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SUBCOMMISSION CONCLUDES DISCUSSION ON CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF SLAVERY, BEGINS REVIEW OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
16 August 1999
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HR/SC/99/16
16 August 1999
The Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights concluded discussion this afternoon of contemporary forms of slavery, hearing from a series of Experts, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and countries deploring the use of rape and sexual slavery as a weapon of war and condemning trafficking in children, both as a form of exploitative labour and for sexual purposes.
Late in the meeting, the Subcommission began consideration of the human rights of indigenous people, hearing from the Chairperson/Rapporteur of its Working Group on indigenous populations.
Gay J. McDougall, Special Rapporteur on systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during armed conflict, introduced her report on the subject, saying that while advances had been made at the national and international levels, such atrocities still occurred, indicating a need for more concerted action. It remained imperative that criminal prosecutions take place at the national level and that all acts of sexual violence be effectively investigated and redressed, she said.
As occurred at the morning meeting, several speakers deplored the sexual slavery perpetrated by the Japanese Government and military during the Second World War. The Asian Women's Human Rights Council charged that this aspect of Japanese history was still being covered up within Japan. And the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development said that if the perpetrators of Japanese wartime sexual slavery escaped impunity -- and if firm and effective actions were not taken here and now to deal with such abuses -- systematic rape and sexual slavery would recur in the future. Subcommission Expert Francoise Jane Hampson remarked that available data strongly suggested a higher incidence of sexual assault and rape on the part of the armed forces than on the part of the male population at large -- not only in war, but in peacetime.
A representative of the International Institute for Peace, meanwhile, said exploitation of children took place across the globe, and not just, as commonly believed, in developing countries. And Interfaith International spoke of young African children whom it claimed had been enslaved in the Sudan as a result of the civil war in the country.
Erica-Irene A. Daes, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working-Group on indigenous populations, introducing a preliminary report of the group on its recently concluded session, said the group had taken into consideration the repeated appeals made by indigenous peoples for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues.
Experts and Alternate Experts addressing the Subcommission this afternoon were Gay J. McDougall, El-Hadji Guisse, Fan Guoxiang, Oleg Shamshur, Louis Joinet, Yeung Kam Yeung Sik Yuen, Joseph Oloka-Onyango, Erica-Irene A. Daes, Antoanella Iulia Motoc and Francoise Jane Hampson.
Representatives of Pakistan, Sudan, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea spoke.
The following NGOs also gave formal statements: Asian Women's Human Rights Council; International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (in a joint statement with Anti-Slavery International); International Institute for Peace; International Educational Development; Interfaith International; International Peace Bureau; and Transnational Radical Party,
The Subcommission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 17 August, to continue its discussion of the human rights of indigenous people.
Documentation
Under its agenda item on the human rights of indigenous peoples, the Subcommission had before it a final report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/20) by its Special Rapporteur on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations. The document details some key points of departure that were made in the study from previous studies; it also includes a summary of findings, including treaties and agreements between indigenous peoples and States, other constructive arrangements, and situations lacking specific bilateral legal instruments to govern relations between indigenous peoples and States; and it contains a look at the present, including the origin, development and consequences of the domestication process. There also are conclusions and recommendations aimed at the future.
There was a final working paper (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/18) from the Subcommission’s Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land, which contains a detailed explanation of the topic; history and background; explains the impact of doctrines of dispossession; includes a framework for the analysis of contemporary problems regarding indigenous land rights; reviews endeavours made to resolve indigenous land issues and problems; and offers conclusions and recommendations.
There also was an unedited version of the report of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations on its recently concluded seventeenth session. Among other things, it reviews recent developments pertaining to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples; discusses indigenous people and their relationship to land; reviews the topic of indigenous people and health; summarizes standard-setting activities; outlines discussion of the final study on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations; and offers conclusions and recommendations.
Statements
NORIHIRO YOSHIDA, of Asian Women's Human Rights Council, speaking on behalf of the Japan Federation of Publishing Workers' Unions, said the issues of the sexual slavery of the "comfort women" in Japan had not been dealt with adequately in textbooks used in Japanese schools. The school-education law of Japan required that teachers use textbooks that had been accepted by the Ministry of Education; under this system, textbooks were "screened." This violated several UN conventions, including Articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Japan had abandoned its own citizens during the war and left them in foreign countries. The Japanese prisoners of war (POWs) considered themselves to be slaves and so at the mercy of the opposing powers. The Japanese Government refused to pay the unpaid wages of Siberian internees while it readily paid the exact amount of wages to POWs who worked under the control of Western allied forces. These soldiers were sold as commodities, as slave labour, partly because they were not educated in human rights by the Japanese Government.
GAY MCDOUGALL, Subcommission Alternate Expert, introducing an updated report on rape during armed conflict, said systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during armed conflict constituted violations of human rights, humanitarian and international criminal law, and as such, must be properly documented, the perpetrators brought to justice and the victims provided with full criminal and civil redress, including compensation where appropriate.
Such abuses included the detention and rape of women and girls in their homes, the confinement of women and girls in rape camps, and the abduction of women and girls for the purposes of forced labour and forced sexual activity. These and other practices involving the treatment of women and girls as chattel, which often included sexual abuse, were forms of slavery and must be prosecuted as such. Although special emphasis was placed on abuses committed against women and girls, there was no doubt that prohibitions of the crimes discussed in the report applied to men and boys, who also were victims of sexual violence.
The final report and today's update shared the same purposes. First, to reiterate the call for an effective response to sexual violence during war. Second, to emphasize that rape and other forms of sexual abuse were crimes of violence which, under certain circumstances, could constitute slavery, crimes against humanity, genocide, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, war crimes and torture. Third, to reinforce the legal framework which already existed for the prosecution of these crimes, with a view towards a more consistent and gender-responsive application of international law. There were numerous accounts of sexual slavery committed by rebel soldiers in Sierra Leone. A number of teenage girls there were interviewed, one of whom had been abducted and held by rebel soldiers for nearly three months, during which time she was repeatedly raped and sexually abused. Unfortunately, such incidents were common during the war in Sierra Leone and in other conflicts around the world.
EL-HADJI GUISSE, Subcommission Expert, said the report was very complete, detailing abuses against women in armed conflicts. The report reminded the reader that the responsibility for these acts of violence committed by military organizations lay on the shoulders of the States primarily, and only secondarily upon the shoulders of the International Courts. However, there was a rupture between the implementation of domestic law and the wishes of the international community. Without an improvement of the situation, many criminals would escape justice today, and their crimes would go unpunished. Ms. McDougall's analysis of the international Courts did not jibe with the will of the international community.
The systematic rape of women, or massacres on a large scale, should not go unpunished, and the principle of retroactivity should aid in punishing such crimes against humanity. The result of Ms. McDougall's interpretation could be widespread impunity which would allow many criminals to go free. International law did not replace domestic law, it supplemented it, allowing for grave crimes to be punished in the countries where they took place, allowing redress for the victims and permitting healing for the community.
MIKE DOTTRIDGE, of Anti-Slavery International, speaking on behalf of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, said the 24th session of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery had been held in June 1999. A number of recommendations were made at that conference concerning "traffic in persons and exploitation of the prostitution of others”.
The working group encouraged States to enact and revise laws and policies to ensure that victims of trafficking were not subject to criminal proceedings or other legal sanctions. The Working Group also recommended that the UN General Assembly should declare a UN Year against Trafficking in Persons. This required the international community to clarify which abuses it wished to attack and, secondly, it required more clarity on the most appropriate measures to put into force to prevent trafficking. Regarding a definition, a draft was being prepared. Trafficking should not just refer to recruitment for prostitution but also recruitment for other forms of forced labour and slavery, particularly when women and children were concerned. There was no particular focal point on slavery within UN human-rights mechanisms; this should be addressed. There was a need for technical expertise at the international level on the suppression of trafficking or other contemporary forms of slavery. States should refrain from treating victims of trafficking as criminals -- for example, as illegal migrants.
TATIANA SHAUMIAN, of International Institute for Peace, said that during at least three centuries of the passing millennium enlightened and responsible people all over the world were fighting for the abolition of slavery in all its manifestations. There were several important documents adopted during the 20th century, and in March 1967, the Commission on Human Rights requested the Subcommission to undertake regular consideration of the question of slavery in all its forms, including the slavery-like practices of apartheid and colonialism. After seven years, the Economic and Social Council authorized the Subcommission to establish a working group to meet prior to each session of the Subcommission to review developments in the field of slavery and slave trade.
There could be a long discussion on which form of slavery was the worst, but many felt the most dangerous and most destructive form of slavery was the exploitation of children. A resolution adopted last year by the Commission on Human Rights called upon States to take appropriate action for the protection of particularly vulnerable groups such as children and migrant women against exploitation of the prostitution of others and other slavery-like practices. Never before in history had so many children become the victims of cruelty and violence. Special attention should be given to the needs of the children who had been pushed into the child-labour market. The scourge of child labour continued all over the world. No one knew the exact figures, but the ILO estimated the number of working children worldwide at a staggering 250 million, of which at least 120 million were children between the ages of 5 and 14 who were working full-time.
CHIN SUNG CHUNG, of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, said that unless firm and effective actions were taken here and now to deal with systematic rape and sexual slavery as practiced by Japan during the Second World War, such practices would undoubtedly and regrettably recur in the future. Impunity in this sense was a major reason for the prevalence of sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence in current armed conflict situations.
The atrocities committed against the victims of Japan's system remained unremedied. The attention of the Subcommission should be drawn to the ongoing efforts of civil society to find a rightful solution to the problem. Considering that the practice of systematic rape and sexual slavery continued unabated in current armed conflicts, as in the past, and that there was still the need for the development of a sufficient mechanism to cope with sexual violence, especially against women during armed conflict, the Subcommission should consider specific action.
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said that low-paid or unpaid prison labour and sweat shops constituted two areas where forced labour existed. Forced prison labour affected the whole family, as fathers did not make enough to contribute to their families. In Japan, the practice of unpaid prison labour also existed.
Increased numbers of US companies located their factories in developing countries, some of which were US trusteeships, where employees worked and lived in unbearable conditions; often their passports were confiscated. The United States was not yet a State party to many basic ILO workers'-rights treaties which were relevant to its own sweatshops.
DEANNA MORROW PATTY, of Interfaith International, said Interfaith International agreed with the concerns expressed by Mr. Guisse last week about the existence of classical forms of slavery and slavery-like practices in Mauritania and Sudan. It was an indictment of the international community and this Subcommission that at the close of this millennium, and more than half a century after the adoption of the International Declaration of Human Rights, such shameful practices continued to take place while the world watched with complete indifference.
In Sudan, this shameful phenomenon of slavery was rearing its ugly head again as a side effect of the current civil war in the country, and its prime victims were young African women and children from the Dinka and Nuba people of southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains. The Government's overt policies of religious and racial discrimination against Christians and non-Arab African tribes were responsible for the re-emergence of slavery and slavery-like practices in the country. In Mauritania, thousands of people were still languishing in bondage after decades of the so-called abolition of slavery in that country. It was estimated that at least about 90,000 Afro-Mauritanians lived in a classical form of slavery. Although Mauritania had passed laws abolishing slavery on its territory, these measures were nominal because of the lack of political will to implement them. The Government had dramatically failed to meet its international obligations to abolish this slavery and similar practices from its territory. It had not taken the necessary measures to rehabilitate and empower the victims of slavery.
FAROOQ HASSAN (Pakistan) said the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery had proved a most important forum for discussion, not only between Experts and Governments, but also between Governments and NGOs. It served the purpose of allowing NGOs to draw attention to situations they believed were serious, and allowing Governments to respond to concerns expressed about them. It was an indispensable tool of the Subcommission.
The Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery provided a unique opportunity for dialogue between all actors working on this extremely important subject. It should retain its broad thematic character, and not be burdened with a monitoring mandate. It should continue to focus on thematic issues relevant to the prevention of slavery.
HASSAN EL TALIB (Sudan) said the Government was firmly committed to eliminating forced labour and sexual slavery. The Government's bill of rights was in full compliance with international conventions concerned with this matter. The final report of the investigating Government Commission had found no evidence of slavery there. The Government had set up a Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children, comprised of Government, NGOs and other members of civil society. The Committee was given full powers to address all relevant issues in connection with the abduction of women and children.
While the Government of Sudan welcomed every effort to support and assist its endeavours to eradicate the abduction of women and children, it also urged the international community to extend its cooperation to address the root causes of this phenomenon -- the armed conflict in southern Sudan. The international community should convince the rebels to respond positively to the unilateral comprehensive cease-fire declared by the Government and so far rejected by the rebel movement. The rebel movement should come to the negotiating table with a genuine determination to find a resolution to the armed conflict.
PAK DOK HUN (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said it was more than 70 years since the adoption of the Slavery Convention in 1926; however slavery and slavery-like practices continued to exist and even grow in various forms in all parts of the world. Unabated traffic in persons, particularly in women and girls for sexual exploitation, child labour, forced labour, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during armed conflict had caused grave concern in the international community.
The delegation drew the attention of this session to the crimes committed by Japan against humanity, which had brought indelible disgrace upon contemporary history, but had not yet been liquidated, even after more than half a century. It was acknowledged that throughout its 40-year occupation of Korea, Japan had forcibly drafted more than 6 million people, which accounted for almost all young and middle-aged Korean men, into its armed and labour forces needed for the war in Asia and the Pacific. These men were used as slave labour, more than 1 million were killed, and about 200,000 Korean women were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese army. However, the Japanese authorities distorted and justified their aggression instead of making an apology for the damages inflicted upon the Korean people. They revised history textbooks and praised the criminals, giving new generations incorrect information about history, and thus making them ignorant of their past and withholding from them a sense of the crime
s committed.
PRIMO BURSIK, of International Peace Bureau, said the organization felt deep concern over violence against women during armed conflict, and the use of rape as a weapon of war. Where rapes and murders were committed by one population against a targeted population, in a systematic attack to terrorize a specific people, there was a very serious situation. This was what was happening in the island of Sri Lanka, to the Tamil population, at the hands of the Sri Lankan army. The international community should prosecute those responsible. The rape and murder of Tamil women by the armed forces of the Sri Lankan Government continued.
The Subcommission should take strong action with regard to Sri Lanka's human-rights violations, demand that independent inquiries be made into mass graves, condemn rape as a war crime by Sri Lanka and appoint a country rapporteur to look into the situation.
FAN GUOXIANG, Subcommission Expert, said that, concerning the "comfort women" of Japan, although the issue had been discussed for a long time, the problem continued. The Permanent Mission of Japan had often commented on the matter, and the Government of Japan already had apologized. However, the response was neither satisfactory nor complete. The victims were not satisfied, and the matter -- especially in terms of legal responsibility -- had not been resolved.
A complete correction of the problem was needed. The Japanese Government, notably the imperialist members of the Japanese Government, were partly the cause. The situation had been redressed in Europe after the war, and concrete actions had been taken. But in Japan, one had not been able to pinpoint responsibility. Some people who were responsible for these crimes were still walking the streets, yet they were war criminals. Compensation for the victims was a matter of necessity; otherwise, the issue would continue to be discussed on the international scene and both the victims and the Government of Japan would suffer.
OLEG SHAMSHUR, Subcommission Alternate Expert, said it was disturbing that the Subcommission had to address contemporary forms of slavery and extreme forms of exploitation at the beginning of a new millennium. The working group had tried to deal with all pertinent issues related to this problem. Thematic expansion was the strength of the group, but at the same time, it could become a weakness if the group dealt with too many issues.
It should be stressed that there was a need for Government participation in eliminating contemporary forms of slavery. There also was an evident need for different international agencies to deal with the issue of trafficking.
LOUIS JOINET, Subcommission Expert, said the Working Group on contemporary forms of slavery deserved praise. The prostitution of others seemed to be a strange consequence of the end of the Cold War, where prostitution had had its organized circuits. The working group was the sole forum where anti-slavery NGOs could discuss slavery with States under relatively calm conditions, and therefore the group should be retained.
Mr. Warzazi's report had been most interesting, especially in the context of the cultural issues mentioned. She had encountered much criticism, but if there was a place in which the Subcommission had added to the knowledge of the situation, it was here.
YEUNG KAM YEUNG SIK YUEN, Subcommission Expert, said that, regarding contemporary forms of slavery, last year's report had brought about few changes on the ground. People were still behaving atrociously. Sexual violence was one of the most abject forms of violence, since it defiled and debased the victim, the victim's family and the community. In Afghanistan, rape was considered a mode of war by the warring factions. Every effort must be made to ensure some measurable improvement there.
The best way to bring about change was to ensure that such serious international human-rights violations were punished. These crimes should not be subject to any statue of limitations. However, obstacles remained. The International Criminal Court was not yet operational. Two current international tribunals were operative on an ad hoc basis (i.e., the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Tribunal for Rwanda.) These tribunals were making progress to ensure that international standards were respected.
JOSEPH OLOKA-ONYANGO, Subcommission Expert, said the usual approach to the subject of the root causes of human-rights violations was to list and analyze a host of historical, social, political, economic and even cultural factors. While appearing logical, this approach was nevertheless not novel, neither had it advanced the global protection of the human rights of women significantly enough. Take the case of Rwanda as an example. For decades, it was well known that one of the primary sources of human-rights violations was the suppression of the rights and interests of the Tutsi minority by the Hutu majority, coupled with a host of related problems in terms of discrimination and exclusion. These problems were compounded by the overriding feature of political monopoly exercised by a succession of Hutu-dominated Governments. The 1994 explosion was thus simply the most intense expression of a policy of exclusion, marginalization and human-rights violations that had much deeper roots. In other words, the world should not have been surprised.
But the Rwanda genocide forced more probing questions -- how, for example, did Hutu husbands turn on their Tutsi wives and children? Why did the desire to reinforce the political monopoly that had been enjoyed for so many decades assume such vicious dimensions? The root causes of human rights violations in every context must be retraced to the smallest, micro-level unit of human organization in order to understand those violations which manifested themselves at the level of the State. Unless the issue of dictatorship, discrimination and inequality within the family was comprehensively addressed, it was futile to believe that human-rights violations at the State level could be avoided. If there were problems of human-rights violations at this microscopic level, how could they be avoided at the level of the State, which itself was simply a collection of several families?
Turning to the issue of the comfort women system in Japan, the issues involved were addressed in the Special Rapporteur's report. It was most painful that what had been described as one of the most egregious documented cases of sexual slavery should have remained largely unremedied, with no reparation to the victims, no official compensation, no official acknowledgement of legal liability and no prosecutions. What was even more painful was the fact that the United Nations system appeared impotent to take any action on the matter. Was this because the victims were women, or was it because there was also a racial dimension to the issue? The matter was of course not confined to the specifics of the Japanese situation, because it was being duplicated all over the world in different contexts. The issue needed to be very firmly addressed because it was not a matter of history. Rather, it was a matter of the present and the future. Moreover, because of the highly gendered, ethnic and racial dimensions of sexual violence, it was imperative that the United Nations system pay serious attention to the matter.
ERICA-IRENE A. DAES, Subcommission Expert, said the NGOs indeed constituted a think-tank for the Working Group on contemporary forms of slavery. They played an important role in raising awareness on a national and international level. Not only the practice of slavery existed in certain countries of the world, but new forms had developed. The Working Group should therefore not be abolished. A new form of slavery was related to illegal asylum seekers and illegal traffic in migrant workers, who were frequently exploited by unscrupulous middlemen or boat-owners. In this respect, it should be mentioned that concrete information and dates should be provided at the next session of the Working Group, so that it could investigate this traffic. The recommendations of the Working Group should be adopted and implemented by all parties concerned.
Rape, under specific conditions, was a crime against humanity, and should be punished as such under international law. Sexual violence committed during conflict was an international crime, and should be treated as such.
ANTOANELLA IULIA MOTOC, Subcommission Alternate Expert, said the Subcommission's two reports on the rights of women and trafficking for the purposes of prostitution said very little about Eastern Europe. The number of women who were trafficked in Eastern Europe had increased. Women were tools of war and there were extreme violations. Solutions needed to be balanced between the claims and needs of the victims and the excessive requirements of radical feminists. Culture must be considered; an intermediate phase regarding women's rights was needed.
In Central Europe today, the situation was mixed. Depending on one's interpretation, the glass was half-empty or half-full. Fewer women enrolled in feminist studies at universities. On the other hand, the European Union's stand on affirmative action was fairly advanced.
In Eastern Europe, the situation was completely different from that of Central Europe, because the traditions were different. Traditions -- of communism and older traditions -- were different. Communism had tried to impose equality, and this was not normal. Since the fall of communism, the involvement of women in Government had decreased; there was still much discrimination and little affirmative action. Important action by the international community was needed to protect women in Eastern Europe.
FRANCOISE JANE HAMPSON, Subcommission Expert, said when women who had been circumcised gave birth, the baby often died because of a long labour. Another consequence was that women were often abandoned by their husbands and their communities. Even for those who did get treatment, psychological harm had been done. On sexual slavery, another problem was juvenile prostitution, which was often linked to juvenile pornography. On systematic rape and sexual slavery during armed conflicts, it was striking that available data suggested that there was a higher rate of rape by members of the military than by the population at large. It was encouraging that the prosecutors for the international tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda had shown a willingness to prosecute. But increasing prosecution was not enough. The Subcommission was concerned with the protection of human rights. The prosecution of someone meant that protection was a failure.
In the case of armed forces, States needed to write provisions in their legal codes and their military procedures codes. These provisions could not be something as vague as "conduct unbecoming an officer." Many States had ratified the Geneva Conventions, but that was not enough. They needed to adopt that language into their domestic laws. This, again, was only taking action after the event. What was needed was training of the armed forces to respect the human person. That was what international humanitarian law was about. Any Government that did not put the Geneva Conventions into its domestic law demonstrated that it did not take seriously the problem of systematic rape, slavery and slavery-like practices.
ERICA-IRENE A. DAES, Subcommission Expert, introducing the report of the Working Group on indigenous populations, said the report reflected the difficult, complex and multi-form work of the group, which had to be concluded whilst always keeping the mandate in mind. All of the items of the agenda were interesting, and a great number of speakers had taken the floor.
The deliberations took place in a harmonious and friendly atmosphere in which a constructive dialogue developed, even when controversial issues were discussed.
On many occasions, indigenous peoples expressed their gratitude to the members of the Working Group and to the Subcommission as a whole for the two bodies` sincere concern about their fate, the recognition, promotion and protection of their rights, and in particular about their physical survival. In certain cases, indigenous peoples recognized that some Governments had already adopted measures for the improvement of the lives of indigenous peoples, whilst some other Governments still continued oppressive policies.
The Working Group reaffirmed its view that its annual review of developments in the situation of indigenous peoples was a fundamental part of its mandate, as was standard-setting. A number of specific recommendations related to an important item of the agenda -- the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. The Working Group took into consideration the repeated appeals made by indigenous peoples for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues to request and receive information from Governments, indigenous peoples, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with the promotion and protection of the human rights of indigenous peoples.
OLGA CECHUROVA, of Radical Party Transnational & Transdivisional, said that, at the midpoint of the decade on the world's indigenous peoples, the results were being reviewed. Over the last decades, land occupied by indigenous peoples had been subject to intensive development, notably in the form of mining, hydroelectric generation, and logging. The land was also being settled by non-indigenous peoples. All of these incursions had led to serious environmental degradation and pollution.
One of the most serious examples was in West Papua (Irian Jaya), where human-rights violations included indiscriminate shooting, summary killings, arbitrary detentions and disappearances. The Freeport McMoran company said that its mining operations provided an important source of income, but this was not actually the case. Logging companies were also problematic, as thousand of hectares of forest were being destroyed. This was without the consent of or compensation to indigenous peoples. Indigenous land was being manipulated by the State as well. States should be helped and encouraged to ensure and improve the well-being of all their citizens. Indigenous people should be given greater responsibility for their own affairs and given an effective voice in decisions on matters which affected them.
HR/SC/99/16
16 August 1999
The Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights concluded discussion this afternoon of contemporary forms of slavery, hearing from a series of Experts, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and countries deploring the use of rape and sexual slavery as a weapon of war and condemning trafficking in children, both as a form of exploitative labour and for sexual purposes.
Late in the meeting, the Subcommission began consideration of the human rights of indigenous people, hearing from the Chairperson/Rapporteur of its Working Group on indigenous populations.
Gay J. McDougall, Special Rapporteur on systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during armed conflict, introduced her report on the subject, saying that while advances had been made at the national and international levels, such atrocities still occurred, indicating a need for more concerted action. It remained imperative that criminal prosecutions take place at the national level and that all acts of sexual violence be effectively investigated and redressed, she said.
As occurred at the morning meeting, several speakers deplored the sexual slavery perpetrated by the Japanese Government and military during the Second World War. The Asian Women's Human Rights Council charged that this aspect of Japanese history was still being covered up within Japan. And the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development said that if the perpetrators of Japanese wartime sexual slavery escaped impunity -- and if firm and effective actions were not taken here and now to deal with such abuses -- systematic rape and sexual slavery would recur in the future. Subcommission Expert Francoise Jane Hampson remarked that available data strongly suggested a higher incidence of sexual assault and rape on the part of the armed forces than on the part of the male population at large -- not only in war, but in peacetime.
A representative of the International Institute for Peace, meanwhile, said exploitation of children took place across the globe, and not just, as commonly believed, in developing countries. And Interfaith International spoke of young African children whom it claimed had been enslaved in the Sudan as a result of the civil war in the country.
Erica-Irene A. Daes, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working-Group on indigenous populations, introducing a preliminary report of the group on its recently concluded session, said the group had taken into consideration the repeated appeals made by indigenous peoples for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues.
Experts and Alternate Experts addressing the Subcommission this afternoon were Gay J. McDougall, El-Hadji Guisse, Fan Guoxiang, Oleg Shamshur, Louis Joinet, Yeung Kam Yeung Sik Yuen, Joseph Oloka-Onyango, Erica-Irene A. Daes, Antoanella Iulia Motoc and Francoise Jane Hampson.
Representatives of Pakistan, Sudan, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea spoke.
The following NGOs also gave formal statements: Asian Women's Human Rights Council; International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (in a joint statement with Anti-Slavery International); International Institute for Peace; International Educational Development; Interfaith International; International Peace Bureau; and Transnational Radical Party,
The Subcommission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 17 August, to continue its discussion of the human rights of indigenous people.
Documentation
Under its agenda item on the human rights of indigenous peoples, the Subcommission had before it a final report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/20) by its Special Rapporteur on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations. The document details some key points of departure that were made in the study from previous studies; it also includes a summary of findings, including treaties and agreements between indigenous peoples and States, other constructive arrangements, and situations lacking specific bilateral legal instruments to govern relations between indigenous peoples and States; and it contains a look at the present, including the origin, development and consequences of the domestication process. There also are conclusions and recommendations aimed at the future.
There was a final working paper (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/18) from the Subcommission’s Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples and their relationship to land, which contains a detailed explanation of the topic; history and background; explains the impact of doctrines of dispossession; includes a framework for the analysis of contemporary problems regarding indigenous land rights; reviews endeavours made to resolve indigenous land issues and problems; and offers conclusions and recommendations.
There also was an unedited version of the report of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations on its recently concluded seventeenth session. Among other things, it reviews recent developments pertaining to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples; discusses indigenous people and their relationship to land; reviews the topic of indigenous people and health; summarizes standard-setting activities; outlines discussion of the final study on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations; and offers conclusions and recommendations.
Statements
NORIHIRO YOSHIDA, of Asian Women's Human Rights Council, speaking on behalf of the Japan Federation of Publishing Workers' Unions, said the issues of the sexual slavery of the "comfort women" in Japan had not been dealt with adequately in textbooks used in Japanese schools. The school-education law of Japan required that teachers use textbooks that had been accepted by the Ministry of Education; under this system, textbooks were "screened." This violated several UN conventions, including Articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Japan had abandoned its own citizens during the war and left them in foreign countries. The Japanese prisoners of war (POWs) considered themselves to be slaves and so at the mercy of the opposing powers. The Japanese Government refused to pay the unpaid wages of Siberian internees while it readily paid the exact amount of wages to POWs who worked under the control of Western allied forces. These soldiers were sold as commodities, as slave labour, partly because they were not educated in human rights by the Japanese Government.
GAY MCDOUGALL, Subcommission Alternate Expert, introducing an updated report on rape during armed conflict, said systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during armed conflict constituted violations of human rights, humanitarian and international criminal law, and as such, must be properly documented, the perpetrators brought to justice and the victims provided with full criminal and civil redress, including compensation where appropriate.
Such abuses included the detention and rape of women and girls in their homes, the confinement of women and girls in rape camps, and the abduction of women and girls for the purposes of forced labour and forced sexual activity. These and other practices involving the treatment of women and girls as chattel, which often included sexual abuse, were forms of slavery and must be prosecuted as such. Although special emphasis was placed on abuses committed against women and girls, there was no doubt that prohibitions of the crimes discussed in the report applied to men and boys, who also were victims of sexual violence.
The final report and today's update shared the same purposes. First, to reiterate the call for an effective response to sexual violence during war. Second, to emphasize that rape and other forms of sexual abuse were crimes of violence which, under certain circumstances, could constitute slavery, crimes against humanity, genocide, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, war crimes and torture. Third, to reinforce the legal framework which already existed for the prosecution of these crimes, with a view towards a more consistent and gender-responsive application of international law. There were numerous accounts of sexual slavery committed by rebel soldiers in Sierra Leone. A number of teenage girls there were interviewed, one of whom had been abducted and held by rebel soldiers for nearly three months, during which time she was repeatedly raped and sexually abused. Unfortunately, such incidents were common during the war in Sierra Leone and in other conflicts around the world.
EL-HADJI GUISSE, Subcommission Expert, said the report was very complete, detailing abuses against women in armed conflicts. The report reminded the reader that the responsibility for these acts of violence committed by military organizations lay on the shoulders of the States primarily, and only secondarily upon the shoulders of the International Courts. However, there was a rupture between the implementation of domestic law and the wishes of the international community. Without an improvement of the situation, many criminals would escape justice today, and their crimes would go unpunished. Ms. McDougall's analysis of the international Courts did not jibe with the will of the international community.
The systematic rape of women, or massacres on a large scale, should not go unpunished, and the principle of retroactivity should aid in punishing such crimes against humanity. The result of Ms. McDougall's interpretation could be widespread impunity which would allow many criminals to go free. International law did not replace domestic law, it supplemented it, allowing for grave crimes to be punished in the countries where they took place, allowing redress for the victims and permitting healing for the community.
MIKE DOTTRIDGE, of Anti-Slavery International, speaking on behalf of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, said the 24th session of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery had been held in June 1999. A number of recommendations were made at that conference concerning "traffic in persons and exploitation of the prostitution of others”.
The working group encouraged States to enact and revise laws and policies to ensure that victims of trafficking were not subject to criminal proceedings or other legal sanctions. The Working Group also recommended that the UN General Assembly should declare a UN Year against Trafficking in Persons. This required the international community to clarify which abuses it wished to attack and, secondly, it required more clarity on the most appropriate measures to put into force to prevent trafficking. Regarding a definition, a draft was being prepared. Trafficking should not just refer to recruitment for prostitution but also recruitment for other forms of forced labour and slavery, particularly when women and children were concerned. There was no particular focal point on slavery within UN human-rights mechanisms; this should be addressed. There was a need for technical expertise at the international level on the suppression of trafficking or other contemporary forms of slavery. States should refrain from treating victims of trafficking as criminals -- for example, as illegal migrants.
TATIANA SHAUMIAN, of International Institute for Peace, said that during at least three centuries of the passing millennium enlightened and responsible people all over the world were fighting for the abolition of slavery in all its manifestations. There were several important documents adopted during the 20th century, and in March 1967, the Commission on Human Rights requested the Subcommission to undertake regular consideration of the question of slavery in all its forms, including the slavery-like practices of apartheid and colonialism. After seven years, the Economic and Social Council authorized the Subcommission to establish a working group to meet prior to each session of the Subcommission to review developments in the field of slavery and slave trade.
There could be a long discussion on which form of slavery was the worst, but many felt the most dangerous and most destructive form of slavery was the exploitation of children. A resolution adopted last year by the Commission on Human Rights called upon States to take appropriate action for the protection of particularly vulnerable groups such as children and migrant women against exploitation of the prostitution of others and other slavery-like practices. Never before in history had so many children become the victims of cruelty and violence. Special attention should be given to the needs of the children who had been pushed into the child-labour market. The scourge of child labour continued all over the world. No one knew the exact figures, but the ILO estimated the number of working children worldwide at a staggering 250 million, of which at least 120 million were children between the ages of 5 and 14 who were working full-time.
CHIN SUNG CHUNG, of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, said that unless firm and effective actions were taken here and now to deal with systematic rape and sexual slavery as practiced by Japan during the Second World War, such practices would undoubtedly and regrettably recur in the future. Impunity in this sense was a major reason for the prevalence of sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence in current armed conflict situations.
The atrocities committed against the victims of Japan's system remained unremedied. The attention of the Subcommission should be drawn to the ongoing efforts of civil society to find a rightful solution to the problem. Considering that the practice of systematic rape and sexual slavery continued unabated in current armed conflicts, as in the past, and that there was still the need for the development of a sufficient mechanism to cope with sexual violence, especially against women during armed conflict, the Subcommission should consider specific action.
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said that low-paid or unpaid prison labour and sweat shops constituted two areas where forced labour existed. Forced prison labour affected the whole family, as fathers did not make enough to contribute to their families. In Japan, the practice of unpaid prison labour also existed.
Increased numbers of US companies located their factories in developing countries, some of which were US trusteeships, where employees worked and lived in unbearable conditions; often their passports were confiscated. The United States was not yet a State party to many basic ILO workers'-rights treaties which were relevant to its own sweatshops.
DEANNA MORROW PATTY, of Interfaith International, said Interfaith International agreed with the concerns expressed by Mr. Guisse last week about the existence of classical forms of slavery and slavery-like practices in Mauritania and Sudan. It was an indictment of the international community and this Subcommission that at the close of this millennium, and more than half a century after the adoption of the International Declaration of Human Rights, such shameful practices continued to take place while the world watched with complete indifference.
In Sudan, this shameful phenomenon of slavery was rearing its ugly head again as a side effect of the current civil war in the country, and its prime victims were young African women and children from the Dinka and Nuba people of southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains. The Government's overt policies of religious and racial discrimination against Christians and non-Arab African tribes were responsible for the re-emergence of slavery and slavery-like practices in the country. In Mauritania, thousands of people were still languishing in bondage after decades of the so-called abolition of slavery in that country. It was estimated that at least about 90,000 Afro-Mauritanians lived in a classical form of slavery. Although Mauritania had passed laws abolishing slavery on its territory, these measures were nominal because of the lack of political will to implement them. The Government had dramatically failed to meet its international obligations to abolish this slavery and similar practices from its territory. It had not taken the necessary measures to rehabilitate and empower the victims of slavery.
FAROOQ HASSAN (Pakistan) said the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery had proved a most important forum for discussion, not only between Experts and Governments, but also between Governments and NGOs. It served the purpose of allowing NGOs to draw attention to situations they believed were serious, and allowing Governments to respond to concerns expressed about them. It was an indispensable tool of the Subcommission.
The Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery provided a unique opportunity for dialogue between all actors working on this extremely important subject. It should retain its broad thematic character, and not be burdened with a monitoring mandate. It should continue to focus on thematic issues relevant to the prevention of slavery.
HASSAN EL TALIB (Sudan) said the Government was firmly committed to eliminating forced labour and sexual slavery. The Government's bill of rights was in full compliance with international conventions concerned with this matter. The final report of the investigating Government Commission had found no evidence of slavery there. The Government had set up a Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children, comprised of Government, NGOs and other members of civil society. The Committee was given full powers to address all relevant issues in connection with the abduction of women and children.
While the Government of Sudan welcomed every effort to support and assist its endeavours to eradicate the abduction of women and children, it also urged the international community to extend its cooperation to address the root causes of this phenomenon -- the armed conflict in southern Sudan. The international community should convince the rebels to respond positively to the unilateral comprehensive cease-fire declared by the Government and so far rejected by the rebel movement. The rebel movement should come to the negotiating table with a genuine determination to find a resolution to the armed conflict.
PAK DOK HUN (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said it was more than 70 years since the adoption of the Slavery Convention in 1926; however slavery and slavery-like practices continued to exist and even grow in various forms in all parts of the world. Unabated traffic in persons, particularly in women and girls for sexual exploitation, child labour, forced labour, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during armed conflict had caused grave concern in the international community.
The delegation drew the attention of this session to the crimes committed by Japan against humanity, which had brought indelible disgrace upon contemporary history, but had not yet been liquidated, even after more than half a century. It was acknowledged that throughout its 40-year occupation of Korea, Japan had forcibly drafted more than 6 million people, which accounted for almost all young and middle-aged Korean men, into its armed and labour forces needed for the war in Asia and the Pacific. These men were used as slave labour, more than 1 million were killed, and about 200,000 Korean women were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese army. However, the Japanese authorities distorted and justified their aggression instead of making an apology for the damages inflicted upon the Korean people. They revised history textbooks and praised the criminals, giving new generations incorrect information about history, and thus making them ignorant of their past and withholding from them a sense of the crime
s committed.
PRIMO BURSIK, of International Peace Bureau, said the organization felt deep concern over violence against women during armed conflict, and the use of rape as a weapon of war. Where rapes and murders were committed by one population against a targeted population, in a systematic attack to terrorize a specific people, there was a very serious situation. This was what was happening in the island of Sri Lanka, to the Tamil population, at the hands of the Sri Lankan army. The international community should prosecute those responsible. The rape and murder of Tamil women by the armed forces of the Sri Lankan Government continued.
The Subcommission should take strong action with regard to Sri Lanka's human-rights violations, demand that independent inquiries be made into mass graves, condemn rape as a war crime by Sri Lanka and appoint a country rapporteur to look into the situation.
FAN GUOXIANG, Subcommission Expert, said that, concerning the "comfort women" of Japan, although the issue had been discussed for a long time, the problem continued. The Permanent Mission of Japan had often commented on the matter, and the Government of Japan already had apologized. However, the response was neither satisfactory nor complete. The victims were not satisfied, and the matter -- especially in terms of legal responsibility -- had not been resolved.
A complete correction of the problem was needed. The Japanese Government, notably the imperialist members of the Japanese Government, were partly the cause. The situation had been redressed in Europe after the war, and concrete actions had been taken. But in Japan, one had not been able to pinpoint responsibility. Some people who were responsible for these crimes were still walking the streets, yet they were war criminals. Compensation for the victims was a matter of necessity; otherwise, the issue would continue to be discussed on the international scene and both the victims and the Government of Japan would suffer.
OLEG SHAMSHUR, Subcommission Alternate Expert, said it was disturbing that the Subcommission had to address contemporary forms of slavery and extreme forms of exploitation at the beginning of a new millennium. The working group had tried to deal with all pertinent issues related to this problem. Thematic expansion was the strength of the group, but at the same time, it could become a weakness if the group dealt with too many issues.
It should be stressed that there was a need for Government participation in eliminating contemporary forms of slavery. There also was an evident need for different international agencies to deal with the issue of trafficking.
LOUIS JOINET, Subcommission Expert, said the Working Group on contemporary forms of slavery deserved praise. The prostitution of others seemed to be a strange consequence of the end of the Cold War, where prostitution had had its organized circuits. The working group was the sole forum where anti-slavery NGOs could discuss slavery with States under relatively calm conditions, and therefore the group should be retained.
Mr. Warzazi's report had been most interesting, especially in the context of the cultural issues mentioned. She had encountered much criticism, but if there was a place in which the Subcommission had added to the knowledge of the situation, it was here.
YEUNG KAM YEUNG SIK YUEN, Subcommission Expert, said that, regarding contemporary forms of slavery, last year's report had brought about few changes on the ground. People were still behaving atrociously. Sexual violence was one of the most abject forms of violence, since it defiled and debased the victim, the victim's family and the community. In Afghanistan, rape was considered a mode of war by the warring factions. Every effort must be made to ensure some measurable improvement there.
The best way to bring about change was to ensure that such serious international human-rights violations were punished. These crimes should not be subject to any statue of limitations. However, obstacles remained. The International Criminal Court was not yet operational. Two current international tribunals were operative on an ad hoc basis (i.e., the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Tribunal for Rwanda.) These tribunals were making progress to ensure that international standards were respected.
JOSEPH OLOKA-ONYANGO, Subcommission Expert, said the usual approach to the subject of the root causes of human-rights violations was to list and analyze a host of historical, social, political, economic and even cultural factors. While appearing logical, this approach was nevertheless not novel, neither had it advanced the global protection of the human rights of women significantly enough. Take the case of Rwanda as an example. For decades, it was well known that one of the primary sources of human-rights violations was the suppression of the rights and interests of the Tutsi minority by the Hutu majority, coupled with a host of related problems in terms of discrimination and exclusion. These problems were compounded by the overriding feature of political monopoly exercised by a succession of Hutu-dominated Governments. The 1994 explosion was thus simply the most intense expression of a policy of exclusion, marginalization and human-rights violations that had much deeper roots. In other words, the world should not have been surprised.
But the Rwanda genocide forced more probing questions -- how, for example, did Hutu husbands turn on their Tutsi wives and children? Why did the desire to reinforce the political monopoly that had been enjoyed for so many decades assume such vicious dimensions? The root causes of human rights violations in every context must be retraced to the smallest, micro-level unit of human organization in order to understand those violations which manifested themselves at the level of the State. Unless the issue of dictatorship, discrimination and inequality within the family was comprehensively addressed, it was futile to believe that human-rights violations at the State level could be avoided. If there were problems of human-rights violations at this microscopic level, how could they be avoided at the level of the State, which itself was simply a collection of several families?
Turning to the issue of the comfort women system in Japan, the issues involved were addressed in the Special Rapporteur's report. It was most painful that what had been described as one of the most egregious documented cases of sexual slavery should have remained largely unremedied, with no reparation to the victims, no official compensation, no official acknowledgement of legal liability and no prosecutions. What was even more painful was the fact that the United Nations system appeared impotent to take any action on the matter. Was this because the victims were women, or was it because there was also a racial dimension to the issue? The matter was of course not confined to the specifics of the Japanese situation, because it was being duplicated all over the world in different contexts. The issue needed to be very firmly addressed because it was not a matter of history. Rather, it was a matter of the present and the future. Moreover, because of the highly gendered, ethnic and racial dimensions of sexual violence, it was imperative that the United Nations system pay serious attention to the matter.
ERICA-IRENE A. DAES, Subcommission Expert, said the NGOs indeed constituted a think-tank for the Working Group on contemporary forms of slavery. They played an important role in raising awareness on a national and international level. Not only the practice of slavery existed in certain countries of the world, but new forms had developed. The Working Group should therefore not be abolished. A new form of slavery was related to illegal asylum seekers and illegal traffic in migrant workers, who were frequently exploited by unscrupulous middlemen or boat-owners. In this respect, it should be mentioned that concrete information and dates should be provided at the next session of the Working Group, so that it could investigate this traffic. The recommendations of the Working Group should be adopted and implemented by all parties concerned.
Rape, under specific conditions, was a crime against humanity, and should be punished as such under international law. Sexual violence committed during conflict was an international crime, and should be treated as such.
ANTOANELLA IULIA MOTOC, Subcommission Alternate Expert, said the Subcommission's two reports on the rights of women and trafficking for the purposes of prostitution said very little about Eastern Europe. The number of women who were trafficked in Eastern Europe had increased. Women were tools of war and there were extreme violations. Solutions needed to be balanced between the claims and needs of the victims and the excessive requirements of radical feminists. Culture must be considered; an intermediate phase regarding women's rights was needed.
In Central Europe today, the situation was mixed. Depending on one's interpretation, the glass was half-empty or half-full. Fewer women enrolled in feminist studies at universities. On the other hand, the European Union's stand on affirmative action was fairly advanced.
In Eastern Europe, the situation was completely different from that of Central Europe, because the traditions were different. Traditions -- of communism and older traditions -- were different. Communism had tried to impose equality, and this was not normal. Since the fall of communism, the involvement of women in Government had decreased; there was still much discrimination and little affirmative action. Important action by the international community was needed to protect women in Eastern Europe.
FRANCOISE JANE HAMPSON, Subcommission Expert, said when women who had been circumcised gave birth, the baby often died because of a long labour. Another consequence was that women were often abandoned by their husbands and their communities. Even for those who did get treatment, psychological harm had been done. On sexual slavery, another problem was juvenile prostitution, which was often linked to juvenile pornography. On systematic rape and sexual slavery during armed conflicts, it was striking that available data suggested that there was a higher rate of rape by members of the military than by the population at large. It was encouraging that the prosecutors for the international tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda had shown a willingness to prosecute. But increasing prosecution was not enough. The Subcommission was concerned with the protection of human rights. The prosecution of someone meant that protection was a failure.
In the case of armed forces, States needed to write provisions in their legal codes and their military procedures codes. These provisions could not be something as vague as "conduct unbecoming an officer." Many States had ratified the Geneva Conventions, but that was not enough. They needed to adopt that language into their domestic laws. This, again, was only taking action after the event. What was needed was training of the armed forces to respect the human person. That was what international humanitarian law was about. Any Government that did not put the Geneva Conventions into its domestic law demonstrated that it did not take seriously the problem of systematic rape, slavery and slavery-like practices.
ERICA-IRENE A. DAES, Subcommission Expert, introducing the report of the Working Group on indigenous populations, said the report reflected the difficult, complex and multi-form work of the group, which had to be concluded whilst always keeping the mandate in mind. All of the items of the agenda were interesting, and a great number of speakers had taken the floor.
The deliberations took place in a harmonious and friendly atmosphere in which a constructive dialogue developed, even when controversial issues were discussed.
On many occasions, indigenous peoples expressed their gratitude to the members of the Working Group and to the Subcommission as a whole for the two bodies` sincere concern about their fate, the recognition, promotion and protection of their rights, and in particular about their physical survival. In certain cases, indigenous peoples recognized that some Governments had already adopted measures for the improvement of the lives of indigenous peoples, whilst some other Governments still continued oppressive policies.
The Working Group reaffirmed its view that its annual review of developments in the situation of indigenous peoples was a fundamental part of its mandate, as was standard-setting. A number of specific recommendations related to an important item of the agenda -- the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. The Working Group took into consideration the repeated appeals made by indigenous peoples for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues to request and receive information from Governments, indigenous peoples, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with the promotion and protection of the human rights of indigenous peoples.
OLGA CECHUROVA, of Radical Party Transnational & Transdivisional, said that, at the midpoint of the decade on the world's indigenous peoples, the results were being reviewed. Over the last decades, land occupied by indigenous peoples had been subject to intensive development, notably in the form of mining, hydroelectric generation, and logging. The land was also being settled by non-indigenous peoples. All of these incursions had led to serious environmental degradation and pollution.
One of the most serious examples was in West Papua (Irian Jaya), where human-rights violations included indiscriminate shooting, summary killings, arbitrary detentions and disappearances. The Freeport McMoran company said that its mining operations provided an important source of income, but this was not actually the case. Logging companies were also problematic, as thousand of hectares of forest were being destroyed. This was without the consent of or compensation to indigenous peoples. Indigenous land was being manipulated by the State as well. States should be helped and encouraged to ensure and improve the well-being of all their citizens. Indigenous people should be given greater responsibility for their own affairs and given an effective voice in decisions on matters which affected them.
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