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ÀÛ¼ºÀÚ UN CHR (2003.11.13) Á¶È¸ 3027
Commission on Human Rights continues review of violation of
human rights in any part of world

HR/CN/1016
Speakers Note National Efforts to Uphold Human Rights,
Address Alleged Violations in Specific Countries

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 2 April (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on
Human Rights this morning continued its consideration of the
question of the violation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in any part of the world, hearing statements from 16
countries and nine non-governmental organizations on national
efforts to uphold human rights and alleged violations in
certain countries.

Speakers raised the issue of alleged violations in the
following countries and regions: India, Iraq by coalition
forces, Cyprus by Turkish Cypriots, south Lebanon by Israel,
Cuba, Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation by Russia,
Kuwait by Iraq, south Lebanon by Syria, Azerbaijan by
Armenia, Eritrea by Ethiopia, the Middle East by the United
States, Sudan, the United States, Turkmenistan, Kenya, Nepal,
Zimbabwe and Iraq.

Representatives of Pakistan, Yemen, Cyprus, Indonesia,
Lebanon, Nicaragua, the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea, Belarus, Latvia, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Israel,
Greece, Azerbaijan, Eritrea and Afghanistan addressed the
Commission, as did representatives of the following non-
governmental organizations: International Helsinki Federation
for Human Rights (on behalf of International League for Human
Rights; International Service for Human Rights); Arab
Lawyer's Union; Movimiento Cubano por la Paz y la Soberanía
de los Pueblos (on behalf of the Federation of Cuban Women;
Women's International Democratic Federation); International
League for Human Rights (on behalf of International
Federation for Human Rights); African Society of
international and Comparative Law (on behalf of Minority
Rights Groups International); Indian Movement Tupaj Amaru (on
behalf of General Federation of Iraqi Women; General
Federation of Arab Women; Union of Arab Jurists);
Organization for the Solidarity of the Peoples of Asia,
Africa and Latin America (on behalf of National Union of
Jurists of Cuba; Centro Estudio sobre la Juventud); China
Society for Human Rights Studies (on behalf United Nations
Association of China); and the International Commission of
Jurists.

Exercising their rights to reply were representatives of
Croatia, India, Eritrea, Japan, Australia, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Cuba, Ethiopia,
Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Armenia, Togo, Democratic People's
Republic of Korea, Australia, and Kuwait.

The Commission will meet this afternoon in private in
accordance with Economic and Social Council resolutions 1503
(XLVIII) and 2000/3 to consider communications submitted to
it. The next public meeting of the Human Rights Commission
will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 3 April.

Statements on Violation of Human Rights Anywhere in World

SHAUKAT UMER (Pakistan) said political consideration and
prospects of economic gain often stifled the voices of
conscience in the Commission. A notable example of this
remiss behaviour was the Commission's disinterest in a
particularly insidious phenomenon, which had emerged as the
dominant reality in some parts of the world. Democracy, it
was assumed, was the guarantor of human rights. Secular
evidence established that in some countries democracy had
begun to derive sustenance from a culture of discrimination,
exclusion and decimation. Following the victory of Narindra
Modi, the Chief Minister of the Indian State of Gujarat,
Arundati Roy, an Indian scholar had rightly written pointed
out that this represented the firm footprints of fascism in
India. The 130 million Muslims of this country were now being
regarded as legitimate prey by Hindu fascism. In India,
today, these fascists had mobilized human beings in the name
of religion. For months, fundamentalists, with the active
support and participation of state institutions, had engaged
in the most heinous acts of devilry. Several Muslim
localities had been razed to the ground, sparing neither
women nor the elderly, children or even unborn babies. The
answer to the tragic conflict in Kashmir lay neither in its
descript¡Úion as terrorism nor in the subjugation of its people
in the name of democracy. The former demeaned the revered
concept of self-determination and the latter the great
principle of democracy. Instead India would do well by the
region and its own billion people to respect both.

ABDUL LATIF AL DORAIBI (Yemen) said it was concerned about
the serious developments in the Middle East region. Yemen
condemned the war against Iraq, stressing its rejection of
the use of force and the need to comply with relevant
Security Council resolutions. The war against Iraq violated
international law and human rights and was a threat to peace
and security. War in itself was a violation of human rights
as its first victims were civilians whose most basic rights
were being flouted including the right to life, food, housing
and security. The international community was urged to assume
its responsibility and ensure the safety of civilians in
Iraq. The Red Cross and other relief organizations were also
urged to provide the people of Iraq with the necessary
humanitarian aid in order to relieve their suffering.

ALEXANDROS VIKIS (Cyprus) listed, among serious violations of
human rights resulting from the Turkish military occupation
of the northern part of the island, that: one third of the
population of Cyprus had been refugees within their own
country for 29 years; more than 100,000 Turks from mainland
Turkey had been brought to colonize the occupied territories
of Cyprus; 1,400 persons were missing and unaccounted for as
a result of the invasion; and the restrictions imposed by the
occupation regime in the occupied north were so harsh that
only about 500 people still lived there today. The
Commission's position concerning this situation was clear; it
had called for the full restoration of all human rights to
the population of Cyprus, expressed alarm at changes in the
demographic structure given the continuing influx of settlers
from Turkey, and called for the accounting of missing
persons.

Expressing deep disappointment with the report on the human
rights situation currently before the Commission, the
representative of Cyprus said Turkey remained non-compliant
with the resolutions and decisions of the Security Council
and General Assembly. A predominantly political perspective
characterized the report instead of a focus on human rights.
Moreover, the report did not present all the facts of the
issues with which it dealt. For example, the decisive meeting
in February between the Secretary-General and the Greek and
Turkish Cypriot representatives was not covered. The
officially recognized Government of the Republic of Cyprus
would continue to make every effort to restore the human
rights of all Cypriots; but it was also necessary for Turkey
to cooperate constructively with the United Nations, as
Greece and Cyprus had done.

DJISMAN KASRI (Indonesia) said the reform process initiated
in 1998 by the Government of Indonesia had seen some major
changes, evidenced among others by a thorough overhaul of the
country's legislation and infrastructure. Nowhere had these
changes been more meaningful than in the field of human
rights, which the Government considered crucial and where it
had made serious efforts to remedy past shortcomings. The
National Plan of Action 2003-2008 involved all the
governmental and national human rights institutions, as well
as civil society, as implementing partners, and was composed
of five main pillars. These were preparation of the
ratification of international human rights instruments;
further harmonization of domestic laws relevant to human
rights; dissemination of and education in human rights;
application of human rights norms and standards; and
monitoring, evaluating and reporting, including to the
relevant treaty bodies, on the national implementation of
human rights instruments which had been ratified by
Indonesia.

Concerning the development of legal proceedings in the Ad Hoc
Human Rights Court in the prosecution of cases of human
rights abuses committed in East Timor 1999, the Court had
handed down verdicts after several cases of human rights
violations had been established. However, the current legal
process had not reached the final stage, not least because
the verdicts were now being brought to the Court of Appeal
and to the Supreme Court for their final adjudication. Some
of the comments made by the High Commissioner in this regard
were unfair, since they were tantamount to prejudging the
ability of the Indonesian judicial system to function fairly,
independently and transparently.

WALID A. NASR (Lebanon) said that last year the Commission
had adopted a resolution entitled the situation of Lebanese
detainees in Israel. The resolution had expressed, among
other things, displeasure at the detention of Lebanese in
Israeli prisons without trial and had asked for visits to be
conducted by representative of the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC). The Commission also had asked the
Secretary General to inform Israel of the resolution and call
upon it to provide information on its implementation. By
December 2002, no reply had been received from Israel, which
showed that Israel was not committed to the resolution, which
it flouted like all other United Nations resolutions.

Israel had detained scores of Lebanese and transferred them
to Israel, in contravention of international law. One of
these Lebanese prisoners had died while under administrative
detention. Although Israel withdrew to a line defined as a
blue line in southern Lebanon, it continued to occupy the
Lebanese Shaba farms. It had also left behind hundreds of
mines, causing numerous victims among the civilian
population. Lebanon had asked for the maps for these mines.
The resolution of the Commission had also expressed concern
over the hundreds of mines left by Israel and deplored the
fact that Israel had not handed over the maps for these
mines. The Government of Israel, however, had addressed the
question of these maps in the same way it treated other
issues -- with procrastination and prefabrication. The maps
received by Lebanon were incomplete and covered only very
small areas of the territory that was under Israeli
occupation.

LESTER MEJIA SOLIS (Nicaragua) said that the newly elected
Nicaraguan President had, at his inauguration, expressed the
determination to protect and strengthen human rights in
Nicaragua and to work for economic development. Many
difficulties and constraints remained to be faced, but
Nicaragua was making headway, if slowly.

Noting, however, that the General Assembly of the United
Nations had decided that manifest violations of human rights
in every part of the world should be examined, the
representative of Nicaragua wished to express his concern
over the human rights situation in Cuba. Asking how long
international conventions would be violated by the Cuban
regime, he challenged the Cuban Government to open its doors
for a review of the human rights situation in the country.
Human rights were of universal concern; claims of sovereignty
could not be used as roadblocks to democracy and human
rights. Furthermore, human rights were interdependent - and
included civil and political as well as economic, social and
cultural rights.

CHOE MYONG NAM (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said
it was important to prevent political consideration and
economic powers such as the European Union from using the
noble notion of human rights to advance their selfish goals.
It was all the more surprising to listen to the European
Union since his country and the Union had been involved in a
series of constructive discussions on human rights
cooperation. The current confrontational approach of the
European Union showed that it had decided to join the
policies of the United States, including its nuclear
confrontation. The European Union had changed its position
and claimed to be the best judge on human rights. Instead of
denouncing the invasion of the United States against Iraq,
the European Union had prevented the special sitting on the
humanitarian consequences of the invasion. This kind of
approach made their position clear. The Democratic People's
Republic of Korea advocated cooperation, as opposed to
confrontation. Human rights goals would never be achieved
through confrontation and acrimonious behaviour.

SERGEI ALEINIK (Belarus) said that today no country could
claim that all human rights were fully respected within its
territory. Belarus condemned human rights violations wherever
they occurred and stood for constructive international
cooperation in the field of human rights protection based on
the principles of mutual respect and partnership on an equal
footing. The use of human rights issues as a means to achieve
political and economic goals had no prospects and was
contrary to the very concept of human rights. Unilateral
measures against sovereign states discredited the very
principle of participation of the international community in
ensuring respect for human rights.

Moral admonitions with regard to respect for human rights
sounded quite cynical from the lips of the delegation of the
country which by its actions had undermined the foundations
of the existing system of international relations, violated
the Charter of the United Nations, the basic norms and
principles of international law and provoked humanitarian
catastrophes entailing suffering of innocent civilians and
violations of fundamental human rights, including the right
to life.

JANIS KARKLINS (Latvia) said that the persistent and growing
number of reported violations of human rights in the Chechen
Republic of the Russian Federation should be promptly and
credibly addressed by the Russian Federation, in accordance
with the international human rights and humanitarian law
treaties and conventions to which it was party. While the
right to fight terrorism and terrorist activities from
spreading over national borders was a legitimate goal, it did
not justify the use of excessive means resulting in massive
civilian casualties and the suffering of innocent people.

Profoundly disturbed by the large number of officially
recorded disappearances in the Chechen Republic and the
discovery of hundreds of corpses bearing traces of violence
and torture, the representative of Latvia urged Russian
authorities to demonstrate their clear political will for
international cooperation and to reaffirm the shared goal of
upholding international human rights standards.

ABDULLAH K.M.J. AL-ASKAR (Kuwait) said that concerning the
invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the fact that the Commission
continued to study this question was due to the non-
compliance of Iraq. Kuwait had studied the report of the High
Commissioner. The question related to prisoners was
particularly important to the delegation of Kuwait since
Iraq, to this day, had not adhered to its obligations vis-à-
vis Kuwaiti detainees and citizens according to Security
Council resolutions. Iraq had done nothing to cooperate on
these issues. The Tripartite Committee had also called upon
the Iraqi Government to adhere to its obligations, however
the participation of Iraq had been disappointing. Iraq had
not displayed any interest in cooperation. Iraq was called
upon to uphold its obligations of international human rights
law and humanitarian law, as well as the provisions of the
Security Council resolutions. Iraq must also free the
prisoners in question and inform the Kuwaiti Government about
what had happened to the missing people. Kuwait would
continue to call for the freeing of its citizens and friends
and urged the international community to continue to put
pressure on the Iraqi Government in order for this tragic
situation to be resolved once and for all.

PIO SCHURTI (Liechtenstein) said that the people of Iraq,
after being subjected to systematic violations of their human
rights over long years, were now caught up in a quickly
evolving and large-scale humanitarian crisis. Human rights
were at particular risk during times of armed conflict, and
the ongoing conflict in Iraq had a very strong impact on the
human rights and humanitarian situation in the country. This
situation must be at the center of the concern of the
Commission, and the strict observance of international
humanitarian law was of the highest importance to alleviate
the plight of the Iraqi people. Liechtenstein, therefore,
added its voice to the urgent appeal made by the High
Commissioner for Human Rights to all parties in the conflict
to fully respect all relevant standards of international
humanitarian law, in particular those contained in the Geneva
Conventions. There were disturbing reports of serious
violations of international humanitarian law, most of them
affecting civilian populations directly or indirectly. There
must be no abuse of civilians of any kind and all prisoners
of war must be treated humanely and in accordance with the
relevant provisions of the Geneva Conventions.

YAAKOV LEVY (Israel) said that it was unfortunate that some
members could not acknowledge the basic precepts of
international law they purported to support. Following
Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, the Government of Lebanon
had been expected to exert its effective authority over
southern Lebanon, rather than to allow terrorist groups such
as Hezbollah to operate there. However, since Israel's
withdrawal, 30 terrorist attacks had been launched across the
border by Hezbollah, with the active support of Syria and
Iran. Moreover, Al Qaeda had established a broad
infrastructure in Lebanon, as its operatives fleeing
Afghanistan had sought and found a safe haven in Lebanon,
which put Lebanon in violation of Security Council resolution
1373.

Another source of concern, said the representative of Israel,
was the uncertainty of the fate of Israeli soldiers missing
in armed conflict. Israeli families had been suffering for
decades. The fate of their loved ones held in Lebanon, Syria
or even Iran remained unknown. Calling upon Lebanon, Syria
and Iran to live up to their responsibility not to use, abuse
or manipulate information on the fate of a missing person,
the representative also raised the issue of the Syrian
occupation of Lebanon. In one aspect, Syria had acted to
prevent the deployment of the Lebanese army along the Israel-
Lebanon border, which permitted the unhindered terrorist
activities of Hezbollah.

PENNY DOUTI (Greece) said the systematic violation of human
rights and fundamental freedoms persisted in Cyprus after the
invasion of the island and the occupation by the Turkish
military forces since 1974. Despite numerous United Nations
Security Council resolutions, as well as resolutions of the
Commission, violations had been carried out through the
implementation of policies such as forcible eviction and
displacement of persons from their homes and land, expulsion
of the enslaved Greek Cypriots and Maronites living in the
occupied territories, systematic plundering of the Cypriot
cultural heritage, colonialization and obstruction in
reaching a solution to the issue of missing persons. Greece
strongly supported the continuation of the Secretary-
General's mission of good offices and encouraged all parties,
particularly Turkey, to spare no efforts towards achieving a
just, viable and functional settlement, with full respect of
human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots, Greek
Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

MURAD N. NAJAFOV (Azerbaijan) said that the aggression of
Armenia against Azerbaijan had continued for 15 years. Having
conducted ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijani population
in its own territory, Armenia occupied not only the whole
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh region, expelling 60,000 native
Azerbaijanis, but also occupied territories of another seven
regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan. As a result, the total
number of Azerbaijanis expelled from their native grounds had
reached one million. Thus, every eighth person in Azerbaijan
was a refugee or a displaced person, which significantly
complicated the humanitarian situation in the country.

In four resolutions adopted in 1993, the United Nations
Security Council had condemned the occupation of the
territory of Azerbaijan, reaffirmed respect for the
sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of the
borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the admissibility
of the use of force for the acquisition of territory, and
demanded immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of
all occupying forces from the occupied districts of
Azerbaijan. However, these demands of the Security Council
had not been implemented so far.

AMARE TEKLE (Eritrea) said that there was a dialectical
relationship between peace, human rights and development. Not
only was peace essential for the eradication of poverty,
disease and illiteracy, but after conflict, it was a
precondition for rehabilitation, reconstruction and
prosperity. Yet Ethiopia today seemed determined to derail
the peace process by all means available. It had forcibly
driven Eritrean farmers from their land, aided terrorist
groups to commit conspicuous atrocities against civilians,
laid new landmines in the Temporary Security Zone, threatened
to shoot down the helicopter of the Boundary Commission and
made public its intention to reject the demarcation of the
territory if it did not get a revision of the
Commission's "final and binding" decision. Ethiopia must be
unequivocally informed that it could not continue its blatant
violations of human rights and other international law.

SHAMSUZZAKIR KAZEMI (Afghanistan) said he had carefully
examined the report of the Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Afghanistan. The situation in
his country had improved, with the exception of a few
incidents of violence attributable to the break down of law
and order that reigned throughout the country for almost
quarter of a century and the resulting insecurity prevailing
in some parts of the country. He concurred with the findings
and recommendations postulated which called not only for the
continued efforts of the Afghan Human Rights Commission, the
Afghan Judicial Reform Commission and the related
governmental and non-governmental organizations in
Afghanistan, but also and more importantly for the
intensification of international assistance in various areas.
Considerable progress had been achieved since the Bonn
Agreement and the convening of the Loya Jirga aimed at
restoring, promoting and safeguarding the human rights of the
Afghan people. Obviously, these and other measures
constituted the first step in the long journey ahead. In this
connection, he stressed the cardinal role of security.
Security had been the most important preoccupation of the
fledgling administration. Despite a relative calm, acts of
violence had taken many lives and intermittently disrupted
the fragile peace.

Concerning the situation of women in Afghanistan, whose
rights had been systematically violated during the entire
period of internal strife, it was stressed that although
political and security situations were preoccupying, the role
of women in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the
country had been accorded priority. The Office of the High
Commissioner was called upon to intensify its efforts in the
years to come through projects aimed at rendering technical
assistance in various aspects of human rights throughout the
country to build-up the capacity of the numerous
organizations, public and private, established in the area of
human rights.

BRIGITTE DUFOUR, of the International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights, in a joint statement with the International
League for Human Rights, the International Service for Human
Rights, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Memorial
Human Rights Centre, said that the international community
should be informed that Russian federal forces had committed
grave abuses against the peaceful civilian population of the
Chechen Republic. During the last year, civilians had
continued to suffer from mopped-up operations in towns and
villages. These operations were accompanied by acts of theft,
mass detention and degrading treatment of local residents by
Russian federal forces. Hundreds of detainees were
transferred to illegal filtration camps where they were
beaten and tortured. Many of these detainees subsequently
disappeared, never to be seen again.

The majority of crimes committed against civilians remained
unpunished and all evidence suggested that these were not
only individual crimes committed by undisciplined military
servicemen, but the result of organized criminal groups
within the state power structure. These groups functioned as
death squads. Against the backdrop of a continuous reign of
terror against the Chechen population, the Russian
authorities had held a referendum in Chechnya concerning a
new Constitution and future presidential and parliamentary
elections. However, lack of security, mobility and freedom of
political expression within Chechnya had made a parody of
this referendum.

MOHAMED MUSA, of the Arab Lawyer's Union, said that there had
been a constant deterioration of respect for human rights in
the Middle East region since 11 September 2001. In addition
to the illegal war currently being waged by the United States
and the United Kingdom against Iraq - which was an act of
aggression that undermined the authority of the Security
Council -- manifestations of this dangerous trend were
apparent in the policy of double standards applied by the
United States on the implementation of international
resolutions concerning disarmament in the region. The United
States had continued its blind support for Israel, in spite
of that State's possession of nuclear and biological weapons.
The relevant international resolutions should be implemented
for the benefit of the Palestinian people. Also of concern
was the situation of human rights in the Sudan.

OLGA SALANUEVA, of the Movimiento Cubano por la Paz y la
Soberanía de los Pueblos, speaking on behalf of the
Federation of Cuban Women, and the Women's International
Democratic Federation, said she was addressing the Commission
on Human Rights on behalf of five Cuban families who had
endured separation from their beloved ones since 1998. For
many attending this session, it was a surprise to learn that
at this moment five Cuban young men, whose only sin was to
have fought against terrorist groups that freely operated in
Miami, remained unjustly imprisoned in the United States. It
was now known that Cuba, her country, for over 40 years had
been the victim of terrorist actions supported, protected and
financed by the United States Government which did not cease
in its endeavour to destroy their revolution, leaving
thousands of Cuban families in mourning. The United States,
the country that called itself the defender of human rights,
had violated, with impunity, the most elemental rights of
these Cubans, in its own territory. The groups were accusing
the United States Government of being the main violator of
human rights, and of using false double standards in the
fight against terrorism. They held the US Government fully
responsible for the physical and mental integrity of these
five men and were demanding their immediate release.

ALEXEY KOROTAEV, of the International League for Human
Rights, in a joint statement with the International Helsinki
Federation for Human Rights, said that the current human
rights situation in Turkmenistan had gradually reached
enormous proportions, increasingly resembling the regime in
North Korea. There were no independent media outlets, no
opposition parties and only two religion confessions were
allowed: the Russian Orthodox Church and a state-sanctioned
and controlled form of Islam. President Niyazov's repressive
policies had led to Turkmenistan's almost complete
international isolation. The Commission was urged to adopt a
resolution that deplored abuses by President Niyazov's
Government, called for Turkmenistan to comply with its
international human rights obligations, demanded that the
principle of due process be observed in all cases, and oblige
the Turkmen Government to grant unimpeded access to
international commissions of inquiry, including the UN human
rights mechanism.

ABDELBAGI JIBRIL, of the African Society of International
Comparative Law, in a joint statement with Minority Rights
Group International said that the Nubian community was one of
Kenya's most invisible and underrepresented communities at
all economic, social, political and cultural levels. Given
the rise in recent years of sectarian violence against the
Nubian minority in Kenya and the fact that the overwhelming
majority of Nubians lived as de facto stateless persons
without adequate legal protection, the Government of Kenya
should start a dialogue with the community for the solution
of its problems, especially regarding demands for Kenyan
citizenship and the right to own property. Furthermore, while
welcoming the report on the human rights situation in the
Sudan, the African Society felt the state of lawlessness and
the Government's failure to protect the people of the region
should be the main concern in the region.

LAZARO PARY ANAGUA, of the Indian Movement Tupaj Amaru,
speaking on behalf of the General Federation of Iraqi Women,
General Federation of Arab Women, and Union of Arab Jurists,
said these were dark days for the Commission on Human Rights.
Its rejection of the proposal to address grave human rights
violations as a result of the Anglo-US war on Iraq had
smudged the honour and credibility of the Commission. How
could one talk of human rights when ignoring the illegal
aggression currently underway in Iraq? An empire had no
allies, only vassals - this was a historic truth. The Western
countries were mere vassals to the United States when
defending their self-interests. In this connection, the
courage of France and Germany was welcomed even though there
were some contradictions in their most recent silence. A
draft resolution would be brought in front of the Commission
on the blockade against Cuba. The sanctions imposed on Cuba
lacked any legitimacy or international support. For 44 years,
Cuba had been suffering from the marginalization which was
unparalleled in history. The blockade condemned by more than
10 General Assembly resolutions violated the human rights of
the Cuban people.

LOURDES CERVANTES VASQUEZ, of the Organization for the
Solidarity of the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America,
in a joint statement with the National Union of Jurists of
Cuba and Centro Estudio sobre la Juventud, said that agenda
item 9 was used to promote the interests of the
industrialized and rich world which attributed to itself the
right to judge, manipulate and impose special procedures on
third world countries, on the basis of the false premise that
the first unfailingly respected human rights, while the
latter were compelled to demonstrate to this supranational
tribunal that their observance of human rights was in line
with the demands of the West. The selectivity, political
manipulation and discriminatory nature of the assessments
made by the Commission every year were increasingly evident
and acceptable. With what moral authority could the United
States Government judge other countries while it
unconditionally supported the genocide committed by the
Government of Israel as part of its policy of State terrorism
against the Palestinian people who fought for their right to
self-determination. How could one entertain the thought of
circulating a report on the human rights situation in Iraq
when it was impossible to secure a majority in the Commission
to hold a special sitting on Iraq. When would the United
States maneuvering against Cuba, whose people were victims of
an economic, trade and financial embargo by the US, come to
an end?

BENJAMIN TSZ-MING LIU, of the United Nations Association of
China, in a joint statement with the China Society for Human
Rights Studies, said that in the years since reunification,
the Government and people of Hong Kong and her non-
governmental organizations had successfully followed through
on the policy of "one country; two systems". Among others,
new legislation concerning the maintenance of stability and
national security, treason and sedition, and the promotion of
legitimate dissent had been proposed and refined. Moreover,
the banning of organizations was strictly supervised and
could not be called "automatic", while the constitutionality
of the Immigration Ordinance's provisions had been upheld.

IAN SEDERMAN, of the International Commission of Jurists,
said that he would limit his statement to the human rights
situation in Nepal, Zimbabwe, the United States and Iraq. A
Commission fact-finding visit to Nepal two months ago had
revealed a highly disturbing human rights situation. The
Commission, therefore, called upon the Office of the High
Commissioner and the Government of Nepal to take steps toward
the establishing a field office in Nepal with the mandate to
monitor the human rights situation and provide capacity
building assistance. The human rights situation in Zimbabwe
had continued to deteriorate to appalling levels. The
Government had grossly breached its obligations regarding the
right to food, through the deliberate withholding of food aid
to people it associated with the political opposition.

In the United States, the Government continued to hold more
than 600 persons in prolonged and indefinite detention in
Guantanamo Bay, without charge and without access to courts,
lawyers or family members. The Commission called on the
United States to honour its human rights and humanitarian law
obligations. The ICJ further regretted that additional time
had not been set aside this session to discuss the present
humanitarian and human rights emergency in Iraq.

Rights of Reply

A representative of Croatia, speaking in right of reply in
response to a statement made by Canada, said that bringing
all persons responsible for war crimes to justice remained
one of the priorities of the Government of Croatia. Regular
forms of cooperation had been established with the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and
Croatia was committed to continue its cooperation with the
Tribunal. The issues which were raised in the Canadian
statement were not based on accurate facts.

A representative of India, speaking in right of reply, said
that Pakistan had made absurd accusations, which anyone who
was familiar with Indian society would dismiss. The reference
to fascism was amusing, he said, as militarism was a close
relative to fascism, which had long characterized Pakistan's
regime. The label of "fascist" fit Pakistan much better.
India was one of the few genuinely secular states in the
world. To speak of a Hindu fascist state was as grotesque as
to speak of a Muslim fascist state. Among others, India
suggested that Pakistan should enact legislation forbidding
the denial of landing rights to army chiefs, forbidding army
chiefs to change presidents and constitutions, to arrest
former Prime Ministers and to take over foreign and state
affairs.

A representative of Eritrea, exercising his right of reply in
response to a statement made by the Representative of Greece
on behalf of the European Union and Canada, said no one had
been arrested in Eritrea for expressing their views, be they
personal or political. People who had been arrested had
committed crimes against the State and were not arrested
because of their political opinions alone. Secondly,
elections had been delayed, but would be taking place in the
near future. These elections would be fair, just and honest.
In addition no one was forced into involuntary service in
Eritrea, and it was highlighted that the newly rebuilt
railroad was built entirely with Eritrean national resources.
The United Nations had often forgotten the human rights of
the Eritrean people, particularly when it had forced the
draconian union between Eritrea and Ethiopia which had led to
the loss of lives and the violations of human rights.

A representative of Japan, speaking in right of reply in
response to a statement made by North Korea, reiterated the
inhuman nature of the abduction cases of Japanese by North
Korea. This was a grave violation of human rights and a crime
against humanity and therefore deserved the attention of the
Commission. There was still a long way to go before a
solution was found to the issue. The families of those
abductees who had retuned to Japan were still in Pyongyang.
North Korea was urged to provide all relevant information on
abduction cases and to cooperate with the Working Group on
Involuntary and Forced Disappearances.

A representative of Australia, speaking in right of reply,
said that the Zimbabwean delegation's allegations to the
effect of Australia being a racist society were preposterous.
Australia was one of the least racist, most democratic
societies in the world. Moreover, Australia had one of the
best refugee programmes in the world. In the current year,
the immigration programme had made available approximately
110,000 places, of which 12,000 were reserved for refugees.
Australia did not detain refugees, but did detain those
entering the country illegally. These persons could submit
appeals for refugee status, which were then evaluated in
light of international standards. Furthermore, successive
Australian governments had made great efforts to address the
situation of indigenous people in Australia. The indigenous
people of Australia exercised their land rights through
possessing some 16 per cent of the continent's land.

A representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
exercising his right of reply in a response to a statement
made by the Representative of the European Union and the
Special Rapporteur, said that when assessing the situation in
his country, the Commission must refer to its own resolution
which encouraged his Government and called upon the Special
Rapporteur to identify means to strengthen capacities in the
country and to bring to justice perpetrators of human rights
violations during the war of aggression. There were no
political prisoners nor journalists detained in his country
and in April all Congolese parties were meeting to enshrine
national conciliation, since the President had relaunched the
ceasefire agreement of 1998 in all of its aspects.

A representative of Zimbabwe, speaking in right of reply in
response to a statement made by Australia, asked when
Australia would start cooperating with the Commission's
special mechanism on the issue of the situation of indigenous
people in Australia. When would Australia consider
compensating its indigenous people for the stolen generation
of the sixties?

A representative of Lebanon, speaking in right of reply to a
statement by Israel, said that the Israeli representative had
continued to repeat his false allegations concerning Israel's
withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Israel had always sought to
misguide international opinion; it was the only country in
the world occupying the land of others by force. The Syrian
presence in Lebanon was based on agreements between two
neighboring and independent States. The Israeli determination
to find points of difference characterized an attitude, which
had led to the eruption of bloodshed in Lebanon over the
years. Furthermore, had there ever been reports of the
Lebanese army, navy or air force storming Israel? It had
never been done. However, Israel's defense forces had
attacked Lebanon and obstructed the rights of Lebanese
citizens. Lebanon had addressed a peace initiative to Israel -
which included the principle of "land for peace", but it had
been refused. Israel did not want a just and comprehensive
peace, but only to continue its attacks against its
neighbours.

A representative of Cuba, exercising her right of reply in a
response to a statement made by the representative of
Nicaragua, said it was a shame that a government such as
Nicaragua now questioned and criticized Cuba. Cuba had been
suffering for long from a genocidal blockade and had the
admiration of the entire world for its ability to ensure the
promotion and protection of human rights. It was repugnant
and an aberrant irony that this neo-Somoza Government of
Nicaragua, with its corrupt regime, now criticized Cuba,
especially given its carnal relationship with terrorists
based in Miami and whose filthy money had brought the
Nicaraguan Government to power. It would be better for
Nicaragua to focus on its own human rights violations than to
criticize Cuba. The Nicaraguan Government was urged to stop
manipulating the facts, to stop lying, and to address its own
problems.

A representative of Ethiopia, speaking in right of reply,
rejected the baseless allegations made against his country by
Eritrea. While Ethiopia had respected the peace agreements,
Eritrea had not respected its obligations and had violated
the Geneva Conventions by not revealing the whereabouts of
Ethiopian prisoners of war.

A representative of Pakistan, speaking in right of reply in
response to a statement by India, dismissed the Indian
statement as a tissue of lies, saying he preferred to address
the phenomenal growth of fascism in India under the unholy
alliance of BJP and its militant offshoots. The actions,
which took place in Gujarat were among the worst
manifestations of state terrorism witnessed by the
international community. The history of Germany in the 1920s
and 1930s was now being witnessed again in India. Among the
tactics used in India were the emulation of Italian youth
organizations, the espousal of doctrines of hatred and
cultural superiority and support for totalitarianism and
contempt of democracy. The correct follow-up to Gujarat
should have been to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to
justice.

A representative of Syria, exercising his right of reply in a
response to a statement made by the Representative of Israel,
said that the Israeli statement proved its policy avoiding
responsibility, including the concealing of mine maps.
Appeals by Governments to Israel to release this information
to help innocent civilians had been ignored. Concerning the
presence of Syrian forces in Lebanon, the Israeli
representative had claimed that this was an occupation. This
was a poor analysis of good friendly relations. Syrian forces
were with their Lebanese cousins for reasons of pure defence
as a response to Israel who had twice sent in its forces. The
representative of Israel should avoid getting involved in
issues that did not concern him.

A representative of Iraq, speaking in right of reply, said
that the representative of Kuwait had referred to a failure
by Iraq to respect Security Council resolutions and had
referred to alleged cases of Kuwaiti citizens who had
disappeared. The representative of Iraq noted that Iraq had
cooperated with the United Nations inspectors. Nevertheless,
the United States was determined to use military force at all
costs and this was not linked to the questions raised by the
Kuwait. Three quarters of Kuwait's territory was being used
for the attack against Iraq. Kuwait had also conducted a
campaign against Iraq in connection with the question of
disappeared persons. Iraq had stated in the past that there
were no Kuwaiti soldiers in the country. Iraq had released
all the detainees. At these difficult times, when savage
attacks were being launched against Iraq, any one of good
conscience must stand by the Iraqi people rather than use
pretexts to launch attacks against it.

A representative of Armenia speaking in a right of reply,
said that the first part of the Azerbaijan statement had
offered distorted information and a factually flawed
interpretation of the current situation in the region. The
flagrant denial of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh's right to
exercise self-determination had led to events like the
killing and mass deportations of civilians. However, the
Azerbaijani representative had also made a rare effort to
acknowledge the need for negotiation to resolve the region's
problem. Despite setbacks, momentum for the peace process had
been maintained. Now the resources and efforts of both
countries needed to be directed towards it.

A representative of Togo, exercising his right of reply in a
response to a statement made by the representative of the
United States, said that the United States had referred to a
Mr. Marc Palanga and had expressed concern about his
treatment. In fact, Mr. Palanga had been arrested because of
his involvement in a matter surrounding war equipment. He had
not been treated the way the Representative of the United
States had insinuated. There was no impunity for torture in
Togo.

A representative of Zimbabwe, speaking in right of reply,
said that his country would consider the International
Commission of Jurists seriously only when it stopped
considering any action by the Zimbabwean authorities as a
violation of human rights. The International Commission of
Jurists had also made unfounded allegations against the
judiciary in his country. No one in Zimbabwe was above the
law. The Representative of Zimbabwe also asked why the
International Commission of Jurists ignored the plight of the
indigenous people in Australia and the question of land
distribution there.

A representative of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea, speaking in a right of reply, rejected the Japanese
allegations and said that it had now become clear what
Japan's real intention was. His country stood by its position
that it had done its utmost to solve the cases through
bilateral dialogue, among others. The real interest of Japan
was to be found in political confrontation against the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Taking the opportunity
to stress that thousands of families suffered from not having
seen their loved ones, kidnapped during the Japanese
occupation of the Korean peninsula, he stressed that if Japan
was truly interested in solving the cases, it should take
practical measures to transfer past crimes and to live up to
commitments and bilateral agreements.

A representative of Australia, exercising his second right of
reply in a response to a statement made by the representative
of Zimbabwe, said he was not going to dignify the
representative of Zimbabwe with a long response but would
like to say that his highly offensive comments brought no
honour to his country or to himself as a diplomat.

A representative of Israel, speaking in right of reply, said
that ironically, there was no doubt that Lebanese society
thanked Syria for having a presence of 20,000-strong army of
occupation. The Syrian representative had said that the
troops came to assist Lebanon against Israel. Israel withdrew
from Lebanon two years ago, so why were they still there?
Israel had handed over the maps of land mines in southern
Lebanon to the United Nations on 1 June 2000 and this was
confirmed by Lebanon. With regard to Lebanese detainees, only
four Hezbollah members were detained in Israel. These
detainees received visits from the Red Cross, could meet with
lawyers and could appeal to the courts. Currently, there were
no Lebanese administrative detainees in Israel.

A representative of Eritrea, speaking in a second right of
reply, quoted from a Security Council report expressing the
Secretary-General's serious concern over the Ethiopian
attitude toward the question of the demarcation of the
border. He said the Ethiopian Prime Minister had noted that
if his country's concerns were not properly addressed,
Ethiopia might reject the decision of the Border Commission,
in spite of its "final and binding" nature, which Ethiopia
had understood before the decision was made.

A representative of India, exercising his second right of
reply in response to a statement made by the representative
of Pakistan, said that India had taken note of the statement
of Pakistan and its incomprehensible verbiage. India, on its
part was proud of the freedom of speech in the country which
made India a strong democracy. Unlike other governments, the
Government of India did not silence such voices. What the
Indian delegation did not understand was why this incident
was being re-hashed more than one year after the event. The
Commission had considered the incident at the time.

A representative of Ethiopia, speaking in second right of
reply, said he would not waste the Commission's time to
respond to false accusations made by Eritrea. However, he
reiterated that the human rights situation in Eritrea was
appalling. Ever since the dictatorial government took power
in 1991, the state of repression had become increasingly
systematic and there was a reign of terror in the country.

A representative of Kuwait, speaking in right of reply, said
that Iraq never listened to advice. Kuwait's problem with
Iraq had begun on 2 August 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait and
then refused to comply with Security Council resolutions. It
seemed that Iraq did not like to listen to good advice. The
representative of Iraq had claimed his country had cooperated
with the United Nations, however, six meetings had been held
which proved that Iraq had not cooperated on the situation of
the missing Kuwaitis. The Sharm-el-Sheik summit had welcomed
Kuwait's participation on the subject of missing Iraqis.

Corrigendum

In Press Release HR/CN/1010 of 27 March, the statement by
Centre Europe - Tiers Monde on page 5 should read,as follows:

MALIK OZDEN, of Centre Europe - Tiers Monde, said that by
resolution 1989/72, the Commission had requested the
Independent Expert on the right to development to carry
out "a study on the state of progress of the implementation
of the right to development". The Expert should, through his
studies, show the political measures States and the
international community were taking in the direction of the
concrete recognition of the right to development. Instead the
Expert attempted to redefine the right to development, and
proposed a development compact. He did not precede to a
profound analysis of the impact of the policies of the
international financial institutions such as the World Bank,
the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade
Organization. The definition given by the Expert of the right
to development was not accepted by the Working Group, which
was attached to the concept contained in the Declaration of
the Right to Development.

A development compact, if drafted, might not be different
than existing mechanisms. The Expert, meanwhile, was
suggesting international cooperation and voluntary
contributions of funds without revealing the mechanism under
which such contributions would be collected.


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20 UNICEF Master Plan of Operations 2004 UNICEF
2004.02.15 2874
19 CARITAS - APPEAL dprk -2004 CARITAS
2004.02.15 2928
18 DPR Korea Appeal No. 01.67/2003 Programme Update No. 2 IFRC
2003.12.28 2912
17 Analysis of the situation of children and women in DPRK UNICEF
2003.11.28 2948
16 Seoul to give food donations to N. Korea KOIS   2003.11.13 2890
UN CHRÀÇ ¼¼°è ÀαÇħÇØ º¸°í UN CHR   2003.11.13 3027
14 UN hails South Korean support for aid programmes in North Korea UNICEF   2003.11.13 2669
13 WFP Emergency Report No. 13 of 2003 WFP   2003.11.13 2560
12 ACT appeal DPRK Target : 835,000$ ACT   2003.11.13 2735
11 DPR Korea OCHA Situation Bulletin Feb 2003 OCHA   2003.11.13 2949
10 North Korea Urges Married Women to Bear More Babies KHN   2003.11.13 2533
9 MSF pushes for rights of fleeing North Koreans MSF   2003.11.13 2426
8 Nutritional survey of DPRK(2002) KHN
2003.11.13 2845
7 Child nutrition survey shows improvements in DPRK, but UN agencies con... KHN   2003.11.13 2390
6 Starvation lingers in impoverished North Korea AFP   2003.11.13 2558
5 North Korean economy plunging towards sub-Saharan status AFP   2003.11.13 2650
4 Lives being lost in North Korea as public health care crumbles AFP   2003.11.13 2527
3 Starving North Korea pleads for aid amid nuclear standoff KHN   2003.11.13 2588
2 Report of the Third International NGO Conference kHN   2003.11.13 2777
1 Nutrition Survey of The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1998) kHN
2003.11.13 2595

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