SUB-COMMISSION ADOPTS RESOLUTIONS URGING STATES TO COMBAT CORRUPTION AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EX-PRISONERS

Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights
55th session
13 August 2003
Morning




Texts on Water, Slavery, Bioethics, Human Rights Education,
Terrorism Adopted;
Sub-Commission Appoints Two Special Rapporteurs
on Corruption, Human Genome




The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights this morning adopted resolutions urging States to introduce national mechanisms to prevent and combat corruption; and to examine their treatment and practices of discrimination against convicted persons who had served their punishment, among other things.
In a resolution on corruption and its impact on the full enjoyment of human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights, the Sub-Commission urged States to introduce national mechanisms to prevent and combat corruption through the establishment of specific anti-corruption legislation; and decided to appoint Sub-Commission Expert Christy Azim Mbonu as Special Rapporteur with the task of preparing a comprehensive study on corruption and its impact on the full enjoyment of human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights.
According to a resolution on discrimination against convicted persons who had served their sentence, the Sub-Commission urged States to examine their treatment of convicted persons after they have served their punishment and to cease any official or unofficial practices of discrimination against such persons.
In a resolution on the promotion of the realization of the right to drinking water and sanitation, the Sub-Commission welcomed the preliminary report of its Expert El Hadji Guisse on the right to drinking water and sanitation and requested the Secretary-General to invite Governments, United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies and interested non-governmental organizations to provide the Special Rapporteur with any assistance necessary to enable him to fulfil his mandate.
In a resolution on contemporary forms of slavery, the Sub-Commission urged Governments to establish and implement national policies and action plans to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including their gender-based manifestation, as recommended in the Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference against Racism; and called upon States to ensure that the protection and support provided to the victims were at the centre of any anti-trafficking policy and to provide protection, assistance and temporary residence permitted to victims that were not contingent on their cooperation with the prosecutor of their exploiter.
According to a resolution on human rights and bioethics, the Sub-Commission decided to appoint Sub-Commission Expert Antoanella-Iulia Motoc Special Rapporteur to undertake a study on human rights and the human genome based on her working paper and to report on a preliminary report at the next session of the Sub-Commission.
In a resolution on the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, the Sub-Commission encouraged Governments, regional organizations and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to explore further the potential support and contribution to human rights education of all relevant partners; and further recommended that the human rights treaty bodies devote attention specifically to human rights education and that human rights education be included in the agenda of the annual meeting of the persons chairing the treaty bodies.
In a decision on terrorism and human rights, the Sub-Commission requested Special Rapporteur Kalliopi Koufa to continue her work with a view to completing her study on the conceptual aspects of terrorism and human rights and requested the Secretary-General to give her all the necessary assistance in order to hold consultations with the competent services and bodies of the United Nations.
And in a decision on women in prison, the Sub-Commission decided to entrust Florizelle O’Connor with the preparation, without financial implications, of a working paper on women in prison, including issues relating to the children of women in prison.
Resolutions and decisions on the administration of justice through military tribunals, the promotion and consolidation of democracy, the right to food and progress in developing international voluntary guidelines for its implementation, and the prevention of human rights violations committed with small arms and light weapons were adopted. Also this morning, the Sub-Commission approved the composition of its Working Groups for 2004 on minorities, slavery, indigenous populations, communications and the social forum.
The Sum-Commission submits all its resolutions and decisions to the Commission on Human Rights for clearance.
When the Sub-Commission reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will continue to take action on a series of resolutions under other agenda items.

Action on Resolutions
In a resolution on the promotion of the realization of the right to drinking water and sanitation (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.17), adopted without a vote, the Sub-Commission welcomed the preliminary report of El Hadji Guisse on the right to drinking water and sanitation and the implementation of this right and requested the Secretary-General to invite Governments, United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies and interested non-governmental organizations to provide the Special Rapporteur with any assistance necessary to enable him to fulfil his mandate.
By a resolution on corruption and its impact on the full enjoyment of human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.18), adopted without a vote, the Sub-Commission urged States to introduce national mechanisms to prevent and combat corruption through the establishment of specific anti-corruption legislation and decided to appoint Christy Azim Mbonu as Special Rapporteur with the task of preparing a comprehensive study on corruption and its impact on the full enjoyment of human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights, based on her working paper and the opinions expressed during the debate on this issue during the present session, and requested the Special Rapporteur to submit a preliminary report to the Sub-Commission at its next session. The Sub-Commission recommended the Commission to adopt this decision.
In a resolution on the report of the Working Group on contemporary forms of slavery (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.19), adopted without a vote, the Sub-Commission urged Governments to establish and implement national policies and action plans to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including their gender-based manifestation, as recommended in the Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference against Racism; called upon States to ensure that the protection and support provided to the victims were at the centre of any anti-trafficking policy and to provide protection, assistance and temporary residence permits to victims that were not contingent on their cooperation with the prosecutor of their exploiter; urged States that had not yet done so to introduce comprehensive legislation to prohibit bonded labour in all its forms, including provisions for the punishment of any future employers of bonded labourers and called upon States to provide support to organizations assisting victims of bonded labourers, particularly when they were faced with harassment and threats. The Sub-Commission welcomed the entry into force on 1 July 2003 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families; invited States to introduce consolidated legislation on forced labour and to take urgent action to speed up criminal proceedings, secure successful prosecutions and apply effective sanctions against all those using forced labour. The Sub-Commission urged States to adopt and enforce legislation that prohibited corruption and called for close cooperation among Governments, non-governmental organizations and Internet services providers in order to combat the misuse of the Internet.
In a resolution on United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.20), the Sub-Commission invited the Board of Trustees of the Fund to continue to promote the participation at the annual sessions of the Working Group of individuals and organization from as large a number of countries as possible, in accordance with the priorities established in the agenda of the Working Group and recalled the appeal made by the General Assembly to all Governments to respond favourably to requests for contributions to the Fund, urged them and non-governmental organizations, other private and public entities and individuals to contribute to the Fund, and encouraged them to do so, if possible by September 2003, in order to enable the Fund to fulfill its mandate effectively in the year 2004.
In a resolution on human rights and bioethics (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.4), adopted without a vote, the Sub-Commission decided to appoint Antoanella-Iulia Motoc Special Rapporteur to undertake a study on human rights and the human genome based on her working paper and to report on a preliminary report at the next session of the Sub-Commission, and recommended that the Commission adopt this decision.
By a resolution on the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.14), adopted without a vote, the Sub-Commission encouraged Governments, regional organizations and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to explore further the potential support and contribution to human rights education of all relevant partners, including the private sector, development, trade and financial institutions and the media, and to seek their cooperation in the development of human rights education strategies. The Sub-Commission further recommended that the human rights treaty bodies devote attention specifically to human rights education and that human rights education be included in the agenda of the annual meeting of the persons chairing the treaty bodies, and requested that the Office of the High Commissioner make available the study of the High Commissioner on the follow-up to the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, and that the Commission recommend to ECOSOC that it recommend to the General Assembly the proclamation of a second Decade for Human Rights Education.
In a resolution on terrorism and human rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.6), adopted without a vote, the Sub-Commission requested Special Rapporteur Kalliopi Koufa to continue her work with a view to completing her study on the conceptual aspects of terrorism and human rights and requested the Secretary-General to give the Special Rapporteur all the necessary assistance in order to hold consultations with the competent services and bodies of the United Nations, in particular those located in New York and Vienna. The Sub-Commission recommended that the Commission approve this request.
In a resolution on discrimination against convicted persons who had served their sentence (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.23), adopted by consensus, the Sub-Commission urged States to examine their treatment of convicted persons after they have served their punishment and to cease any official or unofficial practices of discrimination against such persons, bearing in mind relevant international human rights standards; and requested its sessional working group on the administration of justice to examine the question and to suggest types of information that could be collected in order to understand better the extent of discrimination against convicted persons who have served their sentences and the relevant international human rights standards which would apply to such situation.
In a resolution on the issue of administration of justice through military tribunals (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.26), adopted without a vote, the Sub-Commission welcomed the report submitted by Emmanuel Decaux on the administration of justice through military tribunals and the recommendations contained therein and requested Mr. Decaux to continue his work on the development of principles governing the administration of justice through military tribunals. The Sub-Commission further invited Governments, the relevant United Nations bodies, specialized institutions, regional intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations to provide or continue to provide information on the issue to Mr. Decaux.
In a resolution on the promotion and consolidation of democracy (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.30), adopted by consensus, the Sub-Commission decided to request Sub-Commission Expert Manuel Rodriguez-Cuadros to prepare, without financial implications, the final version of his working paper on the promotion and consolidation of democracy, taking into account comments and suggestions made at the fifty-fifth session of the Sub-Commission, for submission to the Sub-Commission at its fifty-sixth session.
In a resolution on the right to food, and progress in developing international voluntary guidelines for its implementation (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.5), adopted without a vote, the Sub-Commission urged Member States to consider holding national seminars with relevant stakeholders to initiate or develop a domestic dialogue on the scope of and conditions for implementing the right to adequate food and to be free from hunger in the particular contexts of their countries, drawing from the experiences and lessons learned in those countries where initial national seminars had been held, and making the results available so as also to contribute to the intergovernmental process for the elaboration of the voluntary guidelines. The Sub-Commission also recommended that the fourth expert consultation on the right to food recommended by the Commission on Human Rights be convened before the third and last session of the Intergovernmental Working Group in 2004.
In a decision on the prevention of human rights violations committed with small arms and light weapons (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.2), the Sub-Commission welcomed the preliminary report of the Special Rapporteur Barbara Frey and decided to request the Secretary-General to transmit a questionnaire elaborated by the Special Rapporteur to Governments, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations to solicit information required in connection with her study, in particular on the national laws and training programmes used to implement the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, in order that the Special Rapporteur may take them fully into account in preparing her progress report for the fifty-sixth session of the Sub-Commission.
In a decision on women in prison (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.32), the Sub-Commission decided to entrust Florizelle O’Connor with the preparation, without financial implications, of a working paper on women in prison, including issues relating to the children of women in prison, and requested Ms. O’Connor to submit her working paper to the Sub-Commission at its fifty-sixth session.



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