SPEAKERS AT COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ADDRESS ISSUES ON PERSECUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION, IMPUNITY, AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Commission on Human Rights
57th session
19 April 2001
Morning







High Commissioner for Human Rights of
Central African Republic Takes the Floor



The Commission on Human Rights this morning heard from country delegations and a large number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who addressed a wide variety of issues, ranging from the persecution of human rights defenders, and the importance of establishing human rights education, to the need to stop impunity and capital punishment.

The Commission was also addressed by Jeannette Dethoua, High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Central African Republic, who said that the beginning of the democratic process in 1990 had led to winds of change in her country, and that there was now much more enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms. There had been significant progress in human rights, including through new legislation and a mounting struggle against impunity. The strengthening of judicial authorities, the foundation of any State, needed to be consolidated. She wished to make a real cry for further help for her country, Ms. Dethoua said, since with such assistance, the Central African Republic would make further significant progress in establishing effective human rights protection.

Continuing its debate on the promotion and protection of human rights, the Commission heard a number of statements on the importance of education. Costa Rica said education was a way for society to fight all forms of racism. The International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education pointed out that although the decade for human rights education had been proclaimed, a huge gap remained between the intentions and the resources allocated for its implementation. Clearly there was a lack of political will, the NGO Representative said.


On the issue of perpetrators of human rights, Kuwait said that its laws ensured against impunity. And Pax Romana said that despite various sanctions calling for no amnesty for persons who committed serious human rights violations, impunity remained an important attribute of political power.

Another topic raised was the persecution of human-rights defenders. The World Organization against Torture said such persecution continued to increase, and reprehensible methods used included extrajudicial executions, harassment, prohibition against meeting, slander and sanctions against non-governmental organizations. The International League for Human Rights said that the best strategy for protecting human rights defenders was to make frequent and forceful public statements on individual cases, coupled with private written inquiries by UN mechanisms. The League urged the Commission to condemn attacks on human rights defenders.

With regards to the death penalty, Amnesty International said a small number of States still executed offenders who had been under 18 when they committed their crimes. While Amnesty welcomed countries which had taken legislative measures to exclude the death penalty for such young offenders, the few States that continued this appalling practise violated customary international law and their own treaty obligations. And the Transnational Radical Party said the death penalty was a problem for civilized people and society. The death penalty and civilization were a contradiction in terms. The death penalty had no reason to belong to any justice system as it was based on revenge, discrimination and violence.

NGOs made accusations of violations in a number of States and regions.

Costa Rica, Chile, Kuwait and Nicaragua addressed the Commission this morning. The Representatives of the following non-governmental organizations also took the floor: International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education; World Organization against Torture; International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples; Pax Romana; Association for World Education; Reporters Without Borders; Amnesty International; Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund; World Federation of United Nations Associations; International League for Human Rights; Latin American Federation of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees; International Educational Development; Colombian Commission of Jurists, Soka Gakkai International; Transnational Party; Pax Christi International; Women’s Federation for World Peace International; ALIRAN, World Alliance of Reformed Churches; and Agir Ensemble our les droits de l’hommes.

When the Committee meets at 3 p.m., it will conclude its discussion on the promotion and protection on human rights and will start its consideration of its agenda item on effective functioning of human rights mechanisms, its agenda item under which it deals with issues concerning treaty bodies, national institutions and regional arrangements, and adaptation and strengthening of the United Nations machinery for human rights.


Statements

JEANNETTE DETHOUA, High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Central African Republic, said the beginning of the democratic process in 1990 had led to winds of change in the country; there was now much more enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms. There was also a real awareness of respect for universal human rights, based on the involvement of all members of society. There had been significant progress in human rights, including through new legislation and a mounting struggle against impunity. The strengthening of judicial authorities, the foundation of any State, needed to be consolidated. The situation of prisons and detention centres was a matter of concern, and efforts were being made to improve them -- efforts for which international aid was requested.

A High Commission on Human Rights had been established which she had directed since 1999, the High Commissioner said; it carried out wide-ranging activities to establish a human-rights culture, to strengthen democracy, to train specialists in human rights, and to provide human-rights education for schools and other sectors of society. Unfortunately, these activities were limited by a lack of resources.

A summary of the activities of the High Commission last year were available to the Commission through a report being distributed, Ms. Dethoua said. If progress had been made, it was owed in great part to many bilateral contributions from, among other countries, France, the United States, China, and Morocco. The United Nations had also provided substantial help. And she was grateful to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for technical cooperation.

Ms. Dethoua said she wished to make a real cry for further help for her country. With such assistance, the Central African Republic would made further significant progress in establishing effective human rights protection.

NORA RUIZ DE ANGULO (Costa Rica) said that education in her country was an ongoing process aimed at promoting peace. It was a means to promote individual identity and a tool to promote the individual's dignity. It was also a challenge for the globalized future. Education was also another way for society to fight all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related intolerance. Costa Rica gave high importance to education through its increased allocation of resources to the education sector. In addition, education in human rights had been expanded through the collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The belief in education should be a life-long commitment by the international community, particularly by the United Nations system.

In addition to the Ministry of Peace of Costa Rica, a University of Peace had been included in the process of expanding education. The decade for education in the field of human rights had been supported by a series of activities in Costa Rica. The campaign for the total elimination of illiteracy had been intensified; textbooks had been published to include human rights teachings; and education had been made a way of life in all areas of the society.

JUAN ENRIQUE VEGA (Chile) said that when the will of the few sought to administer the public order for others without substantial respect for ethical core values and human rights, society risked falling into chaos and destruction. It was necessary that the value of life and basic conditions for its improvement went hand-in-hand with effective enjoyment of them, and that societies promoted the public virtues of every-day life and values related to the dignity of the human being, the rights of individuals, and respect for human diversity.


Chile was aware that it still had to provide considerably more effort towards generalizing education in democracy to develop a culture of peace. One step taken in this regard was educational reform; but the key to a situation of tolerance and peace was in construction of mutual respect in the realm of the family as well as the community. These ideas appeared more relevant than ever in light of the approaching World Conference against Racism.

NAJEEB AL-BADER (Kuwait) said his delegation supported the work of the Special Representative on human rights defenders and her report had enlightened the Commission. Kuwaiti legislation had a number of provisions which punished those involved in the violation of human rights. The law had also excluded impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of human rights and other crimes pertaining to humanitarian law. Several committees had also been established to promote and protect human rights in the Kuwaiti society. In addition, Kuwait supported the efforts of the international community and the United Nations' efforts in the promotion and protection of human rights. It had also collaborated with international mechanisms in the field of human rights.

LESTER MEJIA SOLIS (Nicaragua) said his country had achieved major progress in promoting human rights in recent years; its population had chosen a genuine democracy and rule of law, and now Nicaragua was experiencing a period of wide-ranging change to society and Governmental and legal institutions. Many legislative bills had been drafted and a number had already been implemented to bolster human rights, especially in the area of administration of justice. Other steps had been taken at the administrative level, among other things, related to criminal and civil proceedings, to make public administration subject to judicial control and to make the branches of State truly independent.

The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office monitored the activities of the State and the status of the dignity of the person. An Ombudsman for Children monitored the rights of this particularly vulnerable group. Various educational programmes sought to forge a culture of tolerance and peace.

ROBERT TROCME, of the International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education, in a joint statement with the International Movement against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism, Soka Gakkai International and OIDEL, said that although the General Assembly had unanimously proclaimed the decade for human rights education, a huge gap remained between the intentions and the resources allocated for its implementation. Clearly, there was a lack of political will. The reluctance of States was easy to understand in most cases, but in the case of nations that had demonstrated overall concern for human rights issues, the unwillingness to move ahead had yet to be explained. On one hand, Western democracies often considered human rights as being at the heart of their own political culture. Human rights education, in that view, was a means to gain political maturity, and thus remained as issue for States that were still undergoing democratization. On the other hand, States with less efficient educational systems would recognize that human rights education was important in principle. But they would not acknowledge it as a top priority since the educational system itself lacked essential resources. In many cases, they would argue that access to primary education could not be guaranteed. Such advocacy did not stand scrutiny.

CHRISTIAN MOUNZED, of World Organization against Torture, speaking on behalf of two other NGOs, said persecution of human-rights defenders continued to increase; many reprehensible methods were used, including extrajudicial executions, harassment, prohibition against meeting, slander, and sanctions against NGOs. The Special Representative should give special attention to dangers facing human-rights defenders in Central America; in Colombia, Guatemala, and Brazil there were problems. In the Maghreb countries there also was sophisticated harassment of human-rights defenders, including Tunisia. In Egypt, restrictive freedom of association standards were being considered.

Other problems had occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Asia, and Iran, among other places. It was imperative that the Special Representative combat such abuses. And States must show that their support of the Special Representative's mandate was sincere.

SEVERINO MAURUTTO, of the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples, in a joint statement, said that two defenders of the human rights of Western Saharawis and members of the truth and justice forum of the Sahara section had been prevented from coming to Geneva to introduce their findings. The forum was an association which was struggling to elucidate the human rights violations perpetrated by Morocco since 1975 against the Saharawi population. The association was unable to work normally through cooperation with other organizations which were providing moral and material support to the association because of the military encirclement of the population. The association was restricted in its activities because of its intentions to expose to the international community the crimes committed by the State of Morocco against the people of the Western Sahara.

JOSEPH RAJKUMAR, of Pax Romana, speaking on behalf of another NGO, said impunity was an increasing problem, despite various sanctions calling for no amnesty for persons who committed serious human rights violations. Impunity remained an important attribute of political power; it overshadowed all democracies, impeding progress towards a rightful culture of human rights. Besides pointing out State responsibility for combatting impunity, a number of Rapporteurs and Experts of the Commission had raised the issue of impunity of non-State actors, including the corporate sector, such as transnational corporations that illegally transported and dumped toxic wastes.

The Commission, at its fifty-sixth session, had passed resolution 2000/68 noting the possibility of appointing an Independent Expert charged with examining all aspects of the issue of impunity. It was to be hoped that such an appointment would be made; but it also would be useful if the Subcommission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was asked to pursue its unfinished task of exploring through a working paper or similar effort possible mechanisms for battling impunity.

DAVID LITTMAN, of the Association for World Education, said that in her opening address to the Commission on 19 March, the High Commissioner for Human Rights had asked a pertinent question: how could one tap into more to the immense resources of the NGO community and involve them more directly in the work of the UN? She had often said that the Commission "is meant to embody the conscience of humanity". On that point, there might well be "a time to keep silence" but NGOs should always be allowed "a time to speak". One response was self-evident: NGOs should not be muzzled nor should their personnel be attacked at any UN body. Since 1997, the Association had covered several aspects of this issue in three written statements: E/CN.4/1997/NGO/85 - on the 1988 Genocidal Charter of the Palestinian Movement Hamas; E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/NGO/15, entitled "Incitement to Genocide as an International Crime: Recent case of Iran" ; and the most comprehensive of the written statements on that subject: E/CN.4/1999/NGO/4, entitled "the 1948 Genocide Convention and the Struggle against Racism".

GEORGE GORDON-LENNOX, of Reporters Without Borders, said that in many countries reporters played vital roles in denouncing human-rights violations, often at great danger to themselves. Certain States and armed groups did not hesitate to eliminate such journalists. In Sri Lanka, a BBC journalist had been killed after reporting on violence against civilians by the EPDP militia during general elections. In Europe, an Italian reporter had been assassinated after reporting on violations committed by Russian troops against Chechnyens. A journalist of Radio Free Europe had been arrested by federal forces while leaving Grozny after criticizing actions of Russian forces in Chechnya.

Violations of the human rights of journalists also had occurred in Colombia, Togo, Tunisia, Indonesia, Syria, Burma, and Iran. Reporters without Borders solemnly requested the Commission to condemn countries that violated the rights of journalists.

MELINDA CHING, of Amnesty International, said that since 1990, 26 persons, who were younger than 18 years when they committed their crimes, were known to have been executed in seven countries, which, apart from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran and the United States, included Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Amnesty International welcomed that those countries had since taken legislative measures to exclude the death penalty for such young offenders, although it regretted that over 50 such offenders remained on death row in Pakistan. The imposition of the death penalty on persons who were children when they committed the crime was now extremely rare. The very few States that continued that appalling practice violated customary international law, as the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights had affirmed in resolution 16 January 2000/17. In some cases, those States violated their own treaty obligations.

YVES LADOR, of Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund, said the fast evolution of the question of human rights and the environment called for the Commission to devote much more attention to it. Already the linkage had been illustrated during the current session by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, the Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, the Special Rapporteur on the illicit traffic and dumping of toxic wastes, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) speaking under item 10 of the agenda. And French President Jacques Chirac, speaking here two weeks ago, had asked the Commission to contribute to the Rio Plus 10 Summit by reaffirming the right to a protected and preserved environment.

The Commission must participate as early as possible in the review process 10 years after the 1992 Rio Conference, and the Commission should encourage the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNEP to join efforts and expertise by organizing a joint seminar on the subject.

L. H. HORACE- PERERA, of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, said that the measures already taken by the United Nations system could not be considered adequate enough to promote among peoples a commitment to strive for a universal and effective recognition and observance of human rights. That could be achieved only by a concrete and genuine response to the clarion call, in the Universal Declaration itself, on "every individual and every organ of society by teaching and education to promote respect for those rights and freedoms". Had human rights been given a high priority in education policies by all States since 1948, the world would have been one in which all peoples would be enjoying every one of their rights, irrespective of their race, colour, sex and language, among other things.


LUNG-CHU CHEN, of International League for Human Rights, said some prominent human-rights defenders had paid with their lives, such as Rosemary Nelson of Northern Ireland, who was killed two years ago when a loyalist bomb exploded under her car. Other defenders had been imprisoned for their activism, such as Elena Urlaeva of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, and Saad Eddin Ibrahim and 27 other defenders who protested fraud in Parliamentary elections in Egypt. Others had been expelled from State-controlled bar associations, as had happened in Azerbaijan; and had faced crippling fines and prosecution, such as in Lebanon.

The best strategy for protecting human rights defenders was to make frequent and forceful public statements on individual cases, published on the UN's websites and disseminated to the media, coupled with private written inquiries from the Special Representative's office and interventions in personal meetings, such as the Representative's statement regarding a judge's suspension of the newly elected leadership of the Tunisian League for Human Rights for their monitoring and contesting of elections. Belarus had also cracked down on human rights activists. The Commission must condemn such practices.

MARTA O. VASQUEZ, of the Latin American Federation of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees, said that human rights defenders throughout the world had been persecuted because of their activities. They were subjected to disappearances, extra-judicial killings and torture. In Colombia, human rights defenders had continued to suffer from persecutions. In many parts of the country, many persons who stood up for the defence of human rights had been subjected to death threats and other forms of harassments. In Guatemala, human rights defenders were faced with similar phenomenon of death threats because of their activities. Individuals who were active in their defence of human rights had been detained or forced to disappear. The Commission should pay more attention to the situation of human rights defenders in those countries.

MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER, of International Educational Development, said a historic debate had been held in South Africa last year, at the invitation of President Thabo Mbeki, at which it had been found that there was no clear proof that HIV was the cause of AIDS. It was worth noting that many of the drugs being used to treat the virus in Africa were exceedingly toxic. The split in the AIDS debate could only be closed by proper scientific investigations into the cause of the disease. International Educational Development also welcomed the World Health Organization support for a policy of exclusive breastfeeding for infants through the age of six months, despite distortion of the issue by the AIDS crisis.

It was time to go back to science. Too much had been neglected for too long. Human rights must come before corporate interests.

NATALIA LOPEZ ORTIZ, of the Colombian Commission of Jurists, said that the report of the Special Representative on human rights defenders had recommended to the Colombian Government to find solutions to cases of persecution of human rights defenders and trade union activists. However, the Government did not implement the recommendations of the Special Representative. The members of the military were also involved in victimizing of human rights defenders. Many known human rights defenders had received death threats and had been detained on various pretexts by Government agents. The Colombian Commission of Jurists hoped that the Special Representative could visit Colombia and continue her dialogue with the Government.


KAZUNARI FUJII, of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), said creativity was the key factor in effective human rights education. SGI's worldwide project "Human Rights in Today's World" exhibition, in Italy alone, had collaborated with more than 1,500 local schools and had been viewed by more than 86,000 children. An example of national strategy was the recent Japanese enactment of a law on promotion of human rights education and awareness. However, Japan had to bear in mind that it must now implement the law and that the reality of human rights problems in the present and the past must not be forgotten in matters of human rights education.

There was also a need for such education for companies and transnational corporations. SGI called upon the Commission to adopt by consensus the draft resolution on human rights education. The evaluation standard for "good governance of a State" and "good management of business" should be transformed from military or economic competence to competence in promoting human rights.

OLIVIERO TOSCANI, of the Transnational Radical Party, said that unfortunately, the world was still divided into countries and nations; strangely, one did not regard him- or herself belonging to the different races. It was not officially allowed yet to belong to one single race -- the human race. One of the difficulties was accepting the fact that in some parts of the world, there still existed the death penalty, capital executions, and legalized murders. The death penalty was a problem for civilized people and society. The death penalty and civilization were a contradiction. The death penalty had no reason to belong to any justice system based on revenge, discrimination and violence. Recently the speaker visited the United States prisons to photograph persons under the death row, where he observed the drama of the inmates waiting for their executions.

JULIA STUCKEY, of Pax Christi International, said human rights defenders in Colombia often put their lives at risk; as the Government was unable to protect the population, the Church often filled the gap. Many "peace communities" had been established by civilians returning to their land after forced displacements. Guerrilla and paramilitary forces repeatedly violated the integrity of these communities. Peace negotiations between the Government and the guerrillas had not resulted in any concrete process, and public despair and disillusionment were growing. Some developed countries were partly responsible for the drug trade that was fuelling the war in Colombia, as these countries were the source of demand for the drugs.

The European Union and European Commission had not been wise or supportive in allocation of promised development funds to Colombia, which should have been committed to constructive projects. Similarly, aid from the United States was much too military in nature. The United States should channel its aid towards peace initiatives, particularly local peace initiatives, through local channels or church institutions.

CAROLYN HANDSCHIN, of Women's Federation for World Peace International, said that it was a tragic and frustrating reality that peace agreements were rarely followed by the enjoyment of a "culture of peace". More often than not gradual deterioration of the situation led to another form of peacelessness as evidenced in Rwanda, Kosovo, Chechnya and many other examples. Was it possible to create a peaceful and peace-promoting environment with what was left after the crushing losses of war? As leaders in war had stirred up mistrust and hatred, so the leaders in peace had to stimulate the process of reconciliation, trust and harmonious relations to create lasting solutions. Women by nature and by experience were often great facilitators of that respect of peace making and peace keeping and that wisdom could make a tremendous difference at every stage of the process. Literally, thousands of women had come together, desiring to resolve the hate and resentments that had paralayzed them and their nations or ethnic groups.


DEBORAH CHRISTINE STOTHARD, of ALIRAN, said her colleague Chua Tian Chang, an active human rights defender in Malaysia, had been badly beaten in 1999 by Malaysian police; later he was arrested and detained for sitting in front of a police truck laden with acid water cannon to protect his fellow activists; last year the police had assaulted him so severely his spine was fractured; and this year he and six other people had been arrested under Malaysia's draconian internal security act, and all had been detained incommunicado for the past week. ALIRAN's grave concern for their safety was based on Malaysia's tradition of using torture against detainees held under the internal security act. It was bewildering to see that the Malaysian Government had increased its abuses of human rights since attaining membership in the Commission.

The military regime in Burma also was abusing human rights defenders and seemed to be trying to turn them into an endangered species. And Thailand recently had declared several other human-rights defenders and educators persona non grata on grounds of national security.

MELODEE SMITH, of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, recalled that in less than one month, on 16 May, the United State Government would execute Timothy McVeigh, found guilty of the Oklahoma City bombing, ending a 30-year de facto moratorium on federal executions. On 30 March of this year, Philip Workman, on death penalty in the State of Tennesse, came within one hour of being executed when a court finally ruled that evidence of innocence should be heard -- evidence that was brought forward a year ago after being hidden for years as the individual languished on death row. A fundamental question should continue to be asked as the type of high drama had been repeated many times over the years.

CELINE AMAR, of Agir ensemble pour les droits de l'homme, said there were certain dysfunctions to the right to asylum in France. Persons fearing persecution were increasingly subjected to legal and interpretive restrictions involving such things as waiting zones and prohibition of the right to work. For many Algerians seeking asylum in France, these problems were resulting in serious difficulties. There was in many cases a total absence of social rights for such persons. Persons who were not able to provide extremely convincing proof of threats or persecution were apt to have their asylum applications rejected.

Fifty years after the entry into force of the relevant Convention on asylum, it was necessary to reaffirm that asylum procedures should be applied in a way that was fair and humane.


Right of reply

A Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaking in exercise of his rights of reply, said that the arrest of an individual who was a human rights defender, as mentioned by an NGO, was related to her act to flee the country. The individual's office was not closed and it was still functioning. Human rights defenders who normally follow their activities had no problems.


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