Human rights situation in the OT – CHR – Summary record (excerpts)

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Fifty-seventh session

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 75th MEETING

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva,

on Tuesday, 24 April 2001, at 3 p.m.

CONTENTS

RATIONALIZATION OF THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION (continued)

CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE QUESTIONS OF:

INTEGRATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND THE GENDER PERSPECTIVE:

RIGHTS OF THE CHILD (continued)

SPECIFIC GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS:

The meeting was called to order at 3.20 p.m.

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Draft resolution on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (E/CN.4/2001/L.47)

Mr. AKRAM (Pakistan), introducing the amendments to the draft resolution proposed in document E/CN.4/2001/L.62 on behalf of the States members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) other than those which were sponsors of the draft resolution, said that the amendments had been proposed during the so called open-ended consultations, but the responses of the sponsors had not been positive and it had been necessary to table them formally.  It was proposed that the words “including occupied territories” should be included in paragraph 3, because the words “any territory under their jurisdiction” were insufficiently clear.  It was felt that there should be a specific reference to territories under foreign occupation since it was precisely in such territories that torture was most commonplace and used with the greatest impunity.

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12. Lastly, the special mechanisms should comply with their mandates, including the prescriptions contained in Commission resolutions.  The OIC was very concerned at attempts by any special mechanism to choose unilaterally not to fulfil the mandate given to it by the Commission.  At a special session, the Commission had asked the Special Rapporteur to visit the occupied Palestinian territories and to report on the situation there.  His unilateral decision not to visit the occupied Palestinian territories had therefore been unjustified.  He was not asked to report on the basis of information already available to him.

13. His decision not to visit the occupied Palestinian territories was all the more surprising in that there was overwhelming evidence of cases of torture there.  Paragraph 27 should therefore be replaced by one which clearly reflected the situation and the Commission’s sense of deep disappointment at the fact that he had not implemented the mandate entrusted to him.

The meeting rose at 6 p.m.