Human rights situation in the OT – Third Cttee debate – Press release(excerpts)

Fifty-seventh General Assembly

Third Committee

34^th Meeting (PM)

THIRD COMMITTEE CONSIDERS HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS

OF AFGHANISTAN, MIGRANT WORKERS, HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

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Background

The Third Committee met this afternoon to begin the next phase of its consideration of human rights questions with the first of six interactive dialogues with various human rights experts and Special Rapporteurs.

Today, delegations will hear presentations from and participate in discussions with Ms. Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders; Kamal Hossain, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan; and Ms. Gabriela Rodriguez Pizarro, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.  The Committee with have before it the relevant reports of those experts.

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During this segment, the Committee will also examine a number of other reports and documents on human rights questions, including on alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

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There is a note by the Secretary-General on the human rights situation of Lebanese detainees in Israel (document A/57/345) which states that the Secretary-General had addressed a note verbale to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel on 10 June 2002 and that no reply had been received at the time of the preparation of the note.

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Statement by Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders

HINA JILANI, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders, presented her report, which contained an overview of regional consultations with human rights defenders and their organizations that she had attended since the beginning of her mandate.  In her report to the fifty-eighth session of the Commission on Human Rights, she had mentioned consultations in West Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.  Those consultations had become an important aspect of the implementation of her mandate, and based on an examination of the concerns of human rights defenders as well as with communications and dialogue with governments, she had formulated and recommended strategies for enhancing the security of human rights defenders.

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Interactive Dialogue with the Special Representative

Opening the dialogue, the representative of Egypt praised Ms. Jilani's reports, but noted that no country group alleged to have persecuted human rights defenders were mentioned other than the Palestinian Authority.  Why had that body been mentioned but not the regime that was carrying out the occupation?  It would only be fair to mention all parties to conflict when addressing human rights concerns.

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Responding, Ms. JILANI said it had always been her desire to be objective about her work.  She had mentioned the occupied Palestinian territory and the situation there as a part of her response to what the human rights defenders had reported to her.  On the situation of women human rights defenders, she said that it had always been her practice to give special mention to the unique challenges facing such defenders.  That would continue to be the case because during the past year, she had heard of instances where the right to movement of women human rights defenders had been restricted by social agencies.  The best way to address that was to create an environment where women could work in safety in security.  One sure way to accomplish that was to adopt a zero tolerance policy toward all violence against women.

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The observer of Palestine reiterated the concerns of the representative of Egypt that it was necessary to mention the Israeli regime in any discussion about human rights, human rights abuses or the protection of human rights defenders.

Ms. JILANI said she would like to do case studies on national security measures.  However, it was a matter of resources, and the issue had thus far remained pending on the agenda of her mandate.  She said that the information in her report was neither her conclusion nor her finding.  The information was based on the consultation on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, which had been presented to her and it would have been unfair for her to add anything to that report.

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