STATEMENT BY MR JOSEPH FISCHER FEDERAL MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

55TH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
(GENEVA, 22 MARCH - 30 APRIL 1999)

GENEVA, 23 MARCH 1999

I have the honour to speak to you today on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern European Countries associated with the European Union - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia - and the associated country Cyprus have expressed the wish to align themselves with this statement.

First of all I should like to congratulate you, Ambassador Anderson, on taking over the chair of the 55th session of the Commission on Human Rights. I wish you every success in this responsible office.

The Commission on Human Rights has set itself ambitious targets this year. And that is absolutely essential because 50 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights expectations and reality are still far apart. Admittedly encouraging progress has been made: today more people than ever before live in democratic systems and the general awareness of the impor-tance of human rights has grown; this is largely a result of the work of the Commission on Human Rights as well as the many NGOs active in this area.

Nevertheless, it must be emphasized that the implementation of and respect for human rights in the world remains completely insufficient. Violations of fundamental human rights unfortunately remain the order of the day in many countries. According to Amnesty International there are still government-ordered murders in 55 countries and political prisoners in 87 countries. In many countries women’s fundamental rights are violated, the most basic needs of the poor are ignored and children are abused by turning them into soldiers. In wars and conflicts it is mainly children, women, old people and refugees who die. Uninhibited, brute force against the civilian population that none of us can comprehend has flared up recently in many parts of Central Africa and Asia.

Unfortunately, Europe is no exception here. The barbaric massacre at Racak in Kosovo has quite rightly been classified as a crime against humanity in the report of the independent inves-tigators. Currently the situation in Kosovo is balanced on a knife-edge between war and peace. Now that the Kosovo Albanians have signed the peace treaty presented by the Contact Group, everything depends on Belgrade. From here I once again appeal to the Yugoslav Government: sign the peace plan! It is not yet too late. You can still prevent your country and the people living in it from being catapulted into a confrontation!

Ladies and gentlemen, one - very important - thing has changed in recent years: human rights have become much more important in foreign policy. There are two reasons for this:

1. Wars and conflicts today come about less because of international tensions and more be-cause of internal tensions. And these internal tensions are often closely associated with the suppression of human and minority rights, with racism and xenophobia, but also with economic exploitation. Because of this change in the cause of conflicts, in future the individual and his rights will shift more and more into the centre of the international community’s definition of security, whereas formerly national interests were the focus of attention.

We have known for a long time that there is a fundamental link between peace, democracy and human rights. History clearly shows that democracies with a well-developed civil society hardly ever wage war against each other. The promotion of democracy and human rights is therefore the best means of safeguarding peace, not only in Europe but also in all other parts of the world.

2. Economic success cannot be ensured in the long term unless human rights are observed and guarantees are provided by a constitutional state in which the rule of law prevails. This is the key lesson to be learned from the Asian crisis last year. Freedom of the economy is contingent upon freedom of the individual, and freedom of the individual is contingent upon the ob-servance and constitutional guarantee of human rights.

The attempt by poorer countries to open up economically while accepting the suppression of democracy and human rights cannot and will not be successful. Where human rights are not respected there is a threat not only of unrest but also of economic and social decline. And wherever there is a spiral of diminishing peace and development, respect for human rights deteriorates. The Indian recipient of the Nobel Prize for Economics, Professor Amartya Sen, proved that famines occur much less frequently in democracies than in dictatorships because governments subject to democratic accountability usually take much more care of the welfare of their people. Good governance based on human rights, the separation of powers and functioning democratic, legal and constitutional structures is therefore also of central importance for economic development. The debate about the right to development has increased our awareness of these links. At this session we should endeavour once more to find common responses to this right.

Ladies and gentlemen, for moral and ethical reasons, as well as the political reasons already mentioned, great significance is attached to the implementation of human rights in a world in which globalization plays an ever greater role. In the next six weeks our objective must be to achieve results that are as concrete and practical as possible.

In our closely interlinked world which is moving ever closer together, human rights are no longer internal affairs or cultural peculiarities. Today, the main concern is to further strengthen the generally recognised universality of human rights. The adoption of the Statute of the Inter-national Criminal Court, under which the most severe violations of human rights will be univer-sally liable to prosecution in future, was a major step forward. I call upon all states to sign the Statute of Rome and to ratify it quickly so that the Court can commence work as soon as pos-sible. It is imperative that dictators and perpetrators of genocide in the world can never again rely on not being called to account for their actions. Their victims are entitled to justice! At this point allow me to express the European Union’s conviction that states whose justice systems kill are not meeting their responsibility to set an example to society. Europeans believe that the death penalty cannot be justified either ethically or legally and has not proved to be an effective means of combating crime. This year for the first time the EU will therefore submit a joint resolution on the death penalty, with which we intend to prevent at any rate the execution of minors or the mentally ill, enforcement before completion of ongoing procedures and extradition to countries where the death penalty is in force.

In future special priority must be given to women’s rights. Unfortunately, our world is still a long way from genuine equality. In many countries women are still largely without rights and subjected to discrimination and violence. That women are almost totally deprived of rights in the areas of Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban militia is intolerable. The traffic in women and girls still practised in some countries is also inhuman, as is the deplorable practice of geni-tal mutilation, which must be prohibited by law in all societies. Claims that any given practice is a cultural tradition must not impair the human right to physical integrity.

Just a few days ago the UN Commission on the Status of Women succeeded in adopting the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. As a result women will be granted wide-ranging rights to lodge complaints at an international level - an important step forward. We hope that the required ten ratifications will come about quickly so that the Optional Protocol can enter into force. There is also an urgent need to strengthen children’s rights. The use of child soldiers must be banned throughout the world, as must the heinous crimes of child trafficking and child prosti-tution. The work on the relevant Optional Protocols must produce results soon.

Ladies and gentlemen, as a global political player, the European Union will take into account the increasing importance of human rights with its own proactive human rights policy. Before the end of the year it intends to draw up its own human rights report for the first time with a view to increasing the transparency of EU human rights policy and to dealing with questions related to specific issues or countries.

Internally, too, the EU will lend more support to the cause of human rights. The EU is a com-munity of values and this will become even clearer with the forthcoming entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty. In this Treaty, human rights, democracy and the rule of law are expressly named as prerequisites for membership and if these criteria are not observed membership rights could be limited. The EU has established a European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xeno-phobia in Vienna and is also examining whether a European Charter of Fundamental Rights to increase citizens rights should be drawn up.

For Europe it was a key experience to see how important the work of human rights groups was in the former Warsaw Pact countries and how crucial Basket III of the Helsinki Accord was for ending the communist dictatorship in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe. For Europe, this combination of political dialogue, economic opening and commit-ment to human rights is a legacy that will also determine human rights policy in other regions of the world. In this vein we will tirelessly support democrats and human rights activists wherever they are being oppressed.

There is no doubt that not only the economic situation but also legal certainty and personal freedom have improved for many Chinese. Nevertheless, the gen-eral human rights situation in China, such as for example the frequent imposition of the death penalty, which by international standards is handed down with unparalleled frequency or the practice of administrative imprisonment, still does not comply with established international standards. China has already achieved a considerable push towards modernization. We are aware of the country's specific problems and the social tensions they give rise to. However, we believe that granting democratic rights, not suppressing them, is the only viable basis for sustainable devel-opment. The Asia crisis last year, in particular, showed the close link between human rights and sustainable development. The action taken against political dissidents in China has placed a great strain on the European-Chinese dialogue on human rights. We regard the very severe prison sentences imposed upon civil rights activists as unacceptable, especially as these activists merely exercised the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Inter-national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights signed by China last year. These rights include freedom of opinion and assembly, as well as the right to form associations and to participate directly in public affairs. We are likewise concerned about the situation of minorities, particu-larly the situation in Tibet.

The EU therefore urges the Chinese Government to ensure that progress in the international sphere is followed by concrete improvements in the human rights situation and in respect of democracy and the rule of law. Swift ratification and implementation of the two International Cove-nants sends an important signal that China is prepared to observe fundamental human rights principles in its own country. The EU is willing to engage in a more effective and focused dia-logue on human rights and to continue its cooperation programme in support of this process.

Ladies and gentlemen, a preventive human rights policy is an overarching task linking foreign, development, environment and legal policy instruments. The whole spectrum of the instru-ments available has to be used. At this point I should like to expressly emphasize the EU’s support for the efforts of Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to give human rights their due recognition throughout the whole UN system. Your activities in the field, which help to establish democratic, judicial and administrative structures based on the rule of law, and the Advisory Services and Technical Cooperation Programme, are major contribu-tions to preventive human rights policy. The EU therefore strongly supports these activities, both materially and non-materially.

The players active in the field of human rights must also take a broad approach. Severe public criticism, practical project work and persistent lobbying by the many human rights NGOs have, in countless cases, been the key to specific improvements in people’s living conditions. The NGOs deserve all our thanks and appreciation for this peerless dedication. The EU is prepared to give an even more solid foundation to its dialogue with private human rights organisations. However, for the future it will be important for other players in civil society, particularly eco-nomic enterprises, to increasingly recognise the link between human rights and viable, sustain-able development and to make their own contribution to the protection of human rights. It is good that this process has started, but it is still in its infancy. As powerful global players, com-panies today set standards in human rights that have an impact on nation-states. In Davos in February, Secretary-General Kofi Annan rightly called for joint efforts by politicians and in-dustry to foster human rights, humane working conditions and conservation of the environ-ment.

Madam Chairwoman, ladies and gentlemen, human rights policy is not a ”soft topic” for unworldly moralists. Today human rights policy is tough Realpolitik. In the age of globalization, observing human rights is the best basis there is for peace and sustainable development. It therefore has nothing to do with interference or Western arrogance if we Europeans repeat-edly point out that the suppression of human rights is unacceptable and that we will promote the development of peace, democracy and civil society throughout the world. For us this is by no means a matter of imposing our values on others. Rather, we want to improve the imple-mentation of internationally recognized human rights standards throughout the world. In the weeks ahead we will have to concentrate all our efforts on this common objective.