RIGHTS-IRAQ: UN Preparing to Protect Civilians – High Commissioner

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Dec 9 2002 (IPS) - The protection of civilians in zones of conflict is a human rights priority of the United Nations, evident in the humanitarian aid preparations for a possible war in Iraq, and in the context of International Human Rights Day, commemorated Tuesday.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, called attention to the millions of civilians for whom war is "the daily reality", and "who continue to endure atrocities which should outrage the conscience of humanity."

The UN Security Council, meanwhile, will dedicate its Tuesday session to studying the report by Secretary-General Kofi Annan about the protection of the civilian population in situations of armed conflict.

In his Human Rights Day statement, Vieira de Mello notes that the date commemorates "the creation of one of the most important testaments of our times: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

He acknowledged that his office is working jointly with humanitarian agencies of the multilateral system to prepare a response in case a conflict erupts in Iraq.

This sort of planning "is routine work for humanitarian agencies and for ourselves," and has occurred under circumstances similar to those surrounding the Iraqi case today, the High Commissioner told a press conference.

The UN official, a Brazilian national, noted that in the past humanitarian organisations have been accused of being unprepared for emergencies, so are ensuring readiness for different scenarios today.

Vieira de Mello stressed that such preparation should not be interpreted as a pre-announcement of a war in Iraq, however.

The fate of Iraq depends in large part on what occurs in the coming weeks, and when the UN arms inspection team presents its report on whether that country possesses weapons of mass destruction.

The United States and Britain favour military action aimed at overthrowing the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, invoking the argument that Baghdad has developed such weapons in violation of the UN Security Council’s resolutions.

Vieira de Mello said the Office of the High Commissioner is following the events related to Iraq, and commented on the "dismal human rights situation" in that country.

His assessment was based on the report presented by Andreas Mavromatis, special rapporteur on human rights in Iraq, to the UN General Assembly.

Mavromatis, who was in Iraq in February and is currently petitioning Baghdad to authorise another visit, exhorted an end to the abuses attributed to the Saddam Hussein government.

The special rapporteur, designated by the UN Commission on Human Rights, listed abuses including "extrajudicial killings, torture, cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment and punishment and forced displacement."

He also blamed Baghdad for Iraq’s lack of mechanisms to ensure fair trials, freedom of expression and association, religious freedom and other rights.

High Commissioner Vieira de Mello suggested that the position of the UN on the Iraq crisis can be deduced from the country’s poor record when it comes to respect for human rights, and from the statements made by some of the UN’s own top officials.

He noted that Annan and former UN secretary-general Javier Pérez de Cuellar (1981-1991) established the principle that "sovereignty cannot be used as a shield behind which to commit gross human rights violations."

In relation to this approach, the Office of the High Commissioner highlighted, in the context of Human Rights Day, the entry into force in July of the Rome Statute, creating the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC, which the United States opposes, "has given great hope for finally bringing an end to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity," he said.

Vieira de Mello succeeded Mary Robinson as UN High Commission for Human Rights on Sep 1. Robinson was seen as being forced out by Washington’s opposition to some of her outspoken statements.

While the United States approved the choice of Vieira de Mello as the new High Commissioner, he has not succumbed to the pressures of U.S. diplomats in recent weeks, who seek to prevent Nájat Al-Hajjaji, the Libyan delegation chief, from serving as chairwoman of the upcoming sessions of the UN Commission on Human Rights, according to diplomatic sources in Geneva.

The High Commissioner said during a recent press conference that the Commission on Human Rights responds to the 54 member states on its rosters for the year, which chooses its officials based on a well-established regional rotation.

"People always confuse the Office of the High Commissioner with the Commission on Human Rights. The Commission is an intergovernmental body," he said.

It was the rotational mechanism which produced the designation of Al-Hajjaji, who will be confirmed as chairwoman when the Commission begins its annual period of sessions in March.

However, Vieira de Mello indicated that he agrees with some governments and non-governmental organisations that minimum standards of compliance should be established for members of the Commission with regard to respect for human rights in their own territories.

Member states should all be required to have ratified all of the 12 pacts and protocols on international human rights, he commented.

The governments that have not yet ratified all such treaties include Libya as well as the United States, the latter of which is not a member of the Commission this year.

The High Commissioner requested in November that Washington provide information on the status of the prisoners being held at the U.S. navy base in Guantánamo, an enclave in eastern Cuba, but has not received a response.

The inmates are alleged members of the Taliban movement, which controlled most of Afghanistan until the end of last year, and of al-Qaeda, the Islamic fundamentalist organisation that the U.S. government holds responsible for the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Vieira de Mello argues that the detainees in Guantánamo should be released if they are innocent, or – if there is evidence against them – they should be tried in their countries of origin or by civilian courts in the United States.