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SUBCOMMISSION ON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES OPENS FIFTIETH SESSION
03 August 1998
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HR/SC/98/2
3 August 1998
High Commissioner for Human Rights Calls for Increased Dissemination of Universal Declaration
The Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities opened its fiftieth session this morning, hearing an exhortation from the High Commissioner for Human Rights for all to advance the dissemination of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, now fifty years old.
Mary Robinson said her office had conducted a study on existing language versions of the Universal Declaration, and as of August 1998, more than 210 national and local language versions and more than 60 audiovisual, pictorial and other versions had been developed.
El-Hadji Guissé, Committee expert from Senegal, was elected Chairman for the fiftieth session of the Subcommission. Chosen as Vice Chairpersons were David Weissbrodt, expert from the United States; Fan Guoxiang, expert from China; and Miguel Alfonso Martinez, expert from Cuba. Ioan Maxim, expert from Romania, was appointed Rapporteur.
Mr. Guissé, in his Chairman's address, said peace, economic development and human rights all worked together and depended integrally on each other. He stressed that the Subcommission must strive to make its work practical and effective.
Outgoing Chairman José Bengoa, expert from Chile, opening the meeting, said processes of globalization were affecting human rights and the Subcommission had to find effective ways to respond. He also called for the panel to continue to review its agenda and to improve the quality of its debates.
He went on to welcome the Subcommission's new members: Soli Jehangir Sorabjee of India; Yeung Kam Yeung Sik Yuen of Mauritius; Teimuraz Ramishvili and Vladimir Kartashkin of the Russian Federation; Rajendra Kalidas Wimala Goonesekere and Deepika Udagama of Sri Lanka; Joseph Oloka-Onyango of Uganda; and Francoise Hampson and Helena Cook of the United Kingdom.
Following the election of officers, the group discussed organization of work for the session, noting that it was authorized to hold only 30 public meetings -- eight fewer than last year -- yet it had more agenda items to cope with. The agenda for the session was adopted.
The Subcommission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 4 August, to begin its review of human-rights situations in specific countries and territories.
Statements
JOSE BENGOA, expert from Chile and outgoing Chairman, said that after 50 years, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights remained for many, unfortunately, merely a document and an aspiration. Around the world, people looked to the Subcommission and other human rights bodies to make the Universal Declaration a reality for them. It also was true that many people looked upon the Subcommission's activities with mistrust; they did not see a relation between the Subcommission and human-rights situations around the world. The Universal Declaration had to be the basis of the panel's work; the Subcommission had to study it constantly and apply it to new situations. Human rights were subject to globalization just as markets and communications were, and attention had to be paid to the effects of globalization on human rights. The Subcommission had to look at the central issues that affected the poor and marginalized; it had to devise new mechanisms and open new debates related to global forces; it had to study the progress of democracy and its effect on human rights; it was a concern, for example, that in many cases democracy meant "low-intensity participation" by citizens -- they weren't really involved in their governments. In crises, there could be severe consequences resulting from such limited involvement.
The Subcommission had to study and find ways to respond to crisis situations, Mr. Bengoa said; a way had to be found to halt human-rights problems before they got out of control. The panel had to continue to review its agenda and revise its debates -- it had to improve the quality of its debates; repetitious statements needed to be eliminated; greater time needed to be given to the discussion of resolutions; lobbying pressure should be done away with. The Subcommission at its best could be a free space for open debate, without partiality or outside influence.
MARY ROBINSON, High Commissioner for Human Rights, noted that it was her first attendance at the Subcommission. She thanked the Chairman and officers of the outgoing session for their work, and stated her intention to follow closely the work of the Subcommission and to participate in some of its discussions. She hoped to have the opportunity to meet again with the experts and alternates. She said that one activity of the Office of the High Commissioner, that reflected
the same desire for inclusiveness that was at the heart of the work of the Subcommission, was the review of the work that had been done on disseminating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was most important to ensure a wide dissemination of this document which was the first international declaration on civil and political rights.
Since 1995, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had conducted a study on existing language versions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and had encouraged various international, national and local partners to prepare and disseminate new versions. As of August 1998, more than 210 national and local language versions and more than 60 audiovisual, pictorial and other versions had been collected. On 10 December 1998, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights would launch a new web site containing more than 250 language versions, she said.
EL-HADJI GUISSÉ, Chairman and expert from Senegal, told the meeting that he felt great pleasure in chairing the Subcommission on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Declaration had marked a major turning point in the history of mankind and in the human rights of the individual; through the foresightedness of the framers of the document, the Declaration encompassed the situations of all men and women everywhere in the world and human rights were understood to be indivisible and indispensable. Since then, it had been further understood that peace, economic development, and human rights all worked together and depended integrally on each other. There could not be human rights without peace, and vice versa, and human rights could not be enjoyed without the benefits of economic development. Meanwhile, economic development could not occur without a situation of peace and respect for human rights.
Human rights were an expression of the common values of all cultures, Mr. Guissé said. Governments which respected and fostered human rights functioned best; such an approach gave them legitimacy and helped ensure support for them; human rights belonged to all, and all were custodians of the standards contained in the Universal Declaration. The Subcommission faced the task of making its work more effective and practical, the Chairman said -- only then could such atrocities as extra-judicial executions, torture and disappearances be ended. He called upon everyone to work without ceasing to achieve such goals.
3 August 1998
High Commissioner for Human Rights Calls for Increased Dissemination of Universal Declaration
The Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities opened its fiftieth session this morning, hearing an exhortation from the High Commissioner for Human Rights for all to advance the dissemination of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, now fifty years old.
Mary Robinson said her office had conducted a study on existing language versions of the Universal Declaration, and as of August 1998, more than 210 national and local language versions and more than 60 audiovisual, pictorial and other versions had been developed.
El-Hadji Guissé, Committee expert from Senegal, was elected Chairman for the fiftieth session of the Subcommission. Chosen as Vice Chairpersons were David Weissbrodt, expert from the United States; Fan Guoxiang, expert from China; and Miguel Alfonso Martinez, expert from Cuba. Ioan Maxim, expert from Romania, was appointed Rapporteur.
Mr. Guissé, in his Chairman's address, said peace, economic development and human rights all worked together and depended integrally on each other. He stressed that the Subcommission must strive to make its work practical and effective.
Outgoing Chairman José Bengoa, expert from Chile, opening the meeting, said processes of globalization were affecting human rights and the Subcommission had to find effective ways to respond. He also called for the panel to continue to review its agenda and to improve the quality of its debates.
He went on to welcome the Subcommission's new members: Soli Jehangir Sorabjee of India; Yeung Kam Yeung Sik Yuen of Mauritius; Teimuraz Ramishvili and Vladimir Kartashkin of the Russian Federation; Rajendra Kalidas Wimala Goonesekere and Deepika Udagama of Sri Lanka; Joseph Oloka-Onyango of Uganda; and Francoise Hampson and Helena Cook of the United Kingdom.
Following the election of officers, the group discussed organization of work for the session, noting that it was authorized to hold only 30 public meetings -- eight fewer than last year -- yet it had more agenda items to cope with. The agenda for the session was adopted.
The Subcommission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 4 August, to begin its review of human-rights situations in specific countries and territories.
Statements
JOSE BENGOA, expert from Chile and outgoing Chairman, said that after 50 years, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights remained for many, unfortunately, merely a document and an aspiration. Around the world, people looked to the Subcommission and other human rights bodies to make the Universal Declaration a reality for them. It also was true that many people looked upon the Subcommission's activities with mistrust; they did not see a relation between the Subcommission and human-rights situations around the world. The Universal Declaration had to be the basis of the panel's work; the Subcommission had to study it constantly and apply it to new situations. Human rights were subject to globalization just as markets and communications were, and attention had to be paid to the effects of globalization on human rights. The Subcommission had to look at the central issues that affected the poor and marginalized; it had to devise new mechanisms and open new debates related to global forces; it had to study the progress of democracy and its effect on human rights; it was a concern, for example, that in many cases democracy meant "low-intensity participation" by citizens -- they weren't really involved in their governments. In crises, there could be severe consequences resulting from such limited involvement.
The Subcommission had to study and find ways to respond to crisis situations, Mr. Bengoa said; a way had to be found to halt human-rights problems before they got out of control. The panel had to continue to review its agenda and revise its debates -- it had to improve the quality of its debates; repetitious statements needed to be eliminated; greater time needed to be given to the discussion of resolutions; lobbying pressure should be done away with. The Subcommission at its best could be a free space for open debate, without partiality or outside influence.
MARY ROBINSON, High Commissioner for Human Rights, noted that it was her first attendance at the Subcommission. She thanked the Chairman and officers of the outgoing session for their work, and stated her intention to follow closely the work of the Subcommission and to participate in some of its discussions. She hoped to have the opportunity to meet again with the experts and alternates. She said that one activity of the Office of the High Commissioner, that reflected
the same desire for inclusiveness that was at the heart of the work of the Subcommission, was the review of the work that had been done on disseminating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was most important to ensure a wide dissemination of this document which was the first international declaration on civil and political rights.
Since 1995, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had conducted a study on existing language versions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and had encouraged various international, national and local partners to prepare and disseminate new versions. As of August 1998, more than 210 national and local language versions and more than 60 audiovisual, pictorial and other versions had been collected. On 10 December 1998, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights would launch a new web site containing more than 250 language versions, she said.
EL-HADJI GUISSÉ, Chairman and expert from Senegal, told the meeting that he felt great pleasure in chairing the Subcommission on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Declaration had marked a major turning point in the history of mankind and in the human rights of the individual; through the foresightedness of the framers of the document, the Declaration encompassed the situations of all men and women everywhere in the world and human rights were understood to be indivisible and indispensable. Since then, it had been further understood that peace, economic development, and human rights all worked together and depended integrally on each other. There could not be human rights without peace, and vice versa, and human rights could not be enjoyed without the benefits of economic development. Meanwhile, economic development could not occur without a situation of peace and respect for human rights.
Human rights were an expression of the common values of all cultures, Mr. Guissé said. Governments which respected and fostered human rights functioned best; such an approach gave them legitimacy and helped ensure support for them; human rights belonged to all, and all were custodians of the standards contained in the Universal Declaration. The Subcommission faced the task of making its work more effective and practical, the Chairman said -- only then could such atrocities as extra-judicial executions, torture and disappearances be ended. He called upon everyone to work without ceasing to achieve such goals.