Statement by Brother/Abderrahman Mohammed Shalgam, Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaisons and International Cooperation The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

19.03.2003



General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaisons
and
International Cooperation


59th Session of
the Human Rights Commission




In the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful,


Madame Chairperson,
Mr. High Commissioner,
Distinguished members of the Commission,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,


At the outset, I would like to congratulate you for your election to chair the 59th session of the Human Rights Commission. As I am proud to be your fellow countryman, I would like to thank the members of this Commission on behalf of the Libyan people for the honour they bestowed upon you by electing you to this high post. I would also like to thank the African countries which were the first to make this choice and to defend it all the way. I would also like to congratulate the other members of the Bureau and to wish them success. Last but not least, I would like to convey my greetings to Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello, the High Commissioner for Human rights and his team. I would like to congratulate them for the noble task of working for a world of peace and security based on respect for human rights and basic freedoms.

Madame Chairperson,

The International Conference on Human Rights was held exactly 10 years ago in Vienna and called for steps to be taken to achieve substantial progress in the promotion of human rights. Since 1993 a lot has been achieved but more challenges lie ahead. We have to invent new ways of making progress in eradicating illiteracy, sickness, homelessness, ill-treatment of children and women and discrimination. As I am speaking on behalf of Libya, I am proud to inform you that we have reached many objectives embodied in the Vienna Declaration and the Vienna Work Plan. I do not exaggerate to say that the Libyan Revolution gave Libyans political, economic and social rights that millions of people around the world are still struggling for. The philosophy of our revolution, as explained in the Green Book, gave a final solution to the economic problem which helped to bring about a society of equal people in sharing power, wealth and arms. In my country there is no ruler and ruled, no master and slave. Authority is shared among Libyans through popular congresses which legislate and there are popular committees which implement, there are other committees chosen by the people in charge of supervision and follow up so that decisions taken by the Libyans are implemented ;

Madame Chairperson,

In Libya, the human is the primary target of development. Basic needs such as food, health and education get priority attention. The government has built lot of hospitals an



health care centres. Health care is provided to all free of charge. Hundreds of schools and tens of universities offer free and mandatory education to everybody.

Tens of thousands of comfortable houses are given to citizens who do not have to pay rent according to the principle of “the house belongs to whoever lives in it”.. We have a unique social security system which protects children, mothers, the sick, the elderly and the handicapped in accordance to the principle of “ society protects those who are unprotected”: we have eradicated exploitation of man by his fellow man by eradicating salaries and by making participation in production the basis of our economic system in accordance with the principle of “a society of partners and not a society of wage-earners”. The government has put in place a system that allows no profit to be made on food. Food products are subsidized because they are considered as basic rights for everybody.

Madame Chairperson,

The Libyan people believes that there is no dignity left to a person deprived of one of his basic rights and this is why we, the Libyans, have issued on the historical day of June 12, 1988 “The Great Green Document for Human Rights in the era of the masses”. It is a framework reference document containing the principles organizing the enjoyment of human rights and basic freedoms in Libya. In accordance with the provisions of this document and the law related to it, citizenship is a sacred right which can neither be revoked nor withdrawn, men and women are equal and have equal rights, they can set up associations and trade unions to protect their labour rights. Every citizen has the right to express his opinions and ideas, the legal system is independent, all citizens are protected by the law, work and housing are rights, it is not allowed to use people as maids, families living under one roof do the job themselves, Libyans have the freedom of movement and residence, life is a natural right for everybody, the death penalty is only applied to those who commit murders or to those whose life constitute a threat to society, in my country nobody can be deprived of his freedom, nobody’s freedom can be restricted, jail terms are only applied to those whose freedom is a threat to others, an accused remains innocent until guilt is proved by a sentence, all forms of physical or psychological torture and brutal or degrading treatment are illegal, everybody’s private life is protected by law, everybody is entitled to enjoy the fruit of his work, private property is sacred and nobody is allowed to violate it.

Madame Chairperson,

Women’s and children’s rights are part and parcel of human rights. We, in Libya, have done our utmost to eradicate ignorance, illiteracy and backwardness in order to allow the complete participation of women in development so they can reach the highest political, economic and social levels. Nowadays, women in my country are to be found in all popular congresses where they have power and take decisions. Libyan women hold high political and diplomatic posts, they are prominent members of our legal system, and our police and army. Children get special attention from the family and the government, according to our traditions it is the mother who raises the children, child labour is a crime punishable by law. Our legislation protects children from physical abuse, torture and all sorts of ill treatment. Free education and medical care, in addition to lots of other rights, are protected by an independent body in charge of childhood which is sponsored and given moral support by the government.





Madame Chairperson,

The right to development is part and parcel of basic human rights. This has been underlined in the Millennium Declaration and in various international fora. We now need to take practical steps to overcome all obstacles obstructing the enjoyment of human rights. We have to give priority to ending colonialism and foreign occupation, we have to eradicate poverty, hunger, pandemics, we also have to fight discrimination, hatred and marginalization. All countries are entitled to take advantage of science and technology. The international community has to find a solution to the problem of external debt so that developing countries can safeguard the economic and social rights of their peoples. We also have to put an end to double standards like when calling on one hand for the full realization of human rights and imposing unilateral sanctions which hamper reaching good living conditions on the other.

Madame Chairperson,

We, Libyans, suffered a lot from sanctions. For 20 years one member state of this Commission has imposed upon us unilateral sanctions depriving us, among other things, of importing development technology. Our students are not allowed to attend their universities. An unprecedented law in violation of all international agreements has been enacted in order to punish any foreigner or company from another country to invest capital in our economic development. As you are all aware, some countries resorted to the UN in order to impose sanctions on us to achieve political goals. These sanctions have not been lifted completely yet in spite of the unanimous call of the international community, as if the negative consequences we have suffered were not enough. We have lost hundreds of our children and elderly. People were deprived of their right to travel and to get health care. Our economy and our trade have been crippled. We have lost huge earnings we could have used to improve our living conditions and welfare.

Madame Chairperson,

The right to self-determination has been a permanent item on this Commission’s agenda. The realization of this very important right is hampered by serious obstacles. There is a growing tendency of linking national struggles for independence with the horrible phenomenon of “international terrorism” and obviously we are opposed to such a tendency. Our position should not be interpreted as trying to justify any form of terrorism that we firmly condemn and reject. There is no way we can compare this rejected and condemned practice with a struggle for a human right defended by the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This Commission which is entrusted with the implementation of Human Rights instruments has to adopt a clear position on the issue and should not condone any attempt to deprive people of their right to freedom under the pretext of fighting terrorism.











Madame Chairperson,

The best example is what is happening in occupied Palestine where we see everyday Palestinians being slaughtered systematically, their farms are destroyed and their houses demolished with children, women and old people still inside. All of this is done to them because they are defending their human dignity, their very existence and their right to self-determination on their own land in their country. Despite the rejection and condemnation of the illegal occupation by the UN and all its organs, despite the rejection of Israeli practices in Palestinian territories, despite the repeated condemnation of Israeli crimes and violations, the Israeli response was even more coercion, more arrests and more torture justified by false excuses and illogical reasons.


Madame Chairperson,

What is the criterion uses by the occupying force allowing it to call somebody defending his land and honour a terrorist? How can we believe that the real terrorist occupying other people’s land is the victim of barbaric acts? Who can believe that Palestinian women with their children at home are planning a terrorist attack? Do the occupying forces have evidence showing that school children have committed terrorist acts justifying the use of the firepower of their weapons against them, wounding some and killing others? I would like these facts to be available to the members of this Commission when it discusses the items related to the violation of Palestinian human rights.

Madame Chairperson,

We all know that Human Rights are closely linked to each other and that they are indivisible. One cannot concentrate on one right and forget another. As your Commission is the mechanism entrusted with the issue, you have to deal with all Human Rights with neutrality and objectivity. Adopting an equitable and honest method in dealing with these highly sensitive matters will foster international cooperation leading to the realization of these rights. We, in Libya, are working in this direction. We are party to most international Human Rights instruments and we are committed to the implementation of the provisions such as in the field of teaching Human Rights in schools and universities and in law enforcement services. We are proud to be a member of this Commission and we are honoured to chair this session. We will always be eager to cooperate with all the members, with the observers and with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and his colleagues and with all the related United Nations bodies. By so doing we want to achieve a total respect for Human Rights and basic freedoms.

I would like to thank you all for your attention.

I wish all the success for the proceedings of your session.

May God’s Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you