[hr-council] Human Rights Council adopts eight resolutions on the promotion and protection of all human rights and other issues
HREA
UNITED NATIONS Press release
Human Rights
Council
Morning
26 March 2009
Adopts Texts
on International Cooperation and Human Rights, Human Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, Arbitrary Detention, the Right to Food, and Mercenaries,
Among Others
The Human Rights Council this morning
adopted nine resolutions concerning the composition of the staff of the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights,
human rights of persons with disabilities: national frameworks for the
promotion and protection of the human rights of persons with disabilities,
alternative care for children, arbitrary detention, enforced or involuntary
disappearances, the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights
and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination,
the right to food, and on human rights and arbitrary deprivation of
nationality.
On the composition of the staff of the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, adopted by a vote of 33
in favour, 12 against and two abstentions, the Council requests the High
Commissioner to work on the broadest geographic diversity of her staff, by
enhancing the implementation of measures to achieve a better representation
of countries and regions which are unrepresented or underrepresented,
particularly from developing world, while considering applying a zero
growth cap on the representation of countries and regions already
over-represented in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights.
On enhancement of
international cooperation in the field of human rights, the Council urges
all actors on the international scene to build an international order based
on inclusion, justice, equality and equity, human dignity, mutual
understanding and promotion of and respect for cultural diversity and
universal human rights, and to reject all doctrines of exclusion based on
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; and
requests the High Commissioner to consult States and intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations on ways and means, including obstacles and
challenges, as well as possible proposals to overcome them, for enhancement
of international cooperation and dialogue in the United Nations human
rights machinery, including the Human Rights Council, and to present a
report on her findings to the Council at the relevant session in
2010.
On
human rights of persons with disabilities: national frameworks for the
promotion and protection of the human rights of persons with disabilities,
the Council decides that its next annual interactive debate on the rights
of persons with disabilities will be held at its thirteenth session, and
that it will focus on the structure and role of national mechanisms for the
implementation and monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities; requests the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a study to enhance awareness on
the structure and role of national mechanisms for the implementation and
monitoring of the Convention.
On the
draft United Nations guidelines for the appropriate use and conditions of
alternative care for children, the Council welcomes the progress made
during consultations on the draft guidelines and decides to continue
efforts to take action on them at its eleventh session.
On arbitrary detention, the Council takes note of the
report of the Working Group, including recommendations contained therein;
requests States concerned to take account of the Working Group's views;
also encourages all States to ensure that immigrants in an irregular
situation and asylum-seekers are protected from arbitrary arrest and
detention; requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the Working Group
receives all necessary assistance and resources for the effective
fulfilment of its mandate.
On enforced
or involuntary disappearances, the Council takes note of the report
submitted by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
and of the recommendations contained therein; stresses the importance of
the work of the Working Group; calls on the Governments that have not
provided for a long period of time substantive replies concerning claims of
enforced disappearances in their countries to do so and to give due
consideration to relevant recommendations concerning this subject made in
the reports of the Working Group; urges States to prevent the occurrence of
enforced disappearances, including by guaranteeing that any person deprived
of liberty is held solely in officially recognized and supervised places of
detention, and to take steps to provide adequate protection to witnesses of
enforced or involuntary disappearances, human rights defenders acting
against enforced disappearances, and the lawyers and families of
disappeared persons against any intimidation, persecution, reprisals or
ill-treatment to which they might be subjected.
On the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights
and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination,
adopted by a vote of 32 in favour, 12 against and three abstentions, the
Council requests the Office of the High Commissioner, as a matter of
priority, to publicize the adverse effects of the activities of mercenaries
and of private companies offering military assistance, consultancy and
other military security-related services on the international market and to
render advisory services to States that are affected by those activities;
requests the Office of the High Commissioner to continue supporting the
Working Group convening regional governmental consultations on this matter,
with the remaining three to be held before the end of 2010.
On the right to food, the Council considers it
intolerable that more than 6 million children still die every year from
hunger-related illnesses before their fifth birthday, that there are at
least 963 million undernourished people in the world; expresses its concern
that women and girls are disproportionately affected by hunger, food
insecurity and poverty; requests the Advisory Committee to undertake a
study on discrimination in the context of the right to food, including
identification of good practices of anti-discriminatory policies and
strategies, and to report on it to the thirteenth session of the Human
Rights Council; and requests the Special Rapporteur to submit a report on
the implementation of the present resolution to the Council during its
thirteenth session.
On human rights
and arbitrary deprivation of nationality, the Council reaffirms that the
right to a nationality of every human person is a fundamental human right;
calls upon all States to refrain from taking discriminatory measures and
from enacting or maintaining legislation that would arbitrarily deprive
persons of their nationality on grounds of race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth or other status, especially if such measures and legislation render a
person stateless; urges all States to adopt and implement nationality
legislation with a view to avoiding statelessness.
Speaking in introduction of resolutions were Cuba, New
Zealand, Brazil, France and the Russian Federation.
Speaking in explanations of the vote were Canada, Germany on
behalf of the European Union, and Switzerland.
The next meeting of the Council will be at 3 p.m. this
afternoon, when it will continue to take action on draft decisions and
resolutions.
Action on
Draft Resolutions Under the Agenda Item on the Annual Report of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights and Reports of the Office of the High
Commissioner
In a resolution
(A/HRC/10/L.21/Rev.1) on the composition of
the staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, adopted by a vote of 33 in favour, 12
against, and two abstentions, the Council, concerned that despite the
repeated requests to correct the unbalanced geographical distribution of
the staff, the situation remains that one region accounts for more than
half of the posts of the Office of the High Commissioner and for more posts
than the four remaining regional groups combined, requests the High
Commissioner to work on the broadest geographic diversity of her staff, by
enhancing the implementation of measures to achieve a better representation
of countries and regions which are unrepresented or underrepresented,
particularly from the developing world, while considering applying a zero
growth cap on the representation of countries and regions already
over-represented in the OHCHR; welcomes efforts towards the achievement of
a gender balance in the composition of the staff and the decision to
continue paying special attention to this issue; underlines the importance
of continuing promoting geographical diversity in the recruitment of, and
promotion to high-level and professional posts, including senior managers,
as a principle of the staffing policies of the Office of the High
Commissioner; affirms the vital importance of geographical balance in the
composition of the staff of OHCHR, taking into account the significance of
national and regional specificities and various historic, cultural and
religious backgrounds, as well as of different political, economic and
legal systems, to the promotion and protection of the universality of human
rights; encourages the General Assembly to consider further measures for
promoting desirable ranges of geographical balance in the staff of the
OHCHR; underlines the priority importance that the Assembly continue
providing support and guidance to the High Commissioner in the ongoing
process of improvement of the geographical balance in the composition of
the staff of the Office; and requests the High Commissioner to submit a
comprehensive and updated report to the Council in its thirteenth session
in 2010, with a special focus on further measures taken to correct the
imbalance in geographical composition of the staff of the Office.
The results of the vote were as
follows:
In
favour (33): Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cuba,
Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar,
Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines,
Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Uruguay,
and Zambia.
Against (12):Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and United
Kingdom.
Abstentions (2):Chile, and
Republic of Korea.
MARIA DEL
CARMEN HERRERA (Cuba), introducing the draft resolution on the composition of the
staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, stated that Angola had joined the group of co-sponsors. The
universality of human rights had to be integrated in various systems and
already at the World Conference in 1993 endorsement was recognized that
this diversity had to be taken into account. The Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had a vital role to play in the
respect for this diversity worldwide. It was not a secondary matter when
they took a look at the geographical composition of that Office. They
needed to have an Office for all and of all. Despite the efforts made and
the commitment of the High Commissioner, the situation of imbalance
continued to be a matter of concern. One region accounted for more than
half of the posts. The draft resolution recognized the efforts made and
called for additional measures to achieve a better balance, especially
measures against the under-representation of developing countries.
TERRY CORMIER (Canada), in an explanation of
the vote before the vote, welcomed the important efforts and progress to
address the equitable geographical composition of the staff of the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. However, Canada
regretted that the resolution duplicated and contradicted the process that
was underway in the General Assembly, which adopted by consensus only three
months ago a resolution on the matter. The current draft resolution
undermined genuine efforts already underway in appropriate fora, and Canada
stressed that the organs with the jurisdiction and the expertise to solve
this issue already existed and should be addressed with regard to
geographical representation in the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights. Canada supported a centralized approach rather than a
piecemeal approach to human resources management, and supported strong
human resource policies. Canada also regretted that its concerns were not
taken on board with the draft resolution, and for that reason Canada would
vote against this draft resolution.
KONRAD SCHARINGER, (Germany, speaking on behalf of
the European Union in an explanation of the vote before the vote, said according
to Chapter 4 of the United Nations Charter, the General Assembly was the
only competent body to address issues of administration, budget and
resources. The European Union respected the prerogatives and
responsibilities vested in the Secretary-General by the Charter of the
United Nations, which stipulated that the permanent basis for the
employment of staff should be to secure the highest standards of
competency, among other factors. The recent report of the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights on the issue noted the considerable
progress made on improving the geographical distribution of staff in the
Office. The European Union also noted the Secretary-General's efforts to
improve geographical and gender distribution of staff across the United
Nations. The General Assembly had the responsibility for budget analysis
and adopting rules on the geographical distribution of posts, financed by
the regular budget. Thus, the European Union had a problem with operative
paragraph four of the present resolution, as the Human Rights Council had
no competency to recommend changes in the employment procedure. The General
Assembly adopted in December 2008, by consensus, a resolution in which it
was emphasised that the system of geographical ranges was designed to cover
countries. The position of the European Union was unchanged on this issue,
and therefore the European Union wished for a vote, and would vote against
the resolution.
NATALIE KOHLI
(Switzerland),
speaking in an explanation of the vote before the vote, said that in her
report the High Commissioner outlined that clear progress had been achieved
toward a geographic balance of the composition of the staff. The Office was
part of the United Nations Secretariat. Issues should be treated
exclusivity in the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly. Contrary to
existing rules were the zero growth cap and geographical representation
based on region. It was also not possible to achieve a fair geographical
distribution in each unit. The concerns of Switzerland had not been taken
into account during the consultations and Switzerland would vote no.
In a resolution (A/HRC/10/L.23) on
enhancement of international cooperation in
the field of human rights, adopted without a
vote, the Council urges all actors on the international scene to build an
international order based on inclusion, justice, equality and equity, human
dignity, mutual understanding and promotion of and respect for cultural
diversity and universal human rights, and to reject all doctrines of
exclusion based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance; takes note of the report of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights on the enhancement of international
cooperation in the field of human rights (A/HRC/10/26); calls upon Member
States, specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations to
continue to carry out a constructive dialogue and consultations for the
enhancement of understanding and the promotion and protection of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms, and encourages non-governmental
organizations to contribute actively to this endeavour; and requests the
High Commissioner to consult States and intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations on ways and means, including obstacles and
challenges, as well as possible proposals to overcome them, for enhancement
of international cooperation and dialogue in the United Nations human
rights machinery, including the Human Rights Council, and to present a
report on her findings to the Council at the relevant session in
2010.
MARIA DEL CARMEN HERRERA
(Cuba), speaking
on behalf of the Non-Aligned
Movement to introduce the draft resolution on
the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights,
said that the enhancement of international cooperation was founded in both
the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna
Declaration, which ensured human rights for all. The Human Rights
Commission and consequently the Human Rights Council adopted a number of
successful draft resolutions introduced by the Non-Aligned Movement on the
enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights. The
importance of fostering international cooperation in the promotion of human
rights was an essential pillar upon which the Human Rights Council was
established. Respect for the principles of universality, cooperation and
constructive dialogue was key to remedying the shortcomings of the past.
This text was similar to those traditionally adopted; it was action
oriented and sought to collect information on ways and means to foster
international cooperation in order to give a broader approach to
cooperation in the field of human rights, and to face and overcome the
challenges in international cooperation. The Non-Aligned Movement hoped
that this draft resolution would be adopted as had past resolutions been
adopted by consensus.
Action on
Draft Resolutions Under the Agenda Item on the Promotion and Protection of
All Human Rights
In a
resolution (A/HRC/10/L.13) on Human Rights of
Persons with Disabilities: National Frameworks for the Promotion and
Protection of the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council
decides that its next annual interactive debate on the rights of persons
with disabilities will be held at its thirteenth session, and that it will
focus on the structure and role of national mechanisms for the
implementation and monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities; requests the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a study to enhance awareness on
the structure and role of national mechanisms for the implementation and
monitoring of the Convention, in consultation with relevant stakeholders,
including States, regional organizations, civil society organizations,
including organizations of persons with disabilities, and national human
rights institutions, and requests that the study be available on the
website of the Office in an accessible format, prior to the thirteenth
session of the Council; further requests the Office of the High
Commissioner to continue to elaborate and disseminate training and
awareness-raising material on the rights of persons with disabilities and
the implementation of the Convention, and to continue to contribute, as
required, to national efforts in the development of tools to mainstream the
rights of persons with disabilities; and encourages organizations of
persons with disabilities, national monitoring bodies and human rights
institutions to participate actively in the session referred to above, as
well as in regular and special sessions of the Human Rights Council and its
working groups.
AMY LAURENSON
(New Zealand),
introducing resolution L.13, said the resolution was presented on the basis
that the Council had an important role to play in ensuring the enjoyment of
their human rights by persons with disabilities on a full and equal basis.
The present initiative focused on the implementation of the rights of
persons with disabilities on a national level, including the installation
of a framework for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities. It included a sound legislative framework,
training programmes for public officials, effective access to justice,
participation of persons with disabilities in decision-making, and an
exchange of knowledge. The need to undertake a review of all existing
legislation and repeal or abolish any that was discriminatory was also
included. A report was requested from the Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights on national monitoring mechanisms. The Council's work on
persons with disabilities should continue to be focused, inclusive, and
progressive.
In a resolution
(A/HRC/10/L.18) on draft United Nations
guidelines for the appropriate use and conditions of alternative care for
children, adopted without a vote, the Council
welcomes the progress made during consultations on the draft United Nations
guidelines for the appropriate use and conditions of alternative care for
children and decides to continue efforts to take action on them at its
eleventh session.
ALEXANDRE GUIDO
LOPES PAROLA (Brazil), introducing the draft resolution, said that Brazil welcomed
all delegations that had contributed to the discussions and had
co-sponsored the resolution. Brazil would like to take action on this issue
at the eleventh session of the Human Rights Council and hoped that the
draft resolution would be adopted by consensus.
In a resolution (A/HRC/10/L.19) on arbitrary detention, adopted
without a vote as orally revised, the Council stresses the importance of
the work of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; takes note of the
report of the Working Group (A/HRC/10/21), including recommendations
contained therein; requests States concerned to take account of the Working
Group's views; encourages all States, inter alia, to respect and promote
the right of anyone who is arrested or detained on a criminal charge to be
brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to
exercise judicial power and to be entitled to trial within a reasonable
time or to release, and to ensure that the conditions of pre-trial
detention do not undermine the fairness of the trial; encourages all States
concerned to ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism comply with
their obligations that ensure protection against arbitrary detention; also
encourages all States to ensure that immigrants in an irregular situation
and asylum-seekers are protected from arbitrary arrest and detention; notes
with concern the comments made by the Working Group in its report on the
effects caused by corruption on the effective protection of human rights,
including arbitrary detention; notes with concern that a persistent
proportion of urgent appeals of the Working Group has been left unanswered
and urges the States concerned to give the necessary attention to the
urgent appeals addressed to them by the Working Group; notes with
satisfaction that the Working Group has been informed of the release of
some of the individuals whose situation has been brought to its attention,
while deploring the many cases that have not yet been resolved; and
requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the Working Group receives
all necessary assistance and resources for the effective fulfilment of its
mandate.
JEAN-BAPTISTE MATTEI
(France),
introducing the draft resolution on arbitrary detention, said that in
reference to resolution 6/4 of the Human Rights Council which renewed the
mandate of the Working Group on arbitrary detention, and the new annual
report presented by the Working Group, the resolution aimed to encourage
States to take the appropriate measures to protect the rights of all
persons from arbitrary detention, in conformity with the obligations
incumbent on States under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and the relevant international instruments on civil and political
rights which States were party to. The text reaffirmed the fundamental
obligation incumbent on States, and the necessary measures to be taken for
persons in situations or persons at risk of being exposed to forms of
arbitrary detention, and to ensure that persons being held on penal grounds
are tried in a reasonable time. Furthermore, on measures taken by States to
combat terrorism, the draft encouraged all States to ensure the rights of
persons in this context and in regard to arbitrary dentition, and to work
more closely with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. France thanked
all for their contributions in the drafting the current resolution, and
hoped that the draft resolution would be adopted without a vote and
therefore by consensus.
In a
resolution (A/HRC/10/L.20) on Enforced or
involuntary disappearances, adopted without a
vote as orally amended, the Council takes note of the report submitted by
the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (A/HRC/10/9)
and of the recommendations contained therein; stresses the importance of
the work of the Working Group; calls on the Governments that have not
provided for a long period of time substantive replies concerning claims of
enforced disappearances in their countries to do so and to give due
consideration to relevant recommendations concerning this subject made in
the reports of the Working Group; urges States, inter alia, to promote and
give full effect to the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearances, to cooperate with the Working Group and help it to
carry out its mandate effectively and give serious consideration to
responding favourably to requests for visits, to prevent the occurrence of
enforced disappearances, including by guaranteeing that any person deprived
of liberty is held solely in officially recognized and supervised places of
detention, and to take steps to provide adequate protection to witnesses of
enforced or involuntary disappearances, human rights defenders acting
against enforced disappearances, and the lawyers and families of
disappeared persons against any intimidation, persecution, reprisals or
ill-treatment to which they might be subjected; invites States to take
legislative, administrative, legal and other steps, including when a state
of emergency has been declared, to take action at the national and regional
levels and in cooperation with the United Nations, if appropriate through
technical assistance, and to provide the Working Group with concrete
information on the measures taken and the obstacles encountered in
preventing enforced or involuntary disappearances and in giving effect to
the principles set forth in the Declaration; requests the Secretary-General
to continue, inter alia, to ensure that the Working Group receives all the
assistance and resources it requires to perform its functions, and to
provide the resources needed to update the database on cases of enforced
disappearance; and invites States to consider joining all efforts to share
information on best practices and to work towards the early entry into
force of the Convention with the aim of its universality.
JEAN-BAPTISTE MATTEI (France), introducing resolution
L.20, said this was an annual initiative, and it followed up on two
resolutions that renewed the mandate of the Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances and on the entry into force of the Convention on
the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances, and appealed to all States to protect persons from this
violation of their human right in this regard. The resolution had been
enriched by a number of elements such as those recalled by the Working
Group in its report on the right of victims to know the truth and the
particular vulnerability of women. It encouraged all States to sign, ratify
and accede to the Convention in order to ensure that protection was as wide
as possible. There were also oral amendments to the text. The draft
resolution was part of a process that went back almost thirty years in the
United Nations to counter enforced disappearances, and it was hoped that
the next step would be the entry into force of the Convention.
In a resolution (A/HRC/10/L.24) on
the use of mercenaries as a means of violating
human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to
self-determination, adopted by a vote of 32
in favour, 12 against, and three abstentions, the Council calls upon all
States that have not yet done so to consider taking the necessary action to
become parties to the International Convention against the Recruitment,
Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries; condemns recent mercenary
activities in developing countries in various parts of the world and the
threat they pose to the integrity and respect for the constitutional order
of these countries and the exercise of the right to self-determination of
their peoples, and commends the Governments of Africa on their
collaboration in thwarting these illegal actions; acknowledges with
appreciation the work and contributions made by the Working Group and
requests the Working Group to consult with intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and experts on the
content and scope of a possible draft convention on private companies
offering military assistance, consultancy and other military
security-related services on the international market, and an accompanying
Model Law, and other legal instruments; requests the Office of the High
Commissioner, as a matter of priority, to publicize the adverse effects of
the activities of mercenaries and of private companies offering military
assistance, consultancy and other military security-related services on the
international market and to render advisory services to States that are
affected by those activities; requests the Office of the High Commissioner
to continue supporting the Working Group convening regional governmental
consultations on this matter, with the remaining three to be held before
the end of 2010, bearing in mind that this process may lead to the holding
of a high-level round table of States, under the auspices of the United
Nations, to discuss the fundamental question of the role of the State as
holder of the monopoly of the use of force; and requests the Working Group,
inter alia, to report its findings on the use of mercenaries as a means of
violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to
self-determination to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session and
to the Council at its fifteenth session.
The results of the vote were as follows
In favour
(32):Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil,
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, India,
Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
South Africa, Uruguay, and Zambia.
Against (12):Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Republic
of Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and United Kingdom.
Abstentions
(3):Chile, Mexico, and Switzerland.
RESFEL PINO ALVAREZ (Cuba), introducing the draft
resolution, said that through the adoption of this resolution the Human
Rights Council would be reiterating its deep concerns about the use of
mercenaries which constituted a violation of the Charter. Cuba also
reiterated its commitment to combat such practices. Cuba commended the
Working Group for its work and, in this context, the draft requested the
Working Group to continue work on this important issue and to carry out
consultations with stake-holders. Cuba hoped that this initiative would
enjoy the broadest possible support of Member States.
KONRAD SCHARINGER (Germany), speaking on behalf of
the European Union in an explanation of the vote before the vote, said as stated
last year the European Union continued to believe that the issue of the use
of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the
exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination was an important
issue. The activities of mercenaries affected the situation of armed
conflict. The European Union condemned any links between the activities of
mercenaries and terrorist activities. The use of mercenaries as a means of
violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to
self-determination deserved to be discussed by the United Nations system;
however the Human Rights Council was not the appropriate body to do that. A
new legal instrument on private military and security companies was
adopted, and therefore the European Union could not vote for this draft
resolution, and as such would vote against this draft resolution.
In a resolution (A/HRC/10/L.25) on
the right to food, adopted by consensus as orally revised, the Council
considers it intolerable that more than 6 million children still die every
year from hunger-related illnesses before their fifth birthday, that there
are at least 963 million undernourished people in the world; expresses its
concern that women and girls are disproportionately affected by hunger,
food insecurity and poverty; stresses the need to guarantee a fair and
non-discriminatory access to land rights for smallholders, traditional
farmers and their organizations, including in particular rural women and
vulnerable groups; encourages the Special Rapporteur on the right to food
to ensure mainstreaming a gender perspective in the fulfilment of his
mandate; encourages all States to take steps with a view to achieving
progressively the full realization of the right to food and to adopt
national strategies for the realization of the right to adequate food and
to consider establishing appropriate institutional mechanisms, in order to,
inter alia, identify emerging threats to the right to adequate food;
stresses the importance of fighting hunger in rural areas, including
through efforts to stop desertification; calls upon States to take special
actions to combat the root causes of the disproportionately high level of
hunger and malnutrition among indigenous peoples; stresses that all States
should make every effort to ensure that their international policies of a
political and economic nature, including international trade agreements, do
not have a negative impact on the right to food in other countries; takes
note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food on his
mission to the World Trade Organization (A/HRC/10/5/Add.2), and encourages
the Special Rapporteur to continue to engage with the WTO to follow up on
issues of concern; recognizes that the promises made at the World Food
Summit in 1996 to halve the number of persons who are undernourished are
not being fulfilled; urges States to give adequate priority in their
development strategies and expenditures to the realization of the right to
food; encourages the Special Rapporteur on the right to food and the
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human
rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises to
cooperate on the subject of the contribution of the private sector to the
realization of the right to food; requests the Advisory Committee to
undertake a study on discrimination in the context of the right to food,
including identification of good practices of anti-discriminatory policies
and strategies, and to report on it to the thirteenth session of the Human
Rights Council; and requests the Special Rapporteur to submit a report on
the implementation of the present resolution to the Council during its
thirteenth session.
RESFEL PINO
ALVAREZ (Cuba),
introducing resolution L.25, said the text which was before the Council
took up the analysis of the right to food in general terms, without
focusing on the current world food crisis, as this was the subject of the
seventh special session. Appropriate follow-up to that session was being
carried out in an appropriate and separate manner. Cooperation and food aid
could contribute to the realisation of the right to food. The resolution
also took note of the report of the Special Rapporteur and the impact of
the World Trade Organisation. The full realisation of the right to food was
still a dream today - it was deplorable that every year more than 6 million
children died as a result of hunger-related illnesses. There were at least
168 million under-nourished people in the world, and yet it produced enough
food to feed the entire population. The adoption of the resolution should
provide a contribution to generating the necessary political will to
address the structural causes of hunger worldwide. The draft resolution
should be adopted by consensus.
In a
resolution (A/HRC/10/L.35) on human rights and
arbitrary deprivation of nationality, adopted
without a vote as orally amended, the Council reaffirms that the right to a
nationality of every human person is a fundamental human right; calls upon
all States to refrain from taking discriminatory measures and from enacting
or maintaining legislation that would arbitrarily deprive persons of their
nationality on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status, especially if such measures and legislation render a person
stateless; urges all States to adopt and implement nationality legislation
with a view to avoiding statelessness, consistent with fundamental
principles of international law, in particular by preventing arbitrary
deprivation of nationality and statelessness as a result of State
succession; encourages States that have not done so to consider acceding to
the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the Convention
relating to the Status of Stateless Persons; notes that the full enjoyment
of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of an individual might be
impeded as a result of arbitrary deprivation of nationality; expresses its
concern that persons arbitrarily deprived of nationality may be affected by
poverty, social exclusion and legal incapacity; recognizes the special
needs of children for protection against arbitrary deprivation of
nationality; also recognizes that arbitrary deprivation of nationality
disproportionately affects persons belonging to minorities; calls upon
States to ensure access of persons arbitrarily deprived of their
nationality to effective remedies, including, but not limited to,
restoration of nationality; and requests the Secretary-General to prepare a
report on the right to nationality with emphasis on the issue of arbitrary
deprivation of nationality including in cases of States succession and to
present it to the Council at its thirteenth session.
ALEXEY GOLTYAEV (Russian
Federation), introducing the resolution, said
that the draft was drawn up in close cooperation with the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights and civil society. The Russian
Federation thanked the Secretary-General for his report on this theme. It
noted the research that had been done on lack of nationality of minorities.
The draft had been updated, also in regard of the need of particular
protection of children of such a phenomenon.
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