MORNING


HR/SC/99/30
26 August 1999



The Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights adopted a long series of resolutions and decisions this morning, including texts calling upon States to provide effective criminal penalties and compensation for unremedied violations in order to end the cycle of impunity with regard to sexual violence committed during armed conflicts; reaffirming that measures such as the international economic embargo imposed on Iraq should be limited in time, should in no way affect innocent civilian populations and, for obvious humanitarian reasons, should be lifted even the legitimate objectives of the measures had not yet been attained; and requesting all Governments and economic policy forums to take international human-rights obligations and principles fully into account in international policy on trade liberalization.

Other measures dealt with the activities of the Subcommission’s working groups on minorities, indigenous populations, and contemporary forms of slavery; enforced disappearances; “adverse consequences of economic sanctions on the enjoyment of human rights”; terrorism and human rights; reservations to human-rights treaties; human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS; the fiftieth anniversary of the Geneva Conventions (a measure which was adopted by acclamation); the observance of human rights by States which were not parties to United Nations human-rights conventions; the human rights of Roma; globalization and its impact on human rights; and the Subcommission’s own methods of work.

The resolution on sexual violence during armed conflict, entitled “systematic rape, sexual slavery, and slavery-like practices”, which was adopted by a hand-count vote of 15 in favour and 2 opposed, with 5 Experts abstaining, said, among other things, that the rights and obligations of States and individuals recognized by international law with respect to these violations could not be extinguished by peace treaty or amnesty.

In the measure on the embargo against Iraq, entitled “human rights situation in Iraq”, which was adopted without a vote, the Subcommission, among other things, urged the international community and all Governments, including that of Iraq, to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi population under the embargo, in particular by facilitating the delivery of food and medical supplies.

In the resolution on “trade liberalization and its impact on human rights”, adopted by a show of hands of 18 in favour and none opposed, with 4 Experts abstaining, the Subcommission, among other things; declared that sanctions and negative conditionality were not appropriate ways of promoting the integration of human rights in international economic policy and practice; and called upon Governments and international economic policy forums, including the World Trade Organization, to undertake comprehensive and systematic studies of the human-rights and social impacts of economic liberalization programmes, policies and laws.

Speaking this morning were Subcommission Experts and Alternates El-Hadji Guisse, Asbjorn Eide, Miguel Alfonso Martinez, Halima Embarek Warzazi, Francoise Jane Hampson, Marc Bossuyt, Ahmed Khalil, Jose Bengoa, Joseph Oloka-Onyango, Erica-Irene A. Daes, Soli Jehangir Sorabjee, David Weissbrodt and Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.
A representative of Iraq also spoke.

The Subcommission will reconvene at 3 p.m. Friday, 28 August 1999, to vote on a last remaining draft resolution, on the situation of long-term refugees and internally displaced persons, and to consider the future work of the Subcommission, the draft provisional agenda for the Subcommission’s fifty-second session, and adoption of the report of the subcommission’s fifty-first session.

Action on resolutions and decisions

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.28) on systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices, adopted by a hand-count vote of 15 in favour and 2 opposed, with 5 Experts abstaining, the Subcommission expressed its appreciation to the Special Rapporteur for having completed her study of the topic; endorsed the accepted view that regardless of whether sexual violence in armed conflict occurred on an apparently sporadic basis or as part of a comprehensive plan to attack and terrorize a targeted population, all acts of sexual violence, in particular during armed conflicts and including all acts of rape and sexual slavery, should be condemned and prosecuted; reiterated that the existing international legal frameworks of humanitarian law, human-rights law and criminal law clearly prohibited and criminalized sexual violence and sexual slavery in all cases; aware that the provisions of the Hague Convention (IV) of 1907 Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land in part of customary international law, stated that States "shall be responsible for all acts committed by persons forming part of (their) armed forces" and "shall, if the case demands, be liable to pay compensation" for violations of the rules; strongly endorsed the Special Rapporteur's call for national and international responses to the increasing occurrence during armed conflicts of acts of sexual violence and sexual slavery; called upon all States to enact and enforce legislation incorporating relevant international criminal law into their national legal systems; affirmed that all States should ensure that their legal systems at all levels conformed to their international obligations and were capable of adjudicating international crimes and administering justice without gender bias; recognized the need to support and strengthen the ability of the International Criminal Court to prosecute all cases of sexual violence committed during armed conflicts as human rights and humanitarian law violations; reiterated that States should respect their international obligations to prosecute perpetrators and compensate all victims of human rights and humanitarian law violations; recognized that to give effect to rules applicable in conflict situations required the adoption and implementation of measures in peacetime; called upon States to make possible respect for their obligations in situations of conflict; called upon States to provide effective criminal penalties and compensation for unremedied violations in order to end the cycle of impunity with regard to sexual violence committed during armed conflicts; affirmed that the rights and obligations of States and individuals recognized by international law with respect to these violations could not be extinguished by peace treaty or amnesty; called upon the High Commissioner for Human Rights to monitor the implementation of the present resolution and to submit a report on the issue at the next session of the Subcommission; recommended to the Commission on Human Rights that it endorse the principles stated in this resolution; requested the Special Rapporteur to submit a report containing the updated information presented at the current session, with a view to distribution; and decided to consider the issue under the same agenda item at its fifty-second session.

Under separate hand-count votes, the Subcommission decided to retain, respectively, operative paragraphs 4, 6, 13, 14, and 16 of the resolution.

EL-HADJI GUISEE, Subcommission Expert, said the draft might refer to the Nurnberg principles, and the negative effects those had had in the past was known. As far as the statutes of the International Criminal Court were concerned, they could be used. The resolution did not have so much content that it merited the Subcommission’s attention. Following World War II, when people tried to get their rights, all that happened was that they were executed. He would request a vote unless the draft was completely reworked.

ASBJORN EIDE, Subcommission Expert, said the language had been considerably improved by the amendments. The question was that rights of individuals that were non-derogatory could not be extinguished by any peace treaty, and the obligations of States could not be erased by any bilateral or trilateral agreement.

MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert, said was the Subcommission saying that all States should adopt national legislation into its domestic laws beyond their legal territories? In another part, the text referred to acts or crimes that had no statute of limitations. Could certain specifications be made as to those crimes?

HALIMA EMBAREK WARZAZI, Subcommission Expert, said she still had objections to paragraph 4. It should not be included in the text, either in the present or prior wording. There were reasons for including it, that the co-sponsors wanted something of this sort in the text, but this perpetrated a policy of dual standards. However, if paragraph 13 could be adjusted, and instead of "peace treaties", the text read "peace agreements", she could accept it. Problems remained with paragraph 15, and it should be deleted. The last phrase of paragraph 14 should also be deleted, since the recommendations it contained could not be agreed with, and the Commission on Human Rights should be allowed to pick out which recommendations it would agree with.

FRANCOISE JANE HAMPSON, Subcommission Expert, said that while most States were bound by the Geneva Conventions, one or two were not, while all States were bound by customary international law. The Geneva Conventions contained universal mandatory provisions. The International Criminal Court was completely based on assumption of the principle of universal jurisdiction.

MARC BOSSUYT, Subcommission Expert, said the principles of Nurnberg had been adopted and codified by the General Assembly, and were therefore passed into international legislation. There was no such thing as positive international law, nor was there negative international law. The time had come to accept or disregard the proposed amendments.

MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert, said there was no obligation of States to prosecute on their territories cases of this kind. It was not yet clear that this was an obligation for member States.

EL-HADJI GUISSE, Subcommission Expert, said the adoption of the resolution was a negation of the Subcommission’s usual work. There was a lack of clarity in the text, and it gave the impression of a step backwards in the protection of law and order during conflict. This was a retrograde step in the protection of the victim in armed conflict. Work was being done, but no progress was being made.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.29) on the report of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission urged Governments which had not yet done so to ratify the Convention of 1949 on the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others; recommended that the General Assembly declare a United Nations year against trafficking in persons, allowing sufficient time before the commencement of the year for the development of national and international plans of action; urged States to devise and adopt comprehensive national plans of action against trafficking in persons, particularly for the purposes of prostitution, based on data collection, research and analysis, and in collaboration with non-governmental organizations; requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to design guidelines for the elaboration of such national plans of action and, upon request, to provide technical assistance to States in the formulation of their national plans; encouraged States to collaborate with non-governmental organizations which had expertise in the field to develop national plans of action in accordance with the 1996 Programme of Action for the Prevention of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, to ensure the coordination of laws and implementing agencies relevant to the prevention of trafficking and the exploitation of prostitution and the empowerment of their victims and survivors, and to transmit such plans of action to the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery for its consideration; encouraged Governments, in elaborating the draft convention against transnational organized crime, including a draft protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, fully to include a human-rights perspective and to take into account work being done in other international forums, particularly the Working Group on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography of the Commission on Human Rights and the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery; invited States, United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and intergovernmental, regional and non-governmental organizations to provide information to the Working Group at its 25th session on aspects of trafficking and the exploitation of the prostitution of others, as well as the measures taken or necessary to implement the 1996 Programme of Action; invited the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to continue to address, within their mandates, the problem of trafficking and related practices of exploitation and to recommend specific measures to strengthen the regime against the traffic in persons and the exploitation of the prostitution of others, and also invited them to participate at the next session of the Working Group; invited States to ratify existing international human-rights and labour standards, if they had not already done so, and to ratify in a timely manner the new Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour of the International Labour Office; called upon States to set action against trafficking within a human-rights framework, so that the victims of child trafficking were fully protected and not treated as illegal immigrants; encouraged cooperation among concerned States, as well as with international agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations, in research and data collection on child trafficking and in the design and implementation of programmes of action to eliminate the practice of child trafficking; also encouraged strengthening cooperation between national and international law-enforcement agencies, in particular the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), responsible for detecting and intercepting child traffickers, as well as tracing the families of the trafficked children; urged all States to take adequate steps to monitor and enforce laws, particularly as they related to slavery, slavery-like practices and corruption, including trafficking in women and children; also urged States to examine and analyze the causes and the consequences of corruption and to take steps to eradicate the root causes; encouraged existing international arrangements which aimed to improve the training and professionalism of law enforcement personnel as well as their respect for human rights; decided to consider further and in depth the extent and severity of corruption and the relationship if corruption to slavery and slavery-like practices, as well as the role of international debt in the perpetuation of slavery; recommended that Governments, as a matter of priority, review, amend and enforce existing laws, or enact new laws, to prevent the misuse of the Internet for trafficking, prostitution and the sexual exploitation of women and children; also recommended that Governments and non-governmental organizations undertake further investigation of the misuse of the Internet for the purpose of promoting and/or carrying out trafficking, prostitution and the sexual exploitation of women and children; urged Governments to act more forcefully to eliminate the traffic in persons, the exploitation of the prostitution of others and sexual exploitation on the Internet; recommended that Governments and non-governmental organizations develop and implement educational programmes on the harm caused by trafficking, prostitution and sexual exploitation on the mental and physical well-being of women and children; requested that Governments investigate and use as evidence of crimes and acts of discrimination advertising, correspondence and other communications over the Internet to promote sex trafficking, the exploitation of prostitution, sex tourism, bride trafficking and rape; called for new levels of cooperation among Governments and national and regional law enforcement bodies in order to combat the escalating trafficking and prostitution of women and children, the globalization of this industry, and the misuse of the Internet to promote and carry out acts of sex trafficking, sex tourism, sexual violence and sexual exploitation; recommended that all States which were not parties to the Slavery Convention of 1926, the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery of 1956, and the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of 1949, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights be called upon to become parties as soon as possible and to enact any legislation necessary to ensure that their laws conformed to the terms of those treaties; requested the Working Group to focus each of its annual sessions on a particular issue of great importance for the abolition of slavery and to designate that issue two years prior to the annual session; expressed the hope that the Working Group would benefit from the cooperation of all States, particularly the most interested States, with regard to the particular issue selected; decided to invite concerned non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations to provide information and testimonies with regard to the particular issue selected for consideration at the annual session of the Working Group; also decided that if other issues arose within its agenda which the Working Group might consider to be urgent, these issues would be allotted time and receive consideration during each session; invited the authors of the review of international standards to update the review and submit it to the Subcommission for its consideration and eventual transmission to the Commission; urged States to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; also urged States to take necessary measures to prohibit and sanction the confiscation of passports belonging to migrant workers, in particular, migrant domestic workers; recommended that non-governmental organizations pay attention to the grave problems affecting migrant workers and provide the Working Group with information in this regard; decided to continue consideration of this issue at its next session; recommended that the International Labour Office give more emphasis to the issue of child domestic workers, in particular girl children; also recommended that the International Labour Office establish additional country programmes for these children within its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour; called upon States to eliminate all discrimination against girls in education, skills development and training and to enforce laws and regulations which ensured that no girl of primary-school age was employed as a domestic; urged States that had not yet done so to ratify the relevant International Labour Office conventions, in particular the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, and the new Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999; requested the Secretary-General to invite all States to inform the Working Group of measures adopted to implement the Programme of Action for the Elimination of the Exploitation of Child Labour to report thereon to the Subcommission and the Commission on Human Rights at their next sessions; urged States to enact specific legislation to define the offense of debt bondage and to provide for the punishment of those responsible, and to ensure the rehabilitation of the victims of debt bondage through economic, social and educational programmes; recommended that the countries in which debt bondage occurred be invited to attend the Working Group in order to facilitate dialogue and the consideration of best practices; invited the International Labour Office, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and other international bodies to consider debt bondage when they established their policies; recommended once again that Governments cooperate with trade unions and employers' organizations at the national level to address the problem of bonded labour and that trade unions and employers' organizations at the local, national and international levels utilize the existing structures of the International Labour Office dealing with violations of the relevant conventions concerning forced labor, and encouraged concerned non-governmental organizations to strengthen their activities for disseminating information and advising trade unions in this regard; invited international financial institutions to encourage micro-credit as a mechanism for the eradication of debt bondage; requested the Secretary-General to invite all States to continue to inform the Working Group of measures adopted to implement the Programme of Action for the Prevention of the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography; requested the Special Rapporteur, within the framework of her mandate, to continue to pay attention to issues relating to the traffic in children, such as organ transplantation, disappearances, the purchase and sale of children, adoption for commercial purposes or exploitation, child prostitution and child pornography; strongly encouraged the Special Rapporteur to participate in the 25th session of the Working Group, in view of the importance of her contribution to its deliberations; urged States to take adequate steps better to regulate and monitor intercountry adoptions, in particular by ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption of 1993 and by enacting appropriate laws to enforce its provisions; requested the Secretary-General to seek the views and suggestions of Member States and of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations on proposals for future action of the Working Group with a view to their replies being considered at forthcoming sessions of the Working Group; appealed to all Governments to send observers to the meetings of the Working Group; encouraged youth organizations and young persons from various non-governmental organizations to participate in the meetings of the Working Group; recommended that the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, when examining the periodic reports of States parties, give particular attention to the implementation of, respectively, articles 8 and 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, articles 10, 12 and 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, article 6 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and articles 32, 34 and 36 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to include in their guidelines an item concerning contemporary forms of slavery; recommended that the supervisory bodies of the International Labor Organization and the Committee on Conventions and Recommendations of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization give particular attention in their work to the implementation of provisions and standards designed to ensure protection of children and other persons exposed to contemporary forms of slavery, such as the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the exploitation of child labor, bonded labor and the traffic in persons; requested the Secretary-General to transmit to the committees mentioned above, the special rapporteurs concerned and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances the recommendations of relevance to them and the report of the Working Group; again requested the Secretary-General to designate the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as the focal point for the coordination of activities and the dissemination of information within the United Nations system on the suppression of contemporary forms of slavery; recalled that the Economic and Social Council, in its resolution 1993/48 of 28 July 1993, approved the endorsement by the Commission on Human Rights of the recommendation made by the Subcommission, in its resolution 1992/2 of 14 August 1992, that the arrangements regarding the organization of the sessions of the Working Group, as contained in Commission decision 1992/115 of 3 March 1992, be repeated in subsequent years; and decided to make provision in its agenda for adequate discussion near the commencement of each session of the reports of the Working Groups, thereby strengthening its involvement in the activities of the Working Group.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.38) on the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission encouraged the activities of those non-governmental organizations financed by the Fund; expressed its support for the work of the members of the Board of Trustees of the Fund, in particular their fund-raising activities; urged all Governments, non-governmental organizations, other private and public entities and individuals to contribute annually to the Fund in order to enable the Fund to fulfill its mandate effectively; encouraged all donors who had pledged a contribution to the Fund to contribute as soon as possible; emphasized the need for contributions to the Fund on a regular basis, and, if possible, before the end of the current year, in order to enable the Board of Trustees to recommend grants to assist representatives of organizations to participate in the deliberations of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery at its 25th session and to finance projects of humanitarian assistance by non-governmental organizations in the field; invited the members of the Board of Trustees of the Fund in a position to do so to participate at the 25th session of the Working Group; and decided to continue to examine the situation and the activities of the Fund at its 52nd session.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.30) on the international decade of the world's indigenous people, adopted by consensus, the Subcommission recommended that the celebration of International Day of the World's Indigenous People be held on the fourth day of the eighteenth session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations in order to ensure as great a participation of indigenous peoples as possible; recommended that the Coordinator for the Decade consider holding a special fund-raising meeting with interested permanent missions and the members of the Advisory Group to encourage financial contributions to the Voluntary Fund for the Decade and the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations, as well as the appointment of qualified staff, including indigenous persons, from within the regular budget of the United Nations to assist with the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights relating to the indigenous programs; urged Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals to contribute to the Voluntary Fund for the Decade established by the Secretary-General, and invited indigenous organizations to do likewise; recommended that attention continue to be given to improving the extent of the participation of indigenous peoples in planning and implementing the activities of the Decade; strongly recommended that in accordance with General Assembly resolution 50/157 of 21 December 1995, the draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples be adopted as early as possible, and not later than the end of the International Decade in 2004 and, to this end, appealed to the members of the inter-sessional working group of the Commission on Human Rights and to all others concerned to consider ways and means to accelerate the preparation of the draft declaration; recommended that a permanent forum for indigenous people within the United Nations system be established as soon as possible in the course of the Decade with functions that did not duplicate those already conferred on the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, financed through the regular budget of the United Nations and securing full participation of all interested indigenous peoples; endorsed the view expressed by many indigenous participants during the seventeenth session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations that the establishment of the permanent forum should not be understood as a justification for the abolition of the Working Group, which should continue to carry out the ample, flexible mandate conferred upon it by the Economic and Social Council in resolution 1982/34 of 7 May 1982; encouraged the High Commissioner for Human Rights to consider organizing a follow-up workshop to put into practice the recommendations arising from the Workshop; invited the High Commissioner for Human Rights to consider, as soon as possible, ways and means by which she might support the World Indigenous Nations (WIN) Games; recommended that the High Commissioner, in consultation with interested Governments, organize meetings and other activities within the framework of the International Decade in Africa and Asia in order, inter alia, to raise public awareness about indigenous issues in those regions; also recommended that the High Commissioner organize a workshop, in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, relevant organizations, on indigenous peoples, private sector natural resource, energy and mining companies and human rights in order to contribute to the ongoing work of the Working methods and activities of transnational corporations; invited the Commission on Human Rights to consider organizing a world conference on indigenous issues during the last year of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (2004) with a view to evaluating the Decade and considering future international policies and programmes which will contribute to the reconciliation of Governments with indigenous peoples.

JOSE BENGOA, Subcommission Expert, said there were concerns, and corrections could be made to improve the text in certain ways. Nevertheless, he would join consensus. It would be a grave error to set up the permanent forum without adopting the declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. If the General Assembly did not adopt the declaration, the permanent forum would not be able to distinguish itself from the Working Group, since it would not have a legal framework in which to function. This was a topic that could be discussed in much greater detail, and should be. The other topics dealt with in the document were entirely correct.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.31) on the human rights of indigenous peoples, adopted by consensus, the Subcommission requested that the Secretary-General transmit the report of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations on its seventeenth session to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, indigenous organizations, Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations concerned, as well to all thematic rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts and working groups; requested that the report on the Working Group be made available to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-sixth session; recommended that the Working Group cooperate as a body of experts in any conceptual clarifications or analysis which might assist the open-ended inter-sessional working group established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1995/32 of 3 March 1995 to elaborate further the draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples; recommended that the Working Group at its eighteenth session adopt as the principal theme "Indigenous children and youth" and that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights invite the United Nations Children's Fund and the Committee on the Rights of the Child to provide relevant information and, if possible, participate in the meetings of the Working Group, and that the Working Group continue to address, on a yearly basis, the issue of indigenous peoples' right to their lands and their resources; requested that the Commission on Human Rights to invite Governments, intergovernmental organizations and indigenous and non-governmental organizations to provide information and data, in particular on the principal theme, to the Working Group at its eighteenth session; requested that the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in consultation with interested Governments, make efforts to organize meetings on Asia and Latin America, to provide a greater opportunity for participation of peoples from these regions and to raise public awareness about indigenous peoples; requested the High commissioner to encourage studies with respect to the right to food and adequate nutrition of indigenous peoples and indigenous peoples and poverty, stress the linkage between their present general situation and their land rights, and to develop further cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme on indigenous issues; recommended that a working paper be prepared by the Chairperson-Rapporteur on indigenous peoples and racism and racial discrimination for consideration at the preparatory meetings for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance; requested that Miguel Alfonso-Martinez submit to the Working Group at its eighteenth session a working paper on possible principles and guidelines for private sector energy and mining concerns that may affect indigenous lands, as referred to in the Sub-Commission resolution 1998/23; recommended that the Chairperson-Rapporteur or any other member of the working group should be invited to take part in the preparatory meetings for the World Conference and in the World Conference itself; requested that the Chairperson-Rapporteur or other member of the Working Group inform the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations that the Working Group at its eighteenth session will highlight the principal theme "Indigenous children and youth" so that the Board can bear this in mind when it meets for its thirteenth session; recommended the appointment by the Commission on Human Rights of a Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues to request and receive information from Governments, indigenous peoples, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations relating to the recognition, promotion and protection of the human rights of indigenous peoples; appealed to all Governments, organizations, including non-governmental organizations and indigenous groups, and individuals in a position to do so, to consider contributing to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations in order to assist representatives of indigenous communities and organizations to participate in the deliberations of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the open-ended inter-sessional working group on the draft United Nations declaration of the rights of indigenous people and the open-ended inter-sessional ad hoc working group on a permanent forum; requested the Secretary-General to prepare an annotated agenda for the 18th session of the Working Group; requested the Commission on Human Rights to request the Economic and Social Council to authorize the Working Group to meet for eight working days prior to the 52nd session of the Subcommission; and recommended to the Commission on Human Rights a draft decision to this effect.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.32)on, a working paper on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission expressed its deep appreciation and thanks to the Special Rapporteur for her substantive and important introductive statement and constructive second progress report on the working paper on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land; requested the Secretary-General to transmit as soon as possible the second progress report on the working paper on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land to Governments, indigenous peoples and intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations for their comments, data and suggestions; requested the Special Rapporteur to submit her final working paper on the basis of the comments and information received from Governments, indigenous peoples and others and to submit it to the Working Group on Indigenous Populations at its eighteenth session and to the Subcommission for consideration at its fifty-second session; requested the Secretary-General to provide the Special Rapporteur with all the assistance necessary for her to complete her task; recommended the following draft decision to the Commission on Human Rights for ratification, in which it approved the Subcommission's request to the Secretary-General to transmit as soon as possible the second progress report on the working paper on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/18) to Governments, indigenous peoples and inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations for their comments, data and suggestions, and to provide the Special Rapporteur with all the assistance necessary to enable her to submit her final working paper to the Working Group on Indigenous Populations at its eighteenth session and to the Commission at its fifty-second session.

In a consensus resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.33) on the final report of the study on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission endorsed the conclusions and recommendations contained in chapter IV of the final report; took note of the critical remarks and observations advanced by a number of organizations and individuals participating in those debates on the Special Rapporteur's considerations, contained in paragraphs 67 to 2 of the final report, on the relevance of the concept of indigenousness, in the particular context of present-day African, Asian and Pacific States; extended its recognition to the Special Rapporteur for having thoroughly fulfilled his mandate after 10 years of intense work under conditions which were not always the most propitious for accomplishing the task entrusted to him; requested the Special Rapporteur to submit to the Secretariat, not later than 15 November 1999, the corrections and additions he considered it necessary to make to the English, Spanish and French versions of his final report, including the addenda referred to in paragraph 130 of the report of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations on its 17th session; also requested the Special Rapporteur to present formally, in person, to the Commission on Human Rights, at its 56th session, the revised version of his final report; requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize, not later than June 2000, a seminar on treaties, agreements and other legal instruments between indigenous peoples and States to discuss possible follow-up to the study just completed by Mr. Alfonso Martinez and explore ways and means to implement the recommendations included in his final report; requested the Secretary-General to transmit, as soon as possible, the final report to Governments, indigenous peoples and organizations, as well as to intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in order to ensure its widest possible dissemination; requested the Working Group on Indigenous Populations to remain seized of the important issue of indigenous treaties and agreements and the rights deriving therefrom during its annual sessions during the rest of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.34) on the human rights problems and protection of the Roma, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission entrusted Yeung Kam Yeung Sik Yuen with the task of preparing a working paper, without financial implications, on the human-rights problems and protections of the Roma, for submission to the Working Group on Minorities at its sixth session and to the Subcommission at its 52nd session, under the agenda item entitled "Prevention of discrimination against the protection of minorities", in order to enable the Subcommission to take a decision at that session on the feasibility of a study on the subject.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.36) on the prevention of discrimination against and the protection of minorities, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission endorsed the conclusions and recommendations of the Working Group on Minorities on its fifth session as contained in its report; noted with satisfaction the recommendation of the Working Group to establish a database on minorities and to prepare a manual containing an overview of relevant procedures and mechanisms of regional and international organizations, as well as the commentary to the Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities; decided to entrust Erika-Irene A. Daes and Asbjorn Eide with the preparation of a working paper, without financial implications, on the relationship and distinction between the rights of persons belonging to minorities and those of indigenous peoples, for submission to the next sessions of the Working Group on Minorities and the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and to the Subcommission at its 52nd session; requested the Secretary-General to invite States, specialized agencies, other United Nations organs and bodies, non-governmental organizations and scholars to submit comments on the commentary to the Declaration to the Working Group on Minorities at its sixth session; requested the Secretary-General to invite the specialized agencies and United Nations bodies, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as regional organizations, to provide information to the Working Group on their activities and programmes in the field of minority protection; appealed to all States, specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and scholars to continue to participate actively in the work of the Working Group; recommended that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights be strengthened to enable it to provide adequate services to the Working Group and to undertake relevant studies, evaluation and action.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.41) on a draft international convention on the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission urged the Commission on Human Rights to give priority consideration to the draft international convention on the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance on account of the nature and degree of the suffering of the disappeared and of their families and friends; and decided to consider the question of the draft international convention on the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance under the same agenda item at its fifty-second session.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.35) on the promotion of dialogue on human rights issues, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission reiterated its commitment to international cooperation in the field of human rights, and invited governmental and non-governmental observers of the Subcommission to carry out constructive dialogue and consultations on human-rights issues on the basis of equality and mutual respect; endorsed the cooperative approach in search of common understanding and reasonable accommodation of divergent views; and decided to continue its consideration of this question at its 52nd session.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.37) on the human rights situation in Iraq, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission reaffirmed that measures such as embargoes should be limited in time, should in no way affect innocent civilian populations and, for obvious humanitarian reasons, should be lifted even if the legitimate objectives of the measures had not yet been attained; reaffirmed the need to respect the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the relevant provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the two Additional Protocols thereto which prohibited the starvation of civilian populations and the destruction of what was indispensable to their survival; noted with grave concern the intense suffering endured by the Iraqi people and by children in particular; took note with concern of reliable reports from concerned specialized agencies, international non-governmental organizations and a delegation of French parliamentarians who travelled to Iraq on an information-gathering visit in January 1999, according to which the population's standard of living had declined considerably -- malnutrition still remained a major problem because of the lack of financial resources and was endemic among young children, causing serious retardation of growth; the catastrophic health situation was leading to about 6,000 deaths a month among children under the age of five, and all economic activities were affected by the deterioration of infrastructure in the areas of drinking water, electricity and agriculture, which was causing serious harm to the everyday living conditions of the population; the embargo was, according to UNESCO, causing a serious deterioration of educational facilities and university teaching, which was leading to a decline in school enrollment, a return to illiteracy and a serious lack of scientific and laboratory equipment, causing great intellectual isolation; unemployment, deficient training, and the lack of openings and prospects were affecting the future of a whole generation; considered any embargo that condemned an innocent people to hunger, disease, ignorance and even death to be a flagrant violation of the economic, social and cultural rights and the right to life of the people concerned and of international law, the Subcommission decided to appeal again to the international community, and to the Security Council in particular, for the embargo provisions affecting the humanitarian situation of the population of Iraq to be lifted; also decided to urge the international community and all Governments, including that of Iraq, to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi population, in particular by facilitating the delivery of food, medical supplies and the wherewithal to meet their basic needs.

(Iraq) said the Government of Iraq wished to thank those who had assisted the Iraqi people in overcoming the consequences of the embargo. The resolution was part of an on-going effort to tackle the problem of ongoing suffering and deterioration of human rights, and the subject should be given greater attention in the Commission on Human Rights, since it was a humanitarian issue. The crime of genocide being committed against the people of Iraq should hopefully end by the end of the century, and the resolutions taken by the Subcommission should aid in this. The bold position taken without any political motives should make it possible to promote and enshrine human rights in Iraq, as all Iraqis wished them to be. Human rights in Iraq were here being protected. The right path had been taken, free from politics and hegemony, and free from all influence by the Superpowers.


MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert, said the problems with the text had nothing to do with the desire to put an end to the problem in Iraq. There were many other ways of acting, but there was a reference to something illegitimate he did not agree with. If not for that reference, he would have supported the resolution.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.39) on adverse consequences of economic sanctions on the enjoyment of human rights, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission decided to request Marc Bossuyt to prepare, without financial implications, a working paper on the adverse consequences of economic sanctions on human rights and to submit the working paper at its 52nd session under the agenda item entitled "Implications of humanitarian activities for the enjoyment of human rights."

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.40) on terrorism and human rights, adopted by consensus, the Subcommission expressed its deep appreciation and thanks to the Special Rapporteur. Kalliopi K. Koufa, for her excellent and comprehensive preliminary report and her introductory statement; requested the Secretary-General to give the Special Rapporteur all the assistance necessary for the preparation of her progress report; also requested the Secretary-General to transmit the preliminary report of the Special Rapporteur to Governments, specialised agencies and concerned intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations with the request that they submit to the Special Rapporteur as soon as possible comments, information and data relating to the study on terrorism and human rights; and recommended a draft decision to the Commission on Human Rights for the Commission to approve the Subcommission's request to the Secretary-General to give the Special Rapporteur all the assistance necessary for the preparation of her progress report.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.42) on reservations to human rights treaties, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission encouraged States to ratify human rights treaties without reservations and those States that had ratified human rights treaties with reservations to remove them as soon as possible; took note of the Working Paper submitted by Francoise Jane Hampson and endorsed the conclusions contained therein; decided to appoint Ms. Hampson as Special Rapporteur with the task of preparing a comprehensive study on reservations to human rights treaties based on her working paper, as well as the comments made and discussions that took place at the fifty-first session of the Subcommission, and to submit a progress report at its fifty-third session and a final report at its fifty-fourth session; requested the Secretary-General to provide the Special Rapporteur with all the assistance necessary to enable her to accomplish this task; requested that the Special Rapporteur seek the advice and cooperation of all relevant treaty bodies; and recommended that the Commission on Human Rights adopt a draft decision in which it approved the decision of the Subcommission to appoint Ms. Hampson as Special Rapporteur with the task of preparing a comprehensive study on reservations to human rights treaties based on her working paper, as well as the comments and discussions that took place at the fifty-first session of the Subcommission, and of submitting a progress report at its fifty-third session and a final report at its fifty-fourth session.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.43) on human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS, the Subcommission decided to entrust Alberto Diaz-Uribe with the task of preparing a working paper, without financial implications and in consultation with UNAIDS, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, interested non-governmental organisations and other interested parties, on the implementation of the relevant guidelines on the subject and requested him to submit it to the Subcommission at its fifty-second session.


In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.44) on the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 on the protection of victims of war, adopted by acclamation, the Subcommission expressed its gratitude and deep appreciation to the International Committee of the Red Cross on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions; and requested the Secretary-General to transmit its decision to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.45) on observance of human rights
by States which are not parties to United Nations human rights conventions, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission took note of the working paper submitted by. V. Kartashkin in accordance with Subcommission decision 1998/115 (E/CN.Sub.2-/1999/29); requested Mr. Kartashkin to continue his work on the subject, without financial implications, and to submit an additional working paper to the Subcommission at its 52nd session; and decided to continue consideration of this question at its 52nd session under the appropriate agenda item.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.46), on globalization and its impact on the full enjoyment of all human rights, the Subcommission took note of Commission on Human Rights resolution 1999/59, in which the Commission decided to request the Subcommission to undertake a study, based on the reports of the treaty bodies, special rapporteurs, independent experts and working groups of the Commission on the issue of globalization and its impact on the full enjoyment of all human rights for the consideration of the Commission at its fifty-seventh session; and decided to entrust Joseph Oloka-Onyango with the task of preparing this study, which would be presented to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-seventh session in 2001.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.26) on the methods of work of the Subcommission, adopted without a vote, the Subcommission decided to transmit to the Commission on Human Rights for its information the "Guidelines for the application by the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council and other decisions and practices relating thereto" resulting from the work of the Subcommission’s sessional working group on methods of work set up at its 49th and 51st sessions in order to improve its methods of work, as requested by the Commission, and to request the High Commissioner for Human Rights to disseminate those guidelines in printed form in order to make them readily accessible to all participants in the sessions of the Subcommission.

In a measure (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.47) on the rationalization of the work of the Commission of Human Rights, the Subcommission, responding to the view expressed by the Commission that "the need for (considering fundamental reform measures with respect to the Subcommission)...was all the more compelling given that the Subcommission was by far the most expensive of the Commission's subsidiary mechanisms, the cost of its annual session being higher than that of the Commission itself", and having discussed the ample financial information on this issue provided, at its request, by the representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Subcommission decided to request the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission's inter-sessional working group on the rationalization of the work of the Commission on Human Rights and to the Commission itself at its 56th session, for their consideration, all pertinent official data (in particular under chapters 22 and 27 of the regular budget) on all the respective estimated costs of the activities carried out by or programmed for the Subcommission, the Commission itself, and all other mechanisms of the Commission mentioned in chapters II, III and V of document E/CN.4/1999/104 during the current biennium.


In a decision on the composition of the inter-sessional and pre-sessional working groups of the Subcommission, the Subcommission decided, without a vote, to approve the proposed composition of those groups.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/L.22) on trade liberalization and its impact on human rights, adopted by a show of hands of 18 in favour and none opposed, with 4 Experts abstaining, the Subcommission requested all Governments and economic policy forums to take international human rights obligations and principles fully into account in international economic policy formulation; declared that sanctions and negative conditionality were not appropriate ways of promoting the integration of human rights in international economic policy and practice; called upon Governments and international economic policy forums, including the World Trade Organization, to undertake comprehensive and systematic studies, in consultation with United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms and relevant civil society organizations, of the human rights and social impacts of economic liberalization programmes, policies and laws; requested that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to intensify efforts at dialogue with the World Trade Organization and its member States on the human rights dimensions of trade and investment liberalization, and to take steps to ensure that human rights principles and obligations were fully integrated in future negotiations in the World Trade Organization; requested the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to include in its programme of work, especially in the context of the preparation for the 10th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on "Development strategies in an increasingly interdependent world: applying the lessons of the past to make globalization an effective instrument for the development of all countries and all people", a specific focus on ways and means to incorporate human rights principles in the process of international trade policy formulation; and encouraged the concerned civil society organizations to promote with their respective Governments the need for economic policy processes fully to incorporate and respect existing human rights obligations, and to continue to monitor and publicize the effects of economic policy that fail to take such obligations into account.
Before acting on the resolution, the Subcommission defeated, by a show of hands of 3 in favour and 10 opposed, with 7 Experts abstaining, a proposal to delay consideration of the resolution until next year.

MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert, said he was not satisfied with the proposed amendments, since according to the new wording, the resolution on trade liberalization would apply only to trade, which was not the only form of international economic relations. This was the negative effect of sanctions and conditions. It was not a benefit to limit increased awareness of the increased impact of sanctions.

EL-HADJI GUISSE, Subcommission Expert, said these ideas on trade liberalization, which were very important, had not been properly understood. There had not been time to understand everything in the resolution. He recommended that this resolution be postponed until next year. There would be a Social Forum next year which would address issues such as this.

ERICA-IRENE A. DAES, Subcommission Expert, said the resolution contained several elements outside the competence of the Subcommission. Several other areas remained unclear.

JOSEPH OLOKA-ONYANGO, Subcommission Expert, said the Subcommission, after a resolution last year about human-rights situations involved with trade implications, had tackled these issues. These issues had very serious implications for questions of human rights. Deferring the resolution now would not be useful. The questions were pertinent today, and they were becoming more and more pertinent every day.

MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ, Subcommission Expert, said trade was affected by measures such as conditionality and sanctions on financing. Nobody traded using cash, except for countries such as Cuba, where there were limitations on cash due to sanctions imposed. The text should be amended, since trade was being damaged by sanctions and conditionalities.

SOLI JEHANGIR SORABJEE, Subcommission Expert, said the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer. Because of that, trade liberalization had a serious effect on human rights, and should be discussed within this body.

DAVID WEISSBRODT, Subcommission Expert, said the resolution was a considerable evolution in thinking which might have lacked sufficient preparation. The matter should be adjourned for a year, so that studies of such a complex area could be made. Nevertheless, he would join consensus. Limitations to trade should be included as conditionalities, and not under sanctions. This was due to a concern regarding the arms trade. Conditionality could be impacted, and limitations to trade were suggested.

EL-HADJI GUISSE, Subcommission Expert, said a deferral was requested for two reasons. The ideas put forward were important ones, and some of the members were not familiar with them. A delay would allow members to master the document. And in its wording, it did not fall under the competence of the Subcommission. There were other bodies, such as the World Trade Organization, which could address this. There should be a deferral, and that question should be put to a vote.

PAULO SERGIO PINHEIRO, Subcommission Expert, said the people of Turkey had been seriously affected by one of the worst natural disasters in memory, and specific co-sponsors of a resolution now before the Subcommission on refugees and internally displaced populations -- a measure which mentioned Turkey -- had withdrawn their sponsorship in an expression of solidarity with the people of Turkey. The resolution should be withdrawn, and the situation left for the Commission on Human Rights to deal with.