The Commission on Human Rights this morning continued its debate on civil and political rights, hearing from 46 non-governmental organizations alleging violations of civil and political rights in many parts of the world.

Violations concerning religious freedom, arbitrary detention, torture, forced disappearances, freedom of opinion and expression and arbitrary killings were claimed, with the speakers alleging that the authorities of those States had not taken appropriate action to protect those rights or that they were the perpetrators of the crimes.

The following non-governmental organizations contributed statements: International Association against Torture; American Association of Jurists; Transnational Radical Party; Movimiento Cubano por la Paz y la Soberanía de los Pueblos; South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre; International League for Human Rights; International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (speaking on behalf of Agir Ensemble pour les droits de l'homme); International Committee for the Respect and Application of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (CIRAC); International Religious Liberty Association; Society for Threatened Peoples; World Federation of Democratic Youth; Liberation; Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation; Jubilee Campaign; Consultative Council of Jewish Organizations; Sociedad Cultural Jose Marti; International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty; Centro de Estudios Europeos; Centrist Democratic International; Permanent Assembly for Human Rights; Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín Pro Juarez; International Fellowship of Reconciliation; Liberal International; European Union of Public Relations; Open Society Institute; International Institute for Peace; Organization for Defending Victims of Violence; Movement against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples (MRAP); International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development; International Humanist and Ethical Union; Human Rights Advocates; International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations; Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization; International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights; Indigenous World Association (speaking on behalf of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Rural Development Foundation of Pakistan); International Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic & Other Minorities; General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; Catholic Institute for International Relations (speaking on behalf of Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation and Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development); A Woman's Voice International; Agir ensemble pour les droits de l'homme; International Criminal Defense Attorneys Association; International Indian Treaty Council; Association for World Education; International League for the Rights and Liberation of peoples; Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees (FEDEDAM); and Asian Legal Resource Centre.

Zambia, Viet Nam, Rwanda, India, Azerbaijan and Pakistan exercised their right of reply.

When the Commission reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will conclude its general debate on civil and political rights and will start its discussion on the integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective: violence against women.

General Debate on Civil and Political Rights

FERNANDO RUIZ, of International Association against Torture, said thousands of Chileans had testified before the national commission on political prisoners and torture. Moreover, Chile had endorsed and ratified the International Convention against Torture and the Inter-American anti-Torture Convention. The International Convention against Torture said clearly that any State must seek out and punish those responsible for torture. But Chile provided for keeping documents submitted under its commission secret for 50 years. That premise enshrined impunity for the violators, and violated the Inter-American Anti-Torture Convention, which guaranteed the right of any person making an accusation of torture to an impartial hearing. Furthermore, on the issue of reparations, Chile gave only token amounts to victims, justifying its stance by recalling its developing country status. That was unacceptable, particularly given that the torturers enjoyed post-traumatic stress compensation, above their normal income as military personnel.

ANA VERA, of American Association of Jurists, said paragraph 7 of the Commission resolution 2004/32 had made regressions in relation to the crimes of enforced disappearances. Within the context of the Security Council, a reform was essential. However, the United Nations Charter and other relevant conventions should be upheld. The Commission should react effectively and objectively without any interference by any outside power. The draft Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Victims of Disappeared Persons did not fully reflect the various provisions and declarations of the General Assembly. Contrary to the declaration of the General Assembly and the Inter-American Convention, the draft did not make reference to special jurisprudence, particularly the military courts and the immunity for crimes of enforced disappearances.

PENELOPE FAULKNER, of Transnational Radical Party, said there was concern about the widespread and egregious violations of religious freedom in Viet Nam. Whilst religious freedom was guaranteed in the Constitution, it was severely restricted in reality, and this was routinely invoked to arrest and detain religious followers simply for the peaceful expression of their beliefs. Viet Nam had acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights in 1982, yet it continued to adopt legislation that grossly restricted the rights enshrined in the Covenant, in total disregard of the Human Rights Committee's recommendations. The Commission should urge Viet Nam to re-establish the legitimate status of all non-recognised religions and abrogate all legislation which undermined human rights and hampered the development of civil society in Viet Nam.

LAZARO PARY, of Movimiento Cubano por la Paz y la Soberania de los Pueblos, said the enjoyment of civil and political rights had been challenged due to the war against terror. It was not by chance that democracy, sovereignty and human rights had become problematic concepts, used to unleash wars of aggression to take control of strategic resources for the benefit of the Western world. In a society divided between rich and poor, democracy had become obsolete. The seizure of the Americas by Europeans had put to an end to the enjoyment of democracy for the indigenous peoples of the continents. Today, the Creole rich continued to dominate the people of these countries, which had only after many years emerged from the period of dictatorships. In the name of what principles could an economic and military superpower, which had unleashed war against the Iraqi people, usurped the role of the United Nations, and seized strategic national resources, then make proclamations about democracy and human rights for the world?

KAAVYA ASOKA, of South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, said in Bangladesh, Chittagong journalists Smaresh Baidya, Zubair Siddiqui and Sumi Khan received written death threats by mail between 10 and 12 March 2005 for publishing articles on the activities of the fundamental Jamaat-e-Islami, a member of the ruling coalition in the country, and the alleged complicity of politicians in attacks on minority communities. Sumi Khan was stabbed in April 2004, and had since received numerous threats to retract her articles and to stop writing immediately. In October 2004, five men had attacked Dipankar Chakraborty, editor of the regional newspaper Durjoy Bangla, with axes and had decapitated him. The suspected motive for the murder was Chakraborty's exposé of certain politicians shielding the local gangsters. Bangladesh remained one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the world.

ALEXEY KOROTAEV, of International League for Human Rights, said there was concern for the perilous state of religious freedom in Turkmenistan today. Since 1997, all faiths except for Sunni Islam and the Russian Orthodox Church had been outlawed. Even after the decriminalisation of unregistered religious expression, Governmental officials had threatened, raided and sometimes arrested members of independent religious communities. Most religious organizations continued to face serious problems when trying to register. The Commission should urge the Government to abide by international standards of freedom of religion and human rights and make public its sentencing of all religious prisoners of conscience, and to extend an invitation to the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief.

VO VAN AI, of International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, speaking on behalf of Agir Ensemble pour les droits de l'homme, expressed grave concern about the institutionalization of repressive and arbitrary practices in Viet Nam. On the pretext of building the rule of law, the Government had codified repressive and arbitrary practices in domestic legislation to protect the ruling minority and to exclude all divergent political or religious views. There was a state within the State, whose sole purpose was to preserve the power and privileges of the Communist Party by all possible means. The military secret service had excessive powers, which it abused to destabilize and slander top-ranking Communist Party and Government officials, especially by means of torture and political assassination to eliminate perceived or potential enemies. It had employed all manner of unlawful measures to undermine reformist elements within the Communist Party, and the Government had legitimized those powers instead of trying to curb them. Viet Nam could not claim to fulfil its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, nor achieve sustainable development for the people, unless it eliminated the threat posed by such agencies.

ARIF AAJAKIA, of International Committee for the Respect and Application of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights - CIRAC, said he was taking the floor to request Belgium to rehabilitate legally Papa Simon Kimbangu, the pioneer of the Black African political emancipation and the 150,000 followers who had been persecuted, tortured and deported from 1921 to 1959 by the Belgian colonial administration in the present Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Committee also requested compensation. The universal rights recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had been refused to Black Africans in the name of the doctrine of white supremacy and racial hierarchy.

GIANFRANCO ROSSI, of International Religious Liberty Association, said the Secretary-General had clearly affirmed the need to fight Islamophobia, but had also declared that terrorism and the violence committed in the name of Islam should be fought. There were many distortions of Islam that Islamist extremists used, and one of these distortions was the Sharia rule that advocated the death penalty for any Muslim who changed his or her religion. The freedom to change religions was an essential element of the freedom of religion. The Commission should not avoid condemning this form of unreligious intolerance, even more so as this Sharia rule was only the fruit of human tradition, and did not stem from divine revelation. This would not be taking an Islamophobic stance, but to fight against Islamic terrorists and to help Muslims to free themselves from a distortion of Islam to which they were still prisoners.

TENZIN SAMPHEL KAYTA, of Society for Threatened Peoples, noted that China had yet to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United States' State Department's recent country report on human rights practices showed that China's human rights record in the Tibetan areas of China remained poor. The report had also highlighted that Chinese authorities continued to commit serious human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrest, detention without public trial, and lengthy detention of Tibetans for peaceful expression of religious or political views. China had been reluctant to allow independent international and domestic non-governmental organizations to monitor human rights conditions, and visits by intergovernmental organs had also proven unsuccessful. The United Nations Working Group on arbitrary detention, in reporting upon its visit to Beijing, Sichuan and the Tibet Autonomous Area had expressed concern that none of the recommendations made in its earlier reports had been implemented. Recalling that ties between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese authorities had been renewed in 2002, he urged the Commission to take note of the Dalai Lama's overture and to encourage China to formalize regular visits by his envoys.

ROLANDO YERO TRAVIESO, of World Federation of Democratic Youth, said it was difficult to speak of democracy when so many confrontations existed around the world. Democracy needed the participation of all people, with full respect of their civil and political rights. The Government of the United States had been freely reacting against the rights of other peoples, considering that they were terrorists, and had been exercising its tyranny. Such hegemonic acts had been exerted on the people of Cuba. The people of Cuba had reversed in 1959 the dictatorial regime of that time, which was supported by the United States, to establish the popular Government, which represented the genuine interests of the people and the country. The popular Government established social justice and created equality among men and women. The Cuban people had been defending themselves from the blockade of the United States that had affected their economic and social lives.

AUDREY BRASIER, of Liberation, said there were disturbing developments in the post-conflict situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. Peace was still a remote reality in the region, and the impunity given to the security forces in Bangladesh and Bengali settlers for gross and widespread human rights violations in the region was flagrant, including for crimes such as torture, rape, extrajudicial executions and unprovoked attacks. The human rights situation in Indonesia was a long phenomenon on the international arena. The situation in Aceh and in West Papua was also grave.

K. WARIKOO, of Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said the judiciary had been well recognized as the guarantor and protector of the rights of individuals in society. The absence of an independent judiciary permitted conditions of anarchy. Thus, with the evolution of a democratic system, the independence of the judiciary had been deemed essential for the proper functioning of democratic order. The subservience of the judiciary to other organs of the State remained the main challenge. It created opportunities for the leadership of a country to manipulate the judicial system. In some countries, the judiciary remained dependent on political pressure and discreet administrative directives; it had also been used to suppress political opposition, and to hound journalists and other political and civil rights activists. Corruption in the judiciary also remained a source of concern. In some countries, the people believed it was better to pay the judges than the lawyers to seek judicial remedies to their problems. As the absence of an independent judiciary had dangerous consequences, the Commission should monitor the functioning of judicial systems periodically.

SELAM KIDANE, of Jubilee Campaign, said over 500 Evangelical Christians had been arrested in Eritrea, hundreds of minority church members remained detained, including in container cars, political dissidents had been silenced by imprisonment, journalists had been arrested, and the media remained controlled. Eritrea was the site of grave human rights abuses. Although Eritrea had signed human rights instruments guaranteeing civil liberties and religious freedoms, due process was disregarded and freedom of worship was stifled. Accounts of unlawful detention and brutal treatment of detainees necessitated investigation and demanded the release of those individuals who were being persecuted. In the past two months, the Eritrean Government had cast the net wider to expand impermissible religious activity, when on 13 March 2005, security police arrested sixteen evangelical Protestants for watching a Christian video together in the town of Adi-Kibe.

DANIEL KINGSLEY, of Consultative Council of Jewish Organizations, said it was time for the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Violations of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law to be adopted by the United Nations. The Commission should pass them. Whilst some of the principles took a minimalist approach, victims should not have to wait any longer. It seemed fitting that in the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps that the United Nations Commission reiterated its commitment to victims of all atrocities and brought together existing international norms under one set of principles.

RAFAEL POLANCO BRAHOJOS, of Sociedad Cultural Jose Marti, recalled that the late John Paul II had held the methods applied against the Cuban people as unethical. Cuba rightly valued democracy, and defended the sovereign right of the people to govern themselves by the socio-political model chosen and ratified on many occasions. For that reason, the Cuban people had been able to resist the economic blockade and ongoing aggressions of the hostile superpower. The current United States Government's position had negatively impacted relations between Americans and Cubans. It was also sad that the Commission did not investigate the widespread abuse of human rights committed by the United States administration and military in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the like of which had not been seen since the Nazi regime. As an indication of the way in which the war against terrorism had been manipulated, he cited the fate of the five young Cubans being held for defending the island against terrorism emanating from the United States.

DENIS ROSA, of International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty, said the constant degradation of respect for human rights in the religious context was to be deplored, notably regarding exactions and oppressions committed on religious minorities. There was even more concern as these attempts were not only taking place in countries with theocratic regimes, but also in States which made the principle of laicity an instrument of oppression for all religious expression, ostentatious or not. States should realise the prejudice caused by all forms of religious intolerance, and engage themselves to do everything possible in their countries to ensure that the expression of all forms of religious expression be respected.

LAZARO T. MORA SECADE, of Centro de Estudios Europeos, said there was abundant information on violations of human rights, which had resulted from the war on terror. The situations of the detainees at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and other detention centres were very serious and an outrage to humanity. Detention for indefinite periods of time on mere presumptions, torture, and deprivation of access to visits by lawyers and families were grave violations of human rights. The Commission could not fail to speak out against these violations, and must insist that the United States Government comply with international standards, including through revoking the order setting out the status of enemy combatants. The Commission had the possibility to demonstrate that it was not applying a double standard, as the United States had done for a number of years in keeping the five Cubans in detention, without access to lawyers or to a fair trial, and then being sentenced for taking measures to prevent terrorism against the State of Cuba. There should be a new trial, outside of Miami, with an impartial jury.

BLANCA GONZALEZ, of Centrist Democratic International, said she was the mother of Normando Hernandez Gonzalez, 35 years old, who was serving a 25-year prison sentence in Cuba for expressing his political opinion. Her son was imprisoned on 18 March 2003. He had been detained and subjected to long interrogations. He had not enjoyed legal defence and the allegations to which he was charged were not well established. The only crime he committed was that he expressed his views freely. He was put in a prison about 700 kilometres from his home. He was kept in solitary confinement without electricity and drinking water.

CRISTINA MACJUS, of Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, said the systematic practice of enforced disappearances was a crime against humanity and was therefore imprescriptible due to its gravity and the prolongation of its effects into future generations. The State was the fundamental guarantor of human rights and therefore responsible for preventing citizens from becoming victims of aberrant crimes against life and human dignity. Only an independent and impartial organ could constitute an authentic mechanism to control and prevent these crimes. The establishment of truth and reconciliation commissions was a fundamental step in the fight against impunity and the promotion and protection of human rights. Justice, truth and memory were essential pillars upon which social reconstruction and a renewed respect for peace, freedom, democracy and human rights should be based.

ANNE-MARIE CRUZ, of Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez, said that since 1994, a process for technical cooperation between the Mexican Government and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had been established. The President had submitted a National Programme for human rights in December 2004. However, civil society participation had been limited in the elaboration of the National Programme, and the method used had not located structural problems that impeded fulfilment of international obligations; human rights violations in the country persisted. Arbitrary detentions and torture prevailed, and enforced disappearances continued to take place, as did systematic impunity for military forces that had committed human rights violations. The territories of indigenous peoples continued to be militarized, and the members of indigenous groups continued to be subject to imprisonment. It was necessary for the Government to broaden the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico to carry out monitoring activities.

NORZIN DOLMA, of International Fellowship of Reconciliation, said in April 1996, the Chinese Government had launched the "Strike Hard" campaign in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Although in other parts of China the campaign was designed to combat crime, in Tibet, it was directed against "splitter activity" and focused on the suppression of political dissent in religious institutions. A major instrument of control in connection with the campaign had been "patriotic re-education". The purpose was to adapt Tibetan Buddhism to socialist norms and to enforce regulations governing the management of monasteries and convents and the registration of resident clergy.

FRANK CALZON, of Liberal International, said in Cuba, those with political ideas which differed from those of the Government paid a high cost, and if they were black, they were punished even more. The number of political prisoners was greater than 300, and during 2004 the number of human rights activists arrested or subject to arbitrary judicial proceedings had increased. Likewise, the aggressions, inhuman treatment, denial of medical and religious assistance and family visits remained the policy within Cuban prisons against jailed human rights activists and independent journalists. The Cuban people had a right to their human rights. The world had a responsibility not to remain silent and all democratic institutions and countries should support Liberal International in the struggle for the human rights of the Cuban people.

FIRDOUS SYED, of European Union of Public Relations, said the population of Jammu and Kashmir had reeled under crises in the past 15 years. A spate of violence had begun in the late 1980s and had consumed thousands of lives, led to unprecedented chaos in society, destabilized the democratic order, and subverted the basic rights of the people. All hope for a better future had been undone, and massacres had become commonplace. After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, terrorist outfits had banned most of the newspapers published in Kashmir, and the few that had maintained their circulation did not carry any editorial comment. Media personnel had been attacked, and lives lost. In 1996, there had been a de-escalation in violence, and nearly 150 daily newspapers had emerged in Kashmir. However, the same could not be said about the area under Pakistani occupation, where the concept of free media did not exist. Kashmir had seen order resurrected on the political, social and economic fronts, and democratic values had been restored to a large extent. However, the genuine fear that this brush with normalcy would prove short-lived remained. To guarantee the permanence of peace and stability, the terrorist infrastructure across the border must be dismembered.

CLAIRE BISIAUX, of Open Society Institute, said in some countries, such as Myanmar, drug laws violated substantive due process by criminalizing the mere status of being a drug user. In other nations, such as Malaysia and Thailand, suspected drug users might be subjected to mandatory urine testing to determine whether they had used drugs in the recent past. If the test was positive, the user might be incarcerated or otherwise punished. Unfortunately, the situation was not necessarily better in places where the status of being a drug user was not explicitly prohibited by law. In February 2003, for example, Thailand's Prime Minister had launched a war on drugs in which he attested that any drug offender would be treated as a dangerous person who was threatening social and national security. More than 50,000 people were arrested in the first three months of the campaign alone, and at least 2,200 were assassinated.

NAZLI KIBRIA, of International Institute for Peace, said that today in Bangladesh, there was a widespread lack of public confidence in the Government's commitment to justice. Many would agree that what was being seen was a breakdown of the criminal justice system with state acquiescence. Under these circumstances, the international community was looked at to provide support and assistance. The Government's standard response to the rise of terrorism had been to insist that there was no problem, that everything was fine, there was only an image problem. It was time for all those in the international community who were committed to human rights to step forward and support the people of Bangladesh in their quest to achieve a peaceful and democratic society. The time to act was now, before the forces of democracy and tolerance in the country became further weakened.

POURIA ASKARY, of Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, said that fair trials indicated freedom and democracy. The right to justice, the administration of justice, and fair trial were principles that had been set out in the constitutions of all countries. However, States that claimed to be the flag bearers of democracy had shown that they did not bear such good records after all in the last 12 months. They had perpetuated double standards, as detainees at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib could attest. However, developing countries had not been faultless either. The concepts of innocent until proven guilty, right to legal representation throughout all judicial stags, right to retrial, double jeopardy, and the right to claim compensation had hardly been observed in those countries. His organization had tried to establish a logical and effective rapport between judicial authorities, lawyers, legislators and university lecturers in Iran. The organization believed firmly in Islamic and international concepts of human rights, and condemned miscarriages of justice anywhere in the world. The international community, and the Commission on Human Rights, should react to countries that applied double standards.

GIANFRANCO FATTORINI, of Movement against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples - MRAP, said the Movement was deeply concerned by the climate of intolerance and racism which resurfaced in the world with regard to Arabs, particularly Muslims, following the phenomenon of international terrorism. The Movement attached great importance to the distinction between terrorism and the exercise of self-determination, and at the same time distinguished between acts of war and of terrorism. He condemned any form of terrorism committed either by a State or non-state actors. Similarly, he condemned acts of terrorists sponsored by States.

HENDRA BUDIAN, of International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, said while some positive developments related to democracy and development had taken place in Indonesia, such as basic freedom of association or for the press, this had not taken place in Aceh. The lack of the right to freedom of expression happened in many forms and was experienced by many people. Civil and political rights as well as efforts to monitor them continued to be restricted. The Commission should urge the Government to bring an end to the Civil Emergency Law in Aceh, open the area to any international group that wanted to visit for monitoring the human rights situation and peace building, and invite the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of opinion and expression to Indonesia.

ROY BROWN, of International Humanist and Ethical Union, said the world was currently witnessing an upsurge in religious conflict. As history showed, the greatest enemy of any religion had always been another religion. While welcoming the report of the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of religion or belief, the Union wished to record its objection over the section in which the Special Rapporteur spoke of the tradition of secularism that denied religions the possibility, if not the right, to play a role in public life. The Special Rapporteur seemed to have confused secular opposition to the imposition of dogmatic Christian views on western society with discrimination against Christians, and even to have confused secular protection of freedom of conscience and support for the separation of religion and state with prejudice against religion. Secularism should not be confused with militant atheism; the Commission should recognize that a truly secular society was a necessary safeguard against religious intolerance -- discriminating against none and favouring none. The United Nations was a shining example of that secularism. The Commission should recognize the distinction between defamation of a religion and criticism of its doctrine and practices, and the publication of academic research on its origins and history. Concerns about defamation must not be permitted to stifle honest inquiry and freedom of expression.

JAGDISH BIJLANI, of Human Rights Advocates, said in the United States, the denial of the right to vote to felons and ex-felons was often not proportionate to the offences and sentence and had disproportionate racial impact against African Americans. Also, during the last election, members of one political part in Ohio confronted voters based on their citizenship, age and residency at polls in largely Black communities. Many voters had left polls without ever casting their ballots. Therefore, the United States was violating its obligation to guarantee equal suffrage. Likewise, Saudi Arabia was violating its obligation to women in its current series of municipal elections citing administrative reasons. Recently in Romania, voters were able to vote at any poll by easily removing a stamp placed on identity cards, creating large-scale election fraud.

M'HAMED MOHAMED CHEILKH, of International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, said the situation in Western Sahara, engendered by the persistence of the conflict resulting from a predatory capture by Morocco, was grave. Over the last few years, the repression had been reinforced significantly, and the Saharan people paid, as usual, the high price of repeated violations. The state of human rights in Western Sahara was such that only numbers could express the size of the issue. The violation of civil and political rights by Morocco of Western Sahara should come to an end. The right of the Saharan people to self-determination, as upheld by a multitude of resolutions and texts, should be guaranteed and respected. It was the duty of the international community to give justice to the Saharan people. The international community should put pressure on Morocco in order to make it cease all forms of repression, and live up to its international engagements.

ASIL ALBAYATY, of Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, said the organization remained deeply concerned about the violation of fundamental human rights in the Middle East. Regarding the use of torture, Israel's General Security Council interrogated on average 850 Palestinians per year by means of torture. The State also referred frequently referred to the defense of necessity to obviate the prohibition of torture. The State of Israel must amend any legislation permitting torture immediately. Also drawing attention to the abuse of detainees in Iraq, she said that many populations had shown increased tolerance to the abuse of civil liberties in the war on terrorism, mostly due to Governments raising fear in their populations. The Commission should ensure that all Member States complied with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and amend their domestic laws accordingly; adopt measures to restrict the use of emergency and military courts; increase the independence of the judiciary; scrutinize Government that derogated from international standards on human rights; and extend the participation of women in political and administrative sectors.

WILLY FAUTRE, of International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, said Eritrea was without any doubt the country with the worst religious freedom record. It was the United Nations Member State that had imprisoned the highest number of believers who were practicing their faith peacefully. For years, Jehovah's Witnesses had been the primary target of the Eritrean authorities and had been arrested in great numbers. They had also been deprived of their Eritrean citizenship. The repression had however, extended to other denominations: Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox. In mid-March this year, Eritrean security police had arrested 16 Protestants for watching a Christian video together in a church member's home in the town of Adi-Kibe. On 19 February, 131 Orthodox children aged between 2 and 18 were rounded up by a group of policemen as they were attending their classes at an Eritrean Orthodox Church in the capital Asmara. The police also arrested 25 members of the Catholic Church during a wedding rehearsal in Asmara. In Russia, religious freedom was also shrinking.

RONALD BARNES, of Indigenous World Association, speaking on behalf of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Rural Development Foundation of Pakistan, said the United States continued to subjugate, dominate and exploit Alaska and Hawaii. In such cases as Alaska and Hawaii, domestic law could not be used to settle international claims. Yet the United States used its domestic law under Supreme Court decisions, Executive Presidential Orders and Legislation. It had created corporations that only acted as puppet institutions for the continued exploitation of the internationally recognised indigenous peoples. This unjust treatment continued despite well-practiced principles under international law regarding de-colonisation. The status of Alaska and Hawaii should be recognised in their capacity as fully recognised international legal personalities. The peoples of these territories had every right to assert international status due to the flagrant violations of their right to self-determination under international law.

VIRGINIE MOUANDA, of International Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic & Other Minorities, said she wished to draw attention to the conflict of the Cabinda in Angola. Since independence in 1975, the Cabinda Liberation Front had not ceased its demands for independence to free its people from 30 years of deadly war. Since 2002, the conflict had been exacerbated by the deployment of more than 40,000 Government forces. Abuses of violations of human rights recently brought to light included extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, sexual violence and mistreatment of women and the deprivation of free circulation of civilians. Human Rights Watch had also noted that the national police had committed abuses against the civilian population with the complicity of the army. The Commission should pressure the Angolan Government to take all appropriate measures to make its army behave according to international standards.

JONATHAN GALLAGHER, of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, said throughout history, religious believers had often been subjected to discrimination, intolerance and outright persecution, and today religious intolerance and prejudice were again on the rise, with many countries denying the freedom of religion to their citizens. Some nations had published lists of religious groups described as potentially dangerous sects, with hundreds of thousands of innocent believers now under official suspicion. There was concern at the treatment of religious minorities in several countries: Turkmenistan, Eritrea, Russia, and some countries of Eastern Europe. The General Conference would continue to promote dialogue and better understanding between Governmental authorities and people belonging to religious minorities in search for a solution.

ATNIKE NOVASIGIRO, of Catholic Institute for International Relations, speaking on behalf of Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation and Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, said she wished to draw attention to the situation of the judiciary, and the continuation of impunity, in Timor-Leste and Indonesia and the question of how justice was to be achieved in the wake of human rights violations committed by the Indonesia military and local militia during Timor-Leste's "popular consultation" in 1999. The two legal instruments put in place to bring justice to victims had proved unwilling or unable to achieve genuine justice and full accountability. Thus, the decision to establish the Commission of Experts to assess efforts already undertaken and to recommend further avenues to achieve justice was welcomed. There were also profound misgivings about the establishment of the Commission of Truth and Friendship, as it posed the risk of undermining ongoing processes to reform justice mechanisms. Moreover, it had been established without regard to the views of victims and civil society groups, and was merely a political tool. The Commission should urge both Governments not to resort to the Truth and Friendship Commission, and to follow-up the original proposal to establish an international human rights tribunal to try all alleged perpetrators of serious human rights violations in 1999.

BOB FU, of A Woman's Voice International, drew the Commission's attention to the plight of three leaders of the Chinese house church movement who had experienced persecution at the hands of the State authorities in the China: Cai Zhouhua, Gong Shengliang and Chen Jingmao. Although China had amended its Constitution to protect human rights, those three cases exemplified both the arbitrary nature of what passed for justice in China and the sad state of religious freedom there. The group called upon the Commission to urge China to release the three persons without delay.

THEOBALD RUTIHUNZA, of Agir ensemble pour les droits de l'homme, said civil and political rights were being flagrantly violated in Rwanda, where the ruling party was successfully attempting to make all free expression by civil society disappear. The regime had continued its attempts against the freedom of the press by harassing the last few journalists who still dared to express a diverging opinion. Political parties were only tolerated if they gave allegiance to the ruling party. The regime also continued to proceed to commit arrests and arbitrary detentions. Forced disappearances continued. The Commission should deploy without hesitating the mechanisms of the special procedures on the promotion and protection of the right to opinion and expression , arbitrary detention and forced disappearances, and should further investigate the situation.

LARRY G. ANDERSON, of International Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, said that the Association was an organization of lawyers, legal experts and law-related associations with an international vision of commitment to the rule of law, fairness and a transparent and balanced system of justice as the world moved forward in constructing its International Criminal Court. The way in which the global community was to bring to justice those persons alleged to have committed the most evil of crimes against humanity would define the world community, and its capacity to sustain world order. The world was moving at an unprecedented pace to bring impunity to an end, and great strides had been made in development of an international system of criminal justice. However, to withstand the test of time, the International Criminal Court must maintain balance between its three pillars – the prosecution, the legal profession practicing in the Court, and the judiciary. They must be independent of each other. The Court must be equipped to withstand the enormous pressures it would face.

LENNY FORSTER, of International Indian Treaty Council, said the American Indian prisoners in the United States prison system were facing new restrictive policies on their religious and spiritual practices that made healing and rehabilitation in the traditional manner virtually impossible. That new restrictions included four hour time limits on the sweat lodge ceremony that included the heating of the stones. Rushing through an ancient old ceremony was not proper because the ceremony was very sacred. The deliberate attempt to shorten the hours and circumvent the ceremony was sacrilegious and undermined the seriousness and sacredness of the spiritual healing and blessings.

DAVID LITTMAN, of Association for World Education, said Egypt was a classic example of the misuse of military tribunals and of an iniquitous state of emergency system. Although not at war, Egypt's Catch-22 system was regularly extended every three years, thereby referring civilians to a military court by a Presidential decision - if the case fell under the general category of act of terrorism. United Nations bodies should monitor the grave situation of the Copts of Egypt who were victims of religious intolerance. United Nations human rights mechanisms failed to act and condemn rapidly and consistently the greatest freedom-of-opinion-and-expression issue of our time: the Salman Rushdie fatwa. The President of Iran, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the respective Special Rapporteurs and the Commission should condemn the reconfirmed validity of the "Rushdie Syndrome".

ROMUALD PIAL MEZALA, of International League for the Rights and Liberation of peoples, said the situation of human rights in Togo had been worrisome since the death of President Eyadema on 5 February. That event had been followed by an anachronistic attempt to make his son, Faure Gnassingbe, Head of State by means of a military-constitutional coup d'état. When Togolese democrats had reacted, the usurpers had drawn back, but not before having damaged numerous individual and public liberties. The demonstrations organized by the civilian population had been repressed in an extremely violent fashion, with at least nine individuals killed and numerous students and members of civil society arrested. Some continued to be detained, without charge. The private media had also been closed for a period, and journalists and human rights defenders had been harassed. In spite of the fact that Faure Gnassingbe had stepped down, conditions still did not permit for the holding of free, transparent and democratic elections. The forthcoming presidential elections had been placed under the supervision of 3,500 police, which was the very group that had backed the attempt to seize power by Faure Gnassingbe. The Commission should invited Togo to respect human rights and individual and public liberties; to promote the establishment of an international commission of enquiry about violations of human rights since 5 February; and bring those responsible for violations to justice.
NILA HEREDIA, of Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees - FEDEDAM, said after the end of dictatorship in Latin American countries, many of the State structures continued to function today. In Chile, the structure put in place by Pinochet during 16 years of dictatorship had violated the human rights of the people and was responsible for the disappearances and torture of thousands of people. In Brazil impunity continued; in Uruguay, the new Government had modified the amnesty law, thus creating a situation of impunity. In Colombia, 6 to 7 persons disappeared each day. And in Guatemala a new system continued to penalize the social movement in the country.

MICHAEL ANTHONY, of Asian Legal Resource Centre, said the State party of Sri Lanka should enact legislation to demonstrate its respect for the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, otherwise its accession was purely an exercise in external diplomacy without any meaning for the protection and improvement of human rights. The same applied for ratifications of other covenants and conventions, for example the Convention against Torture still lacked local procedures to enable its implementation in Sri Lanka. Extraordinary delays in courts virtually prevented effective action being taken to protect rights. International treaties and mechanisms were of no practical use unless the domestic laws and procedures were developed to implement the obligations undertaken therein, and it was the duty of the State party to create authorities that could draft laws and procedures to be approved and adopted by the legislature. The Government of Sri Lanka should take the necessary steps by way of the implantation of laws and the allocation of funding for the realisation of its international obligations.

Right of Reply

ENCYLA SINJELA (Zambia), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that she wished to clarify two issues raised by the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the Special Rapporteur on torture. On the issue of the deportation order against Roy Clarke, as correctly pointed out by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion, the judge presiding over the case had been given 40 days to make a ruling. He had dismissed the deportation order given by the Zambian Government. Mr. Clarke continued to reside in Zambia, to exercise his freedom of opinion and expression, and to intensify his provocative publications against the Government.

Regarding the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture, she said her Government had received a communication from him about a case of detention. However, upon inquiry into the allegations of torture made by Mr. Ngola, the findings had revealed that the Zambian Police Service did not have any record of his arrest or detention at the Lusaka Police Headquarters, nor in the occurrence book in which all arrests made at police stations were recorded. The was no record of him in the arrest provision property book available to all detainees at the time of arrest and in which their particulars were entered. That information had been communicated to the Special Rapporteur in February, and he had been requested to provide the Government with more details on the issue for further response. The Government continued to await that response. In short, reading from the Special Rapporteur's report, Mr. Ngola was a mercenary who should be handed over to the Angolan authorities. Zambia had ratified the Convention against Torture, and remained committed to obligations thereunder. It was impossible that any arm of the Government had committed torture as alleged.

DANG TRAN NAM TRUNG (Viet Nam), speaking in a right of reply in reference to the statement made by the Transnational Radical Party, said the non-governmental organization had provided the Commission with erroneous allegations concerning the human rights situation in his country. Viet Nam rejected the allegations made by this NGO and others like it. Viet Nam always strove to ensure that its people could enjoy increasingly better conditions to realize their human rights. Significant achievements had been made in the field of human rights and they should be acknowledged by the world. The Government respected and protected the freedom of belief and religion and freedom of assembly. There was no religious repression in Viet Nam, nor was anyone detained for peacefully expressing different political opinions.

GUILLAUME KAVARUGANDA (Rwanda) speaking in a right of reply in response to the statement by Agir Ensemble pour les droits de l'homme which had said there was no freedom of expression in Rwanda and that there were also forced disappearances, said that each year this non-governmental organization attacked Rwanda with false allegations. Rwanda did not wish to go into these allegations in detail in order to save time, and so it would not.

GOPAL BAGLAY (India), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said the delegation of Pakistan had once more referred to a state of India in its statement, which had become part of the State of India upon independence. The only occupation of the state of Jammu and Kahmir had been done by Pakistan. Pakistan must vacate the region, and allow the people living under its occupation to enjoy their freedom and dignity. Pakistan should not further waste the Commission's time in agitating for its narrow agenda.

SEYMUR MARDALIYEV (Azerbaijan), speaking in a right of reply in reference to the statement made by International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, said the territory of Nagoro-Karabakh was part of Azerbaijan and would continue to be so.

MASOOD KHAN (Pakistan) speaking in a right of reply in response to the right of reply by India, said that it had been a factual statement - the situation in Indian-held Kashmir was a grotesque reality where innocent people suffered. The trouble stemmed from the Indian occupation, which was the mother of all the violations in Indian-held Kashmir, where India had unleashed a system of gross abuse by the security forces to maintain the occupation. The international community was fully familiar with the Indian abuse in Kashmir, whilst Pakistan continued its efforts to pursue a dialogue, and the abuses in the Indian-held lands were intensified. The Commission should help the people of Kashmir in getting relief from this abuse, as India should not be allowed to continue to get away with it.

Source: OHCHR