federation contended that the relief of annual debt payments to severely indebted countries in Africa alone would save the lives of about 21 million children by the year 2000 and provide 90 million girls and women with access to basic education.

And Habitant International Coalition voiced concern over the existence of gender-based laws in various parts of the world which prevented women from renting, owning or inheriting land, property and housing and which denied women credit, loans and opportunities for employment.

Representatives of Egypt and Argentina spoke, along with the following non-governmental organizations: Christian Solidarity International (also speaking on behalf of Association for World Education); World Medical Association; Pax Romana; International Federation of Human Rights; American Association of Jurists; Centre Europe - Tiers Monde; International Federation Terre des Hommes; Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace; Lutheran World Federation; Habitat International; Permanent Assembly for Human Rights; International Confederation of Free Trade Unions; International Movement of Apostolate in the Independent Social Milieus; International Federation of University Women; Union of Arab Jurists; International Save the Children Alliance; Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation; International Peace Bureau; International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples; Atlas; Interfaith International; Human Rights Advocates; International Institute for Peace; International Baccalaureate Office; International Association of Democratic Lawyers; Worldview International Foundation; Canadian Council of Churches; Commission for the Defence of Human Rights in Central America; International Organization for the Development of the Right to Education; European Union of Public Relations; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; and Transnational Radical Party.

The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Friday, 9 April, to continue its debate on economic, social and cultural rights.

Statements

HASSAN ABDEL MONEIM (Egypt) said this agenda item would put international resolve to the test; it was important for the Commission's credibility that it act effectively to promote economic, social and cultural rights; Egypt did not think ideas long expressed needed to be repeated; rather, what was needed was practical implementation of the ideas.

Mr. Abdel Moneim said globalization had marginalized more and more developing countries, with structural adjustment policies adding to the difficulties faced by those countries; unemployment and poverty were increasing. There should be an additional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and more attention needed to be paid to the effect of globalization on these rights. It also was necessary that as much attention be paid to economic, social and cultural rights as to civil and political rights.

MANUEL BENITEZ (Argentina) said economic, social and cultural rights were important since they were necessary for full democracy and the full participation of citizens in domestic affairs. The human being was the focus of all political affairs. Respect for human rights and their promotion


and strengthening was vital; thus globalization should focus on inclusiveness -- on bringing all into the global family. In Argentina, due to the implementation of such an approach, the situation had improved.

The most vulnerable sectors of society needed to be protected by linking economic growth with social policies. The international community needed to ensure that human rights were protected by financial authorities, not just national authorities. The fundamental right to work needed to be protected. Conflicts should be solved by the provisions set out in the United Nations Charter. The strengthening of the international system was dependent on the responsible commitments of international organisations, and these commitments should continue to be met. Marginalization needed to be fought on all levels.

DAVID LITTMAN, of Christian Solidarity International, also speaking on behalf of Association for World Education, said the situation in Sudan was described perfectly under the concepts being discussed this evening: the right to food, the right to development, and human rights and extreme poverty. There were gravest humanitarian and human rights violations imaginable in the country, including famine. A number of sources had described the severity of the situation in Sudan, including Leonardo Franco, Special Rapporteur on Sudan, and Philippe Borel, United Nations Coordinator for relief operations in the Sudan and head of Operation Lifeline Sudan.

Mr. Littman said more had to be done to address basic difficulties. The Sudanese Roman Catholic Bishop Paride Taban of Torit had said: "Spending on relief alone is like fattening a cow for slaughter. How long can one be doing relief work without spending time, energy and resources on root causes?"

DELON HUMAN, of World Medical Association, said the British Medical Association had requested the World Medical Association to establish a network of medical organizations concerned with human rights issues. There had been proposals for a Special Rapporteur on the independence and integrity of the health professions. In defining the role of such a potential United Nations rapporteur, the following should be included: such a rapporteur should receive, evaluate, investigate and report on allegations of repression directed at health professionals or intended to prevent individuals from receiving medical care.

Mr. Human said it was important to build upon existing principles as found in humanitarian law and the codes of medical ethics applicable in armed conflicts to develop guidelines on the subject of medical impartiality in relation to the treatment of patients in situations of political or armed conflict. The rapporteur should also carry out investigative reports on health professionals alleged of transgressing guidelines of impartiality and non-discrimination. The fundamental concern should be to protect the nature of the doctor-patient relationship from unjustified external interference.

JOSEPH RAJKUMAR , of Pax Romana, said several aspects of problems related to economic, social and cultural rights needed emphasis. Unless there was penetration of the contra textual realities of today's world, at all levels, only prescriptions would emerge without any practical steps to confront the needs of the poor. A multi-pronged approach was called for.

Mr. Rajkumar said poverty was becoming the new slavery. In the context of the key mechanisms of globalization, the globalization of finance had seriously affected the role of the nation State, so that sovereignty was transferred to intergovernmental bodies. Cultural invasion was everywhere, causing ever more marginalization.

NANCY LI, of International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), underscored the legal responsibility and obligation of individual countries to enhance the economic, social, and cultural rights of their inhabitants, and stated that often countries used the pretext of "limited available resources" as an excuse for not meeting their obligations.

FIDH called on the Commission to adopt without delay the proposed optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights.

LUIS NARVAEZ GARCIA, of American Association of Jurists, said the economic, political and financial aspects of human rights should be stressed. Some developed countries and transnational companies were pressuring developing countries to enter into a globalization "commitment". The scope of the consequences felt by disadvantaged countries was grave, and there was a need to remedy this through international cooperation.

Structural-adjustment policies as generated by external debt were often overly optimistic. If debt was to be annulled, it should be done only if it would help those concerned, and there ought to be a ceiling placed on the amount of debt to be reimbursed.

CYNTHIA NEURY, of Europe -Tiers Monde (CETIM), raised the issue of the foreign debt of the countries of the South and the East. The Commission should encourage the indebted countries of the South and East to refuse the demands of the World Bank and the IMF; the policies of the international financial organizations were contrary to the interests of their people. It was necessary to form a front against these suicidal policies.

CETIM called for a united approach in the name of the promotion of peace, democracy and of sovereignty of the nations in opposition to the reign of money, transnational corporations and financial speculators.

REGIS RENARD, of International Federation Terre des Hommes, said the Federation favoured the addition of a protocol to the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which would seek to strengthen the position of the Commission and would be an important step towards making these rights indivisible.

Such a protocol would be an legitimate instrument for defending the victims of violations of these rights. A community of States needed to commit to defending these rights. States needed to apply better mechanisms for the protection and implementation of these rights so that victims would only have recourse to international instruments as a last resort. Significant progress made in human rights could only be made in the context of instruments making all citizens the subjects, and not the objects, of law.

COLIN McNAUGHTON, of Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace, said that for over 50 years the people of Kashmir had been denied their economic, social and cultural rights. Although Kashmir was among the first international problems to be introduced on the UN Security Council agenda, it remained only major dispute still unaddressed and still unresolved. Resolution would have opened the doors to the realization of the economic, social and cultural rights of the Kashmiri people.

In Bangladesh, the Government attempted to quell all opposition in order to achieve total control by curbing the freedom of expression and carrying out indiscriminate detention and torture of political opponents. Equally the peoples of Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland were denied their economic, social and cultural rights by the Government of India. The Mexican Government continued to employ a deliberate strategy of violence and intimidation against its citizens in Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca, denying them their economic, social and cultural rights.

PETER PROVE, of Lutheran World Federation, said it had long been recognized that foreign debt was a critical rights issue. The enjoyment of economic and social rights and of the right to development were denied to millions of people in heavily indebted developing countries as a result of crippling debt-service obligations. The continued enforcement of those obligations constituted a massive and systematic violation of human rights. In 1997 the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report declared that the Group of 7 industrialized nations and the Bretton Woods Institutions should aim to end the debt crisis for the poorest countries by year 2000. It calculated that the relief of annual debt payments to severely indebted countries in Africa alone would save about 21 million children by year 2000 and provide 90 million girls and women with access to basic education.

In its conception, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative of the World Bank and the IMF held good prospects for comprehensive reduction of the unsustainable multilateral debt of those countries. The Lutheran World Federation called upon the Commission to sharpen its message on foreign debt and add its authority to the call for outright cancellation of unsustainable debts of the world's poorest countries by the year 2000.

NENE LAWANI, of Habitant International Coalition, voiced concern over the existence of gender-based laws in various parts of the world which prevented women from renting, owning or inheriting land, property and housing and which denied women credit and loans and opportunities for employment and self-employment. Because of these circumstances women's poverty was increasing disproportionately and leading to the "feminization of poverty."

The Commission should take the lead by adopting a resolution calling attention to these issues of disproportionate, gender-related poverty. It also should take seriously its commitment to main streaming women's human rights by considering women's human rights under each agenda item during its proceedings.

HORACIO RAVENNA, of Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, said the effective enjoyment of human rights required respect for law and a representative Government. Otherwise, a liberalized State merely created a market for companies, wiping out possibilities for development and having a negative impact on such human rights as health. This was happening in Latin America, where revenues were less than the accumulating debt, for example in Argentina.

While undeniable cultural and scientific progress had been made, there had been no globalization of profits, only a globalization of poverty. Economic, social and cultural rights should mean a set of basic rights that would limit economic development gone mad. Neo-liberalism had only concentrated revenues at the top of the social pyramid. There was a problem of distribution and a lack of humanitarian priorities. Neo-liberalism impeded a democratic society. The current financial crisis proved the negative impact of globalization.

ANNA BIONDI, of International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, said the worldwide economic downturn had revealed the limits of the globalization model; it had been proved profoundly wrong. What was needed was an assurance that the IMF and World Bank would discuss social development as a vital component of good governance for the world economy.

The months ahead were crucial for merging financial policy codes with social components, such as social protection and poverty reduction, primary education and health care, employment, sound industrial relations and social dialogue. The international community should work closely with the IMF and World Bank as well as independent Governments to develop effective labour-market policies and to design social safety nets.

GILBERT ROSSARY, of International Movement of Apostolate in the Independent Social Milieus, spoke of the need for prioritization. Human rights and structural-adjustment programmes were not always compatible. Questions needed to be asked. The problem of unpayable debt was a vicious circle, and needed to be cancelled. Economic war and a return to the law of the jungle were all negative results of cultural blindness and a lack of compassion.

To obtain loans or reschedule debts, poor countries were forced to reduce their budgets for health, education, and other social services needed to establish acceptable living standards. This was a human tragedy and needed to be remedied, hopefully via a resolution by the Commission. Democracy was not simply the implementation of civil and political rights.


CONCHITA PONCIN, of International Federation of University Women, said the Federation noted with great satisfaction that the Special Rapporteur on economic, social and cultural rights, in her preliminary report, laid emphasis on gender perspective. While the first phase of her mandate was on primary education, it should be stressed that lifelong learning of women was critical as a basic tool for achieving economic and social independence. There had been progress in recent decades; women had gone a long way towards achieving equality with men in economic activity. There was a growing number of women policy makers and business executives.

Still, gender inequality could not be resolved unless Governments, financial institutions, and the private sector were held accountable for implementing commitments made through declarations and platforms for action in major international conferences.

ELIAS KHOURI, of Union of Arab Jurists, called for progress in economic and social rights in order to guarantee acceptable standards of living, education and other basic human needs. Unfortunately those rights counted for little in the face of war and conflict which described so many situations today. In resolving disputes, the Commission had stressed fundamental rights and the prevention of the use of force.

Currently poverty was the rule and disparity in incomes was widening universally. Since 1989 more than 60 armed conflicts had erupted, resulting in displaced people and other crucial problems which damaged human rights. Transnational corporations had become laws unto themselves. The Arab Association of Jurists stressed that the international economic embargo of Iraq amounted to the denial of the most fundamental right -- the right to life. Sanctions on Iraq must end; a genuine dialogue on this issue was needed.

JULIA EKSTEDT, of International Save the Children Alliance, drew attention to the impediments to children's ability to enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights. Children were rarely considered in international situations, such as foreign debt. This was despite their position in the developing-country economies, where their contributions were great.

Nearly all countries had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This entailed undertaking measures with regard to these rights, and promoting them. There was a need to do research on the links between debt-payment policies and the situation of children. These links and their impacts ought to be taken into account by Governments, for this would create enormous socio-economic benefits for children, States, and the international community. The needs and rights of children needed to move into the mainstream of international dialogue.

RIYAZ PUNJABI, of Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said international covenants on human rights had envisaged the ideal of free world where human beings were free from fear and want, But that was only true if an environment was created where human beings enjoyed their economic, social and cultural rights and political rights. In this respect the Foundation was appreciative of the steps taken by Commission to appoint Independent Experts and Special Rapporteurs to look into extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and the effects of structural adjustment policies on developing countries.

The report of the Independent Expert on structural adjustment policies was inadequate -- it left out a large number of countries whose economic, social and cultural rights had been put in jeopardy due to structural-adjustment regimes. The violations of these rights could not be quantified without data generated at the grassroots level.

EYE HLA PHYU, of International Peace Bureau, said there was a terrible threat to women's social, economic, and cultural rights in Burma. Women were discriminated against in virtually every aspect of social, economic and cultural life, especially if they were members of minority groups. Burma's ethnic minorities had been denied many economic, social, and cultural rights because of their refugee status since they had been forced to flee to Thailand to escape oppression and persecution.

The Commission must take all possible steps to ensure that women in Burma and throughout the world had opportunities to enjoy dignity, cultural autonomy, social equality and economic independence.

FERNANDO DE MEDINA-ROSALES MATRAN, of International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples, spoke of the consequences of the American embargo against Cuba, including on the health of the Cuban population. Cuban men and women did not have access to basic medicines, and curable diseases were now difficult to treat, putting a heavy burden on the health system. The right to food was also denied the Cuban people, resulting in malnutrition.

Neo-liberal economics destabilized Governments until States were at the mercy of foreign financial institutions and multinational corporations. The American embargo was a violation of the Cuban right to freedom, as was the embargo of Iraq by the United States and the United Kingdom. The consequences of these sanctions was to severely damage the standard of living of the targeted populations.

MONCEF BALTI, of Association Tunisienne Pour l'auto-developpement & la solidarite (ATLAS) said the association was involved with integrated projects in rural and forestry zones in the north of Tunisia. Non-governmental organizations and the international community were called on to work cooperatively and as partners in technological assistance and training programmes of this kind.

International NGOs and international organizations also must assist in the mobilization of financial resources in the struggle to improve standards of living and to eradicate poverty and ignorance in order that all might enjoy their legitimate rights in a climate of peace and stability.


MOHAMMAD ANWAR, of Interfaith International, said the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action had reaffirmed that the human person was the central subject of development and had underlined the need for a concerted effort to ensure recognition of economic, social and cultural rights at the national, regional and international levels. The organization was concerned about these rights for all peoples, including the largest national ethno-linguistic minority in Pakistan, the Mohajirs in Sindh province. There were several important questions regarding the economic, social and cultural rights of the Mohajirs in Pakistan which needed to be resolved through the democratic process and not suppression.

As for the social and political rights of Mohajirs, it seemed census figures regarding the percentage of Mohajirs in the province showed their numbers to be 50 per cent lower than they actually were. The Government had not yet ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its protocol. Such a ratification could force the Government to take more seriously the complaints of the Mohajir Nation.

MICHELLE PASSERO, of Human Rights Advocates, said the organization had been documenting violations caused by environmental abuses for 10 years. The Commission had been successful in bringing international attention to the issue by appointing a Special Rapporteur to investigate incidences of illegal transboundary transport and dumping of hazardous substances. Human rights were often violated when environmental abuses occurred because they happened secretly or people were misinformed about the dangers.

There were cases documented in Cambodia where it was discovered a Taiwanese company, Formosa Plastics, dumped 3,000 tons of mercury tainted waste. After cleaning the ship that carried the wastes to Cambodia, one person died and several people were hospitalized with symptoms resembling mercury poisoning. In India the focus was on the role of the United States in exporting toxic-laden ships there, and it should be noted that many other countries were involved in this lamentable activity, including Norway, Japan, Greece, Russia, Pakistan, Mexico, the Philippines, China, Liberia, and Bangladesh.

TATIANA SHAUMIAN, of International Institute for Peace, said that progress in economic, social and cultural rights within a country often was dependent on the activities of other countries. A case in point was the sad situation under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Countries such as the United States of America and Pakistan that had supported the Taliban now were faced with a situation there featuring abuses such as a growing international narcotics trade and violations of most fundamental human rights. A new global ethos was needed encompassing capable responses to extremism, terrorism, abuse of freedom of expression and disrespect for the faiths and traditions of people.

RUTH BONNER, of International Baccalaureat Office, spoke of the right to education. All children should benefit from education to avoid in the next century the dreadful massacres and inhuman ethnic cleansing that currently were under way. All Governments were appealed to allow education for peace to be introduced in national schools, so that all children of the world should become conscious of human rights and of their responsibility towards humanity.

Governments should take advantage of the experience of multi-lingual and multi-racial education to help solve their problems with migrants and refugees, and thus create a world of peace and understanding.

KENZO FUKUMA, of International Association of Democratic Lawyers, raised the issue of labor legislation and practices in Japan and cited excessively high death rates at corporations such as Hitachi.

The Japanese Government was now promoting the revision of labour laws in the name of "structural reform" which aimed at limitless expansion of unpaid excessive overtime work and the increase of casual labour. The international community must help Japanese workers in their struggle against such unjust legislation and work rules.

KHIN OHMAR, of Worldview International Foundation, spoke of the inseparability of civil, political, social and cultural rights, and the negative effect on them of military expenditures. Some countries spent a very high proportion of their national budgets for military purposes, thinking they could solve their problems by military means rather than looking for political solutions. These countries included Afghanistan, Angola, North Korea, and Burma.

The greatest victims of this misguided approach were women and children; the consequences of this victimization were prostitution, exploitation, and the rise of sexually transmitted diseases. Responsible Governments promoted and protected women's rights, along with the fundamental rights of all their national minorities.

SUZANNE RUMSEY, of Canadian Council of Churches, said there were no clear indicators or standards which outlined the obligations of States in the field of economic, social and cultural rights; without such standards it is was not possible to identify and clarify the content of the various rights and obligations found within the relevant Covenant.

In the absence of a global programme of debt cancellation, the prospects were dim for a world in which economic, social and cultural rights were enjoyed by only a few. Member States and others must develop a parallel set of mechanisms designed to elaborate core elements of each article of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. And all special procedures and mechanisms of the Commission should have mandates which included specific references to economic, social and cultural rights.

CELIA SANIURA, of Commission for the Defence of Human Rights in Central America, drew attention to the violation of human rights in the region. The damage done in Central America by El Nino and Hurricane Mitch had caused grave structural damage to the region. The deterioration of the quality of life was alarming. Globalization was also alarming, since it had negative effects on the independence of countries, their internal integrity, and upon their internal structures, such as educational institutions.

There was growth of fiscal deficits in the region. Women were often more affected by these worsening economic conditions than were men. There was a deterioration of primary care programmes and a growth in exploitation of workers. Care of the environment was rarely a consideration of Governments desperate for revenues. The massive violations of human rights in Central America could only be addressed by international intervention.

BENJAMIN LUKAMBA, of International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education, said the right to education was the key to all human rights. The many practical exceptions to this rule were scandalous.

A certain number of international norms needed to be adopted so as to ensure global and non-discriminatory access to education. Education should no longer be the sole province of national Governments. Full respect of the right to education could only occur in an atmosphere of generalized freedom where educational establishments could accept all comers. And all needed to understand the diversity of students' needs and aspirations.

LUDOVICA VERZEGNASSI, of European Union of Public Relations, said the freedom to enjoy economic, social, and cultural rights required the absence of oppression and the ability of people to take decisions according to their own perceptions of how they wished the various aspects of their lives to mesh. The international community had crafted treaties for this purpose, but the threat to life today emanated from the ever-dangerous phenomenon of terrorism.

The United States, Egypt, France, Kenya, Tanzania, India, Kashmir, and the Philippines were among the countries whose people had been targets of terrorists seeking to overthrow established society and Government and replace it with an alien ideology. Economic, social and cultural rights had little meaning if the right to life was usurped. Terrorism of the worst fundamentalist, extremist variety was the greatest threat today to human rights. International terrorism and its impact on human rights should always be included as a separate Commission agenda item.

ROSARIO PADILLA, of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, identified the right to restitution, compensation and rehabilitation for violations of human rights as fundamental and commended the Independent Expert on structural adjustment programmes and the Special Rapporteur on foreign debt on their studies and asked that they address in the future ways to stop practices which led to impunity for economic, social and cultural rights violators.

The Bretton Woods institutions should be accountable for violations of economic rights resulting from their policies and actions and in particular should move rapidly to cancel the backlog of debt of the most impoverished nations by the year 2000 under fair and transparent conditions. The Commission should seriously address the impunity which transnational corporations now enjoyed for the severe human-rights violations and massive degradation of the environment they had perpetrated.

OLGA CECHUROVA, of Transnational Radical Party, said a free-market economy based on the rule of law was a fundamental condition for the existence and enjoyment of the economic, social and cultural well-being of every individual. There was a fundamental difference between the rule of law and the rule of the market. The first was created fixed, and the second was flexible, and it was important as it changed to protect individual liberty. This was not happening in many parts of the world where transnational corporations were active.

The group most affected by these transnationals was indigenous peoples, who were exploited or totally disregarded. Transnationals also often played a major role in the sustaining of repressive regimes. States should be helped and encouraged to ensure and improve the law-based well-being of all their citizens, including indigenous peoples. The Commission ought to pay due attention to the activities of the transnationals and their impact on the lives of indigenous peoples.