EVENING
HR/CN/99/30
9 April 1999


Commission on Human Rights Continues Review of Civil and Political Rights


An extensive series of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) raised allegations before the Commission on Human Rights this evening of torture, disappearances, instances of religious intolerance, and abuses of judicial standards in a number of countries and regions.

The evening session was used to continue debate under the Commission's agenda item on civil and political rights. Other topics falling under this item are freedom of expression, states of emergency, and conscientious objection to military service.

Among NGOs addressing the gathering was Amnesty International, which charged that torture and extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and secret detentions had become routine in Algeria and that Turkey continued to have widespread problems with torture and disappearances.

The Al-Khoei Foundation expressed concern over the rise of religious intolerance in many parts of the world, particularly as an instrument of Governmental policy, and called attention to cases in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Arab Organization for Human Rights and North-South XXI condemned detention of Lebanese "hostages" without trial or sentencing in Israeli camps and prisons, while the International Association for Defence of Religious Liberty said there were unsettling situations of religious intolerance in France and Belgium.

Numerous NGOs said the Commission and international community needed to do more to combat impunity -- that serious human-rights violations would continue as long as perpetrators were sure they would not be punished.

Representatives of the following NGOs provided formal statements: War Resisters International; World Federation of United Nations Associations; Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace; Al-Khoei Foundation; Amnesty International; General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventists; International Federation of Journalists; Asian Legal Resource Centre; North-South XXI; Friends World Committee for Consultation; International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty; Arab Organization for Human Rights; International Association of Democratic Lawyers; Article XIX; Society for Threatened Peoples; International Peace Bureau; International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples; African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters; Interfaith International; International Association against Torture (also on behalf of December 12 Movement Secretariat); World Council of Churches (on behalf of three other NGOs); Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization; Rural Reconstruction Nepal; International League fo
r Human Rights; African Association of Education for Development; Socialist International Women; International Save the Children Alliance; International Federation of ACAT; International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations; Muslim World League; World Muslim Congress; Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation; World Christian Life Community; International Human Rights Law Group; and World Federation of Trade Unions.

The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Monday, 12 April, to continue its debate on civil and political rights.

Statements

MICHEL MONOD, of War Resisters International, said conscientious objection to military service should be supported by the Commission; the Commission should pay special attention to the matter when it was studying reports submitted by member States and by Special Rapporteurs. Military service was often compulsory, and supposedly the reasons for military service were good ones, but in practice it didn't work out that way. Wars were often civil wars; it was difficult for some people to accept that armies existed to protect them.

When towns in regions such as Bosnia or Kosovo were bombed or assaulted by troops of their own supposed countries, what could you say? All were shocked by what was now happening in former Yugoslavia. Should more violence be used to intervene? It seemed only to be further poisoning the situation. Countries should provide for freedom of conscience for those who refused to kill; the Commission should investigate the treatment of conscientious objectors in all armies around the world.

HORACE PERERA, of World Federation of United Nations Associations, said Saudi Arabia violated religious freedom; non-Muslims supposedly had the right to practice their religions there, but they were not allowed to establish and maintain places of worship. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia sponsored the construction of mosques abroad; why did it not tell Muslims elsewhere to practice their religion in their homes, as it expected people of other faiths to do in Saudi Arabia?

There were many Governments that denied the right to religious education, including the right of children to such education. In other cases there was violence against Christian communities, even in democracies -- India was an example. The Hindu extremism that spawned this violence did not represent the true India. The Federation fully supported the relevant Special Rapporteur's contention that humiliation of and intolerance against women "supposedly prescribed by religion or tradition must resolutely be condemned".

JOSE ANTONIO BELO, of Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace, said he himself was a victim of the Indonesian regime in East Timor; he hoped that his testimony would result in the reduction of torture and killing of individuals by the Indonesian military.

Fellow East Timorese continued to be subjected to horrendous abuses, including electric shocks and beatings. He had grave concerns regarding the repressive military rule that existed in Indonesia and the lack of any legal intercession against the severe violations there to people's right to life. Similarly, he felt concern over the situation in Tibet and the lack of positive response by the Chinese Government to the request of the Dalai Lama for peace for the Tibetan people.

ZAHEER KAZMI, of Al-Khoei Foundation, expressed concern over the rise of religious intolerance in many parts of the world, particularly as an instrument of Government policy. Attention was drawn specifically to the cases of Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

If Europeans were to believe that they were living in a truly tolerant and pluralist society, they should address this issue in the context of relations between indigenous religious groups and with regard to the significant migrant religious communities now residing in Europe, many of which were Muslim. The misuse of religion to attempt to legitimize persecution, for example in Afghanistan, was deplored, and this included prohibitions of the right to health care, education and freedom of movement.

FIONA McELREE, of Amnesty International, said that in Algeria persistent human-rights violations by security forces and abuses by armed groups continued; torture and extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and secret detention had become routine; more than 3,000 people had "disappeared" and their families faced a Governmental wall of silence. The Commission must call on the Government to fully implement the recommendations made by the Human Rights Committee last July, appoint a Special Rapporteur for Algeria, urge the Government to invite relevant thematic Special Rapporteurs to visit, and invite the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to visit.


Turkey also continued to have widespread problems with torture and disappearances. And Governments in general should act to ensure that lawyers were able to carry out their work without fear of intimidation or reprisal and should provide protection whenever lawyers were threatened.

JOHN GRAZ, of General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, said the use of ambiguous words by Governments and the media provoked or justified intolerance. The rise of intolerance in certain democratic countries was of grave concern.

Progress had been made in certain countries in the field of religious freedom, especially in South America and Europe. A dialogue between religious representatives and Governments was the only way to protect freedom, justice and peace.

CAILIN MACKENZIE, of International Federation of Journalists, (IFJ) said the Federation was concerned with the atmosphere of repression within the media community caused by a range of laws used against the media.

Serbia was an example, where enactment of a new information law had created a crackdown on media, especially in Kosovo. There were similar situations in Burkina Faso, Cuba, Paraguay, Peru, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. All amounted to serious constraints on the freedom of the press; related offences often were torture and detention. Action by the Commission could ensure that torture victims, human rights activists, trade unionists, journalists and others could enjoy their human rights.

SANJEEWA LIYANAGE, of Asian Legal Resource Centre, said that the experience of the last few decades in dealing with disappearances clearly showed a serious lack of understanding of the magnitude of the problem, the overall effect of such disappearances on society, the root causes of such occurrences and the fundamental issues that needed to be faced in assisting countries to overcome the aftermath and to prevent similar problems in the future.

The efforts of the international community were insufficient. There had been attempts to deal with the systematic practice of disappearances as a crime against humanity, but the judicial processing of such cases had been very complicated. It was necessary to lay down criteria and guidelines for dealing with such situations, and to end the practice of treating such problems as isolated incidents.

SOUHA BECHARA, of North South XXI, said she had seen detainees of Israeli camps and in 1988 was a prisoner herself and released. Lebanese citizens were being subjected to torture such as electric shock in these camps, and many had died under torture. Mothers had not seen their children for months or years. Age also was no protection against these abuses: a 13-year-old had been detained for six months, and the elderly had been detained as well. A number of individuals were identified as having been detained without charges.

Many detainees were held despite serious illnesses. The Committee should pay attention to the cases of these illegal detainees and support the legitimate demand for their release.

JENNY PICKRELL, of Friends World Committee for Consultation, said that the principled stance of those refusing to take up arms had been recognized by the United Nations as a legitimate expression of the right to freedom of thought, speech and religion. Prohibitions of such pacifist behaviour were wrong, and the right to conscientious objection had been recognized, but not by a sufficient number of States.

Those that still did not allow conscientious objection were urged to reconsider and to cease the imprisonment and harassment of conscientious objectors. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should urge States to accept conscientious objectors as political refugees.

MAURICE VERFAILLIE, of International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty, raised the question of religious intolerance and took account of the remarks of the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance, who had stated that such offences were on the rise.

For example, there were unsettling situations of religious intolerance in France and Belgium; there was undue persecution of sects. Press campaigns against these sects violated United Nations human-rights standards, not to mention international standards for tolerance and religious freedom.

MOHAMMED SAFA, of Arab Organization for Human Rights, said Lebanese hostages were suffering in inhuman conditions in Israeli detention camps and prisons; some 170 Lebanese hostages were held; most were in a camp in southern Lebanon, the rest in a prison in Israel. They were not tried or sentenced but simply held. Israel must follow international standards of justice and the Geneva Conventions; these simply were illegal detentions and the health of many of these detainees was suffering.

Thousands of other detainees in Israeli prisons suffered from inhuman conditions; many had not come close to committing crimes; others were routed from their homes and villages by Israeli troops. The world must condemn such abuses and Lebanese and other hostages must be freed and they and their families compensated.

G. G. PONNAMBALAM, of International Association of Democratic Lawyers, said that despite clear and universally agreed standards, violations of basic and fundamental rights continued in many parts of the world, for example in Sri Lanka, where disappearances and summary executions still were carried out.

Effective impunity encouraged violence and was a destabilizing element in all socio-political contexts. It led to arbitrary killings and to an uncontrollable spiralling of violence. Impunity for those responsible for human rights violations remained a grave concern.


TOBY MENDEL, of Article 19: International Centre on Censorship, welcomed the report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and underlined the importance of the role of investigative journalism and the importance of full respect for freedom of expression in the fight against corruption.

There were preconditions for an environment in which investigative journalism flourished; the Commission and its Special Rapporteurs should adopt standards to protect and promote a vibrant, independent media and should raise this subject in their consultations with Governments.

FRANK SELBMANN, of Society for Threatened Peoples, said there were mass disappearances and executions in China of participants in so-called illegal religious activities, along with protest marchers, demonstrators, and human-rights advocates.

A public discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples in China was practically impossible, and these minorities were seeing their cultures and societies threatened, not to mention their liberty. Arbitrary arrests were common, based solely on ethnic grounds. Forcible sterilization was frequent. The Government of China needed to allow freedom of expression and should release immediately all prisoners of conscience.

ROHITHA BASHANA ABEYWARDANE, of International Peace Bureau, said there were violations of civil and political rights in Sri Lanka, including cases in which Tamils had been arrested arbitrarily. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions had stated in his report that the systematic absence of investigation into human-rights violations facilitated impunity and highlighted the fact that Sri Lankan security forces and armed forces had employed torture to obtain information and to intimidate the Tamil population.

The Commission should take immediate steps to condemn Sri Lanka's human-rights violations and should appoint a Special Rapporteur to investigate and report on this serious situation.

VERENA GRAF, of International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples, said that the dispersal of prisoners served to deny them their rights, such as the right to defence. It also served to imprison them without trial, since dispersal impeded knowledge of the plight of detainees. This policy was implemented by the Spanish and French Governments. The Basque Parliament had called for a halt to such dispersals.

One of the symbols of impunity, General Pinochet, had fallen. However, this had left many unsatisfied, since many who were similarly guilty had escaped justice. This should be remedied. Impunity affected all the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, since it generated violations across the board. The Commission should address the wrongfulness of prison dispersal and act to combat impunity.


KASHINATH PANDITA, of African Commission of Health and Human Right Promoters, said the NGO would have liked to have a more comprehensive report from the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance -- one that contained replies from the States regarding religious intolerance committed in their countries.

School and educational propagation of religious intolerance was a problem. The work of some Arab states, especially Morocco, was to be commended. Morocco had revised schoolbooks to recognize and respect other religions besides Islam. The Commission should set up a working group to discuss and formulate mechanisms for continuous inter-civilizational dialogue. A new interpretation of religious tolerance and harmony needed to be formulated and introduced taking into account not only its ethical but also economic and social imperatives in an era of globalization.

CHARLES GRAVES, of Interfaith International, said there were problems of religious intolerance in Sri Lanka, where Buddhism held the foremost place, as stipulated in the Constitution. This led to threats to the Tamil people, mostly Hindus. Religion was used to bolster the authority of the State, and this exacerbated political tensions. It was time for a solution to this religious, political and cultural problem. Frank discussions over the economic and humanitarian consequences of continuing the Sri Lankan conflict should be held.

There also were mounting incidents of religious and racial intolerance in the Sudan. Respect for religious traditions should be re-established in that country. The Government should respect all religious elements within Sudanese society.

ROGER WAREHAM, of International Association Against Torture (AICT), said that the AICT had been born out of the struggle against Chile's Augusto Pinochet and other United States-supported fascist dictatorships in Latin America.

There were terrible conditions in prisons in the United States; the situation of torture, political prisoners and impunity there had been described by the Special Rapporteur on torture, who had noted the mistreatment of immigrants by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); and by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions who criticized the United States for its violation of the spirit of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights through its continued implementation of the death penalty.

MARTYN DOOLAARD, of World Council of Churches, on behalf of Lutheran World Federation, the Conference of European Churches, and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, said there were new legal provisions in many countries whereby an increasing level of State control was exercised over religious institutions, and minority religions were increasingly restricted. It was a matter of grave concern.


Many countries had established new legal provisions affecting religions freedom, and many countries were in the process of drafting new religious frameworks. These involved serious setbacks for religious communities that now enjoyed religious freedom even if the legel measures respected the practice of freedom of religion for the individual. Religions had been increasingly mobilized by competing interests seeking to maintain or secure political influence. There was a need to foster a culture of tolerance through education.

MASOOMA ALI, of Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, said the twentieth century continued to be marked by the evil of religious intolerance based on perverted interpretations of various scriptures. Inculcation of respect for all religions should take place through the medium of education, whether in the home or in schools. It was the formative years of childhood that were the most important.

Traditional secularism was threatened by terrorist groups espousing a fundamentalist version of Islam in Pakistan -- a reflection of the ethos that the military dictators of Pakistan and their successors had established. The trend towards community identification based on religion carried with it the virus of ever increasing violence. Respect for religions and equality for minorities were essential ingredients of any democratic polity.

ELIZABETH WONG, of Rural Reconstruction Nepal, said the people of Southeast Asia were being subjected to a disturbing trend of increasing suppression of civil and political rights, notably in Malaysia, where matters were extremely grave. There were cases of torture, arbitrary arrest, police assault, extra-judicial killings, rape, and forced disappearances.

The Commission needed to dispatch the Special Rapporteurs on torture, detention, and extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions to investigate the state of affairs there, and the international community needed to make it clear that these offences were unacceptable. It was time to take steps to encourage a genuine commitment to human rights and the rule of law in Malaysia.

KAMARAINIAH KAMARUSARAN, of International League for Human Rights, said the courts in at least two seemingly democratic States in Southeast Asia -- Singapore and Malaysia -- had been under such intense political attack that the people of both countries could no longer rely on judges to safeguard their individual rights or protect their views.

There was a great crisis of impunity and non-accountability at the highest levels in Malaysia, as exemplified by erosion of the independence of the judiciary; the country's future democracy and prosperity were threatened. The most high-profile case, of course, was that of Anwar Ibrahim, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, where presumption of innocence had been blatantly ignored by the highest authorities in the land. There must be a renewal of respect for the rule of law and reaffirmation of separation of powers within the Government.


ABRAHAM YAYEH, of African Association of Education for Development, said the Ethiopian Government continued with impunity to deny its citizens the basic rights of freedom of movement, access to information, and association; this was true both of individuals and groups in public life.

Numerous situations could be cited: the journalist Moti Biya was imprisoned; Ethiopia had been known to commit untold atrocities towards religious leaders and institutions; and, in violation of international borders, Ethiopia had assassinated innocent citizens seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. The African Association of Education for Development urged the international community and concerned persons to do all they could to help bring about a peaceful and just resolution to the Ethiopian-Eritrean war.

KAREN STASIUS, of Socialist International Women, said there were many situations in the world where civil and political rights were being violated, notably in the case of the Tamils in the Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka.

Disappearances occurred at high levels, a contributing factor to which was impunity. The majority of disappearances were of young boys and girls, who were tortured to death. Mass graves had been revealed. Rape was used as a weapon of war. The civilian population had suffered greatly from inhuman acts and genocide. It was hoped that both parties would find a way that would finally and rapidly lead to a lasting negotiated political solution which would guarantee the dignity and human rights of all.

FEDERICA DONATI, of International Save the Children Alliance, said the increasing number of cases of torture of children world-wide was a cause of great concern; Article 2.2 to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment prohibited such abuses against children. Horrifying torture was inflicted on children to obtain confessions or to punish them for often petty offences or to draw in a third person for questioning.

Because of an unwillingness to apply the law, both nationally and internationally, children were not protected from torture. Save the Children Alliance called on all States to implement independent monitoring and investigative procedures; train all judiciary and those responsible for the care of children in detention and confinement; ratify the Convention; and bring laws into conformity with the Convention.

MARIE-JO COCHER, of International Federation of ACAT, said there was an urgent need for more countries to ratify the Convention against Torture. There were too many States which had not ratified the Convention, among them Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In Congo, there were constant and systematic violations of human rights, and an immense loss of life. There had been forced displacement due to a general atmosphere of insecurity. Many young and old people were dying of hunger or sickness. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there was an equally great violation of human rights. Children were kidnapped and women raped. The Commission needed to investigate these situations.

SHABIR AHMED DAR, of the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, said that torture of individuals held in detention by State agents was a global phenomenon. The methods of torture were most brutal, and included psychological torture. The victims included political activists, journalists, lawyers, human-rights defenders and children.

Torture was systematically practiced to silence opposition and resistance to the occupying power, even if the resistance was peaceful and political. A prime example was Kashmir. The Commission needed to act to bring about an end to such inhuman practices, and hold those individuals who committed these crimes and States that sanctioned them accountable for their actions.

MIR TAHIR MASOOD, of Muslim World League, said the Commission must do something about the continuing practice of summary executions and extra-judicial killings in various parts of the world; Indian forces had become very accomplished at these acts. During the last ten years, Indian military and para-military forces in occupied Kashmir had refined their method to perfection, and it was used by India with telling effect in Eastern Punjab; the experience gained by Indian military and para-military forces in Eastern Punjab was now being applied in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Typically those killed were detained by Indian forces; their bodies, bearing multiple bullet wounds and often marks of torture, were returned to relatives or discovered a day or two afterward. The Commission could not ignore such systematic killings. The international community must do something.

G. M. SAFI, of World Muslim Congress, said that impunity was the mother of all human-rights violations, since where there was more certainty of punishment perpetrators would reconsider carrying out such reprehensible actions.

India was a State that conferred impunity and rewarded perpetrators of human-rights violations for services rendered. India had empowered its Army and para-military forces with "legal" methods of suppression under the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act of 1990 and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which authorized the Indian Armed Forces to arrest anyone or to search any place without a judicial warrant. The World Muslim Congress expressed the hope that the newly established International Criminal Court would start working soon to bring States practicing impunity to account.

S. K. TICKOO, of the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said the Kashmiri Pandits had a recorded history of 5,075 years. Despite this, they had been hounded, hungered, dispossessed, deported and persecuted by Islamist extremists abetted by external forces. The world had not awakened to this, despite 10 years of the Kashmiri Pandits living in a wilderness of pain, destitution and homelessness. They continued to be persecuted for the fact that they were not Muslims, and were therefore an impediment to the goal of the total Islamization of Kashmir.

With the world poised to enter a new millenium, the right of the Kashmiri Pandits to habitat, life and cultural heritage was being usurped by an unacceptable view of existence -- that ethnicity, culture and nationhood issued from religion.

EVE LESTER, of World Christian Life Community, also speaking on behalf of Jesuit Refugee Service said more attention should be paid to the human rights of the forcibly displaced throughout the world, especially those in detention. The fourteen guarantees outlined by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention should be adhered to, but in fact numerous Governments persisted in arbitrarily detaining refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons, including children.

The Commission should affirm the general applicability of the Human Rights Committee’s Communication No. 560/1993; endorse the minimum guarantees required for ensuring that detention was not arbitrary as set out by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and consider the matter at the 56th session of the Commission under the item entitled "Question of the human rights of all persons subjected to any form of detention or imprisonment."

ISAIAS ROJAS, of International Human Rights Law Group, speaking on behalf of several Cambodian human rights NGOs, said there was a serious situation of impunity in Cambodia. There had been a failure of the Government to ensure accountability, and to investigate and prosecute serious violations of human rights. Many violations had occurred without investigation or arrest. This included a mass murder occurring during a peaceful and authorized demonstration.

In Peru, the human-rights situation was also disturbing, with the rise of terrorist groups and continuing complaints of torture. The Peruvian Government needed to act impartially in this respect and others. There were still numerous disappearances, and those responsible either unidentified or went unpunished. Impunity should be fought. Humanity could not afford the luxury of entering the new millenium without resolving such situations.

GENEI SHINOJI, of World Federation of Trade Unions, said it was important to assure freedom of expression. The Commission should study the current Pakistani Government treatment of the Jung group of newspapers.

There were other situations of the lack of freedom of expression, such as offences perpetrated by the United States in suppressing information on the effects of chemicals in the Gulf War, among other things. Freedom of expression could be guaranteed only when multiple channels of communication were allowed to operate.