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25 March 1998
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54th session of the Commission on Human Rights
16 March - 24 April 1998
Statement by H.E. M. Jaime Gama
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal
Geneva, March 25th, 1998
Mr. Chairman
Allow me to congratulate you for your election as Chairman of the 54th session of the Human Rights Commission and to extend my greetings to the other members of the Bureau.
I obviously support the statement made by Minister Tony Lloyd on behalf of the European Union. But I want to add a few remarks on a number of issues my country considers of particular importance.
50 years ago the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It solemnly considered that "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world" and that "the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people". And the Declaration asked us to promote "by teaching and education" and "by progressive measures, national and international" the recognition and observance of these rights.
Half a century later, we must ask to what extent this mandate has been implemented. And the commemoration of the Declaration demands also from us a reflection on what the international community — the States, the international organisations and the individuals and groups — must still do to fully put in practice the principles of the Declaration.
We can not ignore the great steps taken to make Human Rights fully universal. Increasingly the individuals in all continents are more conscious of their birth rights, and that these rights are not dependent on their race, culture or civilisation and must be recognised and respected by the states. The growing consciousness of these rights of the human being is one of the more relevant aspects of the second half of the century. We must also rejoice with the spread all over the world of non- governmental groups and organisations spontaneously created by the civil society for the defence of Human Rights and with their growing attention to all violations of these rights, in particular systematic and organised violations. It is equally important that a majority of states has imposed on themselves more demanding criteria in the definition and application of laws that respect and protect men, even, in certain instances, in spite of difficult internal circumstances that disturb the harmonious relations among their citizens. Finally, the international community, both on the regional and on the world levels, has been more attentive and ready to act, assuming more fully its responsibility to protect the rights of men.
In this new environment, great steps have been taken and I want to signal the importance we give to the accession to the International Covenants on human rights and to the main international conventions that constitute a common heritage of mankind. Recent decisions of some countries, among them the ones recently announced by China, do encourage us as they express the growing universalisation of Human Rights and, at the same time, serve as an incentive to other states that have not yet acceded to these treaties.
The Vienna Declaration and Program of Action, approved by the World Conference of Human Rights in 1993, gave an important contribution towards this increasing consciousness and to create in each country a more favourable environment for the respect for human rights.
The fact that the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights coincides with the review of the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action has led to the proclamation of the present year as the Year of Human Rights and we hope that from it will come a new impulse towards the universalisation and greater acceptance of human rights.
With the intention to mark effectively this anniversary, Portugal is engaged in the preparation of a national program of celebrations, with the participation of the civil society and of government Departments. In this program, among other events, will be included an international seminar on human rights.
Mr. Chairman,
Regrettably, however, in some points of the world situations of oppression, intolerable and incompatible with the United Nations Charter, persist. It is the case of the right to self-determination of the East Timorese people which, in view of the international responsibilities of Portugal to the UN, I must mention here. Despite the clear decisions of the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations and despite also the efforts
of the Secretary General, that Portugal supports without reservations, the East Timorese people still suffer a hard and illegitimate occupation. As you know, the violation of the right to self-determination leads, almost inevitably, to the violation of other political and civil rights, since power, when not based on popular support, must resort to force and repression. In East-Timor these grave and extended violations of human rights have been deplored by this Commission which approved in past years several decisions concerning this situation. Unfortunately, these decisions, even when resulting from a consensus, have not been implemented in some essential points, namely with regard to the liberation of political prisoners, to the invitation to the mechanisms of this Commission who have asked to visit the territory and to the co-operation of Indonesia with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. For these reasons, the Commission will have to consider again, this year, the situation in the territory.
We must add that all the reports from independent and reliable institutions point out that the Human Rights situation in East Timor not only has not improved but has even been worsening. The Commission can not ignore this negative development. Let me stress that, in expressing our concern we are not seeking confrontation but guided by the wish to contribute to an improvement of the situation in that territory.
The lack of legitimacy and of people's participation in governance are also at the origin of the most notorious cases of violations of fundamental rights in other territories and countries. That is why the progress of democracy all over the world that has been registered has wide consequences and is a sign of hope. Nevertheless, in various cases, the suppression of freedoms and rights is still the favoured means of oppressing peoples and the international community must do everything in its power, fulfilling its mandate, to assure the protection of the victims. The Secretary General is right when he underlined, at the opening statement of this session of the Commission, the close links between democracy, development and human rights. It is a lesson that results from the Universal Declaration and the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action which should by learnt by all.
Mr. Chairman,
Our concern with the principle of universality, should be matched by our attention to the principle of indivisibility of the Human Rights. Side by side with political and civil rights there are economic, social and cultural rights with equal value and force. And the efforts deployed so far to promote them by this Commission and also within the wider framework of the United Nations may not be considered sufficient. These rights are basic rights as they touch fundamental needs shared by everyone as the right to food, to health care, to education. Additional steps can and must be taken to promote the respect for all these rights. With this purpose, the Portuguese delegation, as it has done in previous years, is working with several other delegations on a Resolution on economic, social and cultural rights that, besides reiterating the importance of these rights and of the measures internationally adopted towards their full implementation, will envisage the creation of an effective mechanism to support the least developed countries in a subject of capital importance - primary education. It is certainly not our intention to duplicate what is already being done by states and international organisations, but rather to encourage their co- operation and co-ordination in establishing programs of action adapted to each particular country in which the efforts of the Governments could be supplemented by international aid. Our concern with and commitment to these rights are shared by the United Nations and reflect those of the High Commissioner for Human Rights whose initiative to promote, today, a Round Table on these rights we very much appreciate. I am sure it will stimulate and help the work of the Commission in this field. I will
recall here that Portugal presented its candidature to the Commission for Human Rights for the period 2000-2002 with the wish to contribute in a more direct way to the work of this Commission in the promotion and protection of all Human Rights. In the first semester of the year 2000, Portugal will assume the presidency of the EU and that coincidence will confer, I believe, an added value to the participation of my country in the Commission.
Mr. Chairman, Much more could be said on this fundamental field of world politics. But I will only mention three issues that, I believe, call for reflection and deserve the attention of the Commission.
I think we should give special attention to the rights and to the needs of all those that are most discriminated and disadvantaged on the grounds of gender, age, ethnic or cultural identity. It is dismaying that, in many parts of the world, women are still victims of inhuman conditions and that, in many other parts, legal and de facto situations of unacceptable inequality still subsist. We are appalled that children, the future of mankind, are mistreated in certain countries, victims of harmful practices and often systematically neglected. We are shocked by the oppression of the legitimate aspirations of minorities in so many countries. We can not accept the increasing inequalities in a world where wealth grows while so many suffer from extreme poverty and exclusion. Let us make all these victims our priority and let us strive for new ways and means to include them all on the work of this Commission and of the United Nations system.
I would also appeal to the Commission to make its work in favour of Human Rights more efficient. We must have the courage to review the methods of this Commission, its mechanisms of promotion and monitoring, and to strengthen the office of the High Commissioner. We must mainstream the protection of Human Rights to all the action of the United Nations. In this context, I pay tribute to the efforts of the High Commissioner to reform the Office under her authority. It is also fair to praise the courage and dedication of the United Nations staff who often in very difficult conditions and sometimes under threat to their lives carry on United Nations missions, most of them decided by this Commission. We are concerned with the security of that personnel, conscious that they contribute to the successful implementation of the UN operations.
Finally, allow me to recall the words of Mr. Kofi Annan: "If we do not speak out, individually and collectively today and everyday when our conscience is challenged by inhumanity and intolerance, we will not have done our duty — to ourselves our to succeeding generations". Let us not be afraid of speaking clearly when needed but, at the same time, and whenever possible, let us privilege dialogue, the search for consensus and co-operation. Human rights are a common concern, an universal heritage and, whatever our origins, far more unites us than divides us in the understanding and acceptance of these rights. Let us build together on that large and ever-growing common ground to create a better future for mankind, following the path opened by the Universal Declaration 50 years ago. So that, when our successors meet for the first centenary of that document, they may be able to make a more positive assessment of the situation of the world than that which is allowed to this generation.
16 March - 24 April 1998
Statement by H.E. M. Jaime Gama
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal
Geneva, March 25th, 1998
Mr. Chairman
Allow me to congratulate you for your election as Chairman of the 54th session of the Human Rights Commission and to extend my greetings to the other members of the Bureau.
I obviously support the statement made by Minister Tony Lloyd on behalf of the European Union. But I want to add a few remarks on a number of issues my country considers of particular importance.
50 years ago the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It solemnly considered that "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world" and that "the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people". And the Declaration asked us to promote "by teaching and education" and "by progressive measures, national and international" the recognition and observance of these rights.
Half a century later, we must ask to what extent this mandate has been implemented. And the commemoration of the Declaration demands also from us a reflection on what the international community — the States, the international organisations and the individuals and groups — must still do to fully put in practice the principles of the Declaration.
We can not ignore the great steps taken to make Human Rights fully universal. Increasingly the individuals in all continents are more conscious of their birth rights, and that these rights are not dependent on their race, culture or civilisation and must be recognised and respected by the states. The growing consciousness of these rights of the human being is one of the more relevant aspects of the second half of the century. We must also rejoice with the spread all over the world of non- governmental groups and organisations spontaneously created by the civil society for the defence of Human Rights and with their growing attention to all violations of these rights, in particular systematic and organised violations. It is equally important that a majority of states has imposed on themselves more demanding criteria in the definition and application of laws that respect and protect men, even, in certain instances, in spite of difficult internal circumstances that disturb the harmonious relations among their citizens. Finally, the international community, both on the regional and on the world levels, has been more attentive and ready to act, assuming more fully its responsibility to protect the rights of men.
In this new environment, great steps have been taken and I want to signal the importance we give to the accession to the International Covenants on human rights and to the main international conventions that constitute a common heritage of mankind. Recent decisions of some countries, among them the ones recently announced by China, do encourage us as they express the growing universalisation of Human Rights and, at the same time, serve as an incentive to other states that have not yet acceded to these treaties.
The Vienna Declaration and Program of Action, approved by the World Conference of Human Rights in 1993, gave an important contribution towards this increasing consciousness and to create in each country a more favourable environment for the respect for human rights.
The fact that the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights coincides with the review of the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action has led to the proclamation of the present year as the Year of Human Rights and we hope that from it will come a new impulse towards the universalisation and greater acceptance of human rights.
With the intention to mark effectively this anniversary, Portugal is engaged in the preparation of a national program of celebrations, with the participation of the civil society and of government Departments. In this program, among other events, will be included an international seminar on human rights.
Mr. Chairman,
Regrettably, however, in some points of the world situations of oppression, intolerable and incompatible with the United Nations Charter, persist. It is the case of the right to self-determination of the East Timorese people which, in view of the international responsibilities of Portugal to the UN, I must mention here. Despite the clear decisions of the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations and despite also the efforts
of the Secretary General, that Portugal supports without reservations, the East Timorese people still suffer a hard and illegitimate occupation. As you know, the violation of the right to self-determination leads, almost inevitably, to the violation of other political and civil rights, since power, when not based on popular support, must resort to force and repression. In East-Timor these grave and extended violations of human rights have been deplored by this Commission which approved in past years several decisions concerning this situation. Unfortunately, these decisions, even when resulting from a consensus, have not been implemented in some essential points, namely with regard to the liberation of political prisoners, to the invitation to the mechanisms of this Commission who have asked to visit the territory and to the co-operation of Indonesia with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. For these reasons, the Commission will have to consider again, this year, the situation in the territory.
We must add that all the reports from independent and reliable institutions point out that the Human Rights situation in East Timor not only has not improved but has even been worsening. The Commission can not ignore this negative development. Let me stress that, in expressing our concern we are not seeking confrontation but guided by the wish to contribute to an improvement of the situation in that territory.
The lack of legitimacy and of people's participation in governance are also at the origin of the most notorious cases of violations of fundamental rights in other territories and countries. That is why the progress of democracy all over the world that has been registered has wide consequences and is a sign of hope. Nevertheless, in various cases, the suppression of freedoms and rights is still the favoured means of oppressing peoples and the international community must do everything in its power, fulfilling its mandate, to assure the protection of the victims. The Secretary General is right when he underlined, at the opening statement of this session of the Commission, the close links between democracy, development and human rights. It is a lesson that results from the Universal Declaration and the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action which should by learnt by all.
Mr. Chairman,
Our concern with the principle of universality, should be matched by our attention to the principle of indivisibility of the Human Rights. Side by side with political and civil rights there are economic, social and cultural rights with equal value and force. And the efforts deployed so far to promote them by this Commission and also within the wider framework of the United Nations may not be considered sufficient. These rights are basic rights as they touch fundamental needs shared by everyone as the right to food, to health care, to education. Additional steps can and must be taken to promote the respect for all these rights. With this purpose, the Portuguese delegation, as it has done in previous years, is working with several other delegations on a Resolution on economic, social and cultural rights that, besides reiterating the importance of these rights and of the measures internationally adopted towards their full implementation, will envisage the creation of an effective mechanism to support the least developed countries in a subject of capital importance - primary education. It is certainly not our intention to duplicate what is already being done by states and international organisations, but rather to encourage their co- operation and co-ordination in establishing programs of action adapted to each particular country in which the efforts of the Governments could be supplemented by international aid. Our concern with and commitment to these rights are shared by the United Nations and reflect those of the High Commissioner for Human Rights whose initiative to promote, today, a Round Table on these rights we very much appreciate. I am sure it will stimulate and help the work of the Commission in this field. I will
recall here that Portugal presented its candidature to the Commission for Human Rights for the period 2000-2002 with the wish to contribute in a more direct way to the work of this Commission in the promotion and protection of all Human Rights. In the first semester of the year 2000, Portugal will assume the presidency of the EU and that coincidence will confer, I believe, an added value to the participation of my country in the Commission.
Mr. Chairman, Much more could be said on this fundamental field of world politics. But I will only mention three issues that, I believe, call for reflection and deserve the attention of the Commission.
I think we should give special attention to the rights and to the needs of all those that are most discriminated and disadvantaged on the grounds of gender, age, ethnic or cultural identity. It is dismaying that, in many parts of the world, women are still victims of inhuman conditions and that, in many other parts, legal and de facto situations of unacceptable inequality still subsist. We are appalled that children, the future of mankind, are mistreated in certain countries, victims of harmful practices and often systematically neglected. We are shocked by the oppression of the legitimate aspirations of minorities in so many countries. We can not accept the increasing inequalities in a world where wealth grows while so many suffer from extreme poverty and exclusion. Let us make all these victims our priority and let us strive for new ways and means to include them all on the work of this Commission and of the United Nations system.
I would also appeal to the Commission to make its work in favour of Human Rights more efficient. We must have the courage to review the methods of this Commission, its mechanisms of promotion and monitoring, and to strengthen the office of the High Commissioner. We must mainstream the protection of Human Rights to all the action of the United Nations. In this context, I pay tribute to the efforts of the High Commissioner to reform the Office under her authority. It is also fair to praise the courage and dedication of the United Nations staff who often in very difficult conditions and sometimes under threat to their lives carry on United Nations missions, most of them decided by this Commission. We are concerned with the security of that personnel, conscious that they contribute to the successful implementation of the UN operations.
Finally, allow me to recall the words of Mr. Kofi Annan: "If we do not speak out, individually and collectively today and everyday when our conscience is challenged by inhumanity and intolerance, we will not have done our duty — to ourselves our to succeeding generations". Let us not be afraid of speaking clearly when needed but, at the same time, and whenever possible, let us privilege dialogue, the search for consensus and co-operation. Human rights are a common concern, an universal heritage and, whatever our origins, far more unites us than divides us in the understanding and acceptance of these rights. Let us build together on that large and ever-growing common ground to create a better future for mankind, following the path opened by the Universal Declaration 50 years ago. So that, when our successors meet for the first centenary of that document, they may be able to make a more positive assessment of the situation of the world than that which is allowed to this generation.