HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONTINUES HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT

The Human Rights Council this morning began the third day of its high-level segment, hearing statements by dignitaries from Mozambique, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Burundi, Maldives, Rwanda, Ecuador, Armenia, Georgia, Norway, Czech Republic, Albania, Bahrain, Malta and Denmark.

Many speakers stressed the importance of the right to development as a prerequisite for the enjoyment of all human rights, and the need to find a balance between economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political ones. One speaker welcomed the permanent nature of the new body, which would be able to deal with human rights violations as they happened, not just six weeks every spring.

Esperança Machavele, Minister of Justice of Mozambique, said that the manner in which the Council set out the question of sharing scientific progress and technology in the service of humanity’s development would make a difference in the way human rights were perceived.

Moses Refiloe Masemene, Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Rehabilitation and of Law and Constitutional Affairs of Lesotho, said that Lesotho welcomed the proposal to adopt at this session the draft Convention on Enforced Disappearances and noted with keen interest developments in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Persons.

Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of Zimbabwe, appealed to the new Council to come up with a framework that prohibited direct funding of local non-governmental organizations operating in the field of human rights and governance issues by developed countries and their agencies, preferring assistance channelled through the United Nations system in a transparent and open manner.

Mohamed Bedjaoui, Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, said that victims of human rights violations around the world were expecting the Council to hear their voices. The new body should avoid politicization and confrontation, and promote dialogue and cooperation in favour of victims.

Francoise Ngendahayo, Minister for National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender of Burundi, said that Burundi was committed to create a national commission for human rights within the context of the Paris Principles.

Ahmed Shaheed, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, said it was his country’s fervent hope that the newly inaugurated Council would advance and build upon its international engagement with the democratic and human rights reform programme currently under way in the Maldives.

Edda Mukabagwiza, Minister of Justice of Rwanda, said that Rwanda was convinced that the time had come for the victims of the Rwandan genocide to be given a guarantee that the crimes committed against them would not remain unpunished.

Francisco Carrion Mena, Minister of External Relations of Ecuador, said that to enhance the implementation of human rights instruments, Ecuador had adopted a National Plan of Human Rights and the Andean Charter of Human Rights and other pertinent United Nations human rights instruments.

Vartan Oskanian, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, said Armenia had issued an open invitation to the United Nations special procedures and it was open and ready to cooperate with United Nations human rights mechanisms. That was good for each country, as it was for a vigilant world.

George Manjgaladze, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, said that Georgia was taking steps to combat torture and human trafficking. Efficient steps were also undertaken to fight against religion-based intolerance.

Raymond Johansen, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, said the responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights lay with each and every State. However, striving to achieve human rights was also a collective endeavour and Governments should accept that human rights abuses were issues of legitimate international concern.

Pavel Svoboda, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, said the Commission belonged to history now, and the Human Rights Council promised the future. The Czech Republic would continue to play an active role in the field of human rights, both in the bilateral and the multilateral dimension, which included the Council. An issue of top priority for the Czech Republic was the special procedures, which were crucial tools in human rights promotion and protection within the United Nations system.

Edith Harxhi, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Albania, said during the last 15 years, Albania had made a considerable progress for the protection of human rights by changing the old system, which gravely violated the rights of the people to enjoy freedom and democracy. Instead, Albania today had fully managed to build up a State, where the fundamental freedom and human rights were the foundation of the society.

Shaikh Abdulaziz Bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, said that it was hoped that the organization of the Council’s work would be rapid and just, so that it could start examining substantive human rights issues, which were so important to all.

Anthony Abela, Parliamentary Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, said the fact that the new Council would be able to address situations of gross and systematic violations of human rights gave room for optimism.

Michael Zilmer-Johns, State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, said that human rights were violated all the year round and should be dealt with as they happened, not just six weeks every spring.

Speaking in right of reply were the delegations of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The next plenary of the Council will be held this afternoon at 3 p.m., when it will begin its general segment. The high-level segment will resume for the fourth and last day at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 22 June.

Statements

ESPERANÇA MACHAVELE, Minister of Justice of Mozambique, said that Mozambique welcomed the establishment of the Human Rights Council, and supported the universal periodic review mechanism. The experience of the peer review mechanism established by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development had proved to be assertive, since it provided space for dialogue and partnership between the Governments and all stakeholders, in the promotion of good governance and human rights. One of the challenges in the agenda of the Council was to establish the correct balance of the inter-dependence of civil rights and the right to development. In fact, nowadays nobody questioned the universality of human rights understood as civil and political rights. However, the full capacity to enjoy those rights presupposed the capacity of the individual to exercise them and to the States to provide mechanisms, which allowed the citizen to extensively enjoy their rights. A vast majority of the population lived in absolute poverty. People were still dying from hunger, infantile malnutrition, and from diseases that could be prevented or cured. The prevalence of that situation would continue to stain the collective conscience of the United Nations as incapacity in guaranteeing the enjoyment of the most elementary of human rights: the right to life.

Ms. Machavele said that the manner in which the Council set out the question of sharing scientific progress and technology in the service of humanity’s development would make a difference in the way human rights were perceived. Mozambique would also like to see the Human Rights Council taking leadership on the gender equality issue. It was their expectation that the Council would be engaged in the advocacy and monitoring of the implementation of the United Nations Conventions related to women’s rights. In many countries, independently of the way society perceived the issue of gender, women had a structural role in the minds of new generations. Guaranteeing the full enjoyment of human rights in the area of gender constituted, therefore, a guarantee for the sustainability of respect for human rights, a condition for peace and development.

MOSES REFILOE MASEMENE, Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Rehabilitation and of Law and Constitutional Affairs lf Lesotho, said the establishment of the Council could be seen as an appropriate and timely response to an obvious need to adapt structures and processes to the changed and changing circumstances, that was to obtain socio-economic, cultural and political environment and dynamics at global, regional and national levels. Lesotho welcomed the proposal to adopt at this session, the draft Convention on Enforced Disappearances and noted with keen interest developments in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Persons. Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, almost sixty years ago, a body of pivotal human rights norms and standards had been adopted through a number of international human rights covenants and conventions by the United Nations, which dealt with civil and political rights, social and economic rights, and the right to development in general. Lesotho had ratified and acceded to a number of pertinent international human rights instruments. It was highly gratifying to note that positive achievements and milestones made by the Commission on Human Rights had been encouraged by most delegates to be inbuilt into the new working mechanisms of the Council.

Lesotho strongly associated itself with the pertinent regional developments such as the peer review mechanism of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. It would be complementary to the universal peer review mechanism that was to be used by the Council in assessing Member States performance on all human rights issues. Lesotho’s support to the work of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights remained unwavering. At the national level, the right to education had been achieved through the successful introduction of the free primary education programme that was in its seventh year of implementation. Parliament in June 2006 had enacted a labour amendment law, which eliminated discrimination against all persons infected with HIV/AIDS at the workplace. Lesotho had made remarkable advances in mainstreaming gender equality in all spheres of life.

PATRICK CHINAMASA, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of Zimbabwe, said that from the ashes of the Commission had arisen the new Human Rights Council, and Zimbabwe prayed and trusted that the new institution would meet its expectations. Some of those expectations were, first, that the new Council would succeed in fostering a culture of genuine worldwide commitment to the promotion and respect for human rights in their entirety, encompassing, as they should, both political and civil rights, and socio-economic and cultural rights, as well as the so-called development rights, which Mozambique recognized as universal, interdependent and indivisible. Secondly, the new Council should make it its business to depoliticize the pursuit of human rights issues. Thirdly, the reality that the world was facing today – of big countries placing themselves above the strictures of international law and committing acts of genocide and other crimes against humanity with impunity – must come to an end.

Fourthly, Mozambique’s sad experience with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in their territory in the area of human rights and governance issues was that they were set up and financed by developed countries as instruments of their foreign policy. Their objectives included destabilization of and interference with the evolution of political processes, undermining sovereignty, creating and sustaining local opposition groups and promoting disaffection and hostility among the local populations. Mozambique appealed to the new Council to observe that phenomenon and to seek to correct it by coming up with a framework that prohibited direct funding of local NGOs operating in the field of human rights and governance issues by developed countries and their agencies. If any assistance was desired to be given, that should be channelled through the United Nations system in a transparent and open manner. Fifthly, recognizing that evolving a culture that promoted and respected human rights was a process and not an event, there were high expectations, especially from developing countries, that the new Council would offer a helping hand to those countries that needed assistance. To that end, Mr. Chinamasa called on the new Council to establish a well-resourced technical unit to which member countries could appeal for technical and material assistance in the areas of legislation training and capacity and institution building.

MOHAMED BEDJAOUI, Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, said that today the victims of human rights violations around the world were expecting the Council to hear their voices. The new body was established to avoid politicisation and confrontation and to support dialogue and cooperation in favour of the victims. All human rights should be received within the Council in the spirit of consensus, and should be given equity in interdependence, objectivity and non-selectivity. Algeria, which was healing its wounds after years of large-scale violent terrorist acts, had not, at any moment, renounced the ideals of humanity, even, during the period of tragedy. Within an international environment where the phenomenon of terrorism faced some indifference, Algeria sought its path, without minimizing the effects of those who were murdering children and persons with disabilities. It also rejected the acts of those criminals who sought to relate their acts to religion. Algeria never resorted to the issue of security with regard to terrorism. The Government had accompanied its security needs with clemency for those who repented from their acts, through the application of “civil concord” and “national reconciliation”. Those steps were part of democratic responses to a crisis that affected the unity of the people and the State.

It belongs to history to judge the option of peace and reconciliation in the modality, which was approved by the Algerian people. Historians, rather than politicians, could distinguish the fundamental differences among human rights problems in Latin America, in South Africa’s apartheid and even from one country to the other in the Maghreb. Seeing those differences in circumstances and varied situations, the solution applied to resolve the problems might not be the same. Algeria had fully assumed its responsibilities in reconciling man to himself.

FRANCOISE NGENDAHAYO, Minister for National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender of Burundi, saluted the work accomplished by the Commission on Human Rights and wished the new Human Rights Council success. As the world sought perfection, Burundi hoped that the Human Rights Council would do a better job than the Commission on Human Rights. The Commission had been the pioneer and it was up to the Council to continue its work. The achievements of the Commission were still important. It had put in place special procedures in the form of mechanisms and mandates. Some of the procedures were thematic while others were country specific. Burundi had benefited from those procedures. A number of Special Rapporteurs had visited the country to assess the situation in the field with regard to the human rights situation. They had also assisted the Government of Burundi in its efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country. The Government of Burundi thanked the United Nations for its important support in the promotion and protection of human rights.

For a country that was emerging from armed conflicts, human rights matters were not easy tasks. Human rights violations continued to take place with regard to the right to life, physical integrity, freedom, personal security, and sexual violence, particularly violence against women and girls. Violence against women was an obstacle to the full enjoyment of their freedom and hindered the realization of gender equality, peace and development. The other gap was juridical and legislative order. The persistence of the illegal detention centres was also a concern for the Government. Burundi was committed to creating a national commission for human rights within the context of the Paris Principles.

AHMED SHAHEED, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Maldives, said that the inauguration of the Human Rights Council came at an important time in the democratic history of the Maldives. The country was embarked on an ambitious reform programme designed to bring its political institutions in line with modern democratic and human rights standards. The international community had played and continued to play a key role in that reform process, offering valuable advice, support and expertise. Building on that trend of international engagement, it was the Maldives sincere hope that over the years it would be able to work closely with the newly inaugurated Council to bring about real and lasting improvements in human rights protection in the country.

The Maldives had achieved an incredible level of economic and social development over the past 20 years. Among others, life expectancy had increased from 48 to 72 years, and the literacy rate now stood at 98 per cent, the highest in the South Asia and Indian Ocean regions. Those economic and social achievements had been made possible thanks in no small part to the committed support of the United Nations system and other partners in the international community. The Maldives was now experiencing similarly rapid change in the political sphere. Important steps along that path included the establishment of a Human Rights Commission; the introduction of a functioning multi-party political system; accession to the Convention against Torture and its Optional Protocol; new regulations to improve prison conditions and facilities; an agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate visits to prisons and detention centres; and the establishment of a Judicial Services Commission to strengthen the independence of the judiciary. Mr. Shaheed said that it was his country’s fervent hope that the newly inaugurated Council would advance and build upon that tradition of international engagement with the democratic and human rights reform programme currently under way in the Maldives.

EDDA MUKABAGWIZA, Minister of Justice of Rwanda, said that the people of Rwanda wished to reaffirm the undertaking of the United Nations to create a new Human Rights Council to promote human rights. The Government of Rwanda believed that it was only through respect for and protection and promotion of human rights, based on the rule of law, that they would be able to build well being and development for all nations, and consequently for everyone on the planet. The protection of children against all forms of violence, in particular sexual violence, was also a central concern of the Government of Rwanda. Material and medical assistance afforded to their citizens, as well as protection against abuse for those living with HIV/AIDS, testified to the Government’s desire to defend the right to life of its citizens.

Rwanda was convinced that the time had come for the victims of the Rwandan genocide to be given a guarantee that the crimes committed against them would not remain unpunished. It was long past time, indeed, that the orphans, widows, and widowers of that genocide had their rights reinstated, and it was equally high time that those who had recognized their guilt and asked forgiveness were reintegrated into the national society so that they could do useful work. Rwanda always hoped to make its contribution to the international community in the protection of human rights. For that reason it had sent troops to participate in peacekeeping missions of the African Union and the United Nations, respectively, in Darfur and Khartoum. Rwanda had lent its support to Burundi in the consolidation of peace and democracy there. It also supported the efforts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to make its political transition quickly and peacefully. Finally, Rwanda hoped that each and all the undertakings of the Human Rights Council would be crowned with success.

FRANCISCO CARRION MENA, Minister of External Relations of Ecuador, said that the promotion and protection of human rights was one of the aspirations of the international community. Its importance had been made evident by the creation of the United Nations, which was complemented by the establishment of a universal body to consolidate the process of human rights promotion and respect. Those rights had been embodied in a number of international instruments, legal expression of universal political will, and in dimensions relating to the realization of political, economic, social and cultural rights. In order to respond to the aspirations of the time, the creation of the Commission on Human Rights had been seen as a means to materialize those objectives. Ecuador welcomed the creation of the Human Rights Council, which was part of the reform of the United Nations. The Council should base its work on transparency, impartiality, credibility and responsibility. The members of the Council had responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights. The use of the universal periodic review mechanism would be significant in establishing dialogue and discharging the Council’s mandate.

Ecuador felt honoured to be a member of the Council and to observe the historical transition of the United Nations and international law. Ecuador further considered its membership as recognition of the important developments of human rights in the country through the implementation of international instruments at the national level. In order to enhance the implementation of human rights instruments, Ecuador had adopted a National Plan of Human Rights and the Andean Charter of Human Rights and other pertinent United Nations human rights instruments. Ecuador had also taken a series of measures to promote and protect human rights by promoting and developing international human rights; extending invitations to special mechanisms; promoting and protecting the human rights of vulnerable groups; and by harmonizing its legislation in line with international laws.

VARTAN OSKANIAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, said that the third pillar of the United Nations – human rights – was now on a par with the other two – peace and security, and development. Securing protection and respect for human rights would, arguably, continue to be the most tortuous and contentious of the United Nations’ three challenges. The principle assumed each Member State was responsible for its neighbours as well as itself – in a world where distance did not determine who one’s neighbour was. Globalization and the electronic media enhanced the international community’s knowledge and increased their liability. It was as easy to look in one’s neighbours’ living room as one’s own. To hear screams next door and do nothing would be as difficult as ignoring uproar at home.

Mr. Oskanian said that Armenia had and continued to promote stronger international mechanisms to prevent and eradicate the crime of genocide, and all of its precursors – including efforts, too often successful, at not just cleansing a region of its indigenous people, but also erasing their memory. Armenians had survived and had gone on to live through each of those attempts. Even today, in the twenty-first century, Armenia had watched helplessly as the spiritual and cultural markers of their people were decimated. If Azerbaijan’s one-step-forward, one-step-back approach in negotiations had been simply alarming, its recent desperate offers of autonomy were concrete examples of a retreat from the letter and spirit of the talks, and clearly not in sync with international trends. Armenia hoped that the talks would go forward in a way that would provide everyone involved with a real hope for lasting peace. In conclusion, Armenia had issued an open invitation to the special procedures and it was open and ready to cooperate with United Nations human rights mechanisms. That was good for each country, as it was for a vigilant world.

GEORGE MANJGALADZE, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, said human rights issues were among key priorities for Georgia. Having gained its independence, Georgia had made its choice to build a state based on democratic values and the rule of law, to integrate into the international community and European structures. The Constitution and the laws met human rights requirements and its international obligations in that sphere. However, Georgia continued working to have them fully harmonized with international standards. Today, Georgia was a State party to six main UN human rights instruments. Internal procedures were currently under way to ensure accession to other conventions. The country followed its international obligations with respect to the preparation and submission of state reports to the UN treaty monitoring bodies. Georgia was determined to further develop a strong independent judiciary where people were given fair treatment. Law enforcement bodies were also subjected to reformation.

The Government of Georgia was taking steps to combat torture and human trafficking. National action plans to overcome those human rights violations were approved by the President of Georgia and tangible progress had been achieved in both spheres. Efficient steps were also undertaken to fight against religion-based intolerance. Flagrant human rights violations were still taking place in the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which were currently de facto out of control of the Government of Georgia. Many citizens of Georgia living there had been proven to be victims of gross human rights violations.

RAYMOND JOHANSEN, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, said the responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights lay with each and every State. However, striving to achieve human rights was also a collective endeavour and Governments should accept that human rights abuses were issues of legitimate international concern. The Council had an important role to play in that regard. The victims of human rights abuses should be protected, and attention should be drawn to human rights violations where they were not otherwise addressed. Particular attention should be given to vulnerable groups affected by conflict, and to the hundreds of millions of people deprived of their basic social, economic and cultural rights as a result of poverty. The international community should therefore strive to build a credible culture of dialogue and cooperation to strengthen the protection and promotion of human rights. Dialogue should not however preclude constructive criticism when that was required. Regardless of the difficulty of its task, the Council should never refrain from addressing severe human rights problems, whenever and wherever they occurred.

The political will and commitment of the Member States and the international community would be as important for the success to making the new Council a better tool for meaningful promotion and protection of human rights, as any changes in structure and working methods. Norway pledged its full support for the challenging task of making that new body a strong and effective one. Norway particularly emphasized the importance it attached to the early adoption by the Council of the draft UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

PAVEL SVOBODA, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, said that the 60-year history of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights had come to an end. While aware of some of its shortcomings, the Czech Republic had always appreciated the major successes achieved by the Commission in the field of the promotion and protection of human rights. In 2002, the Commission had adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. That Protocol had now entered into force, and the two-pillar system of prevention of torture would make global action against torture even more efficient. International law made it clear that torture was not permissible under any circumstances, neither in wartime, nor in the context of the fight against terrorism. In a few days the Czech Republic would join the group of States that had ratified the Protocol, and he took this opportunity to urge other countries to also consider accession to that instrument.

The Commission belonged to history now, and the Human Rights Council promised the future. Mr. Svoboda stressed and confirmed that the Czech Republic would continue to play an active role in the field of human rights, both in the bilateral and the multilateral dimension, which included the Council. An issue of top priority for the Czech Republic was the special procedures, which were crucial tools for human rights promotion and protection within the United Nations system. That applied equally to thematic and country mandates. In the Czech Republic’s opinion, there were two vital prerequisites for their efficiency: qualification and independence; and the cooperative approach of Governments. That included prompt acceptance of requests for a visit, general assistance and support during the visit, and implementation of the recommendations arising from it. He encouraged all States that had not yet done so to issue a standing invitation to the special procedures.

EDITH HARXHI, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Albania, said the founding of the Council presented one of the first steps in view of the aspiration of international community to make the United Nations a more vital, a more efficient and a more transparent organization. While counting on the improvement of the quality of the Council’s agenda, Albania was convinced that the protection and observance of human rights would assume a new dimension, as regards both to the common actions and to more efficient monitoring. More transparency and legitimacy was expected from the Council in decision-making process and cooperation on the part of the Member States. Albania would also offer its cooperation for the successful fulfilment of the Council’s mandate. The Council would succeed by taking advantage of the Commission’s achievements to date and by eliminating the deficits. During the last 15 years, Albania had made considerable progress on the protection of human rights by changing the old system, which gravely violated the rights of the people to enjoy freedom and democracy. Instead, Albania today had fully managed to build a State, where the fundamental freedoms and human rights were the foundation of the society.

Albania today was working hard to improve the lives of the Roma minority, as its members formed a vulnerable part of the society. New educational and professional training programmes were being implemented in Albania with the aim of integrating the Roma fully into the affairs of the country. The new democratic Government was totally committed to take concrete action to safeguard the human rights and improve the lives of Albanian citizens. Albania recognized that the fight against terrorism would continue.

SHAIKH ABDULAZIZ BIN MUBARAK AL-KHALIFA, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, said the establishment of the Human Rights Council was a continuation of the 60 years of work of the Commission on Human Rights in promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. The rapid developments in the human rights field made it necessary to establish the Council to develop, promote and protect such rights and freedoms around the world. It was hoped that the Council would be an international mechanism to encompass all in its work, and that it would be able to take up its important responsibility and become a defender of human rights wherever they were. The work of the Commission was also commended and its contribution to the development of human rights, as were the efforts of all those who had worked to that end, and it was hoped that its efforts and contribution would be a basis for the Council to exert further efforts to develop and promote human rights.

It was hoped that the organization of the Council’s work would be rapid and just, so that it could start examining substantive human rights issues, which were so important to all. The most important procedural issues to be agreed between the members of the Council included the organization of the work of the Council’s mechanisms as inherited from the previous Commission, as well as reviewing the work of these mechanisms, with the possibility of some rationalisation. The Council’s work should be a success, and therefore it was important to reaffirm the importance of the principles of dialogue and cooperation in the Council’s work when dealing with issues pertaining to civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

ANTHONY ABELA, Parliamentary Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, said the Council had been entrusted with the noble and bold aim to further strengthen the United Nations human rights machinery. This was a historic achievement and the result of a global effort that emphasised the need to attend to human rights issues across the spectrum of multilateral activities. The negotiations that led to the establishment of the Council had been open, transparent and inclusive. Significantly, the members elected had accepted to have their own human rights record reviewed. Dialogue and cooperation were the primary means for protecting and strengthening human rights worldwide, and the special procedures, which were one of the major achievements of the Commission, should be preserved and strengthened. Special emphasis should be given to the strengthening of gender equality, the rights of women, the rights of persons with disabilities, and the rights of the child.

Human rights issues had a long, long way to be resolved worldwide. Torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, arbitrary detention, oppression of those with different beliefs and slavery were still in existence, in spite of mankind’s many successes in other fields such as medicine and science. The new Council, working with the other United Nations machinery, particularly the revitalised Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, should address these issues, building on the cooperation of the Member States to achieve respect of their international obligations. The fact that the new Council would be able to address situations of gross and systematic violations of human rights gave room for optimism. This was not an end per se, but a tool that should instigate change, notably domestic change, in those countries that continued to flout the human rights of their own people. The Council, as it did not reflect everything everyone wanted was a start, and should represent more than a simple cosmetic change to the Commission.

MICHAEL ZILMER-JOHNS, State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, said much had been said lately about the Commission on Human Rights, praise as well as denunciation. But the 60 years since its opening had taken their toll, and it was high time to revise the central human rights forum in the United Nations. It was hoped that the new Council would prove itself to be a stronger and more effective body than its predecessor, but much would depend on the constituency of Member States and Observer States, which should be inspired by the highest standards in developing the structure, agenda and work programme of the Human Rights Council. Behaviour and action in the Council should be based upon equally high standards and full respect for human rights. Human rights were violated all the year round and should be dealt with as they happened, not just six weeks every spring. The permanent nature of the Council should make it possible to deal with all the highly important thematic human rights issues in an innovative, and more flexible, pragmatic and focused manner.

The Optional Protocol to the International Convention against Torture entered into force tomorrow, and this represented an effective innovation in the global fight against torture and in human rights law. Also before the Council was the draft Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. It was high time to recognise, in hard law, that enforced disappearances as such were not only crimes, and in certain circumstances crimes against humanity, but serious violations of human rights, and to establish international procedures for the protection of freedom from enforced disappearances. Likewise, there was a draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration was a milestone in developing basic rights for the 300 million humans who were the world’s indigenous peoples, and all States should come forward and join in adopting the declaration by consensus.

Right of Reply

A Representative of Azerbaijan, speaking in a right of reply, said that Nagorno Karabakh and seven other surrounding regions of Azerbaijan were currently under foreign Armenian occupation, and this fact had been recognised by the whole international community, including the United Nations Security Council. The population of these territories had been subjected to ethnic cleansing by Armenian armed forces. The claims of Armenia to the right of the population of Nagorno Karabakh for self-determination were misleading, as Armenians had already realised this right after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Armenia should engage in a genuine search for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, withdraw their occupation forces, and dwell on numerous problems of their own. Otherwise, very soon Armenia would become a ghost country when the rest of its dwindling population, held hostage by a bunch of separatists, would flee the country elsewhere in search of a better and more dignified life.

A Representative of Armenia, speaking in a right of reply, said as much as it had been hoped that the present context of the situation would be an opportunity to restrain from past practices of half truths on the situation in the region, this had not materialised. Gross and systematic violations of human rights in Azerbaijan had nothing to do with Armenia. The situation in the region had been referred to in an alarming way, omitting the causes of the situation, and ignoring the well-founded security concerns of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, the status of which needed to be determined through a constitutional, democratic and peaceful process. It was hoped that the statement of the Minister of Armenia would reach its destination, and that the Council would be an opportunity for all to engage in a more sincere, open and honest dialogue and provide an opportunity for all.