COUNCIL CONTINUES GENERAL DEBATE ON PROTECTING ALL HUMAN RIGHTS: CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS AND RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

The Human Rights Council this afternoon continued its general debate on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development.

In the debate, speakers said the international community should, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and through dialogue and cooperation, deepen understanding so as to make exchanges and cooperation in the human rights field a positive factor making for safeguarding human rights and promoting the development of relations between States. Human rights must be ensured for peace to be achieved, and peace could even be considered a human right in itself. The effective exercise of the right to self-determination was one of the pre requirements to the rights that had been recognized in international law, including economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights.

The promotion and protection of human rights could not be fulfilled when countries were under occupation, speakers said. The foreign occupation of Iraq and Palestine were causing violations of human rights, and these alarming situations would not be resolved until the international community put an end to all foreign occupation. The lack of agreement of a definition on terrorism was also of concern - the Council must also resuscitate the right to self-determination. However, self-determination could not be given without the people’s recognition.

While children could make use of the existing communications in other treaties, those procedures could only guarantee a fragmented protection of children’s rights, speakers said. The individual communication procedure of the Convention on the Rights of the Child would also encourage States to increase access and reinforce the better functioning of the protection mechanisms for children at the national level. Elaborating a communication procedure was the only way to fill the existing gap and an important way to ensure that children could claim their rights when national mechanisms failed. To prevent violence against children it was crucial to adopt an integrated approach that included multi-sectoral programmes of action. All Member States should strengthen their legislation and policy in order to eliminate sexual violence against children; today’s children were the future adults.

Speaking this afternoon were the representatives of Iran, Algeria, and Thailand.

Also speaking were University for Peace, National Commission on Human Rights of Korea, and Advisory Council on Human Rights of Morocco.

Non-governmental organizations taking the floor were International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom of Education, Federation of Cuban Women, SOS Kinderdorf International, Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour l'amitie entre les peuples, General Arab Women Federation, Association for World Education, Human Rights Advocates Inc., Fundacion Para La Libertad- Askatasun Bidean, Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims, International Educational Development Inc., Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, Institute for Women's Studies and Research, Islamic Women's Institute of Iran, Freedom House, Marangopoulos Foundation for Human Rights, Indian Council of South America, International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, International Institute for Peace, Al-Hakim Foundation, International Human rights Association of American Minorities, and European Disability Forum.

Speaking in right of reply was the Russian Federation.

The next meeting of the Council will be at 9 a.m. on Monday, 15 March, when it will conclude the general debate on promoting and protecting all human rights, after which it is scheduled to hold an interactive debate with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, following which it should hold a general debate on human rights situations that require the Council's attention.

General Debate on Promoting and Protecting All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Right to Development

MOHAMAD REZA GHAEBI (Iran) said the strengthening of cooperation in the field of human rights helped promote mutual understanding and good neighbourliness among States. By respecting the universal principles of human rights, countries should be allowed, encouraged and welcomed to take effective measures to protect and promote human rights while taking into account their own national conditions. The international community should, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and through dialogue and cooperation, deepen understanding so as to make exchanges and cooperation in the human rights field a positive factor making for safeguarding human rights and promoting the development of relations between States. In this regard, respect for cultural diversity at the national and international level and the recognition of the fact that cultural diversity was a source for unity rather than division within the international community would indeed promote peace and security. Persisting on cultural domination and efforts to eliminate cultural identities in the process of globalization would cause a major setback to the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights at the international level. International cooperation in the field of human rights should pave the way for better realization of the right to development, and provide the necessary mechanisms to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

MOHAMED SAHNOUN, of University for Peace, said the University for Peace had been established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1980 with a mission to provide humanity with high-quality education that promoted peace. That mandate could not be achieved without promoting awareness of human rights in the world. Indeed, human rights must be ensured for peace to be achieved, and peace could even be considered a human right in itself. The University had a department of law and human rights which had been successfully running at its main campus in Costa Rica. The over 50 graduates were now working as human rights defenders in the United Nations system, academia or civil society, attempting to strengthen peace. More broadly, the University for Peace had mainstreamed human rights into all of its master degree programmes as well as into its extra-curricular activities. The University could serve as an example for other institutions.

MOHAMED El AMINE BENCHERIF (Algeria) said the right to self-determination was one of the pillars of the United Nations system. The effective exercise of that right was one of the pre requirements to the rights that had been recognized in international law, including economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. Since it was such a fundamental right, its violation went against all rights. All attempts to prevent the right to self-determination would be a serious step back in human rights efforts. The Council and the High Commissioner for Human Rights were, by virtue of their mandate, responsible for ensuring that that right was enjoyed.

EKSURI PINTARUCHI (Thailand) said Special Procedures played an important role in raising awareness of human rights and promoting human rights education. Many Special Procedure holders had been participating in conferences and seminars relevant to their mandates, and this led to the more effective protection and promotion of human rights on the ground. The attention of the Council to the rights of the child was welcomed. Thailand participated actively in the first session of the Working Group on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child last December, and the meeting was successful in allowing States and relevant stakeholders to exchange views on this important matter. Children, as rights holders, should have the ability to seek remedy for the violation of their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and there should be a communications procedure in this regard. Thailand looked forward to working with other States and stakeholders on this matter.

HAMMOU AOUHELLI, of National Commission on Human Rights of Korea, in a joint statement with several NHRIS1, said national human rights institutions strongly supported the elaboration of an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, setting up a communications procedure. All core human rights treaties, except for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, had established a procedure allowing for individual communications. While children could make use of the existing communications in other treaties, those procedures could only guarantee a fragmented protection of children’s rights. The individual communication procedure of the Convention on the Rights of the Child would also encourage States to increase access and reinforce the better functioning of the protection mechanisms for children at the national level. National human rights institutions would also be strengthened, particularly in their role of effective monitoring.

TOUFIQ MEDIANI, of Advisory Council on Human Rights of Morocco, said the Advisory Council on Human Rights of Morocco was pleased to contribute to the debate on elaborating an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which would provide for a communications procedure. It also appreciated the Council’s resolution to set up an Open Ended Working Group to explore that possibility. The Advisory Council had exchanged experience and in light of comments made it was protecting the rights of the child by following up on a national complaints procedure. It was also embarking on a study on the rights of the child. The Advisory Council recommended that the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which would include a communications procedure, be adopted, urging States to ratify it. National human rights institutions should be particularly involved in elaborating that protocol.

CLAIRE DE LAVERNETTE, of International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom of Education (OIDEL), in a joint statement with with several NGOs2, said the transition from the first to the second phase was the first occasion for shifting the focus and was therefore vital for the World Programme focusing on human rights education for higher education and on human rights training programmes for teachers and educators, civil servants, law enforcement officials and military personnel at all levels. Member States should respond to the questionnaire circulated to them by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. At the national level, collaboration of civil society actors including non-governmental organizations with higher education and training institutions should be ensured.

OLGA SALANUEVA, of Federation of Cuban Women, in a joint statement with with several NGOs3, said it had been five years since the Working Group on arbitrary detention had said that the deprivation of liberty of five Cuban citizens was arbitrary. The North American Government continued to refuse to abide by the opinion of the Working Group and to deny justice to the five Cubans. The authorities were hell-bent on preventing the exercise of the most basic rights to the wives of the detainees. Such mercilessness by the most powerful Government on earth symbolised the whole case. The Human Rights Council should request the Obama administration to release the Cubans from prison, as there was sufficient proof of their innocence, and the two wives should be granted humanitarian visas to visit their husbands.

ANITA GOH MARTIN, of SOS Kinderdorf International, in a joint statement with with several NGOs4, welcomed the outcome report of the Working Group to explore the possibility of elaborating an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to provide a communications procedure, and fully supported its conclusions. Whether or not a new Optional Protocol to that Convention should be drafted came down to one question, namely whether children were right-holders or not. Elaborating a communication procedure was the only way to fill the existing gap and an important way to ensure that children could claim their rights when national mechanisms failed.

GIANFRANCO FATTORINI, of Movement against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples, in a joint statement with several NGOs5, welcomed the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and shared his concern on smear campaigns that had been led against such persons. Of particular concern to the Movement was the situation of Kurdish human rights defenders, many of whom had been arrested in European countries, including in France and in Belgium. It was also misleading to differentiate between “true” and “fake” human rights defenders. What would be the criterion – the mode of funding?

ENTESAR MOHAMMED, of General Arab Women Federation, in a joint statement with several NGOs6, said the promotion and protection of human rights could not be fulfilled when countries were under occupation. The foreign occupation of Iraq and Palestine were causing violations of human rights. In recent years the Arab Christian population had greatly decreased in the region in general and in those countries in particular. Some one million of them had fled Palestine by 2007. The alarming situation would not be resolved until the international community put an end to all foreign occupation.

DAVID LITTMAN, of Association for World Education, in a joint statement with International Humanist and Ethical Union; and World Union for Progressive Judaism, thanked Ms. Jahangir for her report and outstanding work. The Association was dismayed by attacks in this very Council made in the name of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, while the murder of Christians in Egypt and Pakistan went ahead. Banning minarets did not impede the ability of Muslims to practice their religion. So why had the Council heard no condemnations of the call by Syria for a Jihad against Switzerland? How could the Council stop the ongoing persecution of Christians throughout the Middle East? How did the Organization of the Islamic Conference propose stopping the constant attacks on Christians? The Swiss people had given a coherent example of true democracy. In the words of the great American President Abraham Lincoln, the ballot was stronger than the bullet.

NATALIE DAVIS, of Human Rights Advocates Inc., said with regard to establishing a Special Procedure on the right to vote, the derogation of this right was critical, and its abrogation often led to other human rights violations, such as in Iran, where it led to mass protests and a rise in human rights abuses. The right to vote also disproportionately affected minority rights. Election procedures could also violate the right to vote, such as in Haiti and Iraq, where both countries had been denied the right to free and fair elections, which could lead to civil unrest. The Council should appoint a Special Rapporteur on the right to vote to investigate such derogations before they led to human rights violations. On juvenile justice, international law prohibited the juvenile death penalty and juvenile life sentence without parole, and those States that still allowed these should stop immediately. Rehabilitation measures should be determined that were in the best interests of the victim and the offender.

XAVIER ELORRIETA, of Fundación para la Libertad, said the report of the Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism said there had been violations of rights and concerns about the enjoyment of certain freedoms. The Foundation was particularly aware of any threat to freedoms, as it lived in a context of many violations due to the acts of the armed group ETA, which violated human rights in the Basque country and throughout Spain through its terrorist activities. The report's conclusions said anti-terrorist mechanisms must be strengthened, and Governments must explain how their policies were in line with international human rights standards. There should be correct application of the law of freedom of expression, in particular with regard to political parties that ran counter to a democratic society.

MARYAM SAFARI, of Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims, said the use of child soldiers, trafficking in children, as well as other violations of the rights of the child, had been highlighted by recent reports and remained of concern to the Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims. In order to prevent violence against children it was crucial to adopt an integrated approach that included multi-sectoral programmes of action. The Charitable Institute urged all Member States to strengthen their legislation and policies in order to eliminate sexual violence against children; today’s children were the future adults.

KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development Inc., said International Educational Development considered that the Uighur people that the United States held in Guantánamo were an example of extended detention. International Educational Development Inc. further agreed that the United Nations Mission in Iraq had a mandate to monitor Camp Ashraf. It was also concerned that authorities had blocked food and medicine provisions and noted that the United States had an obligation to protect the rights of the people of that camp. The lack of agreement on a definition on terrorism was also of concern. The Council must also resuscitate the right to self-determination.

IYAS MALEH, of Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, speaking on behalf of a number of Middle eastern research institutions, said his father was dying a slow death in prison for speaking out against human rights violations in Syria. He was not alone. Others had also been imprisoned, tortured, harassed or killed on a daily basis. Over the past several years, threats to human rights defenders had increased throughout Arab countries. Visit requests by Special Rapporteurs had been largely ignored. The Cairo Institute called on all Special Rapporteurs and on members of the Council to become more vocal in drawing attention to the plight of human rights defenders like his father.

FAHIMEN DORRI NOGORANI, of Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, said development was one of the most preoccupying things for most people. It was a rights-oriented approach, which must be accessed through Governments, which would result in all aspects of human dignity being realized. A common understanding of the right to development was essential. The Human Rights Council had to establish that by stressing the right to development. The Organization for Defending Victims of Violence recommended that those working towards development implement that commitment. It recommended that developing countries used their capacities to persuade developed countries to implement their commitments in that regard and promote the role and status of non-governmental organizations in evaluating the role of Governments.

FARZANEH MOSTOFIFAR, of Institute for Women's Studies and Research, said according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all Member States were obliged to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and develop them through education and training. Education was of particular importance, but what had been left out of consideration was the education of millions of migrant and refugee children in different countries, who were the least fortunate in going to school. It should not be forgotten that there were economic reasons behind the asylum-seeking of some children, but education was a problem that raised serious challenges for children. While thanking the Special Rapporteur on the right to education's attention to the education of refugees and migrant children, the Institute believed it was an appropriate time for the Human Rights Council to take serious measures to ensure the human right to education of these children.

PARICHEHRE SHAHSAVAND, of Islamic Women's Institute of Iran, said violence against children existed in all societies and countries throughout the world. According to the World Health Organization, mistreatment of children had become a global problem and a major public health problem. Among children, the situation of child refugees was even worse for reasons such as poverty, unemployment of parents, and general legal problems, which caused these children to be threatened with violence. The lack of a system capable of alerting the authorities to abuses had led to an increase of this situation. Domestic violence against refugee children and the absence of a clear process were the major challenges for activists working on the rights of the child.

PAULA SHRIEFER, of Freedom House, said religious discrimination had not diminished in spite of the resolutions this Council had adopted in that regard. Discrimination and hate crimes were serious human rights violations that deserved the highest attention of the Council. Freedom House called upon the Human Rights Council to adopt measures to combat religious discrimination without affecting other rights.

TOM GANIATSOS, of Marangopoulos Foundation for Human Rights, said the use of depleted uranium weapons was a mass violation of human rights, including those to life and a healthy environment. The spread of cancer in Iraq, in the former Yugoslavia and in parts of Greece where such weapons had been used was alarming. A former United Nations sub-commission had taken a decision that depleted uranium weapons were incompatible with human rights - must the international community wait for every member of the scientific community to agree on the harmfulness of such weapons before it banned them, the Foundation asked? It therefore urged the Security Council to include depleted uranium weapons in the future treaty on general and complete disarmament.

RONALD BARNES, of Indian Council of South America, said the right to self-determination belonged to those under colonial or alien occupation or to those who had been granted it by United Nations resolutions. However, self-determination could not be given without the people’s recognition. The United Nations had to admit that its treaties with those peoples were international. Would the United States adhere to the fidelity of truth and to international human rights law with regard to the situation of numerous indigenous peoples in its territories?

VIPIN KUMAR GUPTA, of International Institute for Non Aligned Studies, commended the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture, which had highlighted how torture undermined human rights. The International Institute for Non Aligned Studies reiterated that an investigation to ensure that torture and degrading treatment did not occur at the State level was laudable. However, it would have appreciated a study on the role of civil society and non-governmental organizations in that regard. It also stressed that national States had to be persuaded that the international community was a leverage to address such issues.

PASCAL GYSEL, of International Institute for Peace, said the treatment of Afghan boys was dominated by a culture that exploited young children. The people, especially the women, of Afghanistan had been persuaded to welcome the entry of the American military into Afghanistan for this reason. The rights of children did not exist, and they were maimed and killed in bomb blasts, their mothers and sisters driven indoors, and the most oppressive forms of religion employed to shackle women. Girls would grow up hating the West. Debates on the rights of the child in such surroundings had little relevance for the lives of these children - the only thing that would impact their lives would be to ensure that the Taliban was driven out and never again allowed to dominate the political and social life of Afghanistan.

ABDUL AMIR HASHOM, of Al-Hakim Foundation, said religious minorities in Iraq were being deported and assassinated. The deportation of Christians was a reason for grave concern, and there was ongoing assassination of families. Numerous students in schools and universities had left their educational establishments and fled from fear of attacks from terrorist groups who threatened them with murder. About 3,500 Christian families had fled to Kurdistan after threats from terrorist groups, suffering from being minorities with no proper system to defend them. The Iraqi Government should strive to afford protection to all religious minorities in Iraq and take all necessary measures to protect them, particularly in regions where such attacks occurred on a daily basis.

SYED FAIZ NAQSHBANDI, of International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, said the Association remained concerned by circumstances in which persons charged with the promotion and protection of human rights engaged in torture and other human rights violations. In that regard, the situation in India had particularly deteriorated since the enactment of an Act that permitted keeping locations of victims secret, resulting in people being kept prisoners for years as well as fake trials in Jammu and Kashmir. Targeted killings had taken place, and several young students had been murdered, making the situation in Jammu and Kashmir very distributing.

ELLEN WALKER, of European Disability Forum, said the estimated 2 million children who lived in institutions were especially prone to violence, including sexual violence. That was particularly the case for children with disabilities. While article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stipulated that children should be raised within their families, the lacking support of Governments to families with children with disabilities led to such families giving away children with disabilities to institutions. The European Disability Forum therefore encouraged the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children to pay special attention to children in institutions with a view to eliminating the root causes of that phenomenon.

Right of Reply

MARINA KORUNOVA (Russian Federation), speaking in a right of reply in connection with a statement delivered by Georgia this morning, recalled that in August 2008, a well-armed Georgina army had attacked Tskinvali in South Ossetia. Those armed forces attacked peaceful civilians and shot peacekeepers. Everyone knew that the responsibility for that war was borne by Georgia and no one else. Georgia continued to try to shift the guilt and responsibility to others and to spread lies that it knew were untrue. The presence of the Russian troops in South Ossetia came in response to an appeal from a State and was based on an agreement of friendship and cooperation. The mandate of the Russian troops was strictly limited to functions relating to security and protecting South Ossetia from foreign aggression. The President of Georgia was solely responsible for the situation in the region since 8 August 2008. At present, the situation in the buffer zones was once again worsening due to the concentration of Georgian police forces that were setting up camps and bringing heavy artillery to the border points.
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1Joint statement on behalf of: National Commission on Human Rights of Korea; Irish Human Rights Commission; Advisory Council on Human Rights of Morocco; German Institute for Human Rights; Ombudsman of Namibia; National Commission on Human Rights of Togo; Commission on Human Rights of Indonesia; Equality and Human Rights Commission in Great Britain; Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines; and Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.

2Joint statement on behalf of: International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom of Education (OIDEL); CIVICUS-World Alliance for Citizen Participation; Al-Hakim Foundation; New Humanity; Servas International; Human Rights Education Associates; Soka Gakkai International; Universal Peace Federation; Universal Peace Federation; World Federation for Mental Health; International Association for Religious Freedom; Equitas International Centre for Human Rights Education; Instituto Internationale Maria Ausiliatrice delle Salesiane di Don Bosco; International Volunteerism Organization for Women, Education and Development – VIDES; International Alliance of Women; Institute for Planetary Synthesis; International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR); Women’s Federation for World Peace International; Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Association Points-Coeur; Women’s World Summit Foundation; and International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD).

3Joint statement on behalf of: Federation of Cuban Women; International Association of Democratic Lawyers; Europe-Third World Centre; Movement against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples; World Federation of Trade Unions; Indian Council of South America; North-South XXI; World Federation of Democratic Youth; American Association of Jurists; and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

4Joint statement on behalf of: SOS Kinderdorf International; International Federation Terre des Hommes; Kindernothilfe; Help for Children in Need; Plan International; World Organization Against Torture; International Save the Children Alliance; Defence for Children International; World Vision International; and Human Rights Watch.

5Joint statement on behalf of: Movement against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples; France Libertés – Fondation Danielle Mitterrand; North-South XXI; General Arab Women Federation; International Educational Development; World Federation of Trade Unions; Europe-Third World Centre; and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

6Joint statement on behalf of: General Arab Women Federation; North-South XXI;
- Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour l'Amitié entre les Peuples (MRAP); and General Federation of Iraqi Women.


For use of the information media; not an official record

HRC10/028E