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.
[…]
sett.pub
Document Type: Report
Document Sources: Commission on Human Rights
Subject: Human rights and international humanitarian law, Settlements
Publication Date: 25/10/1993