RIGHTS-EAST TIMOR: UN Commission Approves Inquiry into Abuses

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Sep 27 1999 (IPS) - The United Nations Human Rights Commission condemned Monday the massive, systematic and grave human rights violations in East Timor, and called for the creation of an international commission to investigate abuses committed there this year.

The decision was adopted by a majority vote, which highlighted discrepancies between the group of Asian nations and many western countries regarding the oversight functions of UN human rights mechanisms.

The effectiveness of the Human Rights Commission does not arise from its ability to single out and criticise specific countries, but from the consensus among its members on the promotion of humanitarian principles, said Indian ambassador Savitri Kunadi.

The Asian countries, aligned with Indonesia, maintained that the creation of an international commission of inquiry was unnecessary, because the investigation could be conducted by Indonesia’s brand-new National Human Rights Commission.

The resolution approved Monday denounced serious abuses committed in East Timor, particularly since the release of the results of the Aug 30 self-determination ballot, in which 78.5 percent of voters opted for independence from Indonesia, which has occupied the former Portuguese colony since 1975.

Reports cited by the resolution refer to collusion between armed militias in East Timor and members of the Indonesian armed forces and police in repression against East Timorese, especially independence activists.

The meat of the resolution is found in the sixth paragraph, which urges UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to set up an international commission of inquiry to gather information on alleged human rights violations.

The draft of the six paragraph was altered by the European Union, which sponsored the initiative, in an unsuccessful attempt to secure the backing of Indonesia and the rest of the Asian nations.

The final text states that an adequate number of experts from Asia will sit on the commission of inquiry, which will act in collaboration with Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission. UN rapporteurs will also cooperate with the commission, to monitor specific aspects of humanitarian law.

Despite such concessions by the European members, Indonesian representative Hassan Wirajuda said his country would not recognise the resolution as legally binding. He maintained that the moral weight of the decision was eroded by the divisive climate in which it was approved.

Criticism over the lack of consensus also came from Latin American countries such as Argentina, Chile and Mexico, which abstained from voting on the sixth paragraph, along with the Asian nations.

Argentinian representative Guillermo González suggested that the paragraph could have been worded differently, in order to achieve a consensus, which would have given the resolution more punch.

The controversial paragraph was approved by 27 to 12, while 11 delegations abstained and three were absent. The resolution as a whole was approved by 32 to 12, with six abstentions.

The debate on the issue of East Timor and the procedures followed to call the special session of the Human Rights Commission triggered deep divisions between delegations.

In the process, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) also came in for criticism, accused of bias by several delegations from Asia.

India’s Kunadi pointed out that there were lingering doubts as to the procedures employed during the process of calling a special session last week.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, was away from Geneva – where the UNHCHR and Human Rights Commission are based – at the time.

The consultations for calling a special session – requested by Portugal – were carried out by Assistant High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan of Guyana, the target of the complaints lodged by the Asian delegations, and Japanese representative Nobutoshi Akao in particular.

Chilean representative Alfredo Labbé urged the UNHCHR to make efforts to restore trust and confidence within the Human Rights Commission.