HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONCLUDES GENERAL DEBATE ON THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS

The Human Rights Council this afternoon concluded 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 raised many issues, including the importance of developing a binding international instrument for ensuring the respect of business-related human rights. In this context, there was concern regarding the rise of attacks against media professionals who did investigative journalism on the destruction of forests and industrial pollution, as well as the rights of indigenous peoples who were often the most affected. Some speakers drew attention to the rights of the child, particularly in the context of addiction, civil war, humanitarian crises, migration and statelessness. Many speakers raised serious concerns about the migrant/refugee crisis, highlighting that the world needed to be concerned about protecting people, not borders. Speakers called on States to deliver a strong declaration on the human right to peace, and recognize the relationship between peace, development and human rights. Others spoke about the interrelatedness of environmental rights and human rights, and the impact of climate change on food production.

While some speakers said that multiple United Nations consensus documents made it clear that the term “family” was understood to refer to the union of a man and a woman, others stressed the importance of a wide definition of the concept of “family” which embraced “all forms of families in different contexts.” The need to ensure the rights of human rights defenders was also evoked, as was the need to protect minorities and women, the right to education, and the rights of conscientious objectors. Speakers also highlighted the importance of the right to-self-determination. Serious concern was raised regarding the freedom of expression in many countries, caste-based discrimination, the rise of terrorism, especially Da’esh, and the rise of drug abuse in the developing world as a result of drug trafficking.

Speaking was the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions, as were the following non-governmental organizations: Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism; Imam Ali’s Popular Students Relief Society; Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims; Society of Iranian Women for Sustainable Development of Environment; Kiyana Karaj Group; United Network of Young Peacebuilders; Child Foundation; Group of Non-Governmental Organizations for the Convention on the Rights of the Child; Family Health Association of Iran; Reporters Without Borders, International; World Evangelical Alliance; Minority Rights Group International; Chant du Guépard dans le Désert; World Union of Catholic Women’s Organization; Friends World Committee for Consultation; Alsalam Foundation; Make Mothers Matter ;International Association for Democracy in Africa ; France-Libertés: Fondation Danielle Mitterrand ;Foodfirst Information and Action Network; International Catholic Migration Commission ; Canners International Permanent Committee; Europe Third World Centre, in a joint statement ; Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy; Human Rights Advocates ; Pan African Union for Science and technology; Japanese Workers’ Committee for Human Rights ; Indian Council of Education ; Friends of the Earth International ; International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination ; Association Dunenyo ; Global Helping to Advance Women and Children ; United Nations Watch ; Society for Recovery Support ; Organization for Defending Victims of Violence ; International Commission of Jurists ; Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain; American Association of Jurists ;Iraqi Development Organization ; World Barua Organization; United Schools International ; Associazione Communità Papa Giovanni XXIII; Federación de Asociaciones de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos ; Centre for Environment and Management Studies ; World Muslim Congress ; International Islamic Federation of Student Organization ; European Union of Public Relations; World Environment and Resources Council ;Commission to Study the Organization of Peace; Khiam Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture ; Global Network for Rights and Development ; CIVICUS ; International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies; Centre for Inquiry; Alliance Defending Freedom; International Educational Development; Liberation; Commission africaine des promoteurs de la sante de droits des l’homme; International Muslim Women’s Union; International Federation for Human Rights Leagues; Women’s Human Rights International Association; International Humanist and Ethical Union; Human Rights Watch; World Jewish Congress ; Action Internationale Paix et Developpement; Arab Commission for Human Rights; Indian Council of South America; Union of Arab Jurists; Colombian Commission of Jurists; Article 19; Pasumai Thayagam Foundation; Save the Children; Il Cenacolo; Institute for Policy Studies; Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme; Terre des Hommes Fédération Internationale; OCAPROCE International; Integrated Youth Empowerment; Association Solidarite Internationale pours l’Afrique; African Development Association; International Career Support Association; Sudwind; African Regional Agricultural Credit Association; Comision Juridica para el Autodesarrollo de los Pueblos Originatios Andinos; Prahar; European Centre for Law and Justice; Hazrat Javad-al-Aemeh Cultural Charity Institute; Asian Legal Resource Centre; Apprentissages Sans Frontiers; World Future Council; Peviande Gole Narges Organization; International Fellowship of Reconciliation ; Prevention Association of Social Harms; and Cameroon Youth.

India and Pakistan spoke in right of reply.

The general debate on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, started earlier today and a summary can be found here.

The next meeting of the Council will take place on Monday, 14 March at 9 a.m., when it will hold an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

General Debate on the Promotion and Protection of all Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the Right to Development

International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights welcomed the initiative to include National Human Rights Institutions as independent state and non-judicial mechanisms with adequate functions to contribute to providing effective remedy for the victims of business-related human rights abuses.

Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism was concerned about the misunderstanding of religion. Misunderstanding religion made situations more complicated and was challenging for religious leaders. The Association called upon religious leaders to prevent terrorist acts and called upon the United Nations to establish converging communities in their lot.

Imam Ali’s Popular Students Relief Society said that there should be interaction between vulnerable States, the international community, and concerned non-governmental organizations on the issue of child addiction to drugs and its consequences, which was a concerning upward trend in Iran.

Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims stated that civil wars caused the worst humanitarian crises, expressed concern about the psychological conditions of defenceless children and women, and urged the World Health Organization and other United Nations-related bodies to deal with the psychological trauma of war.


Society of Iranian Women for Sustainable Development of Environment said that
tens of thousands of Syrians were in camps in Turkey, and the deplorable situation of Syrian women and children was a serious case of human rights violations, which remained largely ignored.

Kiyana Karaj Group referred to the recent execution of four Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia, who had been subjected to torture, in a clear violation of international human rights, including the right to life. It condemned the arbitrary executions and discriminatory treatment against the Shia citizens in Saudi Arabia.

United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY Peacebuilders), on behalf of severals NGOs¹,

United Network of Young Peacebuilders, in a joint statement on behalf of 21 civil society organizations, called on States to deliver a strong declaration on the human right to peace that would be substantive in content and have a clear added value, tackling both individual and collective aspects of this right and recognizing the relationship between peace, development and human rights.

Child Foundation regretted the reduction of Governments’ funding for education as a result of the ongoing economic crisis. Global mobilization to ensure access to quality education was needed to defeat extremism. Wars, armed conflicts or sanctions should be classified as measures that violated human rights.

Groupe des ONG pour la Convention relative aux droits de l'enfant, in a joint statement with, Save the Children International; SOS Children's Villages International; Defence for Children International; and Plan International Inc., said neither the Convention on the Rights of the Child, nor the report presented today by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, provided a fixed or limited definition of “family.” It urged the Human Rights Council and States to explicitly acknowledge the broad contextualised nature of “family” and refer to “all forms of families in different contexts” in debates and international documents.

Family Health Association of Iran said that whereas under its old abortion law, husband consent had been mandatory for the approval of abortion, under the new law, the woman’s consent was enough. However there had to be proof that there were genetic disorders or serious matters of disease affecting the foetus.

Reporters Without Borders, International said reporters and bloggers doing investigative journalism on the destruction of forests and industrial pollution were particularly at risk. Information on incidents in Argentina, El Salvador, Gabon, India, Azerbaijan, China, and Morocco, among other countries, indicated that enterprises, mafias and other corrupt officials were behind the attacks every time.

World Evangelical Alliance applauded the Marrakesh Declaration to fight violence and extremism and expressed appreciation for Muslim authorities taking a stand in favour of the protection of religious minorities, adding that freedom of religion summoned all humans to respect the other.

Minority Rights Group International spoke about the situation of Dominican children of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic, noting that tens of thousands had been born since a Constitutional Court ruling in 2013 deprived them of their nationality. The Group urged the Dominican Republic to ensure the restoration of nationality of all individuals affected by the ruling.

Chant du Guépard dans le Désert said that in a world where natural disasters were taking place around the world, environmental rights and human rights were linked more and more. The first review of COP21 was too far away, as the impact of climate change on food production might in the meanwhile cause hundreds of thousands of deaths.

World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations, in a joint statement with, International Association of Charities, said that States had the obligation to provide the widest protection and well-being to families. It reminded of the fundamental role of the family in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and called on States to implement family-sensitive policies, especially in the area of education and employment.

Friends World Committee for Consultation noted that despite the universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, every year many stateless children were born. It reminded Member States of the Secretary-General’s call for global efforts to prevent statelessness, especially among migrant children, drew attention to forced migration, and called on States to provide migrant children with birth registration.

Alsalam Foundation, in a joint statement, raised concern over the comprehensive disregard for the work of the Human Rights Council Special Procedures by Bahrain, which continued to deny visits to any of the Special Procedures. The Foundation called on Bahrain to begin constructive cooperation with the Special Procedures and to uphold its international obligations.

Make Mothers Matter said that the report of the High Commissioner on the realization of the right to work failed to acknowledge the unequal distribution of unpaid family care and domestic work between men and women, work that kept women in low status jobs and vulnerable positions.

International Association for Democracy in Africa said Pakistan had a long history of using counter-terrorism laws against peaceful protesters to clamp down on dissent, listed people detained following protests, and added that members of the Shia minority in Baluchistan were deprived of their rights to peaceful assembly.

France-Libertés: Fondation Danielle Mitterrand spoke about Western Sahara, describing the suffering of 21 prisoners known as the “Gdeim Izik” group who were in jail only for peacefully defending their people’s right to self-determination in accordance with United Nations resolutions.

Foodfirst Information and Action Network, welcomed the report of the Working Group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises, which was a historic step taken by the Human Rights Council, and reflection of a growing acknowledgment by States of their human rights obligations to protect against offences and crimes committed by transnational corporations and other businesses.

International Catholic Migration Commission said that the world needed to put the protection of people, not borders, first. Today’s global challenge called for a solution-sharing approach. In the 1980s and 1990s the orderly departure and resettlement programmes had safely moved over 2.5 million Indochinese refugees. To update that today, States needed to add other legal pathways, like humanitarian, labour, and student visas, private sponsorship, family reunification, and medical evacuation.

Canners International Permanent Committee said the invasion of privacy was the intrusion into the personal life of another, without just cause, and gave persons the right to bring a lawsuit for damages. It encompassed workplace monitoring, Internet privacy, data collection, and other means of disseminating private information. It raised concern about the invasion of privacy in Pakistan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Europe-Third World Centre, in a joint statement with, International Association of Democratic Lawyers, stated that the Human Rights Council ushered one of the most important parts of its work with the convening of the Intergovernmental Working Group on transnational corporations. There was a joint responsibility of States and corporations to take responsibility for the protection of human rights.

Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy drew attention to the human rights situation in Baluchistan and the use of torture by Pakistani forces in Baluchistan. Women and children, political activists and students had been abducted by Pakistani forces. Pakistani forces had admitted to having abducted 2,000 persons in military operations carried out in Baluchistan.

Human Rights Advocates noted that human rights were frequently violated due to large-scale infrastructure projects. It stressed the importance of the right to adequate housing, which was particularly needed in traditionally centralised countries. Chile had been found responsible for its failure to provide access to adequate housing. The Council should recognize the need for the participation of citizens in the design of housing legislation and decisions.

Pan African Union for Science and technology noted the importance of recognizing the collective dimension of cultural rights for minorities, and expressed concerns about violence against minorities in Pakistan, including forced conversion and sexual assault. There had been no effort to investigate those cases.

Japanese Workers’ Committee for Human Rights referred to the recent agreement between Japan and the Republic of Korea on the issue of comfort women, regretted that this agreement was concluded with no consultation with the victims, and referred to the view by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that this agreement “did not fully adopt a victim-centred approach”.

Indian Council of Education said that terrorism was one of the major threats against which States had to protect their citizens while respecting human rights. Terrorism affected economies. No religion could be blamed for this phenomenon, as terrorism was preached by wrong leaders and innocent people fell prey to them.

Friends of the Earth International demanded that United Nations Member States supported the process toward a binding treaty on transnational corporations and other businesses with respect to human rights, and added that parent companies should be held accountable for the conduct of their subsidiaries and supply-chain partners.

International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination said in a joint statement that there was a general disregard for human rights in the world recently, singling out the situations in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, which since the illegal United States-led invasion had seen a deterioration in the social fabric of the country.

Association Dunenyo said that Saharawi people had been deprived of their human rights, including the rights of freedom of movement and assembly, and many others. The situation of women in the area amounted to violations of the provisions of a range of international conventions, and no clear legal framework governed the Tindouf population.

Global Helping to Advance Women and Children noted the report on the protection of the family. Multiple United Nations consensus documents made it clear that the term “family” was understood to refer to the union of a man and a woman. They were concerned that the report claimed that there was no definition of the family under international human rights law and opposed all references to “various forms of the family.”

United Nations Watch asked whether the Human Rights Council had lived up to its promises. It had heard from victims of human rights violations from countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Tibet, Cuba, Iraq, Russian Federation, and Turkey. Why were there no resolutions for human rights victims in China, Russian Federation, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela?

Society for Recovery Support drew attention to the issue of drug smuggling in Iran. Many households, and especially children, had been silent victims of drug trafficking in the country. Sanctions had exacerbated the situation, which, if continued, could boost the production, distribution and transit of narcotics in Iran and the world.

Organization for Defending Victims of Violence referred to civilian victims, particularly women and children, in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and to displacement resulting from conflicts there. The Council should prepare a special report on the situation of children in Iraq, Yemen and Palestine.

International Commission of Jurists supported the adoption of a legally-binding instrument that could significantly advance the protection of human rights in the context of globalization, ensure accountability for transnational corporations, and provide mechanisms for redress. Such an instrument would be the necessary complement to the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, in a joint statement, referred to human rights abuses in Bahrain, including allegedly 370 persons who were victims of torture, 275 persons physically beaten, and 88 persons deprived of their religious freedoms in 2013. It called on the Government to initiate investigations and prosecutions of suspected torturers, and to release all persons convicted on the basis of coerced confessions.

American Association of Jurists said that in the occupied non self-governing territory of Western Sahara, the freedoms of peaceful assembly and of association were clearly violated by the occupying power, the Kingdom of Morocco. The Special Rapporteur Mr. Kiai was urged to pay particular attention to Western Sahara.

Iraqi Development Organization spoke about the situation in Yemen, adding that the current crisis was based on the failure of successive governments to rise to the aspirations of the Yemeni people. As for economic rights, over 21 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance.

World Barua Organization spoke about the rights of women in India, and specified that Dalit women were more burdened and discriminated against on the basis of caste, class and gender. It appealed to the Council to persuade the Indian Government to act on that situation. Dalit women were the most oppressed segment of Indian society.

United Schools International stated that combatting hunger and malnutrition was more than a moral duty or a policy choice. In many countries it was a legally binding human rights obligation. In Pakistan more than 71 per cent of the Sindh households were facing food insecurity. Experts said that there was no point in pinning hopes on the Government as it clearly did not care about the situation at hand.

Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII, on behalf of severals NGOs², raised their voice against the practice of commercial maternal surrogacy. That widespread phenomenon was a new example of the sale of children and even violence against them. The new-born became the object of a legal contract and was picked as in a catalogue.

Federación de Asociaciones de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos called attention to the necessity to include a special mention of transnational corporations in the agenda of human rights. Their activities had a special impact on the right to self-determination and the use of natural resources. It also called for the adequate use of terms at the Human Rights Council, such as in the case of Israel, Myanmar and Western Sahara.

Centre for Environment and Management Studies said that in “North Korea”, executions were carried as an integral part of the State’s policy. Seventy officials, and nearly 1,400 “North Koreans” had been publicly executed between 2000 and 2013. In Pakistan, the Baluchi freedom fighters faced executions on account of manufactured terror charges.

World Muslim Congress said that security forces and intelligence agencies in occupied Kashmir attacked journalists in Indian-occupied Kashmir for covering activities of leaders of political dissent. Indian authorities had institutionalized hostility against human rights defenders and journalists. India should immediately release Mr. Geelani and Mr. Kumar, who were charged after expressing displeasure against the Government.

International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations referred to violations in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and called upon India to ensure that investigations into all sites of mass graves and past and current allegations of enforced disappearances there were immediately carried out. India should ratify without delay the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.

European Union of Public Relations said that the threat posed by violent extremism was constrained neither by international borders nor limited to any single ideology. The Jihadi elements in Pakistan had very close sectarian linkage with Pakistan’s anti-Shia organizations. The religious extremists groups had been able to mould public opinion in their favour after describing their campaign as a timely effort to save Islam and Muslims.

World Environment and Resources Council drew the attention of the Human Rights Council to gross human rights violations committed by the State and security establishment of Pakistan against Sindhi people. Sindhi people were subjected to gross violations of their economic, social, cultural, political, linguistic and educational development rights.

Commission to Study the Organization of Peace noted that violating the right to food could impair the enjoyment of other human rights, such as the right to health, education or life. Food security measures in Baluchistan in Pakistan needed to be stepped up. Currently, 58.2 per cent of household heads in Baluchistan were illiterate, whereas 82 per cent of the women did not have even basic knowledge about malnutrition and other health issues.

Khiam Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture spoke about the situation in Yemen, saying that terrorist groups related to Al Qaeda and Da’esh, supported by Saudi Arabia, continued to massacre innocent Yemeni civilians. The Human Rights Council was urged to act in favour of peace and to put an end to aggression. Thanks were expressed to the people of Oman for all their efforts to advance a peaceful solution.

Global Network for Rights and Development welcomed the attention of the Working Group on transnational corporations to expand the scope of the applicability of any future instrument to sub-contracting, also noting the indivisibility and interdependence of human rights.

CIVICUS welcomed the Council’s growing recognition of the crucial role civil society played in facilitating the full realization of all human rights, and noted violations of the right to freedom of assembly in Ethiopia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Sudan and Egypt. It welcomed the joint compilation report on the proper management of assemblies by the two Special Rapporteurs.

International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies stressed the urgent need to combat violence against children by parents, caregivers and community members, through addressing the underlining causes, including unintended pregnancies and alcohol consumption during pregnancies, and promoting home visits by social workers.

Centre for Inquiry said that social media platforms allowed individuals to easily share opinions, and connect with like-minded people all around the world. The increasing trend of States censoring of these platforms, which was too often directed at peaceful dissenting voices, was of concern and violated international norms.

Alliance Defending Freedom said that the family unit required State protection and assistance, including through positive measures. The idea of recognizing the diversity of families however did not support international consensus. Children benefited greatly from an intact family structure comprised of a mother and a father.

International Educational Development stated that the failure of the Human Rights Council to take seriously the right to self-determination had had an obvious detrimental effect on a number of situations, such as that in Indian-administered Kashmir and the situation of the Hmong people in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, who had been targeted by the Government.

Liberation reminded that in the so-called largest democracy of the world, India, laws which did not meet international standards on freedom of expression had been used to prosecute human rights defenders. It appealed to the Human Rights Council to take notice of the situation of Dalits in India, and ensure the provision of social, economic, political, cultural and development rights to India’s minority citizens.

Commission africaine des promoteurs de la santé et des droits de l’homme drew attention to the suffering of Kashmir’s widows, whose husbands had disappeared during the ongoing conflict in Kashmir. There were between 8,000 to 10,000 missing persons in the region, which had had deep social effects on the local populations, particularly on widows and orphans.

International Muslim Women’s Union addressed the situation of violence against women, and detailed the situation of women in Kashmir, noting that a student completing her master’s degree had been killed in February by the Indian army. The Armed Forces Special Power Act affected the whole population, but especially women and children.

International Federation for Human Rights Leagues, in a joint statement with, World Organisation Against Torture, said that human rights defenders worldwide acted in an increasingly hostile environment, expressed particular worry about the scale of attacks against them in a number of countries, including Brazil and Honduras, and called for the adoption of a strong resolution on human rights defenders.

Women's Human Rights International Association, in a joint statement with, International Educational Development, Inc, said that the number of executions was rapidly increasing in Iran. There were restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly in the country. Following the nuclear deal, gaps in human rights protection should not be forgotten.

International Humanist and Ethical Union welcomed the mention in the report on the protection of the family of the right to decide the number and spacing of children, which should be understood to support a woman’s ability to obtain necessary reproductive services, including safe and legal abortion care. It also welcomed the clarification that there was no standard definition of the family.

Human Rights Watch welcomed the fact that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had made the elimination of caste-based discrimination a strategic priority in its anti-discrimination work. Such form of discrimination affected some 260 million people globally, the vast majority in South Asia. Dalit women were particularly disadvantaged due to intersectional discrimination of caste and gender.

World Jewish Congress noted that both the right to freedom of religion or belief and to freedom of expression were closely related, as exhibited by the recent attacks on Charlie Hebdo. Education had to play a primary role in teaching tolerance and respect. While those rights were tenets of democracy, they should not be allowed to be used to promote hate speech and discrimination.

Action Internationale Paix et Developpement dans la region des Grands Lacs, underlined that the natural resources of Western Sahara, contrary to what individuals who ignored the actual situation of the region had said, were at the service of the local population. Sahara provinces had been completely reformed and transformed. Action Internationale launched an urgent appeal to the Human Rights Council to put pressure in order to definitively resolve the artificial crisis in Western Sahara.

Arab Commission for Human Rights said the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture played an important role in the reparation and rehabilitation of victims, and their reintegration in society. It sustained a large number of projects in the Arab world. Unfortunately, and by contrast, Arab countries only made a very symbolic contribution to the Fund, with a global participation of 2 per cent.

Indian Council of South America said the right to self-determination was one of the pillars of the United Nations and an intricate part of the International Bill of Rights. The Human Rights Council had to be able to hear about violations of the right to self-determination. The illegal annexation of Alaska and Hawaii as a result of an irregular referendum had removed them from the list of non-self-governing territories.

Union of Arab Jurists said that the realization of human rights required stability and security, and the enjoyment of the right to development. Acts of terrorism, including atrocities and destruction of cultural heritage, were most serious violations. Those countries that provided support to these terrorists violated the sovereignty of countries and their people’s right to self-determination.

Colombian Commission of Jurists expressed concern about the recent murder of Berta Cáceres, a woman rights defender from Honduras, which reminded of the particular risks faced by defenders in the region, particularly those working on women, indigenous peoples and mining activities. A binding treaty was needed to ensure that States took all necessary measures for businesses to respect human rights, both domestically and abroad.

Article 19 stated that all rights protected offline should also be protected online, and expressed particular concern about reprisals against those expressing opinions on the Internet. Efforts to erase anonymity and encryption, and to block websites, particularly in the context of peaceful protests, were matters of serious concern. The Council should more systematically address the online dimension of the protection of human rights.

Pasumai Thaayagam Foundation spoke about the situation in Sri Lanka, saying that while there had been some improvement in the situation, the security forces continued to detain, torture, and sexually violate Tamils in a network of sites across the island. Sri Lanka had to fulfil the commitments it had made to the Council and provide transitional justice for past crimes.

International Federation of University Women, on behalf of severals NGOs³, reaffirmed that human rights education was a human right in itself, and encouraged States that had not done so to implement action plans and send their national reports to the Office of the High Commissioner, as only 30 States had done so in 2015.

Save the Children International, in a joint statement with, Plan International Inc.; Groupe des ONG pour la Convention relative aux droits de l'enfant ; and Defence for Children International, said that the lack of sufficient, efficient and equitable investment in children was one of the barriers to the realization of children’s rights. To ensure the realization of the child-focused Sustainable Development Goals, Member States were urged to implement commitments made in Council resolution 28/19.

Il Cenacolo condemned the siege of the Tindouf camp with the help of the Algerian authorities, which deprived the most basic rights of the Sahrawi people there, including their right to seek refugee status. Abduction, torture, rape, forced marriage and recruitment of children were perpetrated by the Polisario militias.

Institute for Policy Studies underlined that an international legally-binding treaty on business and human rights should cover the nexus of international financial bodies and mechanisms. It also referred to the assassination of Berta Cáceres, and other human rights defenders, which was an urgent wakeup call to both governments and civil society organizations.

Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme said that the Islamic State and Boko Haram were responsible for thousands of civilian deaths. It remained alarmed at the rate of constitutional misuses in African countries and mass human rights violations in electoral contexts. It also deplored the lack of hospitality by some European countries to refugees and migrants.

Terre des Hommes Federation Internationale drew attention to the situation of migrants in transit in Calais. The French media had reported that at least 326 unaccompanied minors were still living in the informal settlement in Calais, most of them from Afghanistan. Children on the move needed more than a roof. They were entitled to specific care provided by trained personnel.

OCAPROCE International reminded that the Kashmiri people had been suffering from extreme inhuman behaviour over the past seven decades. Various draconian laws, such as the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, were all contradictory to international laws and clearly violated them. It was high time that the United Nations took up the issue and found a solution for Kashmir.

Integrated Youth Empowerment–Common Initiative Group alerted the Human Rights Council to the situation of Tamils in Sri Lanka, noting that the Tamil people still faced military occupation in the north and east of the country, and that the Tamil people still feared to give their statements to the Commission of Inquiry.

Association Solidarité Internationale pour l’Afrique said the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted last September was missing a victim-centred approach. Tamils were still living under heavy military presence in their homeland. No one could expect a free, fair and independent investigation to happen in Sri Lanka when victims were still being terrorized by the brutal military.

African Development Association called attention to the freedom of movement, which was suppressed in Western Sahara. The structure of the refugee camps was similar to prisons, with an increase of checkpoints. Humanitarian assistance was abused by the leaders of the Polisario. The Sahrawians called upon Algeria to end violations and to render camps safe.

International Career Support Association said the Japanese Government told the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that they could not find evidence that Japanese authorities forced Korean women into sexual slavery after a full scale investigation. After the agreement between Japan and the Republic of Korea, a Korean organization kept bringing up the issue and intentionally misleading the public to raise money.

Sudwind took up the situation in Iran, detailing the situation of four prisoners who were said to be systematically deprived of their right to heath care and imminent treatment. The Member States of the Council were urged to call on Iran to cease implementing human rights in a selective and limited manner, and ensure their universality.

African Regional Agricultural Credit Association said that the people of Baluchistan had been deprived of human rights for decades, adding that plans for the Pakistan-China economic corridor had completely side-lined the indigenous people and thousands of Baloch families had been forced to flee the area. Those people were at risk from the Taliban.

Comision Juridica para el Autodesarrollo de los Pueblos Originatios Andinos said that human rights violations caused by the illegal occupation of the Hawaiian Islands by the United States had continued and increased in the past year. The right to self-determination needed to be restored as a priority item on the agenda of the Council.

Prahar expressed concerns about the high rates of suicide among farmers in India. Natural disasters, indebtedness to banks and moneylenders, failure of the agricultural policy, insufficient economic policies, unstable economic flows, and asset losses were major causes of this tragic epidemic. The human rights of this class of people were being drastically violated, and farmers failed to live their lives with majesty because of indebtedness.

European Centre for Law and Justice condemned genocide against Christians and Yazidis by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Thousands had been killed, while thousands others had been taken into slavery. Cultural sites had been destroyed. These crimes constituted a genocide under international law. The Council should join the European Parliament in publically recognizing this genocide, and call on the countries in the region to accept cultural diversity.

Hazrat Javad-al-Aemeh Cultural Charity Institute said that it had successfully provided quality education for 25 years in Iran, offering services to more than 4,500 school and 3,000 university students yearly throughout its Educational Complex and the University. This model could be seen as a good practice and would be helpful considering the fact that children’s right to education was gravely violated in the conflict regions of the Middle East.

Asian Legal Resource Centre, in a joint statement with, Franciscans International applauded the strong gender perspective in the Special Rapporteur’s report on torture and ill-treatment. In Asia, with the exception of Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea and Japan, modern investigation facilities were inaccessible to the average police officers investigating civilian crimes.

Apprentissages Sans Frontiers noted that there was a staggering number of people without employment, amounting to 204 million, out of which 74 million were youth. The world was negatively affected by the past financial and economic crisis and education was not funded. It was thus urgent to find solutions that would allow concerned persons, notably the young, to guarantee them their future.

World Future Council called special attention to the fact that human rights violations by transnational corporations and other businesses not only deprived people of their human rights today, but also future generations. It called on governments to step up action to fill the existing gaps in international law and to hold transnational companies accountable.

Peviande Gole Narges Organization said the United States Senate had recently passed a bill for travel restrictions to Iran. This was a shocking and unfair law that was against human rights. According to the new law, citizens from thirty eight visa-free countries would now need to obtain United States visas if they were citizens of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria, or if they reported on a travel application that they had visited the mentioned countries since 2011.

International Fellowship of Reconciliation said that it was less than a decade since the publication of the Human Rights Committee’s “Views” in the cases of Yoon and Choi v Republic of Korea, the first international jurisprudence to recognise a right of conscientious objection to military service. Since then, there had been dramatic advances. However there were still States which routinely imprisoned conscientious objectors, including the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Israel.

Prevention Association of Social Harms said the developing world was witness to the appearance of a crisis which had drawn millions of people to slavery because of addiction. The spread of drug abuse in East and West Africa, South America, and the spread of industrial drugs in the Middle East and South-East Asia were all newly appeared crises, to such an extent that drug trafficking was deemed as one of the main crises of the twenty-first century.

Cameroon Youth said that in India, authorities clamped down on civil society organizations critical of official policies, and increased restrictions on foreign funding. Religious tensions intensified and gender and caste-based discrimination and violence remained pervasive. Censorship and attacks on freedom of expression by hard-line Hindu groups had grown.

Right of Reply

India, speaking in a right of reply in response to Pakistan, said that it was unfortunate that Pakistan had chosen to mislead the Council about Jammu and Kashmir, which was an internal matter of India. Terrorist groups from Pakistan which manifested in terrorist attacks in India amounted to a denial of the right to life of victims of terrorism.

Pakistan, speaking in a right of reply in response to India, said that according to Security Council resolutions, Jammu and Kashmir was disputed territory. Occupied Jammu and Kashmir was not an internal matter. For durable peace, the dispute needed to be resolved. The Indian delegation’s unfortunate remarks were regretted, Pakistan condemned terrorism, and Kashmiris were terrorists to Indian authorities as Nelson Mandela was to the apartheid regime.

¹Joint statement: United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY Peacebuilders); Servas International; International Fellowship of Reconciliation; Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII; Center for Global Nonkilling; and Conscience and Peace Tax International.


²Joint statement: Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII; Mouvement International d'Apostolate des Milieux Sociaux Indépendants; Pax Romana; Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd; International Catholic Child Bureau; Teresian Association; Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul; World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations; Association Points-Coeur; and Fédération Internationale des Associations Médicales Catholiques.


³Joint statement: International Federation of University Women; International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; Servas International; Foundation for GAIA; Planetary Association for Clean Energy, Inc., The; International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism; Make Mothers Matter; Teresian Association; Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem; International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom of Education; and Association Points-Coeur.




For use of the information media; not an official record

HRC16/028E