Human Rights Council concludes general debate on human rights situations that require the attention of the Council

Human Rights Council
MORNING 14 March 2012

The Human Rights Council this morning concluded its general debate on human rights situations that require the attention of the Council after hearing from a series of non-governmental organizations that condemned violations of human rights in States all over the world.

Speaking in the general debate were the following non-governmental organizations:
International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, North South XXI, World Muslim Congress, International Committee for the Indians of the Americas (Switzerland), Liberation, International Buddhist Relief Organization, Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy, International Association of Schools of Social Work, African Association of Education for Development, Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peoples, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Institute for Women’s Studies and Research, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, International Federation for Human Rights Lawyers, Verein Sudwind Entwicklungspolitik, Amnesty International,
Baha’i International Community, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Comite International pour l’Application de la Charte Africaine des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples, Centre for Inquiry, Action Internationale pour la paix et le developpement dans la region des Grands Lacs, Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims, Islamic Women’s Institute of Iran, International Educational Development, Inc., Press Emblem Campaign, Arab Lawyers Union, Maarij Foundation for Peace and Development, United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation, Indian Council of South America, International Association for Democracy in Africa, Canners International Permanent Committee, United Schools International, World Environment and Resources Council, International Buddhist Foundation, and Al Zubair Charitable Foundation.

Speaking in right of reply were Nigeria, China, Morocco, Honduras, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria.

The Council at 11 a.m. started its interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on minority issues, which will be followed by the presentation of the reports of the Forum on Minority Issues and of the 2011 Social Forum and the general debate on human rights bodies and mechanisms.

Statements on Human Rights Situations that Require the Council’s Attention

International Human Rights Association of American Minorities said numerous cases had been documented in which human rights defenders in Kashmir were targeted by Indian authorities using the Unlawful Activities Act and the Armed Forced Powers Act.

North South XXI asked if the Commission of Inquiry on Libya had a list of all the sites on which the almost 4,000 bombs were dropped by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over Libya. Foreign intervention to resolve the crisis in Syria should be avoided.

World Muslim Congress said more than 200,000 children in Kashmir had lost their parents because of the conflict over the last 20 years. The situation in occupied Kashmir required the Council’s special attention to help the third generation of Kashmiri people achieve their inalienable right to self-determination.

International Committee for the Indians of the Americas (Switzerland) raised human rights violations in Alaska and Hawaii by the United States and said the right to self-determination was at the root of them. The Committee hoped the Council would take substantial action to remedy the situation.

Liberation said that the Government of India had harassed press through lawsuits and restrictive laws. The space for free press was shrinking. Liberation urged the Government of India to ensure press freedom by lifting all restrictions and review policies for issuing visas to foreign journalists.

International Buddhist Relief Organization said that women human rights defenders in India were at particular risk of prosecution, especially in the rural areas. International Buddhist Relief Organization appealed to the Government of India to stop intimidating groups, individuals and organizations that were unearthing human rights violations.

Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy said illegal arrest and detention were routine police behaviour in India. The Government of India should take serious note of human rights violations committed by the Indian police and hold them accountable before the law.

International Association of Schools of Social Work said Member States and non-governmental organizations should support the Second Guiding Principles to Eradicate Extreme Poverty and consider including the goal of eradicating extreme poverty in their constitutions.

African Association of Education for Development said Africans who had been working or trying to pass through as asylum seekers were still stranded in Libya. They had been victims of racism and were dispossessed. Some 400 asylum seekers living in Norway would soon be forcefully repatriated to Ethiopia.

Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peoples in a joint statement drew attention to the situation of national minorities in Iran, where a new wave of political executions had been intensified, the majority of which had taken place in secret.

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development highlighted ongoing land grabbing and development-induced displacement in Sri Lanka. The Government systematically intimidated groups which cooperated with United Nations human rights mechanisms.

Institute for Women’s Studies and Research said that gross and systematic human rights violations in Bahrain still continued one year after the uprising. The Council should establish a permanent fact-finding mission and request that the General Assembly put Bahrain on its agenda.

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies was concerned about the deteriorating human rights situations in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya and Sudan. Human rights violations had been committed with impunity with an inconsistent approach by international and regional bodies to ensure accountability.

International Federation for Human Rights Lawyers said ongoing human rights violations were occurring in Bahrain, including nine people reported dead in January 2012 protests, arbitrary arrests, arrests of minors and continued use of torture in detention centers.

Verein Sudwind Entwicklungspolitik, said the human rights situations in Syria, Iran and Bahrain were at a crisis point. In Iran summons, arrests and executions had increased. There had been 82 executions; 54 reported officially and 28 confirmed by independent sources.

Amnesty International said cases of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial executions continued in Sri Lanka and impunity for serious human rights violations remained pervasive. The Government had whipped up hostility to the United Nations and claimed that the adoption of a resolution by the Human Rights Council would fuel the fires of sectarianism. The Council must demonstrate to Sri Lanka’s civil society that it would not abandon them.

Baha’i International Community said that Baha’is in Iran had no rights and were subjected by the Government to arbitrary detention, violence, and prolonged solitary confinement. Children belonging to that community were now being identified by the Government: the question was why.

International Humanist and Ethical Union said scores of women had been killed in India, Papua New Guinea, Sudan and other countries for practicing witchcraft. Witchcraft was considered a crime in many African States and accusations were prevalent among African communities in Europe.

Comite International pour l’Application de la Charte Africaine des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples said that Mauritanian citizens had been victims of abductions, arbitrary detention and summary executions by the Polisario separatist group, and called for an international independent inquiry into crimes committed by the Polisario.

Centre for Inquiry, speaking in a joint statement, said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation should do more to eliminate the root causes of hostility towards Muslims which had not arisen in a vacuum. The Islamic States should demonstrate their recognition that human rights belonged to all regardless of race, religion, citizenship, sex or gender identity.

Action Internationale pour la paix et le developpement dans la region des Grands Lacs, said that fallacious allegations had been made by members of separatist movements about imaginary human rights violations in the southern provinces of Morocco. Autonomy was internationally recognized as the best form of self-determination to guarantee human rights and liberties.

Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims said that the burning of the holy book of Islam in Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, by American soldiers deeply offended the feelings of all Muslims in the world.

Islamic Women’s Institute of Iran asked whether now was the right time to end the primitive approach of imposing sanctions, and whether it was possible to live in a non-militarized world.

International Educational Development, Inc. said the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka had been neglected by the international community and the Commission of Inquiry. The Government kept accountability “open-ended”.

Press Emblem Campaign was concerned about the temporary closure to foreigners of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Tibetan areas in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces. Press Emblem called for an international binding set of rules to ensure journalists free and safe access to conflict zones.

Arab Lawyers Union said that Lebanon was suffering attacks at the hands of the Israeli aggressors. Arab lands were illegally occupied by Israel, and Arab prisoners were mistreated in its detention centres. The international community should enforce sanctions against Israel.

Maarij Foundation for Peace and Development was concerned about the 1,500 children in Southern Kordofan region who had become soldiers in training camps located in Southern Sudan. The United Nations should create a court to punish those guilty of war crimes in Syria.

United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation said one burning issue was the war in Baluchistan region which had continued unabated for two years. It was in the throes of what Amnesty International called a kill-and-dump policy. The Council should send a fact-finding mission to Baluchistan.

Indian Council of South America called upon Bolivian President Evo Morales to allow the indigenous peoples in the Tipnis situation to exercise self-determination and their right to development. Alaska and Hawaii lodged diplomatic protests against the United States and the United Nations for their illegal annexation.

International Association for Democracy in Africa brought the Council’s attention to the apprehensions of the Afghan people about their future and human rights. It was the legal and moral duty of the international community to save Afghans, particularly women, from the nefarious designs of the Taliban and other extremists.

Canners International Permanent Committee said that despite the movement towards democracy Pakistan remained de facto under the control of military elite and had taken no steps to change age-old traditional laws that justified discrimination against women and minorities.

United Schools International said that the spectre of terrorism lurked everywhere and that religions and ideologies were being twisted and transformed into creeds of hatred. Some countries actively promoted radicalization through their political and educational systems and consequences of those suicidal strategies were evident in Pakistan today.

World Environment and Resources Council was greatly concerned that human rights were violated in countries and regions of the world because of a sense of racial or ethnic superiority. In Baluchistan region people were rising up against the occupying regime because their rights were systematically violated.

International Buddhist Foundation expressed concern about unwarranted attacks on the Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka which had just emerged from defeating the ruthless and barbaric terrorist movement of the Tamil tigers. Sri Lanka should be congratulated for the way it dealt with the massive humanitarian problem.

Al Zubair Charitable Foundation, speaking in a joint statement, said that the humanitarian problem in the West Bank was due to Israel’s colonization and the Council should create a committee of inquiry to investigate the situation. The human rights situations in South Sudan and Sudan should also be investigated.

Right of Reply

Nigeria, speaking in a right of reply, denied the allegations made by the Canadian HIV AIDS Network about structured violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the county. The Government of Nigeria would not condone violence or discrimination against any citizen on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Nigeria also firmly rejected the allegation that torture had been committed as a part of regular witchcraft practices in the country and Nigeria urged non-governmental organizations not to over-generalize their conclusions.

China, speaking in a right of reply, rejected the statement made by Press Emblem Campaign. This statement was a wanton distortion of facts. China welcomed journalists to come to China and cover news. China had always facilitated journalists’ stay. China had recently created regulations concerning the work of foreign journalists in China with the sprit of reform, openness and progress. China hoped that journalists could abide by the law, respect the ethics of journalism and report on China in a fair, objective way.

Morocco, speaking in a right of reply, expressed surprise regarding the statement made by the Algerian statement about the situation in the Western Sahara. This was out of place. This was a political issue related to a regional dispute and was subject to negotiations currently taking place in New York with the Secretary-General. The people in the Tindouf camps were the only ones that were not registered. Morocco had pioneered democratic reforms and passed a new constitution that was itself a declaration of human rights. It was regrettable that Special Procedure mandate holders were unable to visit the camps of Tindouf.

Honduras, speaking in a right of reply on a statement made yesterday on the situation of human rights defenders, said Honduras was aware of the responsibility of the State and recognized it had room for improvement. Honduras had adopted a protocol to address this issue, and ensure the personal security of human rights defenders. The Government was fully prepared to adopt the recommendations of the special mandate holder that visited in 2011. Regarding the fire in the Comayagua prison, the fire was accidental. The cause of so much pain in the Honduran family had given rise to efforts to improve the prison system. Honduras had requested the opening of an Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the country and maintained an open invitation to all Special Procedures.

Ethiopia, speaking in a right of reply, strongly rejected the accusations regarding the human rights violations in Ethiopia, application of anti-terrorism laws and the deportation of asylum-seekers from Norway. Given the fact that Ethiopia had been a victim of terrorism for many years now, there was a need for a separate legislation for this phenomenon that was putting the citizens and infrastructure of the State in constant danger. This legislation had been promulgated with a careful balance for the respect of human rights and the national security needs. It was based on best practice drawn from different countries. The agreement signed between Ethiopia and Norway had nothing to do with asylum-seekers and denials of their requests.

Burkina Faso, speaking in a right of reply, objected to statements by a non-governmental organization concerning witchcraft and said that the rights of all were guaranteed in Burkina Faso. The Government had worked on putting an end to harmful traditional practices, particularly those that targeted women. The non-governmental organization should get in touch with institutions in Burkina Faso working on women issues in order to obtain correct information. Burkina Faso reaffirmed its commitment to this Council and to protection of human rights.

Sri Lanka, speaking in a right of reply, said that the just released report of Amnesty International was a part of the bandwagon against Sri Lanka and it contained many old cases. It was reminiscent of the Human Rights Watch report which had claimed indiscriminate attacks by the Sri Lankan army, and it had turned out later that it was only one attack. The main point suggested by Amnesty International was that Sri Lanka did nothing and that was completely false; it was only yesterday that Sri Lanka had reported on the implementation of strengthening the national human rights commission, the implementation of the national human rights plan, and efforts regarding national reconciliation. All those efforts would take time. The suggestion that the Government had done nothing was complete nonsense, but Sri Lanka agreed with the speaker that the Government needed to publicize more the actions already undertaken.

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For use of the information media; not an official record