HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HEARS STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS FROM GABON, IRAN, SLOVAKIA, YEMEN AND EGYPT

The Human Rights Council this afternoon continued its High-Level Segment, hearing statements by Ministers and other dignitaries from Gabon, Iran, Slovakia, Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Chile, Iraq, France and Norway on their countries’ efforts to promote and protect human rights and criticizing human rights violations in a number of regions.

Paul Mba Abessole, Vice Prime Minister of Gabon, said that Gabon’s unfaltering commitment to the ideals of peace and security, necessary for harmonious human development, had always been clear through its commitment to a majority of international human rights instruments. Gabon was enhancing the rule of law within its borders, and was working tirelessly to promote a culture for the protection and promotion of human rights. The promotion of peace should be included not only in the sense of an absence of war, but also and especially in the positive sense of the creation of conditions of equity, equality between the sexes, non-discrimination, and social justice.

Manouchehr Mottaki, Foreign Minister of Iran, said that in the latest round of its habitual brutalities, the illegitimate Zionist regime had launched a full-fledged war on the defenceless population of Gaza under the pretext of self-defence, aimed at crushing the legitimate resistance of people against overthrowing their democratically elected government of Hamas. Iran firmly believed that urgent action needed to be taken by the United Nations to defend the Palestinian population. The Israeli regime’s leaders and military commanders must be indicted and prosecuted for grave violations of international law and for committing multiple crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Miroslav Lajcak, Foreign Minister of Slovakia, said that since last year, Slovakia had been a member of the Human Rights Council for the first time in its history. The Council must be able to quickly respond to crisis situations. In this regard, the idea of elaborating an early warning mechanism deserved the Council’s attention. At the national level, Slovakia recently made substantial progress in developing a solid institutional framework in the area of child rights. Another important development in the country was the extension of powers of the national ombudsman, enabling him to act as an independent mechanism for receiving complaints made by children or on their behalf.

Huda Abdullatif Alban, Minister for Human Rights of Yemen, said the world should unite with the objective to fight human rights violations and terrorism. The principles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the international treaties and conventions were still being deliberately violated and sometimes deformed in many countries, emptying these principles of their content and undermining them. Men, women, children and the elderly, as well as the vital infrastructure of the Gaza Strip were being degraded and this was evidence of the violation of the rights of human beings, which Yemen denounced.

Mufid Shehab, Minister for Legal and Parliamentary Councils of Egypt, said unfortunately, there were a number of flagrant violations of international law and human rights, as well as that of the United Nations Charter that the Council had yet to see to. Egypt recommended that the Council focus on such issues, which included the Occupied Arab and Palestinian Territories, in particular, the question of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in Syria. Israel’s practices were a flagrant violation of human rights and in particular to the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and the establishment of a Palestinian State pursuant to United Nations resolutions dating back to 1967.

Also speaking were the following dignitaries: Bandar bin Mohammed Al-Aban, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Saudi Arabia; Ould Dadde, Commissioner for Human Rights, Humanitarian Action and for Relations with Civil Society of Mauritania; Alberto van Klaveren, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile; Hussein Al-Zuheiri, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights of Iraq; Rama Yade, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights of France; and Raymond Johansen, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway

The Council will meet next on Tuesday, 3 March at 10 a.m. to continue its High-Level Segment.


High-Level Segment

PAUL MBA ABESSOLE, Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Culture, the Arts, Public Education, Refoundation, and Human Rights of Gabon, said the Human Rights Council was the symbol of the alliance of peoples and civilisations, and Gabon wished to pay tribute to the United Nations for everything that the Organization did to promote and defend human dignity throughout the world. Aware that international peace and security were the necessary bases for all policies of development, Gabon fully subscribed to the ideals contained in the United Nations Charter. Gabon was today one of the few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa not to have known major unrest that could menace international peace and security. Gabon had always sought to promote these values of peace and solidarity within the organizations to which it belonged.

Gabon had also worked for the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms at both national and international levels. Its unfaltering commitment to the ideals of peace and security, necessary for harmonious human development, had always been clear through its unswerving commitment to the majority of international human rights instruments. Gabon was determined that respect of international human rights was a fundamental focus, and would enhance the rule of law within its borders, and it was working tirelessly to promote a culture for the protection and promotion of human rights. Each citizen, within their countries, should be a player in building a society in which there was full respect for human rights.

The international community had recently celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Much had been done since its adoption in 1948 - but, despite great progress, grave and massive violations of human rights continued to be perpetrated throughout the world, in particular in countries at war. The promotion of peace should be included not only in the sense of an absence of war, but also and especially in the positive sense of the creation of conditions of equity, equality between the sexes, non-discrimination, and social justice. Gabon wished to continue to participate actively in the setting-up of a world that respected human rights and where there was universal brotherhood, and it would continue to work for the respect of human rights within its borders.

MANOUCHEHR MOTTAKI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran, said that the establishment of the Human Rights Council, based on valuable experiences learned from the past, has opened a new chapter in the cause of international human rights with mixed reactions: high expectations with a degree of skepticism. Iran noted with satisfaction that in its initial years of work, the Council had mostly been able to meet those expectations. The consensual adoption of the institution-building package and the successful launch and operationalizing of the Universal Periodic Review were among the achievements.

In the latest round of its habitual brutalities, the illegitimate Zionist regime had launched a full-fledged war on the defenseless population of Gaza under the pretext of self-defense, aimed at crushing the legitimate resistance of people against overthrowing their democratically elected government of Hamas. As a result, about 1,400 Palestinians were killed in a series of indiscriminate mass killings, while thousands remained hospitalized, with many maimed and handicapped for life. The current situation in the Gaza strip was a matter of urgent and extreme concern to Iranian people and the government and the whole world. Iran firmly believed that urgent action needed to be taken by the United Nations to defend the Palestinian population. The Israeli regime’s leaders and military commanders must be indicted and prosecuted for grave violations of international law and for committing multiple crimes against humanity and war crimes.

As for the ongoing challenge of the global economic and financial crises which were having a disproportionate impact on the livelihoods of the most vulnerable and already marginalized groups of society, a human rights approach was needed to make more durable short and long-term solutions. It was necessary to identify the specific needs of vulnerable groups and individuals, particularly women and children, migrants, refugees, indigenous peoples, minorities and persons with disabilities. The urgency shown by developed countries to tackle the financial meltdown stood in stark contrast to their foot-dragging and broken promises over aid and poverty alleviation.

MIROSLAV LAJCAK, Foreign Minister of Slovakia, said that since last year, Slovakia had been a member of the Human Rights Council for the first time in its history. Slovakia wanted to present itself as a country that respected and was devoted to human rights and fundamental freedoms. At the same time, Slovakia wanted to be a cooperative and active partner when it came to the every-day work of the Council. Collectively, the Council was recommended to try to achieve better implementation of fundamental rights and freedoms on the ground. Unfortunately, members of the international community differed in the interpretation of some rights and freedoms. States should therefore refrain from strictly regional or ideological approaches that may prove detrimental to the recognized universal character of human rights.

The Council must also be able to quickly respond to crisis situations. In this regard, the idea of elaborating an early warning mechanism deserved the Council’s attention, underscored Mr. Lajcak. The Universal Periodic Review was an extremely important instrument since it did not distinguish between countries – it was truly universal. Therefore the Universal Periodic Review should not be viewed as an alternative to country mandates. It was a valuable mechanism because it provided an opportunity to lead constructive dialogue and to listen to the views of others. The developments in previous months had shown that no country would be spared by the financial and economic crises. The Council should continue to address this issue at international fora and to demand from specialized bodies and institutions the answers on how to fight the current crisis.

At a national level, Slovakia recently made substantial progress in developing a solid institutional framework in the area of child rights. The Government adopted a new National Action Plan for Children and a permanent Ministerial Committee for Children was established. Another important development in the country was the extension of powers of the national ombudsman, enabling him to act as an independent mechanism for receiving complaints made by children or on their behalf. With regard to the upcoming Durban Review Conference in April, Slovakia recommended that the conference focus mainly on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. It was hoped that a constructive approach would prevail so that the negotiations on the outcome of the document of the Review Conference could finally be brought to a successful end. Mr. Lajcak reiterated Slovakia’s commitment to work with others in favour of the overall enhancement of human rights standards.

HUDA ABDULLATIF ALBAN, Minister for Human Rights of Yemen, said Yemen wished to see the implementation of human rights around the world, and the world should unite with the objective to fight human rights violations and terrorism. Hatred should be replaced with tolerance, and good living conditions and justice should be established in many countries. This was the duty of all countries, in order to reach a new world that was free of force and violence. The noble ideals and principles declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the international treaties and conventions were still deliberately violated and sometimes deformed in many countries, emptying these principles of their content, undermining them, and leading to a policy of different measures.

That men, women, children and the elderly, as well as the vital infrastructure of the Gaza Strip were being degraded was evidence of the violation of the rights of human beings, and Yemen denounced this. It was regrettable that the Human Rights Council at its ninth Special Session was unable to reach consensus and condemn the massacres and gross human rights violations by Israel. This was a very negative sign, and the Member States of the United Nations should ensure that human rights were neither politicised nor selective. There should be an end to the Israeli practice of violating the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territory. The international community needed to adopt a responsible attitude to put a halt to repeated Israeli actions and reach a peaceful solution. Palestine had been repeatedly affected by violations of its human rights.

The Plan of Action for the Durban Review Conference was the main platform where racism, xenophobia and related intolerance were examined, and the international community should reach concrete action to remedy these violations. Yemen had adopted the principle of political plurality and a multi-party context. Women in Yemen had been able to become more and more present in the public sphere, and they played a very active role in the political life of the country. Yemen had ratified 56 international conventions. The Government respected all its international and regional commitments, and promoted the rights of its citizens. Life had no meaning if it could not enrich existence and human rights.

BANDAR BIN MOHAMMED AL-ABAN, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Saudi Arabia, said that Saudi Arabia was continuing its policy of promoting and consolidating the principles of justice and equality among all members of society and guaranteeing all their legitimate rights and freedoms. In the education sector, the changes included the appointment of a woman as deputy minister of education. The appointment of a woman to such a high-level post was consistent with the policy of assigning a greater role to Saudi women in order to increase their positive participation in the overall development process.

The vicious acts of aggression to which Israel had subjected the defenseless Palestinian population of Gaza, including women and children, and which left thousands dead or wounded, had propelled the region towards increased violence and extremism and led it away from the goal of an equitable peace and security which would be achieved only by enabling the Palestinian people to enjoy their legitimate rights, as recognized in the United Nations resolutions. To alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, the Kingdom had contributed $ 1 billion for the reconstruction of Gaza.

Human development, economic prosperity and political stability were important pillars of the social structure and the promotion of human rights. The Kingdom, seeking to further these objectives, had allocated about 4 per cent of its GDP over the last three decades, amounting to more than $ 24 billion, to external assistance for the developing countries and international organizations endeavouring to promote the human rights of peoples. The Kingdom had provided funding to the United Nations World Food Programme, the Islamic Development Bank, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights and funds established by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.

MUFID SHEHAB, Minister for Legal and Parliamentary Councils of Egypt, said that despite being just a few years old the Council had succeeded in taking a number of important decisions and reviewing the situation in a number of countries, in many cases by consensus or by majority, which also attributed to bringing about democracy in the Council. Everybody knew that the Council had a responsibility to ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and all were well aware that these rights if infringed upon could have damaging effects. In addition to human rights, economic, social and cultural rights should also be protected and viewed on an equal footing. Egypt stressed the need to take economic and financial measures, internationally speaking, to ensure that current and future needs were met, and moreover, to illustrate that support was available in overcoming this crisis.

In the area of human rights the Council had been working on a number of measures. Unfortunately, there were a number of flagrant violations of international law and human rights, as well as that of the United Nations Charter that had yet to be seen to by the Council. Therefore, the Government of Egypt recommended that the Council focus on such issues, which included the issues of the Occupied Arab and Palestinian Territories, in particular, the question of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in Syria. Israel’s practices were a flagrant violation of human rights and in particular to the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and the establishment of a Palestinian State pursuant to United Nations resolutions dating back to 1967. It was regrettable that the aggressor seemed to be rewarded and encouraged to continue its aggressive actions.

Egypt had recently sought to bolster national councils such as the ones for human rights and women. These councils provided assistance to the parliamentarians in this respect. However, more remained to be done, and as such, huge efforts had been made in the areas of social, political and economic life, said Mr. Shehab. Human rights had always taken an important place in Egyptian society. Egypt was opposed to adopting policies of confrontation as these only fuelled discontent and deteriorating dialogue. In the context of religion, Egypt was surprised to see the same parties time and time again raise issues of this nature, and in this context stressed the noble cause of the Council, and urged the Council not to allow this to lead to incitement against religions. Freedom of expression should not lead to abuse of religions and religious standpoints. Opinions could not be expressed freely if this affected the religious freedoms of others. In this context and in light of the Durban Review Conference, Egypt feared that there might be a weakness at this level. The conference would act as a test which would determine whether or not the international community wished to counter religious discrimination.

OULD DADDE, Commissioner for Human Rights, Humanitarian Action, and for Relations with Civil Society of Mauritania, said there had been a chaotic situation within Mauritania in the past, leading to terrorist attacks in 2008, the assassination of French tourists, and other deplorable events. There had been political inertia, with an unstable minority Government with many reshuffles, and a violation of the Constitution against the principle of separation of authorities, fraud, embezzlement, and corruption. In light of this situation, a movement upheld by the majority of the Mauritanian People had upheld the international commitments of the country, and had set itself to implement actions aimed at the protection and promotion human rights. To this end, a wide range of activities had taken place, including the appointment of a Minister, the organisation of civil society to be aware of international human rights commitments, and others.

On the political level, Mauritania today was living through a transition phase following a broad-based debate that took place from 25 December 2008 to 6 January 2009, regrouping representatives of all political parties, civil society organisations and Mauritanians abroad, as well as representatives of the different regions of the country, resulting in a Road Map that had been voted on by Parliament, and following which a Presidential election would take place this year. This Road Map had allowed for a dialogue between all national political actors with the aim of organising a free and transparent Presidential election.

Mauritania hoped that the international community would accompany it in its efforts aiming to reinforce the State of law and to promote human rights. Mauritania wished to encourage the Human Rights Council to continue its campaign for human rights, as had been seen recently in the form of the two extraordinary sessions on the Gaza Strip, and on the world financial crisis and its effects on the full enjoyment of human rights.

ALBERTO VAN KLEVEREN, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, said that the level of expertise of the delegations that had presented their national reports so far showed the importance States attributed to the Universal Periodical Review. And the reports provided by the treaty bodies and civil society contributed, undoubtedly, to getting an objective, balanced and accurate view of the human rights situations in each of the countries examined. But the Universal Periodical Review and the interactive dialogue was only one stage. However, the more complex and difficult one, which would prove their degree of coherence and earnestness with regard to the UN system, was the adequate response to questions put forward by other States, the due consideration of the recommendations formulated and the follow-up of and compliance with the commitments undertaken.

Chile was concerned that even today, there were still laws that discriminated against women, devaluing them politically and socially, contrary to the most elementary human rights principles. The promotion and protection of women’s human rights was of prime concern to Chile, as it had demonstrated both in the Commission and in the Human Rights Council.

An important task was to succeed in preventing human rights violations, in conformity with the final objective of the international human rights law of being a law meant to prevent rather than to sanction. In this context, they had to continue basing their public policies on the principles of equality, non-discrimination and integration. Chile was elaborating a new human rights agenda which would specifically incorporate all those needs for more protection, more equity and more integration still pending for many. In the international context, Chile committed itself to continue cooperating in the ever-ongoing task of this Human Rights Council of promoting the universal observance of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all human beings.

HUSSEIN AL-ZUHEIRI, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights of Iraq, said that there was a new and improved security situation in Iraq today as a result of the implementation of a law enforcement plan which had set up rules to respect human rights and uphold the rule of law. The success of this plan had reflected positively on the enjoyment of civil, political and economic, social and cultural rights. An example was the political participation of all Iraqis in all Iraqi governorates in the elections at the end of January in calm and stable conditions and according to international standards under the auspices of international monitoring.

The human rights dossier had become one of the most important priorities of the Iraqi Government since its implementation of the law enforcement plan which was now entering its third and last phase. This phase concentrated on transmitting services to Iraqi citizens based on the respect of human dignity and humanity. Further this plan also focused on combating corruption with the collaboration of the international community. The recent elections in the country used a quota system to ensure the participation of all minorities in the local governorates councils. The improvement of the security situation in the country had positively improved Iraq’s foreign relations. Iraq was eager for peace and respect of human rights. National reconciliation efforts remained a challenge; however, successful efforts in security development had helped to make further progress in this area.

Iraq had undergone a number of new developments in the area of human rights, said Mr. Al-Zuheiri. Iraq was now party to a number of relevant international human rights instruments, including the conventions on torture, forced disappearances, and disabilities. The Government of Iraq was also currently in the process of developing national legislation to ensure their accordance with international standards in the human rights field, and setting up the respective codes for the promotion and protection of human rights as mentioned in the Iraqi Constitution. Moreover, with regard to dispersing human rights education among the Iraqi society, the Government was constructing a national institute for human rights. It would have an effective role on the enhancement and upgrading of the capabilities of civil servants in how they dealt with human rights issues. In addition, the training of law enforcement officers on human rights had been implemented.
A task force had also been set up to draft the submission of the report of Iraq for the Universal Periodic Review, which was scheduled for 2010.

RAMA YADE, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights of France, said in a few weeks the Human Rights Council would see the end of the first three years of its existence. In those three years, it had held ten regular sessions and ten special sessions. Thus, with the Human Rights Council, the international community today had a body that could react and which should allow it to reinforce in a continuous manner the respect of human rights throughout the world. Over the last three years, a lot of work had been done. With regards to the Universal Periodic Review, if it had begun promisingly, it should correct certain dysfunctions which had been noted, in particular during the last session. Thus, the international community should not cease to ask itself whether the energy it was using, the procedures it was putting in place, the debates it undertook, the resolutions it adopted, concretely served to improve the situation of men and women whose rights were ignored.

It could not be but acknowledged that the Human Rights Council was still struggling to reaffirm itself, and to participate in the effective protection of the individual. Responding to the situation of grave human rights violations should be one of the international community's common priorities. France gave great importance to the Special Procedures, in particular to the country-specific mandates. As the High Commissioner for Human Rights had said, the Human Rights Council should give increased importance to situations of chronic violation of human rights, in particular with regards to the situation of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

Other deadlines were looming before the Human Rights Council, and required from all a sense of increased responsibility, as well as a spirit of openness and cooperation in order to raise to expectations. The preparation for the Durban Review Conference was in this regard of capital importance. The Council should play an increased role in the protection and promotion of the rights of women: the time had come to create a mechanism against discriminatory laws and practices. France would also present during the session a resolution calling on States to sign and ratify the new convention on the protection against forced disappearances. The Council remained a key United Nations body for the promotion of fundamental freedoms, and using human rights for other purposes than the protection of human dignity damaged the quality of its work and could destroy its legitimacy. All should aim to participate constructively in the work of the Council in order to allow it to fulfil the ambitious mandate that had been given it.

RAYMOND JOHANSEN, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, said that the Human Rights Council had undertaken a substantial institution-building task, creating innovative mechanisms like the Universal Periodical Review. The Universal Periodical Review provided a valuable opportunity to review all countries’ human rights records and it had become a promising tool for adding value to the existing United Nations human rights machinery. They could not afford, however, to become complacent. Once again their meeting was taking place against a backdrop of widespread human rights violations.

They shared a world where more than 1 billion people lived in extreme poverty. This was totally unacceptable. Furthermore, the current economic and financial crisis was affecting women particularly hard. It was the responsibility of governments to ensure that women were not discriminated against in times of structural change and economic recession. The crisis emphasized the need to mainstream human rights and gender into all development programmes and strategies.

The greatest gains countries could achieve came with empowering women; ensuring equal opportunities; providing health care for all and increasing women’s active participation in working life. The countries that were most competitive and yielded the best economic performances were those that offered women the most equal opportunities. And those countries that overcame existing cultural impediments to such policies, be it in the North or in the South, were going to grow and to prosper. This was Norway’s experience and it was supported by hard figures.

Norway believed that all countries had a responsibility to contribute to making the Durban Review Conference a success. The fight against racism was of vital importance to human dignity and they could not afford anything but a clear, relevant and consensual message from the United Nations on this. No country was immune to human rights problems. All could benefit from cooperating with the human rights mechanisms they had established and with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.



For use of the information media; not an official record

HRC09014E