ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK OF THE SESSION
REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND FOLLOW-UP TO THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD
INTEGRATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND A GENDER PERSPECTIVE: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
In accordance with Commission on Human Rights decision 2002/117, the Secretariat has prepared the present document containing, in the annexes,* a copy of oral statements of non-governmental organizations that, owing to the emergency measures applied during the 58th session, could not be delivered orally in the general debate under a number of agenda items.
Item 3. Organization of the work of the session
International Federation Terre des Hommes
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
Agir ensemble pour les droits de l'homme
Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees
Item 4. Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights
Special sitting of the Commission
Union des Juristes Arabes, Association américaine des juristes, Ligue internationale pour les droits et la libération des peuples, Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et la liberté, Fédération générale des femmes arabes, Mouvement mondial des mères, Nord-Sud XXI, International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, Association internationale des juristes démocrates, International Educational Development, Interfaith International, Centre Europe-Tiers Monde and Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples
Association for World Education, International Council of Women, the World Union for Progressive Judaism, the International Council of Jewish Women and B'nai B'rith International
Item 9. Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world
Movimiento Cubano por la Paz y la Soberanía de los Pueblos
Organization for the Solidarity of the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America
National Union of Jurists of Cuba
Federation of Cuban Women
Agir ensemble pour les droits de l’homme
International Human Rights Law Group
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Anti-slavery International
MINBYUN: Lawyers for a Democratic Society
International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations
International Educational Development
Asian Legal Resource Center
Franciscans International
International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty
United Nations Association of China
China Society for Human Rights Studies
Worldview International Foundation
International Human Rights Association of American Minorities
Clustered items 12 and 13
Integration of the human rights of women and a gender perspective
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
Defence for Children International
International Peace Bureau
Item 4 Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights
Special Sitting of the Commission
7. At the 28th plenary meeting, on 5 April 2002, the Commission on Human Rights, under item 4 of its agenda entitled “Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights”, held a special debate on the High Commissioner’s statement on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory. The following statements were provided to the secretariat in written form by those representatives of non-governmental organizations who had indicated their intention of making statements under item 4 but were unable to do owing to the emergency measures.
8. The joint statement of the representatives of Union des Juristes Arabes, Association américaine des juristes, Ligue internationale pour les droits et la libération des peuples, Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et la liberté, Fédé ration générale des femmes arabes, Mouvement mondial des mè ;res, Nord-Sud XXI, International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, Association Internationale des Juristes Démocrates, International Educational Development, Interfaith International, Centre Europe-Tiers Monde and Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples reads as follows:
Depuis plusieurs mois, le Gouvernement israélien maintient une offensive massive et sanglante contre le peuple palestinien sous prétexte de démanteler ce qu’il appelle les « sanctuaires de la terreur ». La situation est aggravée par la vague interminable de représailles d’un coté comme de l’autre.
Ces derniers jours, l’objectif du Gouvernement israélien, qui jouit de l’appui explicite du Gouvernement des Etats-Unis, s’est manifesté clairement, à savoir mettre fin au processus d’ autodétermination du peuple palestinien et de constitution d’un Etat palestinien.
Le Gouvernement israélien a fait fi systématiquement de toutes les résolutions du Conseil de Sécurité et de l’ Assemblée générale concernant la Palestine, qui ont été approuvées au cours des ans, et n’a tenu nullement compte de celles qui viennent d’être adoptées par le Conseil de Sécurité.
Il a pu agir ainsi parce que les Résolutions 1402 du 30 mars et 1403 du 4 avril du Conseil de sécurité n'ont même pas invoqué comme le Conseil l'a fait à plusieurs reprises dans des situations similaires et encore moins graves, le Chapitre VII de la Charte des Nations Unies ("Action en cas de menace contre la paix, de rupture de la paix et d'acte d'agression") et n'ont pas prévu aucune mesure, sanction ou menace de sanctions d’aucune sorte en cas de non-observation de la part d’Israël.
L’inefficacité du Conseil de sécurité est due à ce que dans ce cas il ne s’agit pas de couvrir une décision antérieure de la superpuissance. On peut établir un parallèle entre la situation actuelle des Nations Unies et celle qu’a vé cu la Société des Nations avant sa disparition : impotence totale au regard des politiques agressives et belliqueuses de l’Italie fasciste et de l’Allemagne hitlérienne.
Confrontés à la paralysie de l’ONU, les gouvernements européens se limitent à des discours de circonstance et ne prévoient pas non plus des mesures de rétorsion combien mê me symboliques, comme le retrait de leurs ambassadeurs, et encore moins des sanctions économiques. En fait, et pour en revenir au parallèle historique, ils pratiquent la politique d’apaisement de Munich.
Les organisations signataires :
se joignent à l’appel international des peuples pour demander que cessent la violence et la répression contre le peuple palestinien et le retour au dialogue et à la négociation ;
appuient le droit inaliénable du peuple palestinien à sa libre détermination et à son indépendance et affirment que l’Intifada en tant qu’expression de la lutte pour la libé ration nationale doit être reconnue par le droit international ;
aspirent à ce que les négociations futures débouchent sur une paix juste et durable conformément aux résolutions 242 et 338 du Conseil de Sécurité et aux résolutions approuvé es par l’Assemblée générale à l’effet qu’Israël doit retirer ses forces militaires de tous les territoires occupés en 1967, y compris la Cisjordanie, Gaza, Jérusalem est, les Hauts du Golan et les territoires qu’elle a occupé ces dernières semaines, procéder au démantèlement de toutes les colonies de peuplement construites illégalement et reconnaître le droit au retour de tous les réfugiés,
soutiennent la position du Gouvernement suisse en tant que dépositaire des Conventions de Genève et demandent que soit convoquée de toute urgence une nouvelle conférence des Etats Parties à la Convention de Genève,
font appel aux pays arabes producteurs de pétrole pour qu’ils utilisent la ressource dont ils disposent comme arme pacifique pour obliger Israël et ses principaux alliés à mettre fin à l’ occupation et œuvrer à l’établissement d’un Etat palestinien.
9. The joint statement of the representatives of the Association for World Education, International Council of Women, the World Union for Progressive Judaism, the International Council of Jewish Women and B'nai B'rith International reads as follows:
Sir, education should be a vehicle for tolerance, not a tool for propaganda. Last year we urgently called upon the Commission, the European Union, UNESCO, the ICRC and Switzerland to begin enquiries into the grave abuses of the Palestinian Authority's Educational system, including the UNRWA schools, and Palestinian TV. We also called on the Commission to act on the elimination of hate teaching in Palestinian schools and the criminal use of children in conflicts. We warned then "if these enquiries are not undertaken NOW, the responsibilities will remain forever on the shoulders of those who defaulted on their moral obligations."
In her report published in the New Yorker (19 November 2001), Nasra Hassan described how these suicide attacks do not happen spontaneously, but result from a large and sophisticated infrastructure. The system works well as " hordes of young men" (and now young women!) clamor to be sent to their own obliteration. She deplored the fact that it is through the mosques that Hamas and Islamic Jihad clerics teach adepts to see suicide operations as a way to "open the door to Paradise" for themselves and their families.
Middle East expert Daniel Pipes wrote (9 December 2001) in the New York Post: "This infrastructure exists for one reason: to make normal men want to die. Because Islamic law prohibits suicide, a suicidal person cannot be recruited to go on a mission. Rather, it is (perversely) necessary to dispatch only those who are not suicidal." He then described how the process begins with the Palestinian Authority inculcating two things into its population, starting with the children: a hatred of Jews and a love of death. This is done through school curricula, camp activities, TV programming and religious indoctrination. It is noteworthy that much of this "schooling" is funded indirectly by the European Union (written question of 9 November 2000 by a member of the European Parliament, François Zimmeray, to the European Commission).
Sir, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) considers suicide bombings as "a war crime." A New York Times editorial, published in the International Herald Tribune (IHT) of 4 April, has an editorial titled: "Suicide bombing is a cancer". Delegates should read it carefully, as well as a Washington Post editorial, republished in the IHT of 5 April, titled: "Islam's death wish" – published, exceptionally, a second time in the weekend IHT edition of 6-7 April with a new title "Islam and terrorism." It deals with the OIC Malaysia Conference and its failed attempt to come up with an Islamic definition of "terrorism." It is well worth quoting:
"Though the governments were right in describing Islam as a peaceful religion, they were terribly wrong about themselves. It is hard to imagine any other grouping of the world's nations that could reach such a self-destructive and morally repugnant conclusion."
Today, we call on all UN bodies, beginning with this Commission to denounce firmly ALL FORMS OF TERRORISM, but especially the genocidal jihad ideology. Our conclusion is from the Washington Post editorial:
"The Palestinian national cause will never recover – nor should it – until its leadership is willing to break definitively with the [suicide] bombers. And Muslim states that support such sickening carnage will risk not just stigma but also their own eventual destruction."
Three passages from a book called Our Country Palestine, by Mustafa al-Deba'a [first published in 1947, and expanded in 1965], recommended [in the new curriculum] as a "great book" [- under the heading "activity": encouraging children to go to the library to read it. The reference is in Our Beautiful Language, 6th grade, p. 110]. This "great book" has a banner on the title page of Vol.1 stating: "There is no alternative to destroying Israel." [The book is dedicated to:"those who are battling for the expulsion of the enemy of our land."] The introduction to Vol. 2 is even more explicit: "Perhaps Allah brought the Jews to our land so that their demise would be here, as it was in their wars with Rome."
Endless quotations like this are to be found in many other PA school text books. We have about 50 pages available [from the Palestinian Media Watch ] for those interested. These Studies on Palestinian Society and Culture [by Itamar Marcus, Director of PMW] even include fascinating Crossword Puzzles [which will intrigue Members and others].
But we are not asking this Commission to resolve such pure hate Puzzles. All that we can do here is be the watchman, as in that symbolical biblical ethic: to blow the trumpet thereby alerting all and sundry, and recalling the dire warning from that 2,600 year-old Book of the Prophet Ezekiel: "If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning…" [33:4].
Sir, we shall leave the quotation unfinished there, and merely.
23. The statement of the representative of the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations reads as follows:
(IIEFSO) condemns the assassinations killings, bombing of civilian areas, humiliation and assault on Palestinian people by Israel.
