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SUBCOMMISSION NEARS COMPLETION OF DISCUSSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS IN SPECIFIC COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
06 August 1998
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AFTERNOON
HR/SC/98/7
6 August 1998
The Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities approached conclusion this afternoon of two days of debate on the question of human rights violations anywhere in the world. The meeting ended with a series of statements in right of reply from countries stung by criticism of their human rights records by non-governmental organizations and in some cases by Subcommission experts.
Earlier, several national delegations summarized their Governments’ efforts to maintain and promote human rights and described difficulties they had encountered, including terrorist campaigns and poverty.
The Subcommission's alternate expert Alberto Diaz Uribe spoke at length about the 40-year internal conflict in Colombia, saying the Government was putting great efforts into negotiating a peaceful solution to a complex and difficult situation.
Expert Asbjorn Eide said that what might be termed "systemic" human rights violations occurred when there was not a democratic Government in place which was open and responsive to different parts of the population; often there was rule by decree and severe limitations on freedom of expression, association, and religion. Many European countries had suffered from systemic problems some 60 years ago, he said, among them Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. He suggested that Indonesia, Israel, and Turkey currently fell into that category.
Other Subcommission experts or alternates to address the meeting were Yozo Yokota, Sang Yong Park, José Bengoa, Ioan Maxim, Louis Joinet, and Erica-Irene A. Daes. Representatives of Azerbaijan, Nepal, and Qatar made formal statements.
The non-governmental organizations providing statements were the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters and Pax Christi International.
United Nations Information Service at Geneva Press Releases are available on the Internet at the following address: http://www.unog.ch
Belarus, Algeria, Iraq, Turkey, Eritria, Zambia, Colombia, Pakistan, and Ethiopia spoke in exercise of their right of reply.
The Subcommission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Friday, 7 August, to finish rights of reply, and then will spend the remainder of the day in private session.
Statements
SIMA EIVAZOVA (Azerbaijan) said that he wished to share with great regret the statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that "this fiftieth anniversary is not a time for celebration". Since the middle of the nineteenth century, as a result of attempts to change the demography of Transcaucasia, genocide had been repeatedly committed against Azerbaijanis. Resettlement of Armenians in Azerbaijani lands and oppression of the native population of the region had been a key element of this policy. The violent acquisition of Azerbaijani territories reached its culmination at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s when Armenia had initiated combat operations in the Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. This had resulted in gross and flagrant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Azerbaijanis and was a crime against humanity. There were currently about one million refugees and displaced persons in Azerbaijan who had been expelled from Armenia and the occupied Azerbaijani territories. All Azerbaijani towns and districts had been seized following the adoption of four United Nations Security Council resolutions which condemned the occupation. International law considered war crimes and crimes against humanity as the gravest crimes and in this respect, the Government of Azerbaijan welcomed the establishment of the permanent International Criminal Court as a mechanism of efficient and impartial repression of breaches of human rights.
SHAMBHU RAM SIMKHADA (Nepal) said the country had undergone several changes of government since adoption of a new Constitution in 1990, including a brief period under a United Marxist Leninist Party, but all had been within the terms of the Constitutional process; the Constitution clearly stated that no discrimination was allowed on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe, or ideological conviction; independence of the judiciary was guaranteed; non-governmental organizations and other civil institutions operated freely. Poverty was the greatest challenge to progress in human rights, but in addition, there were difficulties caused by groups which, despite full freedom to participate in the political process, had resorted to violence and terror; the Government had taken several initiatives to bring these elements into the political mainstream, but invitations to a dialogue and visits to the affected areas by the Prime Minister had yielded no positive results; the Government was left with no option but to take legitimate measures to maintain order and protect its citizens. Nepal also had put great effort into reaching a solution allowing the return of nearly 100,000 refugees to Bhutan, but despite Nepal's best intentions and a flexible approach, little progress had resulted.
CHIEKH FAHAD AWAIDA AL-THANI (Qatar), on behalf of the Member States of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, said the situation in Kosovo was very concerning. Attacks by Yugoslav army troops against the ethnic Albanian population had destroyed more than 100 villages over the last 11 days alone. The Foreign Ministers of the OIC, in their meeting in Doha, Qatar, had adopted a resolution condemning strongly the large scale repression, discrimination and violations of human rights against the Albanian population, and had called for the establishment of democratic institutions in Kosovo. The Subcommission should, among other steps, condemn the force used against civilians in Kosovo, call on the international community to take necessary action to end the human rights violations there and allow for neutral observers to monitor the situation.
Turning to the Middle East, the representative of Qatar said the blatant violations of human rights by the Israeli forces of occupation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories were of continued concern to the OIC. Israel considered itself to be out of the scope of international responsibility. It was necessary for the Subcommission to ensure that the Palestinian people were able to realise all their rights, including the right to self-determination. The OIC also expressed its concern over the deterioration of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which had the potential to escalate. It was disappointing that there had been no agreement at a recent summit for a bilateral dialogue between Pakistan and India on this subject.
ALBERTO DIAZ URIBE, alternate expert, said intervention over supposed violations of human rights had developed in recent years into a pattern in which the poorer nations of the world had their internal affairs interfered with; it was as if the international community had forgotten the lessons and consequences of colonialism. It was necessary to continue to fight for strengthening of multi-lateral instruments for human rights, but in such a way that they were applied fairly to all, including the world's most powerful countries.
The situation in Colombia continued to deteriorate according to press reports of the past few days. There had been a further massacre committed by paramilitary groups yesterday; in addition, guerrilla military forces had committed an assault in a coca-growing area, causing many deaths; these developments only served to illustrate the complexity and difficulty of the situation. Colombia had suffered for 40 years from an internal, fratricidal conflict, a civil war; in such a state of affairs, the first obligation of a State was to seek a negotiated, peaceful outcome; an armed conflict could not be an excuse to put off full enjoyment of human rights, but on the other hand, a situation in which peace was established would only help protect human rights. Colombia had tried mightily; it had hosted an office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bogota; it had taken numerous steps to protect civilians; it had set up a national peace council; it had recently reached a humanitarian agreement with one of the armed guerilla groups to limit such offenses as use of land mines, kidnappings, and use of underage persons in the conflict; the intent was to humanize the conflict, at least somewhat. But overall, the situation continued to worsen; there were threats, disappearances, and murders of human rights defenders; larger numbers of persons were being forced to flee to safety. He hoped that the arrogance of those who committed such aggressive acts as the recent attacks would ultimately be shaken by the damage caused and would be willing to negotiate a solution that allowed peace and respect for human rights for all.
YOZO YOKOTA, alternate expert, said it was increasingly necessary to extend protection to international staff, experts and volunteers working in the field of humanitarian and relief activities. This year alone, 17 civilians and 13 soldiers in the service of the United Nations had been killed. Relief and humanitarian personnel deserved special protection because they worked under very dangerous and difficult conditions. They were often the deliberate focus of attacks and their safety and property were threatened so their human rights had to be protected. Thousands of other persons human rights were dependent on the work of these committed men and women. Since international humanitarian workers had a mission of international character, they could not rely on their own governments to ensure their safety, and as they were increasingly working in countries in the middle of internal conflict where they could not depend on the government of their host country, the international community had to protect their life, health and property. The alternate expert supported the proposal of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sergio Vieira de Mello, that attacks on relief workers should be considered as war crimes punishable by the International Criminal Court. The term relief workers should not only refer to United Nations staff but also related agencies like the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization. Similar considerations should also be given to the field workers of relief, humanitarian and human rights NGOs.
The relationship between civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights also needed to be addressed, Mr. Yokota said. The 1993 Vienna Declaration supported the indivisible character of human rights. Economic, social and cultural rights had to be given equal importance with civil and political rights. The division of these two categories of rights had increasingly become irrelevant. Traditionally civil and political rights had been considered negative rights as they could only be violated by States or governments. However, it had increasingly become clear that non- State actors violated such rights. Therefore, States did not only have to act negatively to ensure that they did not exercise a power that would prevent their citizens from fully enjoying their economic, social and cultural rights, but they also had a duty to ensure that non-State groups did not violate the rights of the persons under their jurisdiction.
ASBJORN EIDE, Subcommission expert, proposed distinguishing between three categories of human rights violations: systemic violations, violations arising out of serious group conflicts, particularly when they took the form of armed conflict, and aberrational or incidental violations.
Mr. Eide said systemic violations occurred when there was not a democratic Government in place which was open and responsive to different parts of the population; often there was rule by decree and severe limitations on freedom of expression, association, and religion. Many European countries had suffered from systemic violations some 60 years ago, including Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Currently many countries under review by the Commission on Human Rights fell into this category, including Iran, Iraq, and -- at least until recently -- Nigeria. The case of Indonesia was worth considering: extensive violations started 32 years ago when at least half a million, possibly 2 million, political opponents of the military regime had been murdered; subsequent violations included events in occupied East Timor. Yet there had been little reaction, possibly because the Government was friendly with the West. Now that Suharto was gone, matters had perhaps improved; one hoped so; but events in May involving supposed mob violence against Chinese sections of society were a cause of great concern; there were strong indications that extensive rapes of Chinese women were carefully planned and carried out by well-trained young men; it was important that the United Nations carefully monitor the investigation of those events.
A special form of systemic violations arose when a State defined itself as an ethno state or a religious State in a militant way -- Israel was an example, Mr. Eide said. There was a functioning democracy but a clash between the State's ethnic superstructure and the quest by its Palestinian citizens for human rights, including equality and identity. The dilemma was deep and systemic -- part of the reason why the peace process was now stalled. Systematic violations could arise as well when a State refused to accept its pluralistic composition, as with Turkey; denial of this pluralistic character had contributed to the very serious conflict with large parts of the Kurdish community; the conflict would continue until Turkey gave that group conditions under which it could maintain and reproduce its culture, although terrorist acts of the PKK should be strongly condemned as an example of the second category of human rights problem he had mentioned: serious group conflicts. The Sri Lanka conflict was another example: the LTTE terrorists, supported by an expatriate Tamil community, did not want democracy or respect for human rights, and the way to achieve Tamil human rights was through an accommodation based on equality for all. Accommodation and respect and equal treatment for minorities was the best solution to such conflicts, but not through secession; situations in Kosovo and Mexico were further examples.
The third category involved relations between universalization of rights and globalization of power.
SANG-YONG PARK, Subcommission expert, said he was seriously concerned about the retrogressive human rights situations in many countries, characterised by serious human rights abuses and gross violations, dictatorships and corruption, ethnic mistrust and armed conflict, racism and discrimination, intolerance, and violence. Some counties refused to cooperate with United Nations special rapporteurs, and one country had forced the withdrawal of an investigating team of human rights workers and forensic experts. However, in some parts of the world, there had been progress in promoting and protecting human rights. The momentum of the global democratic movement would eventually contribute to advancing the goal of human rights worldwide. In the Republic of Korea, the new Government had declared advances in human rights to be one of its main policy objectives. An amnesty had been announced in March 1998 which had freed more than 2,000 prisoners, 74 of whom had been held for national security reasons, and a second
amnesty was expected.
Mr. Park said there had been positive developments in the field of human rights over the past year, including the finalisation and adoption of a statute creating the International Criminal Court. Building on its past contributions, the Subcommission should make further substantive contributions to the prevention, promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. To this end, the Subcommission should continue to make practical recommendations so that individual countries could strengthen their human rights education and information. More of the Member States of the United Nations should be encouraged to ratify the international human rights treaties, and it was encouraging that the Convention on the Rights of the Child now had 191 States parties. At the regional level, countries should broaden their areas of cooperation in the field of human rights.
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JOSÉ BENGOA, Subcommission expert, said the declaration on human rights defenders finally passed by the Commission on Human Rights was laudable; it was too often the case that those who battled against human rights violations frequently became victims of such violations; often, after some years, one found out that the suffering endured by human rights advocates was even worse than one had supposed; despite the compromises and internal dealing that had gone into the draft, the declaration was a vital and important document. The Subcommission must be careful every year to follow up this declaration, seeing what went on in the field. Over the course of the past year, Mr. Bengoa said he had received many complaints about ill-treatment of human rights defenders; what these people did was often dangerous, not to mention difficult. The Subcommission in fact should go farther and try to deal each year with the matter of human rights defenders. He had had many friends in his home country who had been killed because of their commitment to human rights during a period of dictatorship. Often human rights defenders were accused of "terrorism", and the Subcommission needed to examine this tactic; such defenders also often were accused of receiving foreign funds, as if that was a crime. Perhaps the Subcommission should make a specific effort to salute the new declaration.
IOAN MAXIM, Subcommission expert, said that each year, despite the efforts of the international community, the human rights situation around the world remained a concern and even worsened. Improvements in some areas were followed by outbreaks of violence elsewhere. The reasons for this lay in the great variety of causes, one of which was the very nature of human beings. There was a trend to attribute responsibility to States, which appeared correct at first because it was States that were responsible for compliance with human rights. However, often responsibility and blame could be given to other forces. Terrorism was one such force. There was the phenomenon of contemporary slavery which was a serious violation of human rights. Unfortunately, Governments did not manage to check such phenomena and responsibility for this lay with different bizarre forms of human behaviour. The easiest choice lay in blaming Governments. However, to responsibly deal with the problem, the Subcommittee had to avoid this trap. When Romania had been condemned in 1988 for human rights violations, it had been the regime that was condemned, but the Romanian people had had to bear the consequences. People should not be held responsible for the actions of their tyrants. In order to avoid serious consequences, a difference had to be made between those who were responsible for human rights violations and those who suffered from them.
AMADOU LOW, of the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters, said there were continuing serious human rights violations in Europe, where very often Blacks were victims of identity checks that were highly embarrassing and were not applied to Caucasians; the same occurred in Mauritania, where these checks were applied not only to Black workers from outside the country, but to Black Mauritanian citizens, who always had to prove their national identity; it was time for an end to such systematic discrimination; the organization called upon all countries to apply relevant international human rights instruments.
JACQUES VITTORI, of Pax Christi International, said the resolutions condemning Israel had been without effect. Such flouting of the international community was reminiscent of the attitude of the ruling class in South Africa during apartheid. If a Member State of the United Nations continued to defy its decisions, would this not fundamentally discredit the organisation itself? Rather than sanctions, the best solution would be one that would come from inside Israel, and that would strengthen internal opposition to the current suicidal policies. The security of Palestinians and Israelis was interdependent. Peace was the natural aspiration of all humans and the majority of Palestinians and Israelis wanted peace. The Subcommission should launch an appeal to save the two and a half million people who were living on death row of South Sudan. Kosovo was falling into a programmed genocide and Europe had to act if it was not to cover itself in shame. The Subcommission would probably seek to adopt a resolution supporting the democratisation process in Indonesia and condemning the pogroms that victimised the Chinese population. The people of Iraq were not only under a cruel dictatorship but also were also faced by a United Nations embargo. Aung San Suu Kyi was an admirable leader of a non-violent resistance movement and should not be forgotten.
LOUIS JOINET, Subcommission expert, said the panel last year had passed a resolution on the Congo; a year later, there appeared to have been no genuine progress; elections had not been held, the new Constitution appeared to have been suspended; there were reports of new violations; although the Subcommission had recommended the Commission on Human Rights consider the situation in that country, it had not done so. Another resolution last year had referred to human rights in Bahrain; he knew of no recent events involving that country, although the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was in the process of arranging a visit. A resolution had referred to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and its passage had drawn much opposition from that Government, including a threat to withdraw from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; there had been no change over the past year; the Subcommission had not referred the Commission to the matter, and perhaps it should this year. A major problem was that it was not possible for the Subcommission or other Governments to check whether reports received were true; there was no transparency to what was happening in North Korea; how could anyone know if the accusations against the country were lies, as the Government charged? The issue should be kept under scrutiny.
As for Algeria and the Subcommission's statement last year, Mr. Joinet said he did not think there had been any improvement; a report would soon be delivered to the Secretary-General following a mission to obtain information; again a problem of transparency was encountered; it was hard to find out the truth when a Government did not wish to have matters investigated; it wasn't clear, for example, how many had died in the Algerian conflict over the past year. In the case of Indonesia, he had sought and received information from the Indonesian Mission, and it was indeed something new that the Government was acknowledging a problem with systematic violations against the ethnic Chinese population; but he was concerned that none of those responsible for the attacks had been detained, and he was worried about whether the victims were assured protection. The difficult situation in Sri Lanka was exemplified by a lack of information on exchanges of prisoners, or on prisoners from the conflict -- that suggested that there were no prisoners, that persons who might have been prisoners were dead; and it emphasized the importance of a visit by the Working Group on Arbitrary Disappearances; recent murders by the Tamil Tigers had obviously exacerbated the situation; it obviously was hard to convince both sides that victory by force of arms would not result in a satisfactory peace. As for Mexico and the situation in Chiapas, he wondered if Chiapas was making people forget the rest of the country, and he was a concerned that a situation of impunity was prevailing elsewhere almost unchallenged.
Rights of Reply
ALEG IVANOV (Belarus), speaking in right of reply, stated that it attached great importance to the working of the Subcommission. It did not agree with some statements that had been made concerning the situation in Belarus. Distortion of facts was not freedom of speach and it also violated one of the human rights of the poeple in the room, the right to receive correct information. The active practical steps taken by the Government of Belarus were all evidence of the sincere intention of Belarus to make undertake changes that were in the spirit and letter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
MOHAMED SALAH DEMBRI (Algeria), speaking in right of reply, said an NGO had sought to criticize the situation in Algeria; he wanted to remind the NGO that an objective assessment must take account of positive developments as well as difficulties; otherwise, credibility was lost; accusations, furthermore, should be backed by evidence. Over the past few years, the Government had submitted four periodic reports to various human rights bodies; transition to multi-party democracy was being carried out; violence was being rejected as a method of action; the electoral process interrupted in 1992 was being restarted; the first pluralist presidential elections had been held with extensive international observer presence. Institutional structures such as separation of powers were being established; there was now a legitimate two-chamber Parliament where a number of political parties were represented. A National Human Rights Observatory and an ombudsman helped protect human rights, and implementation of the death penalty had been suspended; special courts for terrorism cases were no longer used. The NGO should refrain from political slander. Meanwhile terrorism took barbaric forms against Algeria's sacred religion, and the Government was taking all necessary measures to protect the population.
AKRAM J. ALDOURI (Iraq), speaking in right of reply, said that yesterday someone had spoken on behalf of an NGO, Interface International. This person was a representative of a terrorist organisation that received support from the United States and the State in which it was based. This group had as a goal, to distract the attention of the international community from the devastating effects of the blockade. Iraq rejected the claims of those who worked for foreign intelligence agencies. Addressing specific allegations, the representative of Iraq said that the members of the clergy who had been killed were not Iraqis. They had been in Iraq for many years after Iraq had given them the freedom to perform their religious duties. The assassination of the two members of the clergy who had lived in Iraq was part of an undercover design to scare the clergy out of Iraq, thus transferring the religious seat that had been traditionally in Iraq to another country. The latest of these terrorist activities had been a car bomb that had exploded in El Rashid hotel in Bagdhad. The Iraqi authorities had been investigating in order to find those responsible. Worship in Iraq was a right that was enjoyed by everyone with no discrimination. The Government had always tried to provide care for the clergy so that persons could undertake their worship in freedom.
MURAT SUNGAR (Turkey), speaking in right of reply, said a Subcommission member, Mrs. Daes, had levelled criticism against the country, along with two other members; as for the assassination attempt against the president of the Turkish human rights organization, the Government had at the highest level condemned the act and the culprits had quickly been arrested; he did not understand why she was criticizing the Government when it had done what was necessary. Further, Mrs. Daes's own Government had a fairly abysmal track record on matters of assassination; three members of the Turkish Government had been assassinated in Greece, and no one yet found responsible. As for Cyprus and the problems there, he completely rejected her characterization of the situation; it was a complicated issue; it was interesting that in her summation, Mrs. Daes had totally ignored violations of human rights committed against Turkish Cypriots.
Mr. WELDEGIORGIS (Eritrea), speaking in right of reply, said that Ethiopia had savaged the Subcommission with a catalogue of lies. It had accused the Eritrean Government of the outrages and atrocities that it itself had been committing against Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin. The delegation expressed its satisfaction that a committee representing the United Nations Human Rights Commission would be visiting Eritrea. A correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation, had refuted charges by Ethiopia that 114 Ethiopians had been arrested by the military force at Alla. Though Ethiopia claimed that Eritrea held over 600 Ethiopians, only 17 were actually being held on an individual basis, and the International Committee of the Red Cross had full access to them. Ethiopians who wished to stay in Eritrea had every right to do so. Was Eritrea terrorizing the Ethiopian population in Eritrea? Had it paraded Ethiopian prisoners of war? Eritrea had a list of the first 3,000 Eritreans expelled from Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Government could not lie about the mass expulsion of Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean descent, nor the deplorable and dehumanizing conditions under which they expelled the victims. Ethiopia's atrocities constituted a crime against humanity. Eritrea, unlike Ethiopia, was cooperating with ICRC and the UN agencies, and should be judged by its actions not its words.
ERICA-IRENE A. DAES, Subcommission expert, said she had referred to the very well-known human rights activist mentioned by Turkey because his words had been carried in the well-known newspaper the Financial Times; in the article she referred to, this activist had said Turkey's human rights record was becoming worse and worse. Second, she wished to stress that she did not represent Greece; she was an independent expert, as was well-known. Third, she had worked with the Muslim minority in Greece, was familiar with their situation, and they were not discriminated against.
P.N. SINYINYA (Zambia), speaking in right of reply, said that it wished to reply to unfounded allegations made by the Latin American Federaton of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees FEDEFAM in a statement. The NGO had referred to an alleged case of disappearance of Agnes Natamabyliro Rutagwera which was reflected in the report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. NGOs that had been given the right to address the Subcommission were expected to be serious and objective in their work and the allegations against Zambia had shown a lack of seriousness. FEDAFAM had not properly read the report, on which it had based its allegations, as the report clearly said that the person involved was being held in Kigali. FEDEFAM should investigate issues properly before accusing States.
HAROLD SANDOVAL BERNAL (Colombia), speaking in right of reply, said that after many years of armed conflict, a ray of light had appeared on the horizon; meetings had been held with two of the armed insurgent groups; possibilities for dialogue leading to peace had been reviewed, along with respect for basic standards of humanitarian law; this was the first step in a very long voyage, but it was a fundamental step; the intent was to safeguard the civilian population and end attacks on natural resources. Colombians were seeking a process of peace, economic, social, and political reforms, and civil and political and cultural reforms as well; international cooperation had been a fundamental pillar, a necessary input. These ingredients, with the vigorous participation of Colombian citizens, would ensure ultimate success, and Colombia's Government would strive to protect human rights and to maintain a spirit of openness. There would be efforts to deal with paramilitary groups and to repatriate the internally displaced. It was not an easy path, but Colombia would follow it.
MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan), speaking in right of reply, said that it was necessary to respond to the allegations of some so-called NGOs that were in fact paid by the Indian Government. While Pakistan welcomed the comments made by real NGOs, there were NGOs, known as 'gongos', that participated in international forum to advance the cause of India. These NGOs should speak of their own land where there were people living in absolute poverty. Genuine human rights activists were not allowed to leave India, though these 'gongos' were. The aim of the 'gongos' was to confuse the issue of Kashmir, where the population was being suppressed by Indian troops. Why had these 'gongos' not condemned the member of the BNP who had said that rape of Kashmiri women was "right". Pakistan urged the Subcommission to reconsider the participation of such paid NGOs in the Subcommission as it could bring the Subcommission into disrepute.
MENELIK ALEMU GETAHUN (Ethiopia), speaking in right of reply, said the facts that had been given on Eritrea had been independently verified; to give them all would take days; three individuals had been summarily executed and 30 others injured by Eritrea for their alleged participation in the armed insurrections; landmines were being used to evict Ethiopian civilians from their land; hundreds had been killed and others maimed as a result; terrorism sponsored by Eritrea in Ethiopia had been another activity; Eritrean propoganda was being used to promote ethnic conflict in Ethiopia; but the extensive terrorist network had been foiled; meanwhile Ethiopia was dealing with its problems in transparency and fairness.
HR/SC/98/7
6 August 1998
The Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities approached conclusion this afternoon of two days of debate on the question of human rights violations anywhere in the world. The meeting ended with a series of statements in right of reply from countries stung by criticism of their human rights records by non-governmental organizations and in some cases by Subcommission experts.
Earlier, several national delegations summarized their Governments’ efforts to maintain and promote human rights and described difficulties they had encountered, including terrorist campaigns and poverty.
The Subcommission's alternate expert Alberto Diaz Uribe spoke at length about the 40-year internal conflict in Colombia, saying the Government was putting great efforts into negotiating a peaceful solution to a complex and difficult situation.
Expert Asbjorn Eide said that what might be termed "systemic" human rights violations occurred when there was not a democratic Government in place which was open and responsive to different parts of the population; often there was rule by decree and severe limitations on freedom of expression, association, and religion. Many European countries had suffered from systemic problems some 60 years ago, he said, among them Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. He suggested that Indonesia, Israel, and Turkey currently fell into that category.
Other Subcommission experts or alternates to address the meeting were Yozo Yokota, Sang Yong Park, José Bengoa, Ioan Maxim, Louis Joinet, and Erica-Irene A. Daes. Representatives of Azerbaijan, Nepal, and Qatar made formal statements.
The non-governmental organizations providing statements were the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters and Pax Christi International.
United Nations Information Service at Geneva Press Releases are available on the Internet at the following address: http://www.unog.ch
Belarus, Algeria, Iraq, Turkey, Eritria, Zambia, Colombia, Pakistan, and Ethiopia spoke in exercise of their right of reply.
The Subcommission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Friday, 7 August, to finish rights of reply, and then will spend the remainder of the day in private session.
Statements
SIMA EIVAZOVA (Azerbaijan) said that he wished to share with great regret the statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that "this fiftieth anniversary is not a time for celebration". Since the middle of the nineteenth century, as a result of attempts to change the demography of Transcaucasia, genocide had been repeatedly committed against Azerbaijanis. Resettlement of Armenians in Azerbaijani lands and oppression of the native population of the region had been a key element of this policy. The violent acquisition of Azerbaijani territories reached its culmination at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s when Armenia had initiated combat operations in the Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. This had resulted in gross and flagrant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Azerbaijanis and was a crime against humanity. There were currently about one million refugees and displaced persons in Azerbaijan who had been expelled from Armenia and the occupied Azerbaijani territories. All Azerbaijani towns and districts had been seized following the adoption of four United Nations Security Council resolutions which condemned the occupation. International law considered war crimes and crimes against humanity as the gravest crimes and in this respect, the Government of Azerbaijan welcomed the establishment of the permanent International Criminal Court as a mechanism of efficient and impartial repression of breaches of human rights.
SHAMBHU RAM SIMKHADA (Nepal) said the country had undergone several changes of government since adoption of a new Constitution in 1990, including a brief period under a United Marxist Leninist Party, but all had been within the terms of the Constitutional process; the Constitution clearly stated that no discrimination was allowed on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe, or ideological conviction; independence of the judiciary was guaranteed; non-governmental organizations and other civil institutions operated freely. Poverty was the greatest challenge to progress in human rights, but in addition, there were difficulties caused by groups which, despite full freedom to participate in the political process, had resorted to violence and terror; the Government had taken several initiatives to bring these elements into the political mainstream, but invitations to a dialogue and visits to the affected areas by the Prime Minister had yielded no positive results; the Government was left with no option but to take legitimate measures to maintain order and protect its citizens. Nepal also had put great effort into reaching a solution allowing the return of nearly 100,000 refugees to Bhutan, but despite Nepal's best intentions and a flexible approach, little progress had resulted.
CHIEKH FAHAD AWAIDA AL-THANI (Qatar), on behalf of the Member States of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, said the situation in Kosovo was very concerning. Attacks by Yugoslav army troops against the ethnic Albanian population had destroyed more than 100 villages over the last 11 days alone. The Foreign Ministers of the OIC, in their meeting in Doha, Qatar, had adopted a resolution condemning strongly the large scale repression, discrimination and violations of human rights against the Albanian population, and had called for the establishment of democratic institutions in Kosovo. The Subcommission should, among other steps, condemn the force used against civilians in Kosovo, call on the international community to take necessary action to end the human rights violations there and allow for neutral observers to monitor the situation.
Turning to the Middle East, the representative of Qatar said the blatant violations of human rights by the Israeli forces of occupation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories were of continued concern to the OIC. Israel considered itself to be out of the scope of international responsibility. It was necessary for the Subcommission to ensure that the Palestinian people were able to realise all their rights, including the right to self-determination. The OIC also expressed its concern over the deterioration of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which had the potential to escalate. It was disappointing that there had been no agreement at a recent summit for a bilateral dialogue between Pakistan and India on this subject.
ALBERTO DIAZ URIBE, alternate expert, said intervention over supposed violations of human rights had developed in recent years into a pattern in which the poorer nations of the world had their internal affairs interfered with; it was as if the international community had forgotten the lessons and consequences of colonialism. It was necessary to continue to fight for strengthening of multi-lateral instruments for human rights, but in such a way that they were applied fairly to all, including the world's most powerful countries.
The situation in Colombia continued to deteriorate according to press reports of the past few days. There had been a further massacre committed by paramilitary groups yesterday; in addition, guerrilla military forces had committed an assault in a coca-growing area, causing many deaths; these developments only served to illustrate the complexity and difficulty of the situation. Colombia had suffered for 40 years from an internal, fratricidal conflict, a civil war; in such a state of affairs, the first obligation of a State was to seek a negotiated, peaceful outcome; an armed conflict could not be an excuse to put off full enjoyment of human rights, but on the other hand, a situation in which peace was established would only help protect human rights. Colombia had tried mightily; it had hosted an office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bogota; it had taken numerous steps to protect civilians; it had set up a national peace council; it had recently reached a humanitarian agreement with one of the armed guerilla groups to limit such offenses as use of land mines, kidnappings, and use of underage persons in the conflict; the intent was to humanize the conflict, at least somewhat. But overall, the situation continued to worsen; there were threats, disappearances, and murders of human rights defenders; larger numbers of persons were being forced to flee to safety. He hoped that the arrogance of those who committed such aggressive acts as the recent attacks would ultimately be shaken by the damage caused and would be willing to negotiate a solution that allowed peace and respect for human rights for all.
YOZO YOKOTA, alternate expert, said it was increasingly necessary to extend protection to international staff, experts and volunteers working in the field of humanitarian and relief activities. This year alone, 17 civilians and 13 soldiers in the service of the United Nations had been killed. Relief and humanitarian personnel deserved special protection because they worked under very dangerous and difficult conditions. They were often the deliberate focus of attacks and their safety and property were threatened so their human rights had to be protected. Thousands of other persons human rights were dependent on the work of these committed men and women. Since international humanitarian workers had a mission of international character, they could not rely on their own governments to ensure their safety, and as they were increasingly working in countries in the middle of internal conflict where they could not depend on the government of their host country, the international community had to protect their life, health and property. The alternate expert supported the proposal of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sergio Vieira de Mello, that attacks on relief workers should be considered as war crimes punishable by the International Criminal Court. The term relief workers should not only refer to United Nations staff but also related agencies like the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization. Similar considerations should also be given to the field workers of relief, humanitarian and human rights NGOs.
The relationship between civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights also needed to be addressed, Mr. Yokota said. The 1993 Vienna Declaration supported the indivisible character of human rights. Economic, social and cultural rights had to be given equal importance with civil and political rights. The division of these two categories of rights had increasingly become irrelevant. Traditionally civil and political rights had been considered negative rights as they could only be violated by States or governments. However, it had increasingly become clear that non- State actors violated such rights. Therefore, States did not only have to act negatively to ensure that they did not exercise a power that would prevent their citizens from fully enjoying their economic, social and cultural rights, but they also had a duty to ensure that non-State groups did not violate the rights of the persons under their jurisdiction.
ASBJORN EIDE, Subcommission expert, proposed distinguishing between three categories of human rights violations: systemic violations, violations arising out of serious group conflicts, particularly when they took the form of armed conflict, and aberrational or incidental violations.
Mr. Eide said systemic violations occurred when there was not a democratic Government in place which was open and responsive to different parts of the population; often there was rule by decree and severe limitations on freedom of expression, association, and religion. Many European countries had suffered from systemic violations some 60 years ago, including Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Currently many countries under review by the Commission on Human Rights fell into this category, including Iran, Iraq, and -- at least until recently -- Nigeria. The case of Indonesia was worth considering: extensive violations started 32 years ago when at least half a million, possibly 2 million, political opponents of the military regime had been murdered; subsequent violations included events in occupied East Timor. Yet there had been little reaction, possibly because the Government was friendly with the West. Now that Suharto was gone, matters had perhaps improved; one hoped so; but events in May involving supposed mob violence against Chinese sections of society were a cause of great concern; there were strong indications that extensive rapes of Chinese women were carefully planned and carried out by well-trained young men; it was important that the United Nations carefully monitor the investigation of those events.
A special form of systemic violations arose when a State defined itself as an ethno state or a religious State in a militant way -- Israel was an example, Mr. Eide said. There was a functioning democracy but a clash between the State's ethnic superstructure and the quest by its Palestinian citizens for human rights, including equality and identity. The dilemma was deep and systemic -- part of the reason why the peace process was now stalled. Systematic violations could arise as well when a State refused to accept its pluralistic composition, as with Turkey; denial of this pluralistic character had contributed to the very serious conflict with large parts of the Kurdish community; the conflict would continue until Turkey gave that group conditions under which it could maintain and reproduce its culture, although terrorist acts of the PKK should be strongly condemned as an example of the second category of human rights problem he had mentioned: serious group conflicts. The Sri Lanka conflict was another example: the LTTE terrorists, supported by an expatriate Tamil community, did not want democracy or respect for human rights, and the way to achieve Tamil human rights was through an accommodation based on equality for all. Accommodation and respect and equal treatment for minorities was the best solution to such conflicts, but not through secession; situations in Kosovo and Mexico were further examples.
The third category involved relations between universalization of rights and globalization of power.
SANG-YONG PARK, Subcommission expert, said he was seriously concerned about the retrogressive human rights situations in many countries, characterised by serious human rights abuses and gross violations, dictatorships and corruption, ethnic mistrust and armed conflict, racism and discrimination, intolerance, and violence. Some counties refused to cooperate with United Nations special rapporteurs, and one country had forced the withdrawal of an investigating team of human rights workers and forensic experts. However, in some parts of the world, there had been progress in promoting and protecting human rights. The momentum of the global democratic movement would eventually contribute to advancing the goal of human rights worldwide. In the Republic of Korea, the new Government had declared advances in human rights to be one of its main policy objectives. An amnesty had been announced in March 1998 which had freed more than 2,000 prisoners, 74 of whom had been held for national security reasons, and a second
amnesty was expected.
Mr. Park said there had been positive developments in the field of human rights over the past year, including the finalisation and adoption of a statute creating the International Criminal Court. Building on its past contributions, the Subcommission should make further substantive contributions to the prevention, promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. To this end, the Subcommission should continue to make practical recommendations so that individual countries could strengthen their human rights education and information. More of the Member States of the United Nations should be encouraged to ratify the international human rights treaties, and it was encouraging that the Convention on the Rights of the Child now had 191 States parties. At the regional level, countries should broaden their areas of cooperation in the field of human rights.
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JOSÉ BENGOA, Subcommission expert, said the declaration on human rights defenders finally passed by the Commission on Human Rights was laudable; it was too often the case that those who battled against human rights violations frequently became victims of such violations; often, after some years, one found out that the suffering endured by human rights advocates was even worse than one had supposed; despite the compromises and internal dealing that had gone into the draft, the declaration was a vital and important document. The Subcommission must be careful every year to follow up this declaration, seeing what went on in the field. Over the course of the past year, Mr. Bengoa said he had received many complaints about ill-treatment of human rights defenders; what these people did was often dangerous, not to mention difficult. The Subcommission in fact should go farther and try to deal each year with the matter of human rights defenders. He had had many friends in his home country who had been killed because of their commitment to human rights during a period of dictatorship. Often human rights defenders were accused of "terrorism", and the Subcommission needed to examine this tactic; such defenders also often were accused of receiving foreign funds, as if that was a crime. Perhaps the Subcommission should make a specific effort to salute the new declaration.
IOAN MAXIM, Subcommission expert, said that each year, despite the efforts of the international community, the human rights situation around the world remained a concern and even worsened. Improvements in some areas were followed by outbreaks of violence elsewhere. The reasons for this lay in the great variety of causes, one of which was the very nature of human beings. There was a trend to attribute responsibility to States, which appeared correct at first because it was States that were responsible for compliance with human rights. However, often responsibility and blame could be given to other forces. Terrorism was one such force. There was the phenomenon of contemporary slavery which was a serious violation of human rights. Unfortunately, Governments did not manage to check such phenomena and responsibility for this lay with different bizarre forms of human behaviour. The easiest choice lay in blaming Governments. However, to responsibly deal with the problem, the Subcommittee had to avoid this trap. When Romania had been condemned in 1988 for human rights violations, it had been the regime that was condemned, but the Romanian people had had to bear the consequences. People should not be held responsible for the actions of their tyrants. In order to avoid serious consequences, a difference had to be made between those who were responsible for human rights violations and those who suffered from them.
AMADOU LOW, of the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters, said there were continuing serious human rights violations in Europe, where very often Blacks were victims of identity checks that were highly embarrassing and were not applied to Caucasians; the same occurred in Mauritania, where these checks were applied not only to Black workers from outside the country, but to Black Mauritanian citizens, who always had to prove their national identity; it was time for an end to such systematic discrimination; the organization called upon all countries to apply relevant international human rights instruments.
JACQUES VITTORI, of Pax Christi International, said the resolutions condemning Israel had been without effect. Such flouting of the international community was reminiscent of the attitude of the ruling class in South Africa during apartheid. If a Member State of the United Nations continued to defy its decisions, would this not fundamentally discredit the organisation itself? Rather than sanctions, the best solution would be one that would come from inside Israel, and that would strengthen internal opposition to the current suicidal policies. The security of Palestinians and Israelis was interdependent. Peace was the natural aspiration of all humans and the majority of Palestinians and Israelis wanted peace. The Subcommission should launch an appeal to save the two and a half million people who were living on death row of South Sudan. Kosovo was falling into a programmed genocide and Europe had to act if it was not to cover itself in shame. The Subcommission would probably seek to adopt a resolution supporting the democratisation process in Indonesia and condemning the pogroms that victimised the Chinese population. The people of Iraq were not only under a cruel dictatorship but also were also faced by a United Nations embargo. Aung San Suu Kyi was an admirable leader of a non-violent resistance movement and should not be forgotten.
LOUIS JOINET, Subcommission expert, said the panel last year had passed a resolution on the Congo; a year later, there appeared to have been no genuine progress; elections had not been held, the new Constitution appeared to have been suspended; there were reports of new violations; although the Subcommission had recommended the Commission on Human Rights consider the situation in that country, it had not done so. Another resolution last year had referred to human rights in Bahrain; he knew of no recent events involving that country, although the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was in the process of arranging a visit. A resolution had referred to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and its passage had drawn much opposition from that Government, including a threat to withdraw from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; there had been no change over the past year; the Subcommission had not referred the Commission to the matter, and perhaps it should this year. A major problem was that it was not possible for the Subcommission or other Governments to check whether reports received were true; there was no transparency to what was happening in North Korea; how could anyone know if the accusations against the country were lies, as the Government charged? The issue should be kept under scrutiny.
As for Algeria and the Subcommission's statement last year, Mr. Joinet said he did not think there had been any improvement; a report would soon be delivered to the Secretary-General following a mission to obtain information; again a problem of transparency was encountered; it was hard to find out the truth when a Government did not wish to have matters investigated; it wasn't clear, for example, how many had died in the Algerian conflict over the past year. In the case of Indonesia, he had sought and received information from the Indonesian Mission, and it was indeed something new that the Government was acknowledging a problem with systematic violations against the ethnic Chinese population; but he was concerned that none of those responsible for the attacks had been detained, and he was worried about whether the victims were assured protection. The difficult situation in Sri Lanka was exemplified by a lack of information on exchanges of prisoners, or on prisoners from the conflict -- that suggested that there were no prisoners, that persons who might have been prisoners were dead; and it emphasized the importance of a visit by the Working Group on Arbitrary Disappearances; recent murders by the Tamil Tigers had obviously exacerbated the situation; it obviously was hard to convince both sides that victory by force of arms would not result in a satisfactory peace. As for Mexico and the situation in Chiapas, he wondered if Chiapas was making people forget the rest of the country, and he was a concerned that a situation of impunity was prevailing elsewhere almost unchallenged.
Rights of Reply
ALEG IVANOV (Belarus), speaking in right of reply, stated that it attached great importance to the working of the Subcommission. It did not agree with some statements that had been made concerning the situation in Belarus. Distortion of facts was not freedom of speach and it also violated one of the human rights of the poeple in the room, the right to receive correct information. The active practical steps taken by the Government of Belarus were all evidence of the sincere intention of Belarus to make undertake changes that were in the spirit and letter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
MOHAMED SALAH DEMBRI (Algeria), speaking in right of reply, said an NGO had sought to criticize the situation in Algeria; he wanted to remind the NGO that an objective assessment must take account of positive developments as well as difficulties; otherwise, credibility was lost; accusations, furthermore, should be backed by evidence. Over the past few years, the Government had submitted four periodic reports to various human rights bodies; transition to multi-party democracy was being carried out; violence was being rejected as a method of action; the electoral process interrupted in 1992 was being restarted; the first pluralist presidential elections had been held with extensive international observer presence. Institutional structures such as separation of powers were being established; there was now a legitimate two-chamber Parliament where a number of political parties were represented. A National Human Rights Observatory and an ombudsman helped protect human rights, and implementation of the death penalty had been suspended; special courts for terrorism cases were no longer used. The NGO should refrain from political slander. Meanwhile terrorism took barbaric forms against Algeria's sacred religion, and the Government was taking all necessary measures to protect the population.
AKRAM J. ALDOURI (Iraq), speaking in right of reply, said that yesterday someone had spoken on behalf of an NGO, Interface International. This person was a representative of a terrorist organisation that received support from the United States and the State in which it was based. This group had as a goal, to distract the attention of the international community from the devastating effects of the blockade. Iraq rejected the claims of those who worked for foreign intelligence agencies. Addressing specific allegations, the representative of Iraq said that the members of the clergy who had been killed were not Iraqis. They had been in Iraq for many years after Iraq had given them the freedom to perform their religious duties. The assassination of the two members of the clergy who had lived in Iraq was part of an undercover design to scare the clergy out of Iraq, thus transferring the religious seat that had been traditionally in Iraq to another country. The latest of these terrorist activities had been a car bomb that had exploded in El Rashid hotel in Bagdhad. The Iraqi authorities had been investigating in order to find those responsible. Worship in Iraq was a right that was enjoyed by everyone with no discrimination. The Government had always tried to provide care for the clergy so that persons could undertake their worship in freedom.
MURAT SUNGAR (Turkey), speaking in right of reply, said a Subcommission member, Mrs. Daes, had levelled criticism against the country, along with two other members; as for the assassination attempt against the president of the Turkish human rights organization, the Government had at the highest level condemned the act and the culprits had quickly been arrested; he did not understand why she was criticizing the Government when it had done what was necessary. Further, Mrs. Daes's own Government had a fairly abysmal track record on matters of assassination; three members of the Turkish Government had been assassinated in Greece, and no one yet found responsible. As for Cyprus and the problems there, he completely rejected her characterization of the situation; it was a complicated issue; it was interesting that in her summation, Mrs. Daes had totally ignored violations of human rights committed against Turkish Cypriots.
Mr. WELDEGIORGIS (Eritrea), speaking in right of reply, said that Ethiopia had savaged the Subcommission with a catalogue of lies. It had accused the Eritrean Government of the outrages and atrocities that it itself had been committing against Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin. The delegation expressed its satisfaction that a committee representing the United Nations Human Rights Commission would be visiting Eritrea. A correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation, had refuted charges by Ethiopia that 114 Ethiopians had been arrested by the military force at Alla. Though Ethiopia claimed that Eritrea held over 600 Ethiopians, only 17 were actually being held on an individual basis, and the International Committee of the Red Cross had full access to them. Ethiopians who wished to stay in Eritrea had every right to do so. Was Eritrea terrorizing the Ethiopian population in Eritrea? Had it paraded Ethiopian prisoners of war? Eritrea had a list of the first 3,000 Eritreans expelled from Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Government could not lie about the mass expulsion of Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean descent, nor the deplorable and dehumanizing conditions under which they expelled the victims. Ethiopia's atrocities constituted a crime against humanity. Eritrea, unlike Ethiopia, was cooperating with ICRC and the UN agencies, and should be judged by its actions not its words.
ERICA-IRENE A. DAES, Subcommission expert, said she had referred to the very well-known human rights activist mentioned by Turkey because his words had been carried in the well-known newspaper the Financial Times; in the article she referred to, this activist had said Turkey's human rights record was becoming worse and worse. Second, she wished to stress that she did not represent Greece; she was an independent expert, as was well-known. Third, she had worked with the Muslim minority in Greece, was familiar with their situation, and they were not discriminated against.
P.N. SINYINYA (Zambia), speaking in right of reply, said that it wished to reply to unfounded allegations made by the Latin American Federaton of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees FEDEFAM in a statement. The NGO had referred to an alleged case of disappearance of Agnes Natamabyliro Rutagwera which was reflected in the report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. NGOs that had been given the right to address the Subcommission were expected to be serious and objective in their work and the allegations against Zambia had shown a lack of seriousness. FEDAFAM had not properly read the report, on which it had based its allegations, as the report clearly said that the person involved was being held in Kigali. FEDEFAM should investigate issues properly before accusing States.
HAROLD SANDOVAL BERNAL (Colombia), speaking in right of reply, said that after many years of armed conflict, a ray of light had appeared on the horizon; meetings had been held with two of the armed insurgent groups; possibilities for dialogue leading to peace had been reviewed, along with respect for basic standards of humanitarian law; this was the first step in a very long voyage, but it was a fundamental step; the intent was to safeguard the civilian population and end attacks on natural resources. Colombians were seeking a process of peace, economic, social, and political reforms, and civil and political and cultural reforms as well; international cooperation had been a fundamental pillar, a necessary input. These ingredients, with the vigorous participation of Colombian citizens, would ensure ultimate success, and Colombia's Government would strive to protect human rights and to maintain a spirit of openness. There would be efforts to deal with paramilitary groups and to repatriate the internally displaced. It was not an easy path, but Colombia would follow it.
MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan), speaking in right of reply, said that it was necessary to respond to the allegations of some so-called NGOs that were in fact paid by the Indian Government. While Pakistan welcomed the comments made by real NGOs, there were NGOs, known as 'gongos', that participated in international forum to advance the cause of India. These NGOs should speak of their own land where there were people living in absolute poverty. Genuine human rights activists were not allowed to leave India, though these 'gongos' were. The aim of the 'gongos' was to confuse the issue of Kashmir, where the population was being suppressed by Indian troops. Why had these 'gongos' not condemned the member of the BNP who had said that rape of Kashmiri women was "right". Pakistan urged the Subcommission to reconsider the participation of such paid NGOs in the Subcommission as it could bring the Subcommission into disrepute.
MENELIK ALEMU GETAHUN (Ethiopia), speaking in right of reply, said the facts that had been given on Eritrea had been independently verified; to give them all would take days; three individuals had been summarily executed and 30 others injured by Eritrea for their alleged participation in the armed insurrections; landmines were being used to evict Ethiopian civilians from their land; hundreds had been killed and others maimed as a result; terrorism sponsored by Eritrea in Ethiopia had been another activity; Eritrean propoganda was being used to promote ethnic conflict in Ethiopia; but the extensive terrorist network had been foiled; meanwhile Ethiopia was dealing with its problems in transparency and fairness.