SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS FROM SOUTH AFRICA, BELGIUM, ZAMBIA AND KENYA ADDRESS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Commission on Human Rights
57th session
21 March 2001
Afternoon






Debate Begins on Right to Self-Determination



The Commission on Human Rights heard statements this afternoon from Government officials of South Africa, Belgium, Zambia and Kenya who said there was a need for further progress in realizing fundamental rights and freedoms.

Nkosalzan Dlamini-Zuma, Minister for Foreign Affairs of South Africa, said the non-observance of human rights impinged on the overall well-being of the human family, and any violation of human dignity constituted an affront to humanity as a whole. She said South Africa was ready to work with all participants at the forthcoming World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance to be held in Durban, South Africa.

Louis Michel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium, said that full respect for human rights could be guaranteed only when the principles of equality and non-discrimination were respected. He noted the strong opposition of the European Union to capital punishment and stressed it should never be imposed on those who were minors at the time of the crime, or on pregnant women or mentally ill persons.

Bonaventure Chibamba Mutale, Attorney-General of Zambia, said Zambia faced serious development problems that affected human rights and the country lacked resources for social expenditure to alleviate such problems as widespread poverty and high rates of AIDS infection because much of its budget went to pay off a heavy foreign debt.


Amos Wako, Attorney-General of Kenya, said it was regrettable that the scourge of racism had not only continued unabated, but had evolved to include new and contemporary forms, and remarked that Africa had suffered enough from the ravages of racism and xenophobia during the centuries of slavery and the slave trade, and during the long years of colonization.

The Commission also briefly continued its debate on the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights. Statements were provided by Kuwait, Iraq, Palestine and Jordan.

And it began discussion of its agenda item on the right of peoples to self-determination and its application to peoples under colonial or alien domination or foreign occupation. A statement under this item was offered by Syria.

Israel, Palestine and Turkey spoke in exercise of their right of reply.

The Commission will continue its debate on self-determination when it reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 22 March.


Right to Self-determination

Under this item the Commission has before it a note by the High Commissioner on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2001/18) containing summaries of the papers presented by the Special Rapporteur and other Experts on mercenary activity. The report reviews international, regional and national legislation relating to the phenomenon of mercenaries and measures to implement existing legislation. It also addresses the relevance of the international definition of mercenary activity and traditional and current forms of mercenary activities. The report recommends that the United Nations reaffirm its condemnation of mercenary activity and associated crimes, whether by States, organizations, groups or individuals. It also calls upon the United Nations to recognize that there are new kinds of mercenaries which require additional action and measures and recommends, inter alia, that a systematic and comprehensive review of the legal definition of mercenary be considered as a matter of urgency.

There also is a report of Enrique Bernales Ballesteros, Special Rapporteur on the right of peoples to self-determination and its application to peoples under colonial or alien domination or foreign occupation (E/CN.4/2001/19), which reviews, among other things, the activities of the Special Rapporteur on the implementation of the programme of activities and the correspondence sent and received in 2000; mercenary activities in Africa including activities in the States of Angola, Sierra Leone, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea-Bissau; the present situation as regards mercenary activities including sections on traditional forms of mercenary activities, terrorism and mercenaries, criminal associations, private security and military assistance companies operating internationally, and problems raised by a legal definition of mercenarism; and the current status of the international convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries.

The report concludes that the number of mercenary activities has not diminished and that international efforts to prevent and prosecute such activities have been inadequate. It contends that particular attention should be paid to the participation of mercenaries in illegal activities such as terrorist acts, illegal trafficking in persons, drugs, diamonds, and organized crime.

Statements

NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, said the non-observance of human rights impinged on the overall well-being of the human family and any violation of human dignity constituted an affront to humanity as a whole. For that reason, the international community often needed to act as the collective conscience of humanity when it was confronted with increasing incidents of human rights abuses and the growth of racism and racial discrimination. To that end States should not be selective in registering their deep concern wherever such abuses occurred. The international community should act without fear or favour.

Later on this year, she said, delegates from all over the world would come to Durban, South Africa, to participate in the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. The meeting would give the international community a chance to take a rest from its long walk, survey the past, appreciate the present and map out the future.

The Conference should provide a bridge between the past of deeply divided societies and experiences such as slavery, colonial exploitation, racism which resulted in strife, conflict, untold suffering and injustice, and a future founded on the recognition and acknowledgement of justice, human rights, democracy, respect for diverse cultures, languages, religions and more importantly founded on the equality of human beings irrespective of race, colour, class or gender.

Talking about how to bridge the past and the future might be uncomfortable, Mrs. Dlamini-Zuma said. Change was usually uncomfortable. Yet it should be possible to work towards a world and a future where a Palestinian child and an Israeli child could have access to food, shelter, health services, education and security. A future where the Palestinians would have their own motherland and live in harmony with their Israeli neighbours. One should work towards a future where an African child was proud to be an African and didn’t aspire to be European or white because the white colour and race guaranteed food, shelter, education and security. A world where women enjoyed all freedoms and were an integral part of the political class, business class, professional class, and religious leadership and still were able to be mothers and wives. A world where one could land at any airport and be treated as a human being irrespective of colour, nationality, religion or gender.

LOUIS MICHEL, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium, said his country hoped to see the establishment of a universal alliance to combat racism. Humanistic and democratic values inspired the approach adopted by Belgium in international relations. Belgium wished to pursue a proactive policy for the respect and promotion of human rights. New budgetary provisions had enabled Belgium to reinforce its protection of human rights at all levels. Belgium hoped to provide greater assistance to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Full respect for human rights could be guaranteed only when the principles of equality and non-discrimination were respected. Respect for the right to life, the principle of equality between men and women and the principle of non-racial discrimination was of particular importance. Since 1997, the European Union had strongly opposed capital punishment and was of the opinion that it should never be imposed on those who were minors at the time of commission of the crime and should never be imposed on pregnant women or persons who were mentally ill. The principle of gender equality should be translated into the full participation of women in political, economic, social and cultural life and the elimination of all forms of gender-based discrimination. The Government of Belgium pursued a proactive policy to combat this form of discrimination and had enacted numerous legislative measures to this end.

Belgium was particularly concerned about the condition of women around the world, Mr. Michel said. Their rights continued to be seriously violated in many regions. Of particular concern were violations of the rights of women in Afghanistan and the numerous restrictions imposed on Afghan women. The international community should work together against racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other cases of “rejection of the other”. Such forms of intolerance constituted threats to democracy and to the values of equality, human dignity, social cohesion and the principle that every individual had the right to participate in society.

BONAVENTURE CHIBAMBA MUTALE, Attorney-General of Zambia, said that Zambia found itself in a veritable development quagmire intrinsically linked to the realization of its people's human rights and fundamental freedoms. Young democracies needed to entrench democratic institutions in order to uphold human rights, since the deprivation of human rights had been the cause of armed conflict. Thus, Zambia had become a state party to all six major human rights instruments elaborated by the United Nations, and also to the African Charter on Human Rights. However, Zambia's external debt burden continued to be a distressing problem and eroded the resources needed for essential social services. Zambia lacked the necessary capital to develop her natural wealth and suffered from a lack of foreign direct investment. In 2000, Zambia had attained a decision under the Enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and hoped to shift the focus of her resource expenditure to poverty reduction and economic growth. Zambia had also benefited from debt-rescheduling agreements with the Paris Club since 1983, but called for total debt cancellation, as the debt was a major obstacle to sustainable development.

Mr. Mutale said Zambia's position was worsened by the high incidence of poverty and HIV/AIDS infection in the country. Some 70 per cent of the population was affected by poverty, and 30 per cent of the population was HIV-positive. The Zambian Government had implemented social safety net programmes including, among others, the National Poverty Reduction Action Plan, a National Trust Fund for the Disabled and a Programme for Urban Self Help. The Government had adopted an implementation plan on gender policy designed to attain equality between the sexes, and it had participated in the SADC Regional Conference assessing progress on the prevention and eradication of violence against women and children. The Government planned to invest in children's programmes with special reference to orphans, vulnerable children and street children. Zambia had prepared her initial report as a State party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Attorney-General said Zambia abhorred every aspect of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. A National Capacity Building Programme for Good Governance had been launched last year, as promotion and protection of human rights called for duties to be met by both the State and civil society. The Zambian Government had the sustainable political will to realize human rights.

AMOS WAKO, Attorney-General of Kenya, speaking on behalf of the African Group, said that with globalization, the world was rapidly being moulded into "a shared social space by economic and technological forces". That global village, just like the nation-state, could not be cohesive without shared values and aspirations. It was those shared values and aspirations which would constitute a crucial step towards creating a global culture of peace and a world free of racism and ethnic discrimination.

Mr. Wako said the African Group attached utmost importance to the forthcoming World Conference Against Racism and Racial Discrimination scheduled to take place in Durban, South Africa. The Group warmly welcomed the symbolic significance of its venue: South Africa, a country which only recently succeeded in its quest for democratic governance based on equality and non-discrimination after decades of institutionalized racial discrimination.

It was regrettable that the scourge of racism had not only continued unabated, but had evolved to include new and contemporary forms, Mr. Wako said. There was no doubt the African continent had suffered greatly from the ravages of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. That was clearly manifested in the centuries of brutality visited on the continent in the name of slavery and the slave trade, and in the long years of colonization and its negative effects.

Mr. Wako said the situation of poverty in the world was most deplorable, and eradicating extreme poverty was the greatest human rights challenge faced by the world. The African Group believed that the realization of the right to development would be a crucial step in promoting tolerance and equal opportunity for all human beings, and in addressing situations of extreme poverty.

The discrimination faced by migrants had recently come to the fore with increased media coverage of situations of mistreatment of African migrants, particularly in industrialized countries which had often been portrayed as bastions of human rights protection. It was deplorable that migrants suffered discrimination on so many fronts, including in the granting of visas and work permits and through gross underpayment, poor working conditions, and long hours of work. This was a dangerous trend and an obstacle to the achievement of human rights.

ABDULLAH AL-ASKAR (Kuwait) said that serious violations of human rights continued in the occupied territories, as evidenced in the report of the High Commissioner on her visit to the region. Kuwait was still waiting for concrete measures to protect the Palestinian people, including the establishment of an international presence in the occupied territories.

Kuwait called on Israel to fully implement the Geneva Conventions. Peace could be achieved only through peaceful negotiations and full implementation by Israel of international humanitarian law and relevant human rights instruments.

SAMER AL-NAMA (Iraq) said the human rights situation in the occupied territories of Palestine had taken a sharp turn for the worse since September. The High Commissioner's report was an authentic testimony to the situation and the gravity of the violations of human rights of Palestinians which had led to thousands of civilians being injured, particularly children. The Palestinian people had suffered the worst forms of human rights violations at the hands of the Zionist forces over the past decades. Collective and individual murder, expulsion, premeditated bombing and shelling, the destruction of homes and arbitrary seizure of lands were characteristic of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Those who claimed to have been the victims of the Nazis had now been inflicting the same treatment on the Palestinians.

During the lead-up to the World Conference in Durban, the Commission was called upon to help protect the Palestinians from the racist practices and genocide of the Zionist forces. An international presence in the occupied territories of Palestine was needed. Israeli forces that had committed crimes against humanity needed to be brought to justice.

NABIL RAMBLAWI (Palestine) said his delegation expressed profound regret that the High Commissioner for Human Rights was not seeking another term in office. The conclusions she had drawn in her report about her visit in the Middle East were to be lauded. She spoke of the need for withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian territories; and she also mentioned the need for the implementation of the Geneva Conventions. She also suggested sanctions against the perpetrators of the repression committed in the region. The High Commissioner also called for the payment of compensation to those who had lost their properties and whose houses had been demolished by the Israeli forces.

High Commissioner Mary Robinson should be complimented for the quality of her report.

SHEHAB A. MADI (Jordan) said his country shared the regrets expressed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights that the efforts of the international community had not brought an end to the hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territories. Like the High Commissioner, Jordan was deeply concerned over the deterioration of the human rights situation there. Jordan fully supported the High Commissioner's conclusions and recommendations as they appeared in her report and called for their implementation.

Of special concern were those recommendations that called for the application of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to the occupied Palestinian territories as well as the protection of Palestinians from violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers; the dismantling of existing settlements and the ceasing of the construction of new ones; investigation into lethal use of force, the bringing of those responsible to justice, and the compensation of victims of this unlawful use of force; the avoidance of the use of curfews as punitive measures; and the protection of the economic rights of Palestinians.

KHABBAZ HAMOUI FAYSAL (Syria) said there were parties which had not wanted to discuss the right to self-determination or to admit it. Syria had always supported the exercise of this right. The majority of colonized countries had gained their right, yet others now struggled to regain it. Israel and all those who supported its had not wished to admit the right of self-determination for the peoples on its soil. They believed genocide, seizure of land and murder were actions needed to bring the Palestinian people to their knees. History had given many examples that such behaviour had not worked, as evidenced by the liberation of the colonized world. The right to self-determination was fundamental and inalienable. Israel and those who forgave her sins denied this right to the peoples of the world. People had spoken here of the intolerance of racism, but continued to turn a blind eye to the denial of dear and fundamental rights to the Palestinian people.

The Israeli Government had neglected to respond to the memorandum of the United Nations Security Council last year, and that was evidence that Israel had and continued to flaunt the resolutions of the UN. Israel needed to cease its racist practices and to allow the Palestinian people the right to self-determination. The Commission was called upon to support the guarantee of fundamental rights to the Palestinian people. Israel needed to accept the dictates of logic and justice and give the Palestinians their right to self-determination.


Rights of Reply

A Representative of Israel, speaking in right of reply, asked what the Palestinian Authority was. He said a Palestinian Minister had told the Egyptian media that the intifada violence would last for a long time and that it would topple the new Israeli Government within six months. A change in the situation prevailing between Israelis and Palestinians should be based on ending the violence and returning to the negotiating table in order to achieve a lasting peace agreement.

A Representative of Palestine, speaking in right of reply, said that Israel was the last one be entitled to talk about violence. Israel occupied Palestine by violence in 1948 and completed the occupation in 1967, also by violence. Sharon had recently invaded the Al Aqsa Mosque by violence under the protection of a massive police force. If the Israeli occupation, the use of force, the firing of missiles from aircraft, political executions and assassinations, and the creation of settlements did not constitute acts of violence, what did? Israel was used to committing crimes and then blaming others but it could not fool the Commission.

A Representative of Turkey, speaking in right of reply, said Turkey felt compelled to correct the misrepresentation of the Greek Cypriot representative in his remarks this morning. The Greek Cypriot Representative had said that the embargoes on the Turkish Cypriot people had been imposed by the international community. In fact, they were unrelated to international actions but arbitrarily applied by the Greek Cypriots much earlier.



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