HUMAN RIGHTS: Reforms to ‘De-Politicise’ UN Commission’s Work

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Mar 21 1999 (IPS) - The United Nations Commission on Human Rights anticipates a major debate in this year’s sessions on far- reaching reforms designed to reduce the political weight of governments when it comes to assessing rights abuses.

In the sessions, which start Monday and run through Apr 30, the top UN body on human rights will also review the most flagrant cases of rights abuses.

China will once again be left off the list of the worst violators of human rights. A source close to the Commission pointed to discrepancies among several European countries with respect to the results of bilateral cooperation with Beijing.

In spite of that dissatisfaction, the United States and the European nations will abstain from presenting a draft resolution to censure China’s human rights record, said the source, who wished to remain anonymous.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin’s visit to Geneva, to participate in a special session of the Commission on Disarmament Friday, was not confirmed until last week, when it was certain that China would not be discussed by the Commission on Human Rights.

The United States persuaded the Czech Republic, meanwhile, to present a draft resolution against Cuba. The European countries had ignored the U.S. request when the motion against Havana was first brought forward.

The same source said that in Latin America, only Argentina and El Salvador would support the Czech initiative. The rest of the governments in the region plan to vote against it or abstain.

The two highest profile human rights questions in the world today, the situation of Kurdish independence leader Abdullah Ocalan and former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, will not figure on the agenda of the Commission, which does not deal with individual cases.

They could become a point of reference, however, during discussions on the reports by the special rapporteur on torture, Britain’s Nigel S. Rodley, and of the working group on an optional protocol for the Convention Against Torture.

Last year, the working group decided that Great Britain, where Pinochet is under house arrest, was competent to rule in the case of Pinochet because those accused of torture can be tried anywhere.

With respect to Ocalan, the case is expected to come up when the reports by the specialised groups on torture are released, or in the summary of the mission to Turkey by the working group on forced or involuntary disappearances.

According to the source, the U.S. delegation will continue to seek a condemnation of Sudan, while bringing forward a draft resolution against the former Yugoslavia.

It has been announced that there will be “no movements” to obtain a declaration on Algeria, one of the most notorious cases discussed in the Commission’s last sessions.

In a major shift from previous sessions, Iran will drum up enough votes this year to defeat a draft resolution to condemn the country’s rights record, the source added.

The request by the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights for an analysis of the situation in Mexico with respect to reports of repression of indigenous people in Chiapas, could continue to be blocked.

The Mexican government, the source explained, had secured a spot on the working group of situations, which plays a key role in the submission of draft resolutions.

The chairpersonship of the Commission, held this year by the Ambassador of Ireland, Anne Anderson, will once again issue a declaration stating the Commission’s concern over the state of human rights in Colombia.

It will do the same in the case of East Timor, although this year the declaration will be “diluted” due to the progress seen in the past few months in the relations between the independence movement and the government of Indonesia.

The Commission will also focus on the much-discussed draft reforms to overhaul its own functioning, drawn up by the members of the outgoing Bureau: South Africa, Bangladesh, Canada, Ecuador and Poland.

The initiative is designed “to make the system more efficient, apply improved measures and achieve greater cooperation and less confrontation between the countries,” said the source.

The proposed reforms focus on replacing the powerful working groups on situations and communications, comprised of government representatives, with another made up exclusively of experts, which will designate the Bureau chair.

The Commission would thus be able to work without falling into “the political games of governments,” said the source.

But the proposal put forth by the Bureau headed by outgoing chairman Jacob Selebi of South Africa drew objections from a group of countries that presented the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights with a document containing observations.

The objections were raised by Algeria, Bhutan, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Vietnam. Saudi Arabia joined the group in later meetings.

The 15 delegations, dubbed the “like-minded countries,” alleged that the proposed reforms displaced the regional coordinators that traditionally negotiated resolutions.

“That does not depoliticise, but denaturalise” the Bureau, said a source close to the group. The chairman of the Bureau merely has procedural powers, they insisted.

In the week prior to the start of the Commission’s sessions, Selebi held consultations with the “like-minded countries” seeking to reach some kind of “understanding.”

“Quite a lot of progress was made” in the consultations, commented a source close to Selebi. The question of reforms should not affect the Commission’s discussion of other issues, he added.