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Extract from Position Paper for the 61st Session of the Commission on Human Rights
March 14th - April 22nd 2005
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
March 2005

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Introduction

Returning to the protection mandate

Only a few days away from the opening of the 61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) publishes its position paper. FIDH calls upon States members of the Commission to better exercise the protection mandate assigned to this body, as required by Resolution 34/175 of the UN General Assembly. Therefore, FIDH calls for the adoption of resolutions on 21 countries, and also urges recommendations on 12 specific themes.

Guaranteeing its protection mandate
On the occasion of previous sessions of the Commission on Human rights, and lately at the last session of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, a campaign against item 9 – country resolutions - has been openly launched by a number of countries. They have been using the fallacious argument of « political selectivity » of country resolutions to tentatively –and successfully - eliminate their examination and adoption by the Commission.

FIDH reaffirms that CHR’s primary mandate is to evaluate and take position on the situation of Human rights throughout the world. Item 9 is a necessary instrument for the fulfillment of this task. Faced with attacks which have recently become systematic, FIDH recalls the necessity and the urgency, for States composing the Commission, to respect the objectives that have been assigned to this institution:

• The public condemnation of Human rights violations are seriously feared by their authors. This can be easily measured with efforts deployed by targeted States to prevent such condemnations in the corridors of the Commission. Condemnation has a protecting deterrent effect when violators know they are being observed.
• Resolutions enable the public qualification of human rights violations by the UN body, a first step in a process leading to justice and the reparation of victims.
• Resolutions are requested by human rights defenders who, in the field, are the primary witnesses of human rights violations, sometimes at the peril of their lives. The argument of excessive politicization does not hold in front of voices who only demand compliance with international human rights law.

"Reforms" are always justified when it is to reduce the alarming malfunctions characterizing a political organ such as the Commission on Human Rights. However, more than a new reform, it is political will that is lacking among the States composing the Commission, to allow it to carry out its mandate. FIDH fears that the new reform procedure aiming to further the credibility of the Commission, although necessary, is a new opportunity or pretext to reduce once again the Commission’s capacities to protect victims.

FIDH therefore calls upon member States of the Commission to respond to the calls addressed to them by Human rights defenders, to have the Commission focus on its protection mandate and within this framework, echo the emergency situations which are presented to them.

FIDH presents at this session of the Commission: 25 written interventions, a dozen oral interventions, and will organize or co-organize 15 public events. FIDH with member and affiliate organizations will actively participate during the 6 weeks of the session to bring forth its concerns. FIDH has also joined the Executive Board of the International Festival of Films on Human Rights that will be held from 11th to 19th March. In this context, on 13th March, the FIDH is co-organizing an afternoon event on the theme of immigration and violations of Human rights. The Festival with FIDH, HRW, and OMCT will hold on 30th March the Estates General on Human rights titled "To witness, denounce, and protect: the Commission on Human Rights faced with its responsibilities".

The main priorities of FIDH are the following:

Country priorities:
Concerning Africa, FIDH requests that the Commission adopt a resolution on:

• the situation in Sudan (Darfour), in the Ivory Coast, in Togo and in Zimbabwe, requesting the installation of a monitoring mechanism in charge of reporting on the Human rights situation, and
• the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Burundi, requesting the renewal of the mandate of the Independent Expert on the Human rights situation.

Concerning the Americas, FIDH also requests that the Commission adopt a resolution on:

• the situation in Colombia directing the government to apply the recommendations of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human rights and to support the work of the Office of the United Nations,
• the situation in Cuba expressing their concerns with regard to the situation of Human rights in the country and directing the government to authorize the Representative of the High Commissioner of Human rights as well as other special mechanisms of the Commission to visit the country,
• the situation in Haiti requesting the renewal of the mandate of the Independent Expert on this country, and
• the situation in the United States of America requesting the government to invite Special Rapporteurs to the Commission, notably the Special Rapporteurs on torture and on the independence of judges and lawyers.

Concerning Europe and States of the CIS, FIDH requests that the Commission adopt a resolution on:

• the situation in Russia, particularly in Chechnya, requesting an international fact-finding mission on the situation of Human rights in this region reporting back to the Commission on Human rights as well as to the General Assembly of the United Nations, and
• the situation in Belarus renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on this country.

Finally, concerning Asia and the Middle East, FIDH also requests that the Commission adopt a resolution on:

• the situation in the Palestinian Occupied Territories broadening the mandate of the High Commissioner for Human rights to include a monitoring and training mission,
• the situation in Iraq, Iran, and Nepal, requesting the creation of a monitoring mechanism in charge of reporting on the Human rights situation, and
• the situation in China and in Vietnam urging the authorities of these countries to address a permanent invitation to the special thematic procedures of the United Nations.

Thematic priorities:
FIDH supports 12 thematic priorities for the 61st session of the CHR. Amongst them, FIDH requires the establishment of three specific mechanisms:

• a personal representative of the UN Secretary-General on business and human rights, to advise the consultations of member States on this topic,
• the broadening of the mandate of the Independent Expert on the protection of Human rights within the context of the fight against terrorism, to enable him or her to monitor country situations, and
• a mechanism to monitor discriminations based on work and descent (often related to the cast system).

Lastly, within the framework of the Observatory for the protection of Human rights defenders (a joint FIDH/OMCT program), FIDH calls for the condemnation of the deterioration of the human rights situation in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, uatemala, Iran, Mauritania, Nepal, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.

FIDH is also awaiting action from the Commission on: death penalty, discriminations on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, the issue of the elaboration of an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights, the follow-up to the elaboration of an internationally legally binding instrument for the prevention of enforced disappearances, extreme poverty, the protection of indigenous peoples, the right to reparation, and the fight against impunity.

Zimbabwe

FIDH calls upon the Commission on Human Rights to adopt a resolution on the Human rights situation in Zimbabwe, urging the Zimbabwean authorities to, inter alia:

• guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of human rights defenders;
• put an end to all forms of harassment, arrests and arbitrary detentions and threats against human rights defenders;
• repeal the law on non-governmental organizations, which is contrary to fundamental freedoms protected in regional and international human rights conventions;
• revise the "Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act" so that the law is conform with international provisions on freedoms of information and expression;
• strictly conform to the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on defenders, adopted in 1998, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
• ratify the Convention against Torture and other sanctions and inhuman and degrading treatments, as well as the additional Protocol to the Convention against Torture;
• pursue and judge the authors of acts of torture, in conformity with the provisions of international instruments for the protection of human rights;
• ratify the additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights bringing forth the creation of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, also giving authorization to NGOs and individuals to bring a complaint directly to the Court by making a declaration under Article 34 of the Protocol;
• invite the Working Group on arbitrary detention, the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Representative of the Secretary General on human rights defenders.

FIDH
17, passage de la Main d’Or
F-75011 Paris – France
tel. +33 (0)1 43 55 25 18
fax. +33 (0)1 43 55 18 80
email. fidh@fidh.org
web. http://www.fidh.org

FIDH
Délégation Permanente auprès de l’ONU
15, Rue des Savoises,
CH-1205 Genève - Suisse
Tel : +4122 700 12 88
Fax : +4122 321 54 88
email. fidh.ge@worldcom.ch, amadelin@fidh.org, bquadranti@fidh.org, apomeon@fidh.org

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