Human rights situation in the OT – CHR Sub-Comm. resolutions – Sub-Comm. report (excerpts)

REPORT OF THE SUB-COMMISSION ON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION

AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES ON ITS FORTY-FIFTH SESSION

Geneva, 2-27 August 1993

Rapporteur:  Mr. Ioan Maxim

GE.93-85392  (E)

  CONTENTS

Chapter Page 

I. Draft resolutions and decisions recommended to the Commission

on Human Rights for adoption  9

A. Draft resolutions

I. Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery  9

   II. Question of human rights and states of emergency  9

  III. Human rights and extreme poverty 10

   IV. Promoting the realization of the right to

adequate housing 11

    V. Question of the impunity of perpetrators of

violations of human rights 12

   VI. Independence of the judiciary, particularly with

regard to judges and lawyers, as well as

 court officers 13

B.  Draft decisions

1. Report of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms

of Slavery 15

2. Slavery and slavery-like practices during wartime 15

3. The right to a fair trial 15

4. Recognition of gross and large-scale violations

of human rights as an international crime 16

5. Human rights and the environment 16

6. Traditional practices affecting the health of

women and children 17

7. Human rights dimensions of population transfer,

including the implantation of settlers

and settlements 17

8. Question of the implications for human rights of United Nations actions, including humanitarian

assistance in addressing international

humanitarian problems and in the promotion and

protection of human rights 18

 9. Human rights and income distribution 19

10. Protection of minorities 19

11. Cultural and intellectual property of indigenous

peoples 19

12. Working Group on Indigenous Populations 20

13. Question of the privatization of prisons 20

14. Study on treaties, agreements and other

constructive arrangements between States

and indigenous populations 21

II. Resolutions and decisions adopted by the Sub-Commission at its forty-fifth session 22

A. Resolutions

1993/1. Monitoring the eradication of apartheid and the transition to democracy in South Africa 22

1993/2. Elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief 23

1993/3. Measures to combat racism and racial

discrimination and the role of

the Sub-Commission 25

1993/4. Methods of work of the Sub-Commission 26

1993/5. Report of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms

of Slavery 27

1993/6. Additional assistance in studying ways and means

of resolving problems arising from the former

institution of slavery 32

1993/7. Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery 33

1993/8. Punishment of the crime of genocide 34

1993/9. Situation in Kosovo 35

1993/10. Situation of human rights in Chad 38

1993/11. Situation in South Africa 38

1993/12. Situation in East Timor 41

1993/13. Consequences for the enjoyment of human rights of acts of violence committed by armed groups that spread terror among the population 42

1993/14. Situation of human rights in the

Islamic Republic of Iran 43

1993/15. Situation in the Palestinian and other

Arab territories occupied by Israel 45

1993/16. Situation of human rights in Guatemala 49

1993/17. Situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina 51

1993/18. Situation in Haiti:  encouragement of the establishment of the democratic process and the reconstruction of the country 53

1993/19. Situation in Myanmar 54

1993/20. Situation of human rights in Iraq 56

1993/21. Freedom of movement and the situation of

migrant workers and their families 58

1993/22. Question of the human rights of

disabled persons 60

1993/23. Situation of human rights in Peru 61

1993/24. Slavery and slavery-like practices

during wartime 63

1993/25. Submission of information pursuant to

Sub-Commission resolution 7 (XXVII)

of 20 August 1974 64

1993/26. The right to a fair trial 65

1993/27. Application of international standards

concerning the human rights of detained

juveniles 66

1993/28. Question of human rights and states of

emergency 67

1993/29. Study concerning the right to restitution,

compensation and rehabilitation for victims

of gross violations of human rights and

fundamental freedoms 69

1993/30. Recognition of gross and large-scale violations

of human rights as an international crime 70

1993/31. Discrimination in the context of human

immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired

immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) 71

1993/32. Human rights and the environment 73

1993/33. Traditional practices affecting the health of

women and children 75

1993/34. Human rights dimensions of population transfer, including the implantation of settlers and

settlements 76

1993/35. Human rights and extreme poverty 77

1993/36. Promoting the realization of the right to adequate housing 79

1993/37. Question of the impunity of perpetrators of violations of human right 80

1993/38. Question of the implications for human rights of United Nations action, including humanitarian assistance in addressing international humanitarian problems and in the promotion and protection of human rights 82

1993/39. Independence of the judiciary, particularly with regard to judges and lawyers, as well as court

officers 84

1993/40. Human rights and income distribution 85

1993/41. Forced evictions 87

1993/42. Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities 89

1993/43. Protection of minorities 90

1993/44. Cultural and intellectual property of indigenous

peoples 92

1993/45. Discrimination against indigenous peoples 94

1993/46. Draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples 95

B. Decisions

1993/101. Organization of work 97

1993/102. Adoption of the agenda of the forty-fifth session

of the Sub-Commission 97

1993/103. Establishment of a sessional working group

on detention 97

1993/104. Question of the reform of the procedure

governed by Economic and Social Council

resolution 1503 (XLVIII) 98

1993/105. Decision taken under agenda item 10 98

1993/106. Voting by secret ballot on proposals pertaining

to allegations of violations of human rights

in countries 98

1993/107. Situation in Tibet 98

1993/108. Arbitrary and summary executions 99

1993/109. Question of the privatization of prisons 99

1993/110. Study on treaties, agreements and other

constructive arrangements between States

and indigenous populations 99

1993/111. Composition of the pre-sessional working groups of the Sub-Commission 100

III. Organization of the forty-fifth session 101

IV. Review of the work of the Sub-Commission 106

V. Review of further developments in fields with which the Sub-Commission has been concerned 108

VI. Elimination of racial discrimination 115

A. Measures to combat racism and racial discrimination and the role of the Sub-Commission 115

B. Monitoring the transition to democracy in South Africa 116

VII. Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including policies of racial discrimination and segregation and of apartheid, in all countries, with

particular reference to colonial and other dependent

countries and territories:  report of the Sub-Commission

under Commission on Human Rights resolution 8 (XXIII) 118

VIII. The new international economic order and the promotion of

human rights 133

     A. The role and equal participation of women in development 133

IX. The realization of economic, social and cultural rights 135

X. Communications concerning human rights: report of the Working Group established under Sub-Commission

resolution 2 (XXIV) in accordance with Economic and

Social Council resolution 1503 (XLVIII) 140

XI. The administration of justice and the human rights detainees 142

A. Question of the human rights of persons subjected to any

form of detention or imprisonment 142

B. Question of human rights and states of emergency 142

C. Individualization of prosecution and penalties, and repercussions of violations of human rights on families 142

D. The right to a fair trial 142

XII. Independence and impartiality of the judiciary, jurors and assessors and the independence of lawyers 150

XIII. Human rights and disability 152

XIV. Elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion and belief 153

XV. Discrimination against indigenous peoples 154

XVI. Contemporary forms of slavery 158

XVII. Promotion, protection and restoration of human rights at national, regional and international levels 162

A. Prevention of discrimination and protection of children: human rights and youth 162

B. Prevention of discrimination and protection of women 162

XVIII. Protection of minorities 163

XIX. Freedom of movement 165

XX. Implications of humanitarian activities for the enjoyment of human rights 166

XXI. Consideration of the future work of the Sub-Commission and of the draft provisional agenda for the forty-sixth session of the Sub-Commission 170

XXII. Adoption of the report of the forty-fifth session 176

Annexes

I. Agenda 177

II. Attendance 179

III. Administrative and programme budget implications of resolutions and decisions adopted by the Sub-Commission at its forty-fifth session 184

IV. Sub-Commission resolutions referring to matters which are drawn to the Commission's attention 185

V. List of studies and reports:

(a) Completed at the forty-fifth session of the

Sub-Commission; 186

(b) Under preparation by members of the Sub-Commission in

accordance with with existing legislative authority 187

VI. List of documents issued for the forty-fifth session of the Sub-Commission 191

[…]

II.  RESOLUTIONS AND DECISIONS ADOPTED BY THE SUB-COMMISSION

AT ITS FORTY-FIFTH SESSION

A.  Resolutions

[…]

1993/15. Situation in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied by Israel

The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in particular the principles of equal rights and self-determination of all peoples,

Mindful of the principles and humanitarian provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the protection of victims of war, of the principles and provisions of international law and of the obligations arising from the Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, annexed to the Hague Convention IV of 1907,

Recalling that, in accordance with article 1 of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, all States parties to the Conventions have undertaken to respect and to ensure respect for the Conventions in all circumstances,

Recalling also all the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights condemning the practices of the Israeli occupation authorities in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied by Israel which affirm the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to these territories, in particular resolution 1993/2 of 19 February 1993 of the Commission on Human Rights,

Recalling further the relevant Security Council resolutions, in particular resolutions 605 (1987) of 22 December 1987, 607 (1988) of 5 January 1988, 608 (1988) of 14 January 1988, 636 (1989) of 6 July 1989, 681 (1990) of 20 December 1990, 726 (1992) of 6 January 1992 and 799 (1992) of 18 December 1992,

Noting with great concern the report submitted to the Security Council by the Secretary-General in accordance with resolution 799 (1992) (S/25149), which affirmed that Israel continued to refuse to comply with the resolutions of the Council and recommended that the Council take the necessary measures to ensure that its decision, as set out in resolution 799 (1992), was respected,

Taking note of the reports of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories submitted to the General Assembly and the relevant reports of the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Health Organization,

Recalling with great concern the press releases issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva on 13 January 1988, on 18 and 19 August 1988 and on 21 May 1992 and the statement of the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross on 23 May 1993 concerning the continuing violations by Israel of the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, including the deportation of Palestinian citizens from their territory, the killing of civilians, including children, and the application of the policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian people,

Reaffirming its previous resolutions in this respect, the most recent being resolution 1992/10 of 26 August 1992,

Deeply alarmed at the persistent refusal of Israel to respect the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, and to apply it to the Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories, and at the systematic and established violations of human rights by Israel over the past twenty-six years and its persistence in killing, wounding and arresting Palestinian people and in deporting and expelling Palestinian citizens,

Taking into account the ongoing process of negotiation between the parties concerned since the Peace Conference on the Middle East convened at Madrid, and encouraging this process to reach speedily a just and lasting peace settlement on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 and 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973 and all other relevant United Nations resolutions,

1. Reaffirms that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territories, including Jerusalem, itself constitutes a gross and systematic violation of human rights and an aggression under international law;

2. Also reaffirms that the continued perpetration by the Israeli occupation authorities of deliberate killings of Palestinians, including children, breaking limbs of young men and causing grave harm to their physical integrity, subjecting cities, villages and camps to living conditions designed to strangulate and destroy them by imposing curfews, as happened in the Gaza Strip on 25 May 1992, and preventing their provision with food and medical supplies, firing gas bombs into houses, mosques, churches and hospitals, thus causing the death of many people by asphyxia, severely beating pregnant women and throwing gas bombs inside their homes, thereby causing them to miscarry, torturing Palestinian detainees, imposing collective punishment and administrative detention upon thousands of Palestinians, expelling and deporting Palestinians from their homeland, confiscating land and establishing Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, bringing Jewish immigrants from several parts of the world and settling them on these territories, thus modifying their demographic character, closing schools and universities, desecrating holy places and demolishing houses, all constitute grave violations of the principles of international law and the provisions of

the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

3. Further reaffirms that the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, is applicable to the Palestinians and to the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied by Israel, and that the continued disregard and rejection of the provisions of the Convention by Israel constitute gross violations of the principles of international law, and that it is therefore the responsibility of the international community to provide protection for the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and the provisions of the Convention, until the end of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian and other Arab territories;

4. Calls upon the States parties to the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to implement article 1 of the Convention, to ensure respect by Israel for the Convention and to secure protection for the Palestinian people under occupation, until the end of this occupation;

5. Reaffirms once again the right of the Palestinian people to resist the Israeli occupation by all means, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, and affirms that the intifada of the Palestinian people, which began on 8 December 1987, is one such means confirming their determination to liberate their land from Israeli occupation and to exercise their inalienable national rights on their national soil, above all their right to self-determination;

6. Also reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland in accordance with General Assembly resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948, to self-determination without foreign interference and to establish their independent sovereign State on their national soil, in accordance with the principles and provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and with resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Commission on Human Rights;

7. Condemns the policy of Israel for:

(a) Its gross violations of the rules of international law and of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, and calls upon Israel to desist immediately from those practices and to withdraw from the Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories, in accordance with the principles of international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions;

(b) Continuing the policy of deporting Palestinian citizens and for expelling them from their homeland, as happened to more than 400 Palestinian citizens on 17 December 1992, and calls upon Israel to comply with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, the most recent being resolution 799 (1992) of 18 December 1992, as well as with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights, and to refrain from such a policy, which violates the principles of international law;

(c) Establishing Israeli settlements in the Palestinian and other occupied Arab territories and calls for them to be dismantled, and confirms that all measures taken by Israel with the purpose of annexing these territories or altering the political, cultural, religious or other character of Jerusalem and the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 are illegal, null and void;

(d) Its continued occupation of the Syrian Golan and its defiance of the relevant United Nations resolutions, in particular Security Council resolution 497 (1981) of 17 December 1981, and reaffirms that the decision by Israel in 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void;

(e) The inhuman treatment and terrorist practices in violation of human rights which the Israeli occupation authorities continue to exercise against Syrian Arab citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan for their refusal to carry Israeli identity cards and in order to force them to carry such cards, which practices constitute a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, and requests all States and competent international organizations not to recognize any Israeli laws, jurisdiction or administration in respect of the occupied Syrian territory;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Sub-Commission, at its forty-sixth session, with an updated list of reports, studies, statistics and other documents relating to the question of Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, with the texts of the most recent relevant United Nations decisions and resolutions and the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, and with all other information relevant to the implementation of the present resolution.

27th meeting

20 August 1993

[Adopted by secret ballot by 17 votes to 2,

with 5 abstentions.  See chap. VII.]

[…]

140. Statements were also made by the observers for Palestine (14th), the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania (10th) and the African National Congress (12th).

[…]

Situation in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied by Israel

166. At the same meeting, the Sub-Commission considered draft resolution E/CN.4/Sub.2/1993/L.17, sponsored by Mr. Alfonso Martínez, Mr. Khalil, Mrs. Ksentini and Mr. Ramadhane.

167. Mr. Sachar proposed the following amendments to the draft resolution:

(a) A new preambular paragraph should be inserted after the last preambular paragraph, reading as follows:

(b) A new operative paragraph should be added as operative paragraph 9, reading as follows:

168. Statements relating to the draft resolution and the proposed amendments were made by Mr. Alfonso Martínez, Mrs. Chavez, Mr. Khalil, Mrs. Ksentini and Mrs. Warzazi.

169. The Sub-Commission decided to postpone consideration of the draft resolution.

170. At its 27th meeting, on 20 August 1993, the Sub-Commission resumed its consideration of draft resolution E/CN.4/Sub.2/1993/L.17.

171. The Chairman read out the text of an amendment to which the sponsors had agreed, consisting of a new preambular paragraph to be inserted after the last preambular paragraph.

172. At the request of Mrs. Chavez, a vote was taken on the draft resolution.

173. The resolution, as amended, was adopted by secret ballot by 17 votes to 2, with 5 abstentions.

174. For the text of the resolution, see chapter II, section A, resolution 1993/15.

[…]

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