wfn.org | UN Commission's 'No-Action' Mechanism Blocking Assessment of

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@ELCA.ORG>]

UN Commission's 'No-Action' Mechanism Blocking Assessment of Human Rights
Violations
NGOs Opposed to Eliminating Commission's "Most Powerful Enforcement Tool"

GENEVA, 6 May 2004 (LWI) * The United Nations Commission on Human Rights
(UNCHR) is becoming "more and more politicized," blocking the proper
examination of human rights situations in specific countries, said Mr Peter
Prove, Assistant to the General Secretary for International Affairs and Human
Rights of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

Prove was commenting on the 60th session of the UNCHR, March 15-April 23 in
Geneva. He noted that while there were a number of procedural improvements at
this year's session compared to some of the previous ones, there was a
growing negative trend in relation to the examination of specific country
situations. Under Item 9 of the Commission, dealing with the violation of
human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world, increasing
use is being made of a procedural mechanism known as a "no-action" motion.
China and Zimbabwe both succeeded in this tactic to block discussion of
proposed resolutions on the human rights situations in those countries. In
addition, while a resolution on human rights in Cuba was passed by a narrow
margin, Russia managed to fend off a proposed resolution on the human rights
situation in Chechnya. "And incredibly," said Prove, "a mandate on the human
rights situation in Iraq was not renewed."

Prove also noted that a number of States are calling for an end to 'naming
and shaming' in the Commission on Human Rights, and are now openly proposing
that Item 9 of the Commission's agenda should be dropped altogether. If this
item were to be removed, he said, then human rights issues would only be
addressed in the context of technical cooperation programs, or in relatively
generalized thematic terms. He affirmed that most non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) oppose this development. "From the NGOs' point of view,
'naming and shaming' is the only means by which anything like practical
enforcement of international human rights law can take place in the case of
intransigent State violators of human rights." Abolishing Item 9, he
stressed, "would be getting rid of the Commission's most powerful enforcement
tool."

Prove remarked on the increasing levels of regional block solidarity in the
Commission on Human Rights. The African Group and the EU (European Union) are
"particularly clear examples." Due to regional block voting, according to
Prove, "the Commission's capacity to address country situations is very much
reduced." He observed that the "primary efforts of its members seem to be
devoted to defeating proposed resolutions rather than to dealing proactively
with serious human rights concerns."

However, a few country situations were acted on by the Commission. For
example, resolutions were adopted on the human rights situation in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories and in Turkmenistan. New resolutions on
Belarus and North Korea mandated the appointment of Special Rapporteurs on
the human rights situations in both countries, and the mandate of the Special
Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar was extended. A mildly
worded decision appointing an Independent Expert on the human rights
situation in Sudan for a one-year period was adopted, while a more strongly
worded resolution on the topic was deferred.

Among other initiatives, the LWF and five other NGOs presented a joint
statement under the agenda item on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and all forms of discrimination. The six NGOS urged the international human
rights community to address caste-based discrimination "because of the deeply
entrenched nature of this problem, the enormous numbers of people affected
[an estimated 250 million Dalits in South Asia alone] and the global
dimensions of the phenomenon." The Commission, however, did not address this
issue.

Other significant developments during the 60th session of the UNCHR included
the establishment of a new Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons,
especially women and children; the setting up of a new Independent Expert on
human rights and counter-terrorism; and the adoption of a resolution on
internally displaced persons in which the Commission requested the
Secretary-General to establish a mechanism that would address the problem of
internal displacement. In addition, the Commission's Independent Expert on
structural adjustment policies and foreign debt was asked to draft general
guidelines for "public and private, national and international financial
institutions in the decision-making and execution of debt repayments and
structural reform programs."

On April 7, the Commission observed the International Day of Reflection on
the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered an
address on that occasion that Prove described as "emotional."

A summary report on the 60th session of the Commission on Human Rights will
shortly be posted on the LWF Web site at
http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/OIAHR/OIAHR-Critical_Issues.html 

(773 words)

[The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member
churches in 76 countries representing 62.3 million of the almost 66 million
Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas
of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

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