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

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Fifty-seventh session

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 11th MEETING

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva,

on Monday, 26 March 2001, at 10 a.m.

Chairperson : Mr. DESPOUY (Argentina)

CONTENTS

SPECIAL DEBATE ON TOLERANCE AND RESPECT

The meeting was called to order at 10.15 a.m.

SPECIAL DEBATE ON TOLERANCE AND RESPECT

[…]

The Most Reverend Desmond TUTU …

[…]

The entire universe was characterized by diversity. There were different sorts of planets, galaxies, animals, plants, races and ethnic groups. The human body was itself made up of different organs performing different functions. That glorious diversity was written into all aspects of life. For Christians, it was to be found in the image of one God in three persons, and it was that imago dei that invested every individual, regardless of race, gender, economic or social status or level of education, with an intrinsic worth not dependent on any external factor. Thus, there could be no superior or inferior race. All human beings were born free and equal in dignity and in rights, and were deserving of respect whatever the circumstances. The very essence of the world was diversity, and to ignore that basic fact was to live in a fool’s paradise. All human beings should thus celebrate their diversity and exult in their differences – differences that made not for separation, alienation and hostility, but for solidarity, friendship, interdependence and complementarity of all as members of one family, the human family, God’s family. It was the refusal to acknowledge that obvious fact that had spawned the racially discriminatory selling of human beings into slavery in the United States of America, the Holocaust in Germany, genocidal massacres in Armenia and Rwanda, ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, apartheid and conflicts in Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland, the Middle East and the Sudan. Religion, too, which should encourage tolerance, respect, compassion, peace, reconciliation and sharing, had all too frequently fuelled intolerance, injustice and oppression. The ghastliest atrocities had been committed in the name of religion, whereas no religion could hope to have a monopoly on virtue and truth.

[…]

Ms. ABOULNAGA (Observer for Egypt), speaking on behalf of the League of Arab States, …

[…]

The tragedy that afflicted the occupied territories, including Jerusalem, was an example of failure to respect the principles of tolerance and human rights. Israel, which was waging a campaign of military repression against an occupied people, did not respect its obligations in the field of human rights. The League of Arab States called upon the international community to ensure respect for the fundamental rights of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. The failure to respect their rights posed a threat not only to stability in the Middle East but also to international cooperation.

The Arab countries wished to know whether the international community intended simply to debate tolerance, or whether it intended to take effective measures to defend it. Moreover, they asked whether the international community could take action to promote tolerance in one region, while overlooking its total absence in another region.

[…]

Mr. LURIA (Observer for Israel) said that despite all the efforts undertaken at international and national levels, intolerance and prejudice continued to fuel hatred and discrimination. Israeli society was made up of many different cultures and was very proud of that diversity, which derived in part from its absorption of immigrants from all over the world. That diversity could not but enrich the social and cultural fabric of a democratic society. The challenge was to encourage each cultural group in Israel to make its own unique contribution to the development of Israeli society as a whole. Israel was committed to developing constructive dialogue and understanding among the various groups, especially during the current period of tension and violence.

In the past decade the principle of equality had been strengthened in Israel. New statutes had been adopted prohibiting discrimination in the workplace and in the educational and health systems. Equality between the sexes had been enshrined in law, as had the rights of the disabled. The Supreme Court had prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or disabilities.

Civil society and NGOs had a crucial role to play in putting human rights and tolerance at the centre of the political agenda. They had contributed to instilling the essential democratic values of justice and equality in the Israeli population.

Education was a key factor in promoting tolerance, democracy and dialogue, and several projects had been implemented in that area. The Ministry of Education had established a department for democracy and coexistence, which operated through NGOs and organized meetings between students from different sectors of society – for instance, between Arabs and Jews, and between secular and religious groups. With support from the Ministry of Education and NGOs, and under the guidance of the Institute for Democratic Education, special schools had been established to provide a non-traditional education that attempted to bridge the gap between the different groups and cultures. Lastly, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel ran a programme in some 60 schools enabling students to track down Internet sites that promoted racist ideas or sought to foment racial hatred, so as to help them learn to distinguish between dissemination of such information and freedom of expression.

Relations between religious and secular groups were a major problem in Israel, partly because each felt threatened by the other. A network of colleges, some religious and others secular, had been established to study and promote Jewish values. Other organizations worked to introduce religious pluralism into Israeli legislation, particularly with regard to marriage.

Tel Aviv University had recently published a study unique in its field, devoted to international anti-discriminatory legislation dealing with anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance and persecution of minorities. Israel was planning to present that survey at the World Conference against Racism, as a contribution to the fight against discrimination and intolerance worldwide.

[…]

The Most Reverend Desmond TUTU said that South Africa would not have been able to do away with apartheid without the support of the international community, and that South Africans were infinitely grateful for all it had done for them. He was convinced that if the international community had succeeded in defeating apartheid, it was also capable of putting an end to racism and bringing about peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. Just as it had helped South Africans to regain their freedom, it could help Jews and Arabs to offer one another an olive branch and live together in harmony.

[…]

The meeting rose at 1.05 p.m.