HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONSIDERS REPORTS ON INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, AND SALE OF CHILDREN

The Human Rights Council this afternoon heard the presentation of reports by the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kalin, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Erturk, and the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Juan Miguel Petit.

Mr. Kalin said his work continued to be governed by three pillars of activity: a strong normative framework; the political will to implement it; and the capacity to protect. While the international community had grown more aware of the human rights of internally displaced persons, there was much still to be done in prevention of displacement and on finding durable solutions. He was convinced that the suffering and human rights crises arising from conflict could be avoided if concerned Governments were committed to search for peaceful solutions to conflict, ensured that armed forces respected international humanitarian law, and addressed impunity, and if international support were given early and in enough quantity.

Ms. Erturk said although in many parts of the world significant degrees of deviation from the universal norm of gender equality had been achieved, no country or society had fully established equality between the sexes, and consequently, violence against women, which was embedded in gender inequality, remained a universal phenomenon. It was important to underline the universality of violence against women and its socio-historical causes, as there was an increasing observance of strengthening cultural relativist claims over women’s lives, as well as a worrying trend towards singling out certain types of violence and essentialising certain cultures as the source of the problem.

Ms. Erturk hoped the Council would strengthen the violence against women mandate as well as all of the other mandates of the Special Procedures to ensure an enhanced and effective protection of human rights around the world.

Mr. Petit said the first topic mentioned in the report was that of illegal trafficking of children’s organs and tissues and it remained a sensitive issue, especially when involving vulnerable victims such as children. The second topic of the report, the issue of missing children, had become a serious concern in a number of States. Concerning the recommendations, it should be highlighted that it was primordial that all States adopted legislation and standards regulating organ and tissue transplantation in line with the Guiding Principles that had been developed in order to enforce bilateral and regional cooperation through the elaboration of common standards and establishing an effective information network. Regarding the abduction of children, all States should set up rapid-response programmes and incorporate this issue in their national legislation provisions.

Speaking as concerned countries in response to the reports were Côte d’Ivoire, Turkey, Sweden, the Netherlands and Ukraine.

Speaking in the context of the interactive debate were the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Germany on behalf of the European Union, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, South Africa, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Conference, Australia, Mexico, Democratic Republic of Congo, New Zealand on behalf of itself and Norway, Switzerland, Georgia, Albania, Republic of Korea, Uzbekistan, Norway, Azerbaijan, Nepal, Guatemala, Uruguay, Serbia, Iran, Indonesia, and India.

Speaking in right of reply were Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Singapore.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council concluded the discussion that it had held during the morning meeting with Gay McDougall, the Independent Expert on minorities issues, Jorge Bustamante, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, and Rodolfo Stavenhagen, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples, hearing concluding remarks from the three experts.

In concluding remarks, Ms. McDougall said there was much to be done in crosscutting the issues over the main pillars of UN work. The obstacles to progress were chiefly in terms of resources. Concerning her work regarding the relationship between conflict prevention and inclusion/stability issues, the work on poverty alleviation did involve social inclusion but was also closely tied to conflict prevention.

Also in concluding remarks, Mr. Bustamante said there was an endogenous demand from some countries of destination, and thus it was impossible to place the responsibilities for migration only on the countries of origin. To recognise the importance of the laws of demand in this context would facilitate the bilateral agreements that would be the rational means of defining the problem in the different countries around the world.

Similarly concluding, Mr. Stavenhagen said some suggestions were made to the Council, such as to recognize again on behalf of the indigenous people the importance that they saw in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This meant the responsibility for the Council to ensure full application of the principles of the Declaration in the years to come. Regardless what may be decided in the General Assembly, the Council should continue promoting the participation of indigenous people in its work.

The next meeting of the Council will be on Wednesday, 21 March at 10 a.m., when it is scheduled to continue to hear statements with regards to the reports on internally displaced persons, violence against women, and the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Reports before the Council

The Council has before it the annual Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kalin (A/HRC/4/38 and Add.1-5), which provides an overview of the activities of the Representative of the Secretary-General since his last report. In addition to reporting on the evolution of the conceptual and normative framework on the protection of the internally displaced, the Representative presents a summary of the conclusions he drew from his official missions to Côte d’Ivoire, Colombia, Lebanon and Israel, as well as from the working visits he carried out during the year. The report also presents the main recommendations he addresses to Governments and the international community and also to national human rights institutions and civil society. In its conclusions and recommendations, the report says responding to the protection needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is one of the main challenges of today’s world. Addendum one contains Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters, which focus on what humanitarian actors should do in order to implement a rights-based approach to humanitarian action in the context of natural disaster. Addendum two contains findings from the Special Representative's visit to Côte d’Ivoire, where an estimated half a million to 1 million IDPs have mostly been taken in by families. The Special Representative believes there is a risk that the dire poverty in which many IDPs find themselves will get worse unless a proper government policy is put in place, particularly as the host families begin to show signs of fatigue. Addendum three presents the findings of the Special Rapporteur on his mission to Colombia. In his conclusions, he commends the Government for having a far-reaching legislation and policy on IDPs, but notes that the dynamics of the conflicts in Colombia and the scale of displacement show that these mechanisms are not sufficient, and he remains perturbed by the clear gap between the policies decided in the capital and what is effectively implemented at the departmental and municipal level. A fourth addendum provides a summary of the First Regional Conference on Internal Displacement in West Africa, which took place in Abuja, Nigeria, from 26 to 28 April 2006. [A/HRC/4/38/Add.5 was not immediately available]

The Council has before it the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Erturk: Intersections between culture and violence against women (A/HRC/4/34 and Add.1-4), which addresses the dominant culture-based paradigms that justify or explain the violations of women's rights, thus reducing violence against women to a cultural problem. In order to successfully uphold universally agreed values, in particular the principle that no custom, tradition or religious consideration can be invoked to justify violence against women, the report identifies the myths around cultural discourses and outlines general guidelines for an effective strategy to counter and transform culture-based discourses, which constitute one of the major obstacles to the implementation of women's rights. A second addendum to the report contains the findings of the Special Rapporteur's mission to Turkey to address claims that suicides of women in eastern and south-eastern Turkey might be instances of murder or forced suicides. The Special Rapporteur concludes that there are reasonable grounds to assume that some of the cases were indeed disguised murders, and makes recommendations in that regard. A third addendum describes the Rapporteur's mission to Sweden to address the discrepancy between the apparent progress in achieving gender equality and the reports of continued violence against women there. Among its conclusions are the need for further improvement in implementation of existing legislation, and the need for municipalities to raise the standards of their protection policies. A fourth addendum contains findings from the Special Rapporteur's mission to the Netherlands, which focuses on the issues of domestic/intimate-partner violence, violence in the context of prostitution, and the situation of immigrant, asylum-seeking and refugee women, and makes recommendations in those areas. [A/HRC/4/34/Add.1 was not immediately available]

The Council has before it the note verbale from the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations Office at Geneva addressed to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/4/G/10), transmitting the views of the Government concerning the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and the information note on the steps taken to combat violence against women in Turkey. In it, the Government welcomes the conclusions and recommendations in the report, which are being carefully examined by the relevant authorities in Turkey, with a view to planning a course of action necessary for their implementation within the framework of Turkey's policies to prevent, punish, and eradicate violence against women. The document then outlines the numerous legislative and administrative initiatives by Turkey undertaken with a view to preventing violence against women, as well as information and awareness-raising campaigns. Finally, it clarifies or challenges four assertions made in the report, in particular assertions concerning the terrorist organization PKK/KADEK/KONGRA-GEL, stressing that women and girls recruited by terrorist organizations are primarily the victims of those organizations and not of States.

The Council has before it the annual report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Juan Miguel Petit (A/HRC/4/31 and Add.1-2), which focuses on the issue of illegal trafficking of children’s organs and tissues and the issue of abducted or disappeared children, in part in response to worrying allegations received in recent years relating to the issue of illegal trafficking of children’s organs and tissues, despite the fact that the sporadic information received remains in most cases unsubstantiated. Also, the phenomenon of missing children has taken a worldwide importance, and requires a coordinated, comprehensive and global approach. With the objective of providing standards for other States, the Special Rapporteur deemed it worthwhile to provide further details on the different models already created in response to the problem. The report reflects the responses to a questionnaire sent by the Special Rapporteur received from 27 countries, from several intergovernmental organizations and from various non-governmental organizations and individuals. A first addendum to the report contains summaries of general and individual allegations relating to, among other things, the sale of children, sexual violence and abuse of children and child bonded labour, as well as urgent appeals transmitted to Governments between 1 January and 31 December 2006, and replies received during the same period. A second addendum contains a report on the visit of the Special Rapporteur to Ukraine, which notes that, although Ukraine can register changes and plenty of good news in child protection in the last years such as a series of laws and a number of national action plans and programmes on children’s rights, at the same time other problems affecting children are not being adequately addressed, notably trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography.

Presentation of Reports by Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons

WALTER KALIN, Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, said his work continued to be governed by three pillars of activity: a strong normative framework; the political will to implement it; and the capacity to protect. While the international community had grown more aware of the human rights of internally displaced persons, there was much still to be done in prevention of displacement and on finding durable solutions. Internally displaced persons were entitled to enjoy all the rights that everyone else in their country had. There was an important question here: that of determining when their needs no longer differed from other citizens or were no longer caused by a heightened state of vulnerability due to displacement. This was a gradual process during which needs and claims were met. The Representative said he had drafted a series of benchmarks to assist in the process of analysis.

In Georgia, he recognized the strategy for internally displaced persons that recognized the right to return and the right of internally displaced persons to dignified living conditions. The strategy needed swiftly complementing with a comprehensive action plan. He also commended the Government of Turkey on its policy and action plan in the province of Van. There were improvements in parts of the Caucasus region and he looked forward to visiting several countries there. In Colombia, where long term conflict persisted, problems were more difficult, but he said semi-durable solutions should still be possible.

Mr. Kalin also referred to the development of durable solutions in Kosovo, Nepal and Northern Uganda. These showed the need to address, from a systemic point of view, internally displaced persons concerns in peace processes. Regarding Côte d’Ivoire, he noted with satisfaction the incorporation of the fate of internally displaced persons into the recent agreement between the Government and the Forces Nouvelles. In Uganda, security had improved and this enabled return to places of origin. He welcomed the closure of camps, although there were some concerns about the needs of internally displaced persons being met. He had submitted recommendations to the Peacebuilding Commission on eliminating discrimination and marginalization of sectors of society, on addressing impunity, and finding governance structures that represented all stakeholders and redressed past injustices, including on property and tenancy rights.

Mr. Kalin said he had become convinced that the suffering and human rights crises arising from conflict could be avoided if concerned governments were committed to search for peaceful solutions to conflict, ensured that armed forces respected international humanitarian law, and addressed impunity, and if international support were given early and in enough quantity. He was concerned about internally displaced persons in Iraq, where security was poor and sectarian violence was rife. He was looking forward to a positive response from the Government of Sudan on internally displaced persons there, and welcomed the Sri Lanka Government’s invitation to visit the country and assess the situation of internally displaced persons there.

Presentation of Reports by Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women

YAKIN ERTURK, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, said the report was dedicated to the theme of intersections between culture and violence against women. Culture-based discourses, used to justify or explain violence against women, tended to reduce the phenomenon to a cultural problem, thereby resulting in a deviation from the more general concerns for women’s rights, empowerment and inequality. Although in many parts of the world significant degrees of deviation from the universal norm of gender equality had been achieved, no country or society had fully established equality between the sexes, and consequently, violence against women, which was embedded in gender inequality, remained a universal phenomenon. It was important to underline the universality of violence against women and its socio-historical causes, as there was an increasing observance of strengthening cultural relativist claims over women’s lives, as well as a worrying trend towards singling out certain types of violence and essentialising certain cultures as the source of the problem.

Country missions had been undertaken to Turkey, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Ms. Erturk said she had visited Turkey to investigate media reports about suspicious rises in the number of suicides among women, and claims that many of these suicides could have been instances of “honour” related murder and forced suicides. There were reasonable grounds to assume that some of the suicide cases of women could in fact be disguised murders or forced suicides. The urgent challenge confronting the Government today in Turkey was the creation of a centrally-coordinated system of adequately protected safe houses for women at risk of violence. During her visit to the Netherlands, she had focussed especially on domestic/intimate partner violence, the situation of immigrants, asylum-seeking and refugee women, and violence in the context of prostitution. Domestic violence committed by a current or former male intimate partner remained the most prevalent form of violence against women in the Netherlands. The socio-economic position of women with a foreign background was substantially worse than that of native Dutch women.

In Sweden, while the equal opportunity agenda had paved the way for significant advances in the public representation of women, it was not effective in addressing the deeply-rooted unequal power relations between women and men which underlay the continuation of significant levels of violence against women, in particular intimate partner violence and an ongoing rise in sexual violence. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur was, she said, the only mandate exclusively dedicated to women, and this focus ensured that the specificities of violence against women, which differed in many ways from other human rights violations, could be adequately identified and analysed. Ms. Erturk hoped the Council would strengthen the violence against women mandate as well as all of the other mandates of the Special Procedures to ensure an enhanced and effective protection of human rights around the world.

Presentation of Reports by Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

JUAN MIGUEL PETIT, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, said that 10 more countries had recently ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in 2006. The report of Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro would ameliorate the data collection on violence occurring because of the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and would encourage States parties to ratify and implement the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The first topic mentioned in the report was that of illegal trafficking of children’s organs and tissues and this remained a sensitive issue, especially when involving vulnerable victims such as children. Human organs and tissues were mainly trafficked for transplantation use. The question concerning the removal of organs of children had been addressed in several protocols and conventions as well as by different international organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the Council of Europe. With regard to the sale and/or trafficking of organs involving children, a number of multilateral conventions had been ratified. Some States had also adopted other specific provisions or laws pertaining to the issue of trafficking of organs.

The second topic of the report, the issue of missing children, had become a serious concern in a number of States, Mr. Petit said. Disappearances and abductions often constituted the first step for the perpetrators to achieve their goal, including sexual exploitation of the kidnapped children. An outreach on prevention and on fast and effective responses was essential and rapid-response programmes should be encouraged in cases of abduction and disappearances of children. Several States had already elaborated a number of legislative and administrative measures and programmes to tackle this issue. Regarding measures to alert the population in cases of abducted or disappeared children, some States had developed interesting programmes in order to prevent and raise awareness on the issues of abduction and disappearances. Concerning the recommendations, it should be highlighted that it was primordial that all States adopted legislation and standards regulating organ and tissue transplantation in line with the Guiding Principles that had been developed in order to enforce bilateral and regional cooperation through the elaboration of common standards and establishing an effective information network. Regarding the abduction of children, all States should set up rapid-response programmes and incorporate this issue in their national legislation provisions. Educational programmes as well as awareness-raising activities were essential in the fight against both the illegal trafficking in children’s organs and tissues and the issue of missing children.

With regard to the visit to Ukraine, the country could register changes and much good news in child protection in the past years such as a series of laws and provisions on children’s rights and a number of national action plans and programmes, Mr. Petit said. However, other problems affecting children were not adequately addressed, notably trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography. Social exclusion, discrimination and stigmatisation were contributing factors and root causes of vulnerability to trafficking and sexual exploitation. Corruption remained a problem at different levels of public administration and undermined the enforcement of the law, the delivery of social services and the overall capacity of the State to prevent and redress human rights violations. Many challenges remained in Ukraine, especially regarding the assumption many people continued to have that the State had to undertake, control and implement all social policies. The role of the State was to open possibilities and initiatives and generate policies in order to allow concerned actors such as non-governmental organizations, international organizations and civil society to contribute and become involved in the protection of children and minors.

Statements by Concerned Countries

GUY ALAIN GAUZE (Côte d’Ivoire), speaking as a concerned country in response to the report by the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, said Mr. Kalin’s report asserted that some areas had been cleared between 2002-2003 exposing disadvantages to populations there. After the 2002 rebellion, rebels had infiltrated major towns and attacked military and police camps that were protecting people, and these were the areas to which the report referred. The people had been displaced for protection. The population of internally displaced persons mentioned in the report also was not accurate. On the right to food, the Government had set up humanitarian coordination facilities providing assistance to people, including internally displaced persons. It was not the case that healthcare would be based on presenting documents of identification. The Ministry of Education had opened schools in certain areas, and these “shift schools” accommodated many of the displaced children in Côte d’Ivoire. Côte d’Ivoire had received no financial assistance other than for humanitarian issues. Yet Government support was concrete and supported by social programmes. The phenomenon of women forced into prostitution was a regrettable fact of life in modern cities and had been exacerbated by the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. The Special Rapporteur’s recommendations had been given well beforehand and only the one concerning restoration of property of internally displaced persons had not been dealt with.

AHMET UZUMCU (Turkey), speaking as a concerned country in response to the report by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, said the report of Ms. Erturk on violence against women had a limited geographic and substantive scope, and had been carefully examined by the relevant authorities in Turkey. Violence against women remained a high priority issue in the national agenda for human rights. Significant steps had been taken in Turkey, especially in the period following the visit of the Special Rapporteur. Following the visit, the Ninth Development Plan was adopted by the Parliament; in addition to specific targets for women exposed to poverty and social exclusion in underdeveloped regions, combating violence against women had also been incorporated as an integral component of the development vision.

A comprehensive road map for the prevention of violence against women and to stop honour and custom-related killings had been established, and endorsed a cooperative multi-agency and inter-sectoral approach in order to develop a coordinated policy from a holistic perspective. Some of the measures included overlapped with those recommended by the Special Rapporteur, some of which aimed to improve the situation of honour killings. The Ministry of Health had also spearheaded initiatives on suicide prevention and gender-based violence. Turkey was determined to combat violence against women within the framework of a well-defined road map.

JAN NORDLANDER (Sweden), speaking as a concerned country in response to the report by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, said the report of Ms. Erturk was being studied carefully, along with its findings and recommendations. The Government of Sweden and civil society highly valued the opportunity to have a constructive dialogue on the situation with regards to violence against women and girls. Sweden hoped to continue this dialogue, particularly in relation to the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations, but also in relation to additional measures that could be needed to eradicate violence against women and related forms of discrimination. Acts of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, in the family, in institutions or within the general community, impaired the enjoyment of human rights. Therefore, the protection and promotion of women’s and girls’ enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms should include measures to combat all forms of violence against women and girls.

Violence against women and girls was a criminal offence, regardless of whether it was committed in the public or private sphere, whether it was torture of prisoners, female genital mutilation, marital rape or sexual violence as a strategy of war. States not only had the duty to refrain from engaging in violence against women and the duty to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and punish such acts; they also had the duty to provide access to justice, effective remedies, and assistance to victims. Gender equality and women’s and girls’ enjoyment of human rights were highly prioritised by the Government of Sweden.

PIET DE KLERK (Netherlands), speaking as a concerned country in response to the report by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, said the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women was an important one, as violence against women persisted in all countries of the world, and all Governments, including that of the Netherlands, should step up their efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women. The Netherlands welcomed all the recommendations by Ms. Erturk and would take them to heart. It would give the equal opportunities policy a new boost, in particular by adopting a new plan agreed on by all ministries. As regarded domestic violence, it would re-examine its gender-neutral approach to policy in the light of the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations on gender specificity.

Ms. Erturk’s recommendations on the prostitution policy would also be integrated into the Government’s response to the re-evaluation of this policy. As regarded human trafficking, the Government had started the procedure for parliamentary approval of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. In asylum procedures, a women who ran a genuine risk of becoming a victim of violence, such as sexual violence, female genital mutilation and/or honour crimes in her country of origin could be granted a residence permit for asylum. Full cooperation with mandates such as that of the Special Rapporteur were indispensable for the fulfilment of human rights obligations worldwide. Special mechanisms were invaluable instruments of the Council, and the independence of their mandates should therefore be preserved.

VOLODYMYR VASSYLENKO (Ukraine), speaking as a concerned country in response to the report by the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, said that the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography was a worldwide problem. Like many others countries, Ukraine had not escaped it due to a number of internal as well as external factors caused by globalisation. The Government and the society were greatly concerned with proper and efficient protection of children’s rights. Ukraine wanted to thank the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Petit, for his recommendations aimed to ameliorate the situation concerning children’s rights. The Special Rapporteur mentioned many positive aspects which proved the Government’s and the society’s efforts to promote children’s rights. However, an analysis of the statements made in the report gave ground for some doubts as to whether the Special Rapporteur applied a correct methodology while evaluating statistical data. Doubtful methodology combined with the use of unspecified and emotional overstatements compromised the validity, accuracy and reliability of many conclusions and some recommendations of the Special Rapporteur.

In the report, the Special Rapporteur mistakenly mentioned that Ukraine did not sign or ratify several protocols and conventions but in fact, Ukraine had ratified those instruments. The Special Rapporteur had failed to refer to the draft National Action Plan for 2006-2010 to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Also surprising was the generalized conclusion of the Special Rapporteur, according to which crime and violence and aggression towards children were nowadays realities that plagued countries such as Ukraine. As to the conclusion of the Special Rapporteur concerning corruption, the country would admit that Ukraine, along with other countries, had certain problems in this sphere. However both the evaluation of the country’s political situation, its foreign policy and the evaluating corruption level were beyond the scope of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Interactive Dialogue

CHOE MYONG NAM (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said Ms. Erturk's statement was appreciated, as women’s rights were human rights, and violence against women was a violation of those rights. Violence against women was due largely to a lack of addressing the violence and sexual slavery of the past, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea wished to draw the Council’s attention in particular to the sexual slavery imposed by Japan on thousands of Asian women during the Second World War, to which the United Nations and its bodies had reacted multiple times, defining them as crimes and serious human rights violations, and urging the Japanese Government to recognize that and provide compensation. Japan, however, had denied that, had recently described women as baby-making machines, and had refused to apologize for sexual slavery. There was therefore a danger that the same crimes would be repeated. Ms. Erturk should urge Japan to admit its past crimes and to make reparation.

MARTIN HUTH (Germany), speaking on behalf of the European Union, addressing Mr. Kalin, said the European Union would be interested to hear more on assistance the international community could offer in tackling the complex issues surrounding land disputes in the aftermath of natural disaster or armed conflict, and measures to safeguard electoral rights of internally displaced persons. Addressing Ms. Erturk, the European Union asked whether there had been an improved response to the communications sent out to Governments concerning alleged human rights violations against women, what kinds of customs or traditions could be invoked by States, and how States could develop strategies to reform harmful aspects of a given culture. Addressing Mr. Petit, The European Union called for united efforts to fight impunity and pursue those who make illegal use of children for organ trafficking or sexual exploitation. The European Union asked how the international community could concretely improve statistics and the investigation process on the question of the trafficking of child organs, and what concrete measures could be taken to return victims of child kidnapping cases to their families and communities.

MICHAEL SCHOISWOHL (Austria) said Austria supported the statement made by Germany on behalf of the European Union. Austria commended the work and efforts that had been undertaken on behalf of internally displaced persons. In pursuing efforts to further promote and develop the normative framework applicable to internally displaced persons, benchmarks had been developed to determine whether durable solutions had been found. Austria wanted to know more about how the application of those benchmarks would be envisaged in practice. The unpredictability of natural disasters raised particularly challenges in the design and adoption of anticipatory measures to sufficiently safeguard the human rights of internally displaced persons. Shifting the focus from protection to prevention, Austria asked whether there were any precautionary measures that could be promoted by the international community as a means to prevent infringement of the human rights of the internally displaced.

NICOLAS NIHON (Belgium) observed, with regard to the report on violence against women, that several examples of current myths had been given, and asked what role States could play in the role of de-mythification of that phenomenon. It was suggested that States drew up a strategy on violence against women and the issue of culture, and Belgium asked if the Special Rapporteur had any intention of carrying out further studies on how that strategy should be drawn up. On the report of Mr. Petit, the report was remarkable and comprehensive, in particular with regard to the abduction of children. Disappearances and abductions were often the first phase for predators before achieving their goal, which was often sexual exploitation. In Belgium, there was a civil society organization, Child Focus, which worked in concert with the Government in cases of child abduction and disappearances.

OLIVIER BALDAUFF (Luxembourg) said that Mr Petit’s report had said that few countries had effective measures for dealing with child disappearances. On this issue it would be advisable to have a central body with an operational centre designed for the exchange of information bilaterally and regionally. Luxembourg asked whether there could be specific follow-up on this issue and also requested an update on forthcoming visits by Mr. Petit.

ISABEL FROMMELT (Liechtenstein) said that Liechtenstein considered the work of Ms. Erturk of particular importance for the Human Rights Council. The report included important guidelines for an effective strategy to counter and transform culture-based discourses, which constituted obstacles to the implementation of women’s rights. Liechtenstein fully supported the universality of human rights and their validity in any given local context. It shared the view that international norms such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women established the primacy of women’s right to live a life free of gender-based violence. Liechtenstein wished to support the Guidelines proposed by Ms. Erturk. In her report, the Special Rapporteur stated the shift from a purely victim-oriented approach in this debate to one of empowerment. One of the major challenges lay in overcoming the resistance to change the persistent discrimination these structures were based on. Empowerment also required the creation of a positive cultural environment for women, including their access to critical resources such as land, housing and sustainable livelihoods, through which the risk of violence could be reduced significantly.

GLAUDINE MTSHALI (South Africa) said the Thuthuzela Care Centre and Dedicated Court Model was an example of best practice in addressing violence against women and girls. South Africa had achieved high levels of justice for women and girls and facilitated empowerment and information access for them. Empowerment was key to breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence, and gender disparities posed a real challenge to achieving socio-economic development and democratic governance. South Africa reaffirmed the role of women in social, economic and political development and the need for their full participation in those spheres. Elimination of gender-based violence was key to achieving gender equality, but also to achieving poverty eradication and development in the context of the Millennium Development Goals. Socio-economic and political factors that underlay and reinforced subordination and discrimination against women should be addressed. South Africa welcomed the adoption of the resolution to end female genital mutilation. It also drew attention to the positive roles played by women in conflict prevention and resolution. There was a need to increase the role of women in decision-making and peacebuilding in order for women to improve their own security. South Africa welcomed the report’s reference to the strong presence of women in the struggle against racism and sexism in Apartheid South Africa. South Africa also underlined the importance of tackling poverty – the worst form of violence against women.

MARGHOOB SALEEM BUTT (Pakistan), speaking on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said the report on violence against women presented a detailed analysis of the dominant culture-based paradigms that were used to justify violations of women’s rights. It also identified the myths around cultural discourses and provided guidelines for an effective strategy to counter these discussions, which constituted one of the major obstacles to the implementation of women’s rights. The report also highlighted some relatively new patterns of cultural practices that discriminated against women. Such instances included the growing culture of gun ownership and the widespread portrayal of women as sexual objects in the media, which triggered harmful self-imposed practices resulting in life-threatening consequences.

The OIC, however, wished to underline the inadequacy of a passing reference in the report to the dominant cultural paradigm against women in armed conflict and situations of foreign occupation. The persistence of conflicts in various parts of the world remained a major impediment to the elimination of violence against women; the international community should pay special attention to the plight of women and their families living under foreign occupation and ensure that their basic and inalienable rights were guaranteed.

PAUL DZIATKOWIEC (Australia) said that Australia strongly agreed that custom, religion and/or tradition should never be invoked to justify or condone any act of violence, including against women. In that regard, Australia’s own efforts to tackle the social and cultural attitudes that underpinned gender-based violence in might be of interest to the Special Rapporteur in her future work. Violence against women had to be addressed openly and directly in order to be dealt with effectively. Australia had therefore been active in openly dealing with sensitive issues, which often had a strong cultural underpinning, such as partner-violence, gender-based violence in indigenous communities and violence against women with disabilities. Australia had also been active in addressing violence again women in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia would be interested in hearing whether the Special Rapporteur had any opportunity to assess violence against women in the Asia-Pacific region or whether she intended to do so in the future. Australia considered that to tackle effectively the social and cultural attitudes underpinning violence against women, men and boys must be included in the process.

SOCORRO ROVIROSA PRIEGO (Mexico) said Mexico had enacted a law to prevent, penalize and eradicate violence against women and principles to promote their freedom and well being. There had been a general law on equality between men and women, and policies and institutional mechanisms had been established to promote the empowerment of women. Mexico extended its cooperation to Mr. Petit in the context of his forthcoming visit to Mexico, and observed that Special Procedures had made a contribution to the understanding of many subjects and had identified many points of convergence on the issue of human rights of groups and individuals.

SEBASTIEN MUTOMB MUJING (Democratic Republic of the Congo) said these were very important issues, and were all of great interest to the Democratic Republic of Congo, in particular the issue of internally displaced persons and violence against women. The Special Rapporteurs were invited to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to visit and see the problems there with respect to their mandates. The Democratic Republic of Congo was witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe due to the massive displacement of populations due to military operations. According to the Congolese Administration, there were over 3 million displaced persons. With the gradual return of peace, all displaced persons were expressing a wish to return to their homes, and this created enormous problems for the Government. Fortunately, United Nations agencies in the humanitarian and development fields were involved in dealing with this difficult problem through the cluster approach. It was hoped all partners would continue to provide financial support.
On sexual violence against women, that had had a devastating effect on the health of the female population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congolese Parliament had adopted a law, amending the Penal Code, to severely punish all rapes and cruel treatment of women.

CAROLINE BERESFORD (New Zealand), in a joint statement with Norway, said that the Governments of New Zealand and Norway were fully committed to the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality at home and abroad, including the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls. New Zealand and Norway wanted to express their appreciation for the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. The analysis of the causes, consequences and challenges of violence against women in the report provided useful insights, which would help in combating such violence. A question was raised as to how to contribute to the strengthening of the work on violence against women in the United Nations system, and how that concern could be better integrated and addressed by the Human Rights Council and the United Nations system of Special Procedures. New Zealand and Norway also wanted to focus on the widespread practice of violence based on sexual orientation and gender equity affecting women, and wondered what could be done to better understand and combat it.

JEAN-DANIEL VIGNY (Switzerland) said Switzerland noted with satisfaction that States could not invoke cultural and traditional or religious justifications for violence against women, and asked whether there would be a list of measures enabling that strategy to be put in place. The issue of young girls being sent back to their countries of origin in order to be married had been mentioned in the report as a form of human trafficking, and Switzerland wondered what arguments had been used to reach that conclusion. Could that form of trafficking be defined under the Palermo Protocol? Concerning the Government of Sri Lanka, were there general recommendations concerning the human rights of internally displaced persons? In the context of UN reform, what was the assessment of the UN Refugee Agency directorship of the cluster dealing with the protection of internally displaced persons?

LEVAN MIKELADZE (Georgia) said this was a unique moment and a challenging opportunity for Georgia: to try to tackle the problems and concerns of people displaced through two armed conflicts, in Abkhazia, Georgia, and the other in South Ossetia. Georgia hoped its national strategy would really serve the aims of a durable solution, complemented by the confidence-building measures devised by the UN Refugee Agency, and Georgia hoped that the relevant UN agencies would adequately respond to the process.

The human rights of internally displaced persons was not a mere list of freedoms but, rather, a comprehensive set of rules that had to be secured and guaranteed in a safe environment, without any kind of discrimination or any type of coercion. It meant a search for true balance between the different parties to the conflict, as well as an increasing role of key actors. Until now, the return of internally displaced persons in Abkhazia had been a spontaneous process. But with the adoption of the national strategy, the voluntary and safe return of the displaced represented just one side of the coin: it required a secure environment within the region. The UN institutions should truly take the constructive steps required and fulfil the roles laid out in their mandates.

SEJDI QERIMAJ (Albania) welcomed the report on internally displaced persons. During the eight years of an international presence in Kosovo, Kosovo had made a lot of progress in the long road of constructing a democratic society and a state of law, including in the fields of human rights, security and free circulation. Albania was aware of the complex difficulties, both objective and subjective, linked to the process of return of the refugees. That process would take some time and would also depend on all the actors in Kosovo and within the region. Albania had supported and would continue to support all the efforts linked to the creation of stable economic conditions, which would contribute to a fast and definitive return of all the refugees and displaced persons in Kosovo and within the region.

In that context, Albania welcomed the specific measures regarding the return of refugees and displaced persons, including the signing of the protocol on the improvement of the conditiona for the return and the reintegration of the refugees and displaced persons, and the signing of an agreement concerning the transfer of responsibilities from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to local authorities, among others. Albania fully encouraged and supported the Government of Kosovo to implement all recommendations of the Human Rights Council from 2006. The rapid definition of the status of Kosovo, respecting the will of its people and granting rights to all minorities, would give a new boost to the promotion and the respect of human rights.

DONG-HEE CHANG (Republic of Korea) said that violence against women, especially in times of conflict, was an issue calling for attention and action. Dominant paradigms which discriminated against women became more prominent in conflict situations and could in extreme circumstances lead to sexual violence and slavery. The issue of military sexual slavery remained unresolved, and the Republic of Korea urged the Japanese Government to implement recommendations in Ms. Coomaraswamy’s report on victims of the Japanese military in sexual slavery during the Second World War.

KANYAZOV ESEMURAT (Uzbekistan) said with regards to violence against women, Ms. Erturk’s report was very interesting. Since its independence, Uzbekistan had paid particular attention to raising the status of women, enacting laws in accordance with international standards, including State programmes on the Years of Mothers and Children, and a programme of measures to ensure implementation. In accordance with the Paris Principles, national institutions had been set up to protect the rights of individuals, including women. Work had been done to improve the political culture and legal literacy of women. Last year, Uzbekistan had provided it’s third periodic report to the Committee on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.

National experts of Uzbekistan would thoroughly study the report of the Special Rapporteur and the hope was expressed for a continuation of the dialogue and cooperation with the Special Rapporteur in the implementation of this mandate.

ANNE MERCHANT (Norway) thanked the Special Rapporteur on internally displaced persons for his report. Norway welcomed the development of national legislation and policies on internally displaced persons incorporating the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and welcomed the ongoing work to develop a manual for legislators and national policymakers aimed at assisting them to implement the guiding principles on internally displaced persons. It was encouraging that States entered into dialogue and showed willingness to incorporate the Guiding Principles in their national legislation. A question was raised if it could be indicated how many States at this point had incorporated the Guiding Principles in their national legislation and had developed a national strategy based on them. In addition Norway asked to what extent feedback was received on the question of implementation and if something could be said about the degree of implementation of the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations by Governments.

SEYMUR MARDALIYEV (Azerbaijan) said the issue of internally displaced persons was of special interest to Azerbaijan which hosted one of the largest internally displaced persons populations in the world. Azerbaijan endorsed the view of Mr. Kalin on the prevention of displacement and on the need for long-term approaches to find sustainable, durable solutions, and supported the criteria and benchmarks used to identify how and when internally displaced persons were no longer considered as displaced. Azerbaijan supported the activity of the Representative and looked forward to his visit. Azerbaijan shared the views of Pakistan on the influence of armed conflict in violence against women. Azerbaijan fully supported the mandate of Ms. Erturk and looked forward to working with her.

BHARAT RAJ PAUDYAL (Nepal) said with regards to internally displaced persons, the report was comprehensive, and Mr. Kalin was thanked for his summary on the developments taking place in Nepal in the area of the protection and promotion of human rights in general, and the human rights of internally displaced persons in particular. In Nepal, a thorough review of the existing national policy on internally displaced persons had been completed following an extensive consultation with the multiple stakeholders including United Nations agencies; a completely reworked national policy had been formulated in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles.

The issue of internally displaced persons had been given adequate place in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement as well as in the interim Constitution, both documents recognising explicitly their right to safely and respectfully return to their place of residence, and the restoration of their properties confiscated during the insurgency. The Government and civil society organizations were engaged in facilitating the return of those who wished to return but were unable to do so for many practical reasons. The Government had also decided to provide financial incentives and assistance for return and resettlement.

CARLOS RAMIRO MARTINEZ ALVARADO (Guatemala) expressed Guatemala’s appreciation for the work of all three Rapporteurs. Guatemala agreed with the conclusions of the report on violence against women. Violence against women should take into account customs and traditions. Culture and tradition could help to understand some forms of abuse of the rights of women but should not be used to justify, tolerate or foster them. The human rights of women could not be subordinated to other rights. States had an obligation to combat such violence and to promote the rights of women to achieve gender equality. The report also focused on the status of migrant women. This was of particular concern for Guatemala. There was a need for policies and programmes to prevent abuse and violations of women’s rights and to combat trafficking.

LOURDES BONE (Uruguay) said it was helpful to look at the culture-based factors influencing violence against women. Uruguay was aware of the different historical, cultural, economic and religious contexts of different countries, but these could not interfere with the need to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Uruguay was especially interested in the link between disappearance of children and sexual violence. Uruguay supported the Special Rapporteur’s incorporation of violence against children in his report. It noted the recommendations on the need for mechanisms for rapid response in the case of child disappearances.

SLOBODAN VUKCEVIC (Serbia) expressed Serbia’s surprise that Mr. Kalin’s mission to Serbia and Montenegro was improperly addressed in the report as to Montenegro and Kosovo, and asked whether this was a technical omission or intentional. Serbia welcomed that Mr. Kalin repeated the importance of ensuring that internally displaced persons were able to return to their homes in safety and dignity or to integrate locally and that decision should be made freely on the basis of full information and consultation; Serbia fully supported this. Mr. Kalin was asked what were in his opinion the main obstacles for the return of internally displaced persons to Kosovo and Metohija and in what way could these be removed so as to enable internally displaced persons the possibility to freely opt between possible durable solutions.

It was surprising that the report repeated concerns on the risk that significant numbers of non-registered internally displaced persons in Serbia could become stateless, and it was unacceptable and counter productive that as a representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Mr. Kalin discussed ongoing political negotiations and prejudged political solutions. Serbia was fully committed to cooperate with all Special Procedures, and was ready to continue to cooperate with Mr. Kalin on the sensitive issue, but underlined that this cooperation should be based on good faith and mutual respect and transparency.

FOROUZANDEH VADIATI (Iran) thanked the Special Rapporteur on her report on violence against women. Iran wanted to emphasize that the promotion of the rights of women in Iran would be further strengthened. The issue of women in Iran had been facing a persistent campaign of awareness-raising since 20 years. Enhancing the role of women in all parts of society was pursued as a matter of priority. A question was raised whether the Special Rapporteur could elaborate more on the phenomenon on trafficking of women. Iran was of the view that expanding the role of women in all aspects of the Iranian society was a noble goal that had found its well deserved position in its strategic social, cultural and development planning and its realization was holistically pursued as a matter of priority.

DIANA EMILLA SARI SUTNIKO (Indonesia) said all the issues addressed in the reports were important and needed the attention of the Council, allowing time for delegations to discuss them. On internally displaced persons, Indonesia welcomed the highlighting of the ability of countries to effectively protect internally displaced persons in a long-term manner and to define and integrate their rights. Indonesia noted that concerns to protect the health and welfare of the populace took precedence over other matters in situations of natural disaster. On violence against women, Indonesia took note of the study and its reference to, and definition of “culture”: was this an agreed or prevailing definition, or a personal view? Cultural specificity need not be incompatible with women’s rights and many aspects of culture were not necessarily in conflict with respect for the human rights of women. On child disappearances, Indonesia supported the focus on the abduction and exploitation of children, and insisted on the need to balance the discussion of these topics throughout the year.

RAJIV CHANDER (India) said violence against women should be recognised as a human rights violation, and should be condemned regardless of whether the violence was grounded in traditional, religious or cultural practices. A comprehensive approach towards the empowerment of women remained the most effective instrument to counter violence against women. India’s planning process was fully committed to enabling women to be equal partners in development, recognising the political, legal, educational and economic empowerment of women as one of the key priorities and a key principle of good governance.

Right of Reply

IDHAM MUSA MOKTAR, (Malaysia), speaking in a right of reply, said that Malaysia wished to make a statement in response to a statement made by a non-governmental organization this morning. The Government of Malaysia was committed to ensuring the protection and welfare of migrant workers in Malaysia. A manifestation of this was the establishment of a cabinet committee on foreign workers chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister. The commitment was enhanced by a decision of the Government to work out legislation on migrant workers with the aim of protecting their welfare, interests and human rights.

JESUS ENRIQUE GARCIA (Philippines), speaking in a right of reply in response to a statement by a non-governmental organization (NGO) this morning, referred the NGO to the earlier statement of the Philippines in the council which reiterated said that the Philippine Government had made a strong commitment to address complaints and allegations relating to the rights of indigenous people and unexplained killings. With regard to a specific case, the Government had sent information and updates to the Special Rapporteurs on violence against women and against torture.

VUN CHHEANG, (Cambodia), speaking in a right of reply, said in March 2006, Cambodia had set up an international body with representatives of political parties and non-governmental organizations. Land disputes had been dealt with, and the number of these had decreased since the creation of this authority. Ethnic minorities lived in different parts of the country and were very remote. However, they were not specifically mentioned in the Constitution as they were considered to be full citizens. There was progress on a law on ethnic minorities, as a pioneering project. Mr. Stavenhagen was asked to review his report on Cambodia, as he was ill informed. The report was unjustified.

WEI JIANG HO, (Singapore), speaking in a right of reply, said with regards to the statement of the Asian Migrant Centre this morning, Singapore was firmly committed to the well-being of all foreign migrants, including domestic workers. Contrary to the impression given in the statement, all foreign workers were granted full coverage of employment laws. As a small State with limited resources, Singapore had to maintain a strict immigration policy.

Concluding Remarks by Independent Expert on Minorities Issues, Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights of Migrants and Indigenous People

GAY MCDOUGALL, Independent Expert on minorities issues, responding to comments made during the morning meeting, thanked the delegates for their comments and support. Concerning her work regarding the relationship between conflict prevention and inclusion/stability issues, the work on poverty alleviation did involve social inclusion but was also closely tied to conflict prevention. There was data on almost 300 minority groups globally stating that 750 million people belonging to minority groups faced serious economic disadvantage and over 800 million faced political exclusion. There was enough information on the relationship between conflict and poverty to warrant close scrutiny of the interaction. On mainstreaming minority issues within different agencies’ work, she said she had worked successfully with the United Nations Development Programme, treaty bodies including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Organization of American States, and held consultations with the African Union and the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on the prevention of genocide. There was much to be done in cross-cutting the issues over the main pillars of UN work. The obstacles to progress were chiefly in terms of resources. She said she hoped to be able to respond to all the questions emerging during the debate in more detail.

Jorge Bustamante, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, in concluding remarks, said positive remarks had been made with regards to his report by several delegations. A comment on the general approach to the complex question of international migration and human rights had put an emphasis on the role of countries of origin and their responsibilities for the phenomenon of migration and human rights, and this perspective was very limited, as it failed to recognise the process of interaction that shaped the phenomenon of international migration, and this was an interaction between both the countries of origin and the countries of destination. There was an endogenous demand from some countries of destination, and thus it was impossible to place the responsibilities for migration only on the countries of origin.

To recognise the importance of the laws of demand in this context would facilitate the bilateral agreements that would be the rational means of defining the problem in the different countries around the world. The responses of Governments would be very valuable in the context of the next report. On the emphasis that the Special Rapporteur would continue to pursue, there was a great need for the inclusion of civil society, which was something which had been badly neglected. This was part of the democratic process, and should be remedied.

On the most vulnerable migrants, in particular the undocumented ones, who could have a double or even triple handicap with regards to their societies of destination, such as women and children who were in disadvantaged groups such as indigenous groups, Mr. Bustamante said this was a problem which had not been sufficiently recognised, particularly with regards to children, and this should be remedied.

RODOLFO STAVENHAGEN, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, mentioned that various points had been made concerning his report and that he wanted to address some of them. Concerning the countries he visited during the review, he wanted to mention the positive comments made by Ecuador and Kenya. Internally, Kenya was facing a problem of terminology concerning indigenous people. The conceptualisation used by the Council had thus been referred to in the report. The discussion on the term indigenous people should not prevent any further progress on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Some suggestions were made to the Council, such as to recognize again on behalf of the indigenous people the importance that they saw in the Declaration, which now was an international legal instrument because it had been approved by the Council. This meant responsibility of the Council to ensure full application of the principles of the Declaration in the years to come. Regardless what may be decided in the General Assembly, the Council should continue promoting the participation of indigenous people in its work. The Declaration and other activities to promote and protect the rights of the indigenous people should be followed up.



For use of the information media; not an official record

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