HIGH COMMISSIONER, RAPPORTEURS COMMENT ON SITUATIONS IN CHECHNYA, IRAN, FORMER YUGOSLAVIA, BURUNDI, RWANDA AND IRAQ

Commission on Human Rights
57th session
29 March 2001
Evening and Night



Commission on Human Rights Continues Discussion
of Question of Violations Anywhere in World



The High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Rapporteurs and Representatives gave summations this evening of situations in Chechnya, Iran, the Former Yugoslavia, Burundi, Rwanda and Iraq as the Commission on Human Rights carried on with its annual debate on the question of the violation of fundamental rights and freedoms anywhere in the world.

The agenda item, annually one of the Commission's most contentious, also was addressed by a long series of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) during the extended meeting which concluded at midnight.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, introducing a report on the state of affairs in Chechnya, said, among other things, that she was concerned about the problem of impunity, about the economic, social and cultural rights of Chechens, and about the fact that there had as yet been no significant return of displaced persons.

A Representative of the Russian Federation said the Government was aware of existing problems and decisions were being taken to solve them, but meanwhile the rebels were continuing their terrorist activities and it would be naive to think that such difficult problems could be tackled easily and without any excesses and errors.

Maurice Copithorne, Special Representative on the situation of human rights in Iran, said among other things that he was concerned about recent problems regarding freedom of expression, prosecution of journalists, and activities of the country's Revolutionary Courts and the Special Clerical Courts.

Jiri Dienstbier, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, said among other things that it would be a repetition of the old mistake if the current crisis in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was dealt with as an isolated one and not as part of the as-yet unresolved problems of the violent dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, and as a possible detonator of further violence.

A Representative of Croatia contended, as in previous years, that the country was unfairly included in the Special Rapporteur's mandate, given its human-rights performance in recent years.

Marie-Therese Keita Bocoum, Special Rapporteur on Burundi, said that until there was a cease-fire, human rights would continue to be violated, and that recently the security situation in the country had deteriorated.

Michel Moussalli, Special Representative on the human-rights situation in Rwanda, said among other things that a highly positive development had been the signing of a technical cooperation agreement between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Rwandan National Commission on Human Rights, but that to date the national Commission had yet to be perceived by the population and civil society as an independent and efficient human rights institution.

A Representative of Rwanda told the Commission that not all was perfect, but over the last three years human rights had improved notably and where small problems remained, solutions were being sought.

Andreas Mavrommatis, Special Rapporteur on the situation in Iraq, said among other things that he had continued to receive accounts of alleged arbitrary executions by the Government of Iraq and information claiming that suspects in detention were subjected to ill-treatment, psychological pressure and torture.

A Representative of Iraq responded that the real violation of human rights in Iraq was the unjust international embargo against the country which had deprived the Iraqi people of fundamental freedoms, health, and basic rights, particularly the right to live with dignity, the right to education and the right to work.

Contributing to the debate were the Russian Federation, Sweden (on behalf of the European Union), Algeria, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Croatia, Rwanda, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, Nicaragua, Albania, and Belarus, along with the following NGOs: International Association against Torture; Canadian Voice of Women for Peace; American Association of Jurists; International Pen; Human Rights Watch; Amnesty International, International Organization for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination; International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements; World Organization against Torture; American Jewish Committee; Pax Christi; International Federation of Action of Christians for the Abolition of Torture; Organization for Defending Victims of Violence; International League for Human Rights; Article 19; Asian Legal Resource Centre; Catholic Institute for International Relations; International Federation of Human Rights Leagues; International Educational Development; Baha'i International Community; International Institute for Peace; European Union of Public Relations; and International Peace Bureau.


The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Haiti, Pakistan, Spain, and the Republic of the Congo spoke in exercise of the right of reply.

The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m on Friday, 30 March to continue its debate on the question of the violation of human rights anywhere in the world. The Commission will be addressed by a number of dignitaries including United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan; Moritz Leuenberger, President of the Swiss Confederation; Jacques Chirac, President of France; Vojislav Kostunica, President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Mircea Geoana, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Romania; and Nabeel Shaath, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of the Palestinian National Authority.

Question of the violation of human rights in any part of the world

The Commission had before it under this agenda item a series of documents.

There is a report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation in the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian Federation (E/CN.4/2001/36). According to the report, allegations of continued human rights violations in Chechnya and criticisms of the authorities' response give rise to serious concern. Determined efforts need to be made to prevent unexplained disappearances and killings, to combat corruption, abuses and harassment at checkpoints.

The report recommends that an independent, wide-ranging inquiry be launched to address human rights concerns. It notes that while a number of constructive mechanisms have been put in place, none possess all the attributes which would normally be associated with an independent inquiry. The report notes as a matter of concern that there is a major gap between the large number of complaints submitted by various government agencies and bodies and the relatively small number of court proceedings.

Reports of serious human rights violations carried out by Chechen fighters against federal and local authorities and against civilians continue, according to the report. The situation regarding the economic, social and cultural rights of the Chechen people and in the region remains a matter of serious concern. There has not been any significant return of displaced persons and humanitarian agencies continue to be severely restricted in their activities, primarily because of security reasons, the report contends.

There is a report (E/CN.4/2001/39) of Special Representative Maurice Copithorne on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran which states among its conclusions that freedom of expression is in a desperate state; that the legal system, and particularly the judiciary, is in serious need of repair; that the status of minorities remains a neglected area of human rights. The Special Representative also calls attention to murders and disappearances of intellectuals and political dissidents; violence in Iranian politics; and difficulties with child rights, including the need to address a crisis in urban youth disillusionment.

There is a report (E/CN.4/2001/42) of Andreas Mavrommatis, Special Rapporteur on the human-rights situation in Iraq which, among its conclusions and recommendations, urges the Government of Iraq to permit him to visit the country and to engage in a sustained dialogue on human-rights issues; states that humanitarian concerns should be kept under constant review and necessary adjustments made to ensure that the humanitarian needs and long-term adverse effects of the embargo against Iraq are addressed and the suffering of its people alleviated; urges the Government to take more steps to assist in improving the social, economic, and cultural rights of its people, especially because of their current plight; urges the Government to approach its dialogue with the United Nations in a spirit of compromise in order that results may be forthcoming at the earliest opportunity to alleviate the tragic circumstances affecting innocent people; urges the Government to investigate and take appropriate measures to remove any restrictions on the exercise of religious freedom; calls on the Government to review and revise laws permitting the imposition of the death penalty and to consider a moratorium on executions; urges the Government to examine all allegations of violations of human rights and to take measures to ensure that all accused or suspected persons are guaranteed the rights enshrined in the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights; calls upon the Government to ensure that unjustified or excessive force is not used against civilians and inhabited places; urges the Government to investigate all allegations of unlawful arrest and torture and to take remedial action accordingly; calls upon the Government to examine carefully all allegations of forced relocations; and urges it to take all necessary measures to investigate in depth the fate of all missing persons.

There is an update by the Commission's Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Rwanda (E/CN.4/2001/45/Add.1). The report, which highlights new developments in Rwanda, states, among other things, that Rwanda is undergoing enormous changes at the moment in several important areas: decentralization and the transition to democracy, plans to draw up a new Constitution, overhauling of the justice system, the promotion of a culture of human rights, unity and reconciliation. The report notes that given the still recent conflict and persisting divisions, these are all extremely courageous steps. According to the report, the Government is walking a tightrope and will require the continued support of the donor community and of civil society in order to move forward.

And there is a report (E/CN.4/2001/47 and Add.1) by Jiri Dienstbier, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Among its findings on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is that there has been little fundamental change in the situation of human rights; that public officials and political leaders continue to perpetuate the results of past population displacements by obstructing the return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and undermining the rule of law, particularly in the area of property rights; that discriminatory practices in all areas, including employment and education, continue to flourish; that returnees find almost no prospect of normal life upon return; that insufficient attention has been paid to the needs and problems of persons belonging to vulnerable groups, many of them women, in the return process; and that it is important to reform the police and the judiciary in order to improve respect for human rights.

Among the Special Rapporteur's findings on the situation in Croatia are that it would be useful in the matter of war-crimes trials for the State judicial bodies to consult with the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia on particular cases, as it would help to reassure Serbs that unfair war-crimes trials in Croatia will no longer be the norm and as it would support the Government and judiciary in establishing criteria for fair trials; that all necessary measures should be taken to strengthen the independence and professionalism of the judiciary, particularly at the community level; that the Government should honour its international commitments and enable refugees and IDPs to repossess their apartments while at the same time ensuring that property laws are applied in a non-discriminatory way; that the Government should initiate the reform of laws governing property possession, since land and property disputes continue to impede return, reintegration and reconciliation; and that competent authorities in Croatia should use unbiased search criteria in investigating enforced disappearances, meaning that the Government should clarify the fate of ethnic Serbs who went missing during the war.

Among the Special Rapporteur's findings on the situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are that he welcomes the momentous changes in Serbia following the presidential election in the country on 24 September and urges the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serb Governments to move quickly to reform legislative and executive institutions, particularly the judiciary and the police; that the new Government should arrange for the immediate release of all Kosovo Albanian and Serb political prisoners on humanitarian and human-rights grounds; that authorities in Serbia and Montenegro should expand efforts to address the problems confronting national minorities in order to end discriminatory practices and enable all ethnic groups to participate in politics, society and the economy; that all parties involved in the ongoing crisis in the Presovo valley are encouraged to continue to act with restraint and to pursue a negotiated resolution; that one of the preconditions for a peaceful solution there is a determined effort to suppress all terrorist activities; and that all parties in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia -- Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo -- should coordinate efforts to combat trafficking in human beings in the region.

Statements

MARY ROBINSON, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, presenting her report (E/CN.4/2001/39) on the situation in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, said that during the last year she had maintained contact with the Government of the Russian Federation on the issues raised in the Commission's resolution on Chechnya. The Government had provided her Office with detailed information which had been reflected in her report. The Government had said that it was focusing its efforts on ensuring peaceful life in Chechnya. To that end, troops had been withdrawn and a civilian administration was being established. The Government was aware of existing problems and was endeavouring to restore respect for human right in Chechnya. Cases such as the mass grave in Zdorovie discovered earlier this year, less than a kilometre from the main military base in Chechnya, should be followed up and thoroughly investigated.

The High Commissioner said she was greatly concerned about the problem of impunity. She was also much concerned about the economic, social and cultural rights of the people of Chechnya. There had as yet been no significant return of displaced persons. Reliable accounts painted a sorry picture of human misery. The humanitarian situation in the region remained very serious indeed. Although the Russian authorities had allocated considerable funds to address these problems, the plight of ordinary people remained very difficult.

MAURICE COPITHORNE, Special Representative on the situation of human rights in Iran, introducing his report (E/CN.4/2001/39), said the situation in Iran with regard to the freedom of expression and of the press in particular had hardly improved in the last three months. Publications had been suspended and journalists summoned to courts. Legal process against the publications and the journalists continued. Despite a sharply worded admonition to judges by the Head of the Judiciary, judges in the Revolutionary Courts and the Special Clerical Courts appeared to make frequent use of pre-trial detention over the last three months, particularly of journalists, students, intellectuals and political dissidents. It appeared that such persons were frequently held incommunicado from their families and lawyers, with even their whereabouts being kept a secret.

There were a number of outstanding cases involving intellectuals and political dissidents. Judgement had been rendered in the case of those charged with serial killings in late 1999. There remained dissatisfaction on the part of the victims' families and others that those who ordered the killings were not in fact before the court. The recent detention of twenty-one liberal-minded activists by the Revolutionary Court was of great concern. The reform process was going through difficult times. In certain key areas, it seemed that there had not been any substantive, quantifiable improvement since President Khatami took office.

JIRI DIENSTBIER, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, introducing his report (E/CN.4/2001/47 and Add.1), said the current crisis in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was the main topic of the day, but it would be a repetition of the old mistake if the crisis was dealt with as an isolated one and not as part of the as-yet unresolved problems of the violent dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, and as a possible detonator of further violence.

Great changes in Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should be commended, and much had been done to advance democracy, and it should be appreciated that the majority of the citizens of those countries had refused in elections to endorse the authoritarian policies of the past, Mr. Dienstbier said. However, the problems inherited from the wars and from "ethnic cleansing" were far from being solved.

The attacks of armed Albanian extremists in southern Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the mounting aggression of extremists in Kosovo meanwhile demanded an urgent approach, the Special Rapporteur said, and the international community had to accept the fact that the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) had not been able to implement its tasks; the extremists had not been disarmed, Kosovo had become a haven for Mafias, up to a quarter of a million Serbs, Romas, and other non-Albanians had been expelled and their property stolen. Political attacks, threats, and assassinations intimidated moderate Kosovo Albanians. The politics of the international institutions had been based on the premise that extremists could be appeased. It was curious after the experience of Munich that this conception still existed, but in Kosovo it had not worked.

UNMIK and KFOR must finally fully implement resolution 1244 of the Security Council, Mr. Dienstbier said. If they failed, the UN, NATO, EU and other organizations would be discredited for a long time. If the violence was not stopped, it could spread to other areas, and Bulgaria and Greece had good reason to be concerned about possible extension of the conflict to their borders.

MARIE-THERESE KEITA BOCOUM, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi, introducing her report (E/CN.4/2001/44), said until there was a cease-fire, human rights would continue to be violated in Burundi. There was a gap between the factions asking for peace and the political sides striving for power. The establishment of national structures was a positive development. Some recommendations of previous reports had been followed. She urged continued negotiations, and access for humanitarian organizations. Her report also urged projects for women, and their inclusion in civil life. It recommended that the international community step up assistance that had been pledged during the Paris peace conference. It called on the internationally community to help battle HIV/AIDS.


Since January, the Special Rapporteur said, the security situation in the country had deteriorated. Acts of violence had increased, causing displaced persons. The political situation was explosive. Journalists had been harassed and imprisoned. The Government should respect its international obligations to respect for human rights and freedom of the press. Two weeks ago, negotiations had resumed, but the two rebel groups did not attend the negotiations. As a precursor to a ceasefire, they insisted on the release of political prisoners. Children, the elderly, and other innocent people died every day from famine and conflict. The people wanted to live. All concerned with the promotion of human rights should step up their efforts to try and halt the war in the region.

MICHEL MOUSSALLI, Special Representative on the human-rights situation in Rwanda (report E/CN.4/2001/42 and Add. 1), said several positive developments with respect to human rights had taken place in Rwanda. A highly positive development had been the signing of a technical cooperation agreement between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the National Commission on Human Rights, thereby opening a new chapter of cooperation. The Special Representative indicated, however that the national Commission had yet to be perceived by the entire population and civil society as an independent and efficient human rights institution. As of the end of the month, the national Commission would have a weekly radio broadcast that would enable it to publicize its activities and commence a dialogue on human rights across the country. Reports and press releases on the progress of inquiries into human rights violations would also be published regularly.

The Special Representative said the number of detainees continued to decline thanks to an increase in the number of trials, resulting in the release of 5,000 detainees last year. However, almost 110,000 people were still held in prisons and detention centres. Another positive development had been the release of children who were less than 14 at the time of their incarceration. On the whole, more than 400 minors were released in December 2000. The Special Rapporteur denounced, however, the inhumane situation reigning in detention centres and prisons, where detainees were piled up one on the other, with some dying of hunger or fatigue. The plight of women and children remained a matter of serious concern, since they were the main victims of the tragic consequences of the genocide. A positive development was the adoption of two laws aimed at better protection of women and children. In addition, a Committee on the rights of the child had been set up.

The Special Representative said that despite these considerable efforts, one sensed the underlying fear that continued to haunt the Rwandan people. That was why absolute priority had to be given to the establishment of a climate of confidence and security in the country that would enable all Rwandan citizens to resume life without fear of the morrow.

ANDREAS MAVROMMATIS, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iraq, introducing his report (E/CN.4/2001/42), said he had continued to receive accounts of alleged arbitrary executions by the Government of Iraq and information claiming that suspects in detention were subjected to ill-treatment, psychological pressure and torture during questioning. Other sources had claimed that men and women, including minors, were arrested and detained on suspicion of political or religious activities perceived as hostile to the regime, or simply because of family ties with members of the opposition, other activists and armed resisters.

The Special Rapporteur also received a few communications regarding alleged executions of prostitutes by the Government of Iraq. Some sources also claimed that the judiciary was subjected to pressure from the ruling party when dealing with specific cases. Allegedly, certain categories of accused persons were denied due process of law. The Special Rapporteur also received detailed information on what was alleged to be a policy of Arabization of the Kirkuk area and other mainly Kurdish inhabited areas controlled by the Government of Iraq.

The Special Rapporteur was of the view that the oil-and-food programme and other humanitarian assistance programmes were a short-term response to the dramatic situation of people who did not deserve the suffering unintentionally inflicted on them.

OLEG MALGUINOV (the Russian Federation) said his country remained committed to the idea that the human rights situation in a given country could be a subject of concern to the international community. Nevertheless, it had always stated true progress in the area of human rights could only be achieved through the development of dialogue and cooperation even in the most complex situations. It was also a well-known fact that attempts to exert pressure produced the opposite result and usually had nothing to do with concerns for the improvement of the human rights situation. Russia still did not consider itself bound by the provisions of last year's Commission on Human Rights resolution.

Nevertheless, Russia had demonstrated unprecedented openness and readiness for a dialogue with regard to the situation in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation. It believed that the report presented today did not fully take into consideration the significant positive efforts made by the Government. It was important that the local authorities and the population play a more and more active role in implementing concrete measures aimed at normalizing the situation in the Chechen Republic. This was applicable to the social and economic sphere, as well as to the activities of the law-enforcement and judicial bodies. It was precisely these issues that were discussed today during a meeting between the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Putin, and the Head of the Administration of the Chechen Republic, Mr. Kadyrov. It would be naive to think that such difficult problems could be tackled easily and without any excesses and errors. Moreover, the rebels were continuing their terrorist activities in order to spread fear among the local population and to impede the gradual return of the Republic to normal life.

The Russian leadership was aware of all existing problems and decisions were being taken to solve them. The Russian Federation had not refused to cooperate closely with international institution: a joint meeting on questions related to the normalization of the situation in the Chechen Republic with representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was held on 21 March in the State Duma, and a meeting of the Working Group on providing humanitarian assistance to the Chechen Republic was held on 27 March. The Working Group included Representatives of UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, ECHO and the ICRC.

JOHAN MOLANDER (Sweden), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the EU's duty was not only to explain its position on specific situations. It pledged to engage and assist those who tried to improve respect for human rights anywhere. It urged all Governments to cooperate with UN human rights rapporteurs and representatives with mandates to address specific situations. It called on all Governments to allow visits to their countries by the relevant UN human rights mechanisms. It believed that such cooperation would contribute to the full achievement of the common goal -- the elimination of all human rights violations in all parts of the world. The members of the EU were, for their part, ready to cooperate with the human rights mechanisms and prepared to receive them. The EU was committed to the respect and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Amsterdam Treaty made human rights a core element in its Common Foreign and Security Policy. This policy was pursued through a cooperation and dialogue in bilateral contacts with third countries and within the UN and other multilateral fora. The EU published a report about its activities in the human rights field annually.

A strongly held policy view of the EU was that the abolition of the death penalty enhanced human dignity and contributed to the progressive development of human rights. Over the years, more and more countries had chosen to abolish, in law or in practice, this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It had often required bold and courageous decisions by the countries' political leaders. The EU called on those States which still retained the death penalty to restrict its use, apply it only in strict conformity with international standards and move towards its abolition. The EU sought support for initiatives on human-rights situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Burma/Myanmar, Sudan, the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian Federation, East Timor and Colombia.

MOHAMED-SALAH DEMBRI (Algeria) said the European Union (EU) had no right to be the judge of the world. The EU had enumerated many violations of human rights across the world, except in its Member States and candidate countries. This despite the fact that human rights violations were committed within member countries and candidates to join the EU. These violations included, among others, discrimination against national minorities and immigrants; torture of detained persons; violence against immigrants; violations of the rights of the child, with 20 per cent of children within the EU suffering social exclusion, sexual abuse, physical violence and discrimination.

The Roma minority continued to be subjected to social and economic discrimination in many European countries. In Romania, 100,000 orphans were confined to institutions where they did not receive sufficient assistance. In many member countries, the Roma continued to suffer social and economic discrimination. An apartheid policy was practised in Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Greece and the Baltic countries. Hungarian, Albanian, German, Russian, Croatian and Swedish minorities were denied citizenship in various countries of central and eastern Europe. Sterilization of disabled people had been practiced for decades in Scandinavia. Extremist parties advocating racism, intolerance and xenophobia had been legalized in some European countries. In Northern Ireland, those suspected of conducting political activities were systematically detained

KOICHI HARAGUCHI (Japan) said there was a shared belief that human rights were universal. However, Japan also considered it very important to recognize that when it came to individual cases there existed different approaches to addressing the issue of human rights, reflecting each country's history, culture, and tradition, as well as its stage of economic development. This meant that when human rights were addressed in specific countries, it must be done with full awareness of the extremely complicated and subtle nature of the matter. It went without saying that human rights abuses should never be tolerated, especially those that were deliberate and entrenched. They could only be condemned. In some cases, gross abuses of human rights were brought before the world's eyes through the bold efforts of the media. This was somewhat negatively known as the CNN effect, but it influenced the human rights situation tremendously through vivid and timely exposure of human rights abuses to the international community.


In addressing the human rights situations of specific countries, it was vital that the Commission base itself not only on the vigour of its intent to improve the situation, but also on humility and sincerity. If human rights violations were found to be grave and serious, then there should be no hesitation in raising the matter. If, on the other hand, experience had taught that it took reasonable time to ameliorate a situation due to various constraints, then the international community should advise and encourage the Government in question on how to meet internationally accepted standards and, in the course of it, possibly extend relevant technical cooperation. It went without saying that the Government in question should never use these constraints as an easy pretext to justify any negligence to improve the human rights situation in its country. Once the Government in question determined on its own to comply with international standards, the international community would find it easy to assist it. Instead of deploring how far a country had to go, it would rather commend how far it had come, so long as it had come forward at all. A good mixture of these methods of commendation, cooperation and criticism, was the key to a realistic and constructive outcome.

KYUNG-SEO PARK (the Republic of Korea) said despite progress made by the international community in the field of human rights, serious human rights violations such as torture, abduction, extra-judicial execution, and racial discrimination persisted in many corners of the world. The Republic of Korea was particularly concerned about large-scale systematic human rights violations in conflict-ridden regions. Acts that infringed upon human dignity could not be justified on any grounds whether tribal, racial, cultural or religious.

The global trend towards the promotion of democracy and human rights around the world had yet to impact repressive regimes that defied the times. These regimes continued to commit flagrant human rights violations, making illegal arrests and detentions, denying their people the right to a fair trial, controlling information and thoughts and restricting freedom of movement. In this new Millennium, the human rights of vulnerable groups such as women, children, the disabled and refugees should receive particular consideration. In many parts of the world, women and girls were still subjected to violence, discrimination and other forms of systematic human rights violations. They continued to be victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation.

SPOMENKA CEK (Croatia) said her country did not feel the report of the Special Rapporteur as it referred to Croatia was accurate or fair, and the Commission's automatic renewal of the Special Rapporteur's mandate every year, without taking into account the creditable human-rights situation in Croatia and the progress made over the past nine years of the mandate, was appropriate. During the post-war period, and especially in the past year, the human rights situation in the Republic of Croatia had undergone significant changes that had not been reflected in various reports by international bodies. It was significant that the Council of Europe had decided to terminate its monitoring of human rights situation in Croatia, having evaluated positively the improvements made. The Government of Croatia was therefore seriously concerned and surprised that the report of the Special Rapporteur did not at all share the position of other international monitors.

The Government was well aware of the regional dimension of the process of the return of refugees, but did not share the opinion that the human rights of the returnees could only be protected by a regional approach. The complete resolving of the issue of return did not lie in the good will of the Government to promote it, but in objective obstacles of an economic nature to sustain it. For this reason, Croatia believed that the mandate of the Special Rapporteur could no longer bring a concrete contribution to the solution of the problem. Human rights were individual and their protectors or violators must be defined individually. As any other country throughout the world, Croatia still faced challenges in implementing policies for the protection of human rights. But the Government was firm in its intention to accept and implement the highest standards for their promotion and protection.

JEAN DE DIEU MUCYO (Rwanda) said since 1997, the Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights had had a mandate to carry out three missions: make recommendations to improve human rights; help craft a national human rights commission; and make recommendations on the situation that would help in providing technical assistance. This mandate was established following a period of genocide and massacres. Rwanda had just learned that the Special Rapporteur would not seek another term -- and it thanked him for his professionalism, competence and transparency. In the last three years, human rights had improved notably. Of course, not all was perfect, but where small problems remained, solutions were being sought. Rwanda did not see any need to extend the mandate of the Special Representative.

Rwanda had annually taken into account the recommendations of the Commission and it requested the Commission take into account the recent positive developments in the country. Repeated systematic violations no longer existed. Rwanda was committed to democracy and human rights.

ANDREAS MAVROMMATIS (Iraq) said the real violation of human rights in Iraq was the unjust embargo which had deprived the Iraqi people of fundamental freedoms and basic rights, particularly the right to live with dignity, the right to education and the right to work. The suffering because of the embargo had caused damage to the social fabric of the country. The Special Rapporteur saw how the people were suffering. The Secretary-General's report to the Security Council expressed concern about the humanitarian situation, and Iraq wished that greater importance would have been given to that in the Special Rapporteur's report.

There was talk about the sources of human rights violations in Iraq -- the sources were criminals who had fled to neighbouring countries, who had fled justice, people who had raped, killed and stolen. They were funded by the American intelligence services and various neighbours which wanted to destabilize Iraq. The previous US administration had devoted US$97 million to changing the national regime in Iraq, violating the UN charter. That act and the terrorist and criminal acts were linked. The Special Rapporteur should pay closer attention to his sources of information, and what interests those sources represented. Many of the allegations were false and spurious. As for the death penalty, the allegations were unfounded, because there must be statistics, and yet no evidence was offered. As for the judiciary and special conditions, there were cases that came under special courts. As for missing Kuwaitis, Iraq had answered the Rapporteur's points on this, and was ready to attend meetings about people lost on the Kuwaiti side. There were 1,052 Iraqis missing, and their families had a right to know what happened to them. Iraq would cooperate with all those of good will, who entered into dialogue without political slant or bias.

NEVINE EL HUSSINI (Egypt) said that one of the most serious violations of human rights under consideration by the Commission was the violation of the rights of the Palestinian people by Israel since September 2000. The lack of objectivity in the Commission tended to undermine its credibility. There were many examples of selectivity in applying human rights rules. Credibility depended on justice and justice was incompatible with double standards.


This session was approaching the situation of Palestinians in a manner that called the credibility of the Commission into question. Political motivations should not lead to politicization of the work of the Commission and Egypt regretted to see cultural imperialism in the Commission's deliberations. It rejected the targeting of Islamic States which were subject to unfounded condemnations which did not take into account their cultural traditions.

ABDELAZIZ ATTIAT ALLAH AL-KHALIFA (Bahrain) said as countries and peoples became more interdependent, it was necessary to establish an international environment. Strengthening and protecting human rights was linked to security, stability and prosperity. The security and prosperity of peoples and nations were rights and basic duties of the international community. Bahrain was proud of its achievements. The initiatives and efforts of the ruler of the country formed the very basis for cooperation.

Bahraini citizens had taken part in a referendum on a draft national labour charter in February. The charter had been supported by over 90 per cent of the people, and turnout was over 90 per cent of those eligible to vote. The new charter was a symbol of unity. It contained Constitutional rights and guarantees. It had an agreement that called for a legislative mechanism with two chambers. Many prisoners who had been arrested on charges of national security had been amnestied. A Supreme Judiciary Council had been set up in 2000. There were more than 200 NGOs active in Bahrain. And Bahrain had acceded t various international human rights conventions, and with a national charter, could now accede to other treaties in the field of human rights.

LUIZ ZUNIGA (Nicaragua) said lies got nowhere. Article 5 of the Cuban Constitution granted the Communist party absolute power over the country. It had ruled for over 40 years without allowing the people any other alternative. It had sole ownership of all forms of media. Radio, television and newspapers were mere instruments of propaganda and the personality cult of Fidel Castro. What atrocities were committed to the people in the name of socialism? Courts were subordinate to the Assembly of Popular Power, which was subordinate to Communist power. One of the primary objectives of the courts was to safeguard the political regime. The courts punished citizens who protested.

Cubans lived under terror. Everyone was afraid. The wall of execution was always ready to guarantee the permanence in power of those who for 42 years had been wielding it. The prisons were a horror similar to living a constant death -- sealed, dark prison cells, overcrowding, insects, disease, hunger, beatings and suicides. Completing the schema of terror were the paramilitary forces known as the Rapid Response Brigades which, as the name implied, appeared rapidly at any public protest or show of discontent to beat and attack with total impunity. The restrictions and controls over the people of Cuba made for an unending list.

KSENOFON KRISAFI (Albania) said the statement of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia raised feelings of horror over the situation in Kosovo and its surrounding area. Moreover, it seemed that the Rapporteur tried to generate a phobia towards Albanians by blaspheming them with many epithets such as terrorists, bandits, mafiosi and war-wagers. With his presentations he created the impression that the situation in Kosovo was much better during the first half of 1999, when thousands of Kosovars were brutally killed, disappeared, cast alive into furnaces and when half of the population was driven from its homeland.


In regard to the crisis in the Presevo Valley, it was regrettable that the report of the Special Rapporteur described Albanians as the only source of conflict. The real reason for the violence in the region was the anti-Albanian polices followed historically by the Serb regimes.

VLADIMIR MALEVICH (Belarus) said human rights were one of the most important values of civilization. Belarus condemned mass violations of human rights wherever they occurred. In Belarus, there was a need to set up a whole new system of human-rights protection. The country was improving its national legislation at an ever-increasing rate. New criminal codes were being established, and were designed to protect human rights. Jurists said the codes were compatible with those of leading European States.

The creation of national human rights institutions was one of the most significant international trends. An Ombudsman's office had been established in Belarus, and being considered by the current session of Parliament was a plan to establish a national human rights commission. In October 2000, Belarus had been visited by hundreds of international observers who followed the Parliamentary elections. Those independent observers described the elections as just and democratic. In 2001, there would be presidential elections -- it would be the first time a president had stood for re-election. The new electoral code guaranteed transparency at every stage of the process.

ROGER WAREHAM, of International Association Against Torture, said last August the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed its concern that racist attacks and harassment were continuing and ethnic minorities were feeling increasingly vulnerable in the UK. CERD also expressed concern about institutional racism within the police force and other public institutions, which resulted in serious shortcomings with regard to investigations of racist incidents.

And CERD expressed concern about the disproportionate number of deaths of blacks while in police custody; increasing racial tension against asylum seekers, high levels of unemployment among ethnic minority groups; bullying of a racist nature in schools; and a disproportionate number of excluded students along racial lines. Since August 2000, the racial climate in the UK had become more tense.

MARGARITA PAPANDREOU, of Canadian Voice for Women of Peace, said the women of Iraq could not speak. An embargo had been put not only on their voices, but also on their lives. Until this international sentence was lifted, women from every corner of the world would speak for them. Wasn't it ironic and abominable that from the United Nations came resolutions containing the recipe for atrocities being inflicted gratuitously upon others, and in particular on women and children? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights spoke of the right to life. What life? Infant mortality rates in Iraq today were among the highest in the world. Low infant birth weight affected at least 23 per cent of all births, chronic malnutrition affected every fourth child under five, and only 41 per cent of the population had regular access to clean water.

There were tortured faces of mothers sitting by the hospital beds of their dying children because medicines that could save them were not available. The ICRC stated that Iraq's health care system today was in a decrepit state. This was a terrible punishment for the women of Iraq. The acute shortage of basic food and medicines, as well as their soaring prices, had triggered a nearly 550 per cent increase since 1990 in the mortality rate of children under the age of five. Civilian infrastructure destroyed by the bombings of 1991 remained essentially unchanged and 83 per cent of all schools were in need of substantial repairs. The sanctions had managed to create a weak economy, physically debilitated people and three societal problems practically unheard of in pre-war Iraq -- crime, unemployment and prostitution. Given the appalling record of human suffering caused by the United States-led economic sanctions against Iraq, condemnation of human rights violations by the Commission could be the spark that would signal the beginning of the end. The embargo on Iraq should end immediately.

JAIRO SANCHEZ, of American Association of Jurists, said the AAJ appreciated the positive measures taken by the Government of Peru but called upon it to release those who had been arbitrarily arrested. The Association welcomed the decision of an Argentinean judge who declared unconstitutional laws which sanctioned the impunity of the majority of military members who were accused of serious human rights violations during the military dictatorship.

The situation in Colombia was worsening, with massacres and assassinations being perpetrated by criminal gangs. In Guatemala, six lawyers had been assassinated in October 2000. The Association called upon the United States to review its electoral system so that democratic and multiparty elections could be held in that country. The Association also called upon the United States to institute a penal justice system for minors; accede to the numerous international human rights instruments to which it was not party; withdraw its reservations to the Protocol on Civil and Political Rights; and respect the Kyoto Protocol on the environment.

FAUZIA ASSAAD, of International PEN, said recent months had brought good news as a number of prominent writers who had been detained for considerable periods for the practice of their profession in various countries had been released. However, PEN's Writers in Prison Committee, which monitored attacks on writers worldwide, had over 700 cases on its records in over 90 countries. It had also noted an alarming increase in the number of detained writers, up over 20 per cent in 2000 compared with previous years.

Therefore, PEN's delight at the release of writers in Cuba, Turkey, Yugoslavia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru and Syria was tempered by the fact that some of the same countries continued to hold writers in prison. International PEN called on all States where writers and journalists were detained to review legislation allowing for imprisonment, and to release all those currently imprisoned for practice of their rights as guaranteed under Article 19 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights.

MR. SULLEYMAN, of Human Rights Watch, said that although military clashes in Chechnya had ended in the spring of 2000, civilians continued to face daily risk of torture, disappearance and summary execution at the hands of federal forces. HRW's most recent fact-finding mission to the region had found that federal soldiers and police arbitrarily detained men and women, frequently looted and burned homes, and took detainees to unacceptable holding places. There had been a growing number of disappearances, and despite its promises, the Russian Government had done little to sincerely investigate war crimes and other abuses committed by Russian forces in Chechnya. One year after the Commission's resolution on the matter, it was clear that the Russian Government had blatantly defied the Commission and the Commission's recommendations.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo an end to the combat had not erased the wrongs done to the civilian population; the Lusaka accords provided for justice for militia and members of armed opposition groups who had committed human-rights violations, but did not provide for prosecution of Government troops who did so. There should be no impunity, and the Commission should call for an increase in the MONUC observer force.

YVONNE TERLINEN, of Amnesty International, urged the Commission to focus on grave and persistent human rights violations committed in Colombia, Indonesia, the Russian Federation in Chechnya, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone and Togo. In these countries, impunity was a prime concern. Faced with reports of massive violations of human rights, the Commission adopted last year its resolution on Chechnya. During the last year, dozens of civilians had been extrajudicially executed. Men, women and children had been tortured in "filtration camps." Over 1,000 had disappeared. The Government had established three national bodies to deal with violations of human rights and criminal law. The results of their efforts to date had been deeply disappointing. Membership in the Security Council did not exonerate a State from its obligations to protect human rights, or permit a State to ignore a resolution by the Commission.

In Sierra Leone, the UN had taken another important initiative to end impunity by deciding to establish a Special Court for the country composed of international and national judges. The court should play a major role in re-establishing and assisting an effective national judicial system that had been destroyed as a result of protracted armed conflict. The system should have jurisdiction over crimes committed during the last 10 years. Moreover, the independence and impartiality of its prosecution policy must be guaranteed. The Commission must ensure that the Special Court was of high quality and obtained all necessary support.

H. SHARFELDDIN, of International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, said human rights should be applied equally throughout the world, and any State inclined by power and selfish interests that carelessly tampered with this standard of equality should be stopped. Over the years the Security Council had been able to resolve many conflicts and to avert a number of possible wars. But in recent years it had been hindered by the American veto which reflected American ambition and arrogance. The veto in fact could be applied by five States who had special veto power, and this would not be so objectionable in cases of a simple majority, but the US had used its veto several times to scuttle consensus resolutions.

All those concerned about the fate of the planet felt that American foreign policy had become one of double standards, especially in highly critical regions such as the Middle East. The balance of power on the Security Council should be re-established. If a consensus resolution was vetoed, the veto should be referred to the International Court of Justice for examination of its justification and a ruling on whether or not it was acceptable. The Commission should pass a resolution to this effect.

PIERRE MIOT, of the International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements, said the history of human rights went along with the struggles of humankind. Throughout the world, rights were violated, and there were struggles to have them respected. The question of land reform was on the agenda in a great many countries. Carried out correctly, it could be a great help in battling poverty. In the Great Lakes region in Africa, this was a problem that often led to disputes. The tiny plots held by many families were inadequate to meet food needs. It was a very large part of the tragic conflict that had plunged the region into bloodshed in 1994.

In Brazil, the agrarian reform carried out had not met with the expected results. The Government had shifted its responsibilities to the major land owners, who could sell off their resources at the highest prices. Peasants were subjected to violence such as imprisonment, murder and torture. The international community should denounce the impunity enjoyed by those who carried out these crimes. Brazil should guarantee poor families land and life.


ANNE-LAURENCE LACROIX, of International Organization Against Torture, said the response of Russian authorities to a call by the Commission to establish a national commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of human rights violations in Chechnya had been inadequate. The Commission should vigorously condemn the serious violations of human rights in Chechnya by Russian troops and condemn the impunity of those responsible for the crimes.

In Algeria, recent assassinations and massacres of civilians and members of the security forces and armed militia by the State and armed groups showed that human rights violations persisted in that country. Those who had committed violations since 1992 continued to enjoy impunity. The recruitment and use of child soldiers in Sierra Leone was another matter of concern. In Mexico, deficiencies in the administration of justice resulted in impunity for perpetrators of torture, forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions, in the disregard of the victims' right to compensation.

DAVID A. HARRIS, of American Jewish Committee, said it was clear that the situation of human rights in Iran had deteriorated over the course of the past year. Abuses of human rights could be identified in a number of areas, including extrajudicial executions of dissidents, killing or imprisonment of journalists, violations of religious freedom, and the persecution and disappearance of members of minority groups. The Iranian Government had been responsible for the extrajudicial murders of intellectuals, students and political dissidents alike, and these killings continued unabated. While the Iranian authorities' lack of cooperation had prevented any precise numbers, it had been estimated by knowledgeable sources that in the first six months of 2000, there were over 130 such executions. There were reports that numerous journalists and editors had been intimidated or imprisoned, several of whom now faced the death penalty. Why were the Iranian officials so fearful of a free press?

Religious minorities in Iran were consistently persecuted, and detention and executions were often based solely upon the religion of the victim. The Baha'is remained unrecognized as a religious group by the State. They were prevented from practising or teaching their religion, attending university, serving in the army or judiciary, or from taking many other jobs. The high number of disappearances that occurred within Iran was a major cause of concern. For example, between 1994 and 1997, 11 Iranian Jews aged between 22 and 64 had been reported missing. They had disappeared without a trace while trying to leave Iran. The Iranian people were the heirs and trustees of one of the world's great civilizations. They deserved better than the intolerance and repression that limited many of their most basic freedoms. The present regime deserved the reproach and condemnation of the international community.

JULIA STUCKEY, of Pax Christi International, said that the organization hoped that the planned disengagement of troops from Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Uganda and Rwanda would be achieved, leading to a relocation of defense positions and the deployment of MONUC monitoring teams and subsequently to a complete withdrawal of foreign troops. The inner-Congolese dialogue was still far from being achieved. Neither were there improvements in the situation of human rights.

For achieving a preventive human rights policy, the peace process and the future of the country, the inner-Congolese dialogue was essential. Political dialogue and reconciliation were impossible without freedom of expression and a functioning independent judicial system. The dimension of suffering in the ongoing war in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was unequalled by any other at this time. Even if a ceasefire was achieved, a state of justice and peace could only result from a long process which depended on the good will of the warring parties and the Congolese themselves, along with greater international attention.

ANNE LE TALLEC, of International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture, said there were serious violations in Togo and Cameroon. A Commission of Inquiry into the situation in Togo had said there was torture, rape, and executions. The Prime Minister of Togo had declared the report inadmissible, describing it as a political ploy intended to discredit the Government. This dictatorship had lasted for 34 years. The report called for a Special Rapporteur on the situation there, and the Commission should appoint one.

In Cameroon, the disappearance of nine young people had given rise to lively demonstrations. These people were suspected of stealing a gas canister. They were taken and executed, and their bodies were burned with acid, according to witnesses. The nine executions showed the cruel methods used by the President to keep the province in order. A list of 400 people executed by the special forces cited in an interview last year had simply grown. The Commission should set up a commission of inquiry so that there could be justice for the victims.

YADOLLAH MOHAMMADI TEHRANI, of Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, said that in Afghanistan deplorable violations against the Shia Muslims amounted to regrettable discrimination and ill treatment. The destruction of the Buddha statues in the country deserved special attention from the Commission. In Iraq human rights violations against the Kurds included mass-expulsion, forced disappearances, burning of houses and destruction of the essentials of life. During 2000, the international community had witnessed gross violations of human rights in the occupied territories that had started when the Israeli army opened fire on Muslim worshippers and killed them in September 2000. During this period and afterwards, more than 390 people had been killed and thousands injured.

It was deplorable that Turkey continued refuse to seek a peaceful solution to the problem of Kurd minorities in the country and continued to deny identity for ethnic minorities. It was also regrettable that some cases of human rights violations took place in Europe, including ill-treatment against national and foreign minorities, especially discrimination against Roma. The problem of Islamophobia must also be taken into greater consideration by the Commission.

SERGEI KOVALYOV, of International League for Human Rights, said by the spring of 2000, large-scale fighting in Chechnya was finished. However, military actions continued to this day, although they had taken on the nature of a guerilla war. Both sides to the conflict did not want to pay attention to the danger they created for the civilian population. Moreover, it was precisely the civilian population which very often was targeted for attacks. Some of the Chechen fighters were involved in terrorizing the civilian population located in the regions adjacent to Chechnya. However, in response to the attacks by Chechen fighters, federal forces were terrorizing the civilian population, too. Worse, the scale of this terror was increasing.

The discovery of a mass grave of victims of summary executions near the main Russian military base had been widely publicized. Many of the bodies had the marks of torture. According to official information, there were a total of 51 bodies in the grave. A memorial society had the names of 17 identified persons, including four women. All of them were detained not during combat but during cleansing operations and at check points. The dead bodies were irrefutable evidence of war crimes committed by federal forces. Similar mass graves were also discovered in Chechnya. The Commission should establish an international commission to monitor the investigation of crimes committed there. It should urge Russia to fully implement all provisions of the Commission's resolution of last year, and urge Russia to allow the immediate return of the OSCE advisory and monitoring mission to Grozny.

JAN BAUER, of Article 19, said that there had been a dramatic decline in respect for freedom of expression in Zimbabwe over the past two years. The escalating anti-independent press rhetoric was a matter of serious concern, particularly in the context of the growing number of physical attacks against journalists and media outlets. The Government had consistently refused to relinquish its monopoly over broadcasting, despite a ruling by the Supreme Court that this monopoly was in breach of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. The attacks on the media were part of a larger democratic crisis facing Zimbabwe, including attempts to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

In Belarus, the situation regarding freedom of expression , particularly for the independent print media, continued to deteriorate. The repressive 1995 Law on Press and other Mass Media was actively applied, primarily against the independent media. At the same time, the Government had plans to introduce an even more repressive law which would extend its powers to control and sanction the independent media.

TINA JOHANNESEN, of Asian Legal Resource Centre, said recently the attorney general of India had said that caste-based discrimination in India persisted and was pervasive and that strong, effective measures were needed to stamp it out. The admission of the evil nature of caste was not new. In any form of discrimination, be it slavery or apartheid, the liberation of the victims rested with the opportunities provided to them to participate in their own empowerment. The most important aspect of any form of empowerment was freedom of speech, by which victims could describe their experiences. Like every other case of discrimination. silencing the victim was the worst aspect as it deprived the victim of the capacity to escape from his oppression.

On 25 October 2000, 26 Tamil people from a rehabilitation detention centre had been brutally massacred in Sri Lanka in the early hours. Despite an early attempt to portray this as the spontaneous act of a mob, it was later revealed that it was a well-planned act done for some political purpose. The National Human Rights Commission found that about 60 armed police officers present at the site of the crime had done nothing to prevent the massacre, and even had shot twice at the detainees. This massacre was clearly a crime against humanity. In Cambodia, the killing of alleged criminals by vigilantes on the streets had become a frequent practice. From June to December 2000, there were 10 such killings around Phnom Penh. These incidents were not accidental, but the product of a legal system that had proved itself incapable of dispensing justice objectively and a police force willing to incite violence as a rough substitute for the dispensation of legal justice.

KIRSTY SWORD GUSMAO, of Catholic Institute for International Relations, said she spoke on behalf of the Dos Santos family from the southern coast of East Timor. This family's 15-year-old daughter had been kidnapped and taken across the border into Indonesian West Timor during the height of the militia violence which followed East Timor's popular consultation in August 1999. The girl lived in a state of captivity and was prevented from meeting or talking to anyone beyond the immediate circle of the militia who kidnapped her.


The Commission was called upon to press for the independently monitored processing and return of East Timorese refugees held in West Timor against their will, with particular attention and sensitivity addressed to women and children and victims of sexual violence. It was also essential to establish promptly a war-crimes tribunal to prosecute perpetrators of crimes against humanitarian law in East Timor.

JOSE NDJEMOTI, of International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, said the Commission should react to human rights violations in Brazzaville, China, Iran, Chechnya, Algeria and Tunisia. The authorities that held territory in Congo treated human rights defenders as enemies, and the cease-fire agreed to there could not be implemented. Joseph Kabila had come to power, and that was supposed to open things up, but nothing had changed. In China, the authorities would not enter into a dialogue. There was impunity for the families of the 1989 massacre. Far too often, people who were supposed to be released from detention simply had it extended.

The Iranian League of Human Rights last year said 20 newspapers and magazines had been suspended, and journalists had been jailed. Dozens of students had been condemned for an attack by security forces, while the security forces were acquitted. In Chechnya, the military and police forces were violating human rights to such an extent that the situation amounted to crimes against humanity. Those who carried out such crimes remained unpunished. In Algeria, there was political violence -- civilians were murdered in the worst possible manner. The problem was so vast it was constantly underestimated.

KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said that its 2000 report listed 36 wars. All but three of the situations currently addressed by the Commission under this agenda item had arisen in the context of war or the aftermath of war. Concern had to be expressed about the weaponry with which the wars were fought. Depleted uranium (DU) was first used by US and UK forces during military operations against Iraq. Now this weaponry had been used in other armed conflicts, most notably in 1998 against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Studies showed that eight years after the Gulf War, DU was found in the urine of US Gulf War veterans and Iraqi civilians. In the body it was carried by blood to all body tissues and caused conditions such as kidney disease, immune deficiency conditions, bone cancer, leukaemia and muscle weakness. It attacked the reproductive system and caused birth defects. The Commission was requested to call for a moratorium on this terrifying weapon. It should address ways to ensure that the victims of this and other illegal weapons received the medical care they needed and other forms of redress.

TECHESTE AHDEROM, of Baha'i International, said the relentless persecution of the Baha'is in Iran was still a fact of life, and although it would be correct to say that there had been some improvement since the last session of the Commission -- some prisoners had been released, two death sentences had been commuted, and measures had been taken by the Government which helped make it possible for married Baha'i couples to be registered as husband and wife --persecutions, deprivations and sufferings remained every day, as they had for the past 21 years. Throughout those years, the persecution had taken all possible forms, ranging from death sentences and imprisonment to a wide range of deprivations, including the of rights to work, education and inheritance, not to mention the right to profess one's belief.

Seven Baha'is were still in prison, and two of them were under death sentences. The charges brought against all prisoners were clearly and solely based on the fact that they were members of the Baha'i community. After his visit to Iran in 1996, the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance specified a comprehensive set of measures that the Government should take to remedy the situation of the Baha'is. One such measure was the re-establishment of the Baha'i institutions, which was particularly critical, as they constituted the core around which Baha'i community life revolved. It was regrettable to reiterate that a systematic pattern of persecution remained, and that needed to be addressed. Until the Baha'i community was granted legal protection, their situation would remain precarious. Continued monitoring by the UN, and the Commission especially, was a vitally important source of protection for this community.

M. A. HASSAN, of International Institute for Peace, said perhaps the greatest death, violence and exodus that experienced in the last century involved the Jewish minorities living in Europe. And perhaps, next to it, the greatest violence to humanity occurred in Bangladesh in 1971. There had been systematic genocide, wanton killing, rape, looting and arson carried out by Pakistani perpetrators. The perpetrators used to consider the Hindus among the Bengalis to be as Jews had been to the Nazis -- scum and vermin. They had tried to annihilate all Hindus from the soil.

In 1971, the Pakistani military junta and its collaborators had systematically exterminated Bengalis, both Muslim and Hindu, just because of their religion and race. There were also mass rapes of women in Bangladesh in 1971. They had undergone sexual slavery and extreme physical and psychological trauma. Because these human rights violations had not been properly addressed, the country had been submerged in lawlessness. Common people felt that their right to justice and truth had been denied.

SAMINA KABIR, of European Union of Public Relations, said doubtless anyone could be aware of what was going on in Afghanistan, and what women there were going through. Afghanistan continued to be the land of the most tragic and the most shameful humanitarian disaster. It was a country where savage rulers did not consider women to be human beings, a country which had been torn into pieces, where music, film, cinema, sports and other recreational activities had been banned for all, including children. It was a country where many fathers and mothers were selling their sons and daughters because they could not feed them. Many women had been forced into beggary and prostitution because they had two options -- either death from hunger or to go to those painful occupations. It was a country which had been economically, politically, socially and culturally destroyed first by Russian-backed parties, and then by fundamentalist gangs such as the Taliban.

It was impossible to portray a realistic picture of Afghanistan in any concrete form Perhaps no depiction in words or in pictures could convey the grief, the pain, the despair and the humiliation of the Afghan people, especially the women. There had been no lack of analyses, discussions and suggested solutions. But unfortunately, for some reason, the domination of the fundamentalists as the root cause of all Afghan ills after the overthrow of the Soviet-puppet regime in 1992 had always been carefully circumvented. The realization of the simple fact that only with the elimination of fundamentalism as a military and political factor could there be any meaningful talk of peace, security, human rights, women's rights, democracy, progress and civilization in Afghanistan seemed overly difficult for governments and world bodies to comprehend.

JUNSEI TERASAWA, of International Peace Bureau, said the situation in Chechnya had deteriorated since the last session of the Commission. Grim evidence of successive war crimes continued to be uncovered from recently discovered mass graves. Lawlessness and brutal negligence of international principles had been present from the outset of the war.

Chechnya had become a killing field of racial hatred and revenge. The war was politically designed, as an act of national punishment and ultimately national extermination, with unrestricted violence against civilians. In the future history of this time, the ruins of Grozny and Chechnya might be remembered as a shameful monument to a 21st century Holocaust.

Rights of reply

Speaking in right of reply, a Representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea said it was unfortunate that the EU Representative had made an allegation against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It was unsubstantiated. Almost all European States had diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The EU never criticized itself or its allies. That was why their allegations attracted no one's attention. The EU should be objective.

A Representative of Haiti, speaking in right of reply, said in response to the reference to Haiti in the statement of the European Union that the Government of Haiti had made considerable efforts to calm the social and political situation in the country. The Government believed that only dialogue and cooperation could resolve the political crisis.

A Representative of Pakistan, exercising the right of reply, said it was unfortunate that the EU took part in finger pointing and name calling. Charity began at home. For the EU to make its statement credible, it should have noted violations in its member countries. The EU did not comprehend the situation in Pakistan. Numerous initiatives had been undertaken there to improve human rights, and the practice of honour killings had been condemned at the highest levels of the Government. The EU statement was partial and biased. The EU would be well-advised to pool its wisdom to combat mad cow and foot-and-mouth disease. The EU to fully investigate these problems.

A Representative of Spain, speaking in right of reply, referred to the statement made by Algeria about human rights violations in the European Union, including Spain. The Basque and Catalan regions enjoyed autonomy enshrined in the Spanish Constitution and he was surprised at the Algerian Representative's choice of the El Egido incident as an example of Spanish reality. The latter incident was an outbreak of racism and xenophobia in a particular rural context and the perpetrators had been prosecuted and punished.

A Representative of the Republic of Congo, in a right of reply, said a few minutes ago an NGO had talked about the Congo. Where had FIDH got its information if the negotiations referred to were a confidential procedure?




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