Consideration of human rights issues produces 30 decisions in Third Committee.

Consideration of human rights issues produces 30 decisions in Third Committee

Action on a wide range of human rights related issues was recommended by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) in December for approval by the General Assembly, including the adoption of a 10-article Declaration on the Human Rights of Individuals who are not Nationals of the Country in which They Live. The Declaration recognizes that the protection of human rights provided for in international instruments should also be ensured for individuals who are not nationals of the country in which they live, and provides for the non-citizen's right to life and security of person; right to privacy; right to marry; right to freedom of thought and religion; right to be equal before the courts; right to leave the country; and right to own property.

It also prohibits such practices as torture; expulsion from the country on the grounds of race, colour, religion, culture, descent or national or ethnic origin; and arbitrary deprivation of lawfully acquired assets. The General Assembly on 13 December 1985 adopted the Declaration, in resolution 40/144, without a vote.

Other major texts acted on by the Third Committee dealt with torture, mass exoduses, involuntary disappearances, arbitrary executions, genocide, religious intolerance and the rights of children and of migrant workers. Action was also taken on alleged human rights violations in Afghanistan, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala and Iran.

The General Assembly approved a total of 27 resolutions and 3 decisions on human rights in a series of votes on 13 December.

Kurt Herndl, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, said one of the greatest accomplishments of the United Nations was the establishment of the principle that human rights were "a matter of universal concern". Today, there was an international code of human rights which set norms for regulating the way in which the State treated the individual. Through international conventions, Governments submitted their systems, laws and practices to international scrutiny and examination for their consistency with recognized human rights norms. That was a significant achievement, he said.

Country reports

The human rights situations in specific countries and areas were again a major focus of the work of the Third Committee in that area. Reports on five countries were reviewed and acted upon.

Guatemala: The Assembly reiterated its deep concern at the continuing grave and widespread violations of human rights in that country, particularly at violence against non-combatants, widespread repression, killings, the practice of torture, disappearances and secret detention.

The Government of Guatemala was strongly urged to take measures to halt the violations, particularly emforced and involuntary disappearances, as well as to ensure that its authorities respect the human rights of all Guatemalans. It was requested to investigate and clarify the fate of those who had disappeared.

Finally, the Assembly expressed the hope that the recent elections will be "the first step" in a process leading to complete enjoyment of human rights by the people of the country. The Assembly acted in adopting resolution 40/140 by a vote of 91-8-47.

In March 1983, the Commission on Human Rights appointed Mark Colville, Viscount of Culross of the United Kingdom as Special Rapporteur to study the situation of human rights in Guatemala. The Government of Guatemala promised full co-operation. The following year the Assembly considered an interim report by the Special Rapporteur. In 1985, a further interim report (A/40/865) was considered. A final report is due in February 1986.

The Special Rapporteur reported that elections in Guatemala were to be held on 3 November 1985 for President and Vice-President, Deputies for Congress and members of municipal councils. Since the President must command an absolute majority, a second round would be held on 8 December, if necessary. The election was intended to lead to a transfer of power on 14 January 1986. On that same date, the new Constitution was to come into force.

Whether the elections were conducted in a free and fair manner would be determined by observers, including those from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Economic Community (EEC), as well as the Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. Media and private observers were also to be present.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which organized the preliminary elections for the national Constituent Assembly in July 1984, was still operating and had remained free from criticism, the report stated. It was continuing the process of registering citizens so that they might vote. Fourteen parties had been formed and registered.

Violence and disappearances were still " a serious problem" in 1985 and to be "deplored", it was reported. While the police had had a considerable degree of success in detecting such crimes, the criminal justice system was not equipped to bring to trial many accused persons. "It is no wonder that people feel free to resort to violence", the Special Rapporteur said.

No effective answer had been given to allegations that security forces were involved in the violence, other than in their military activities against the guerrillas. Some of the most serious allegations about massacres were "almost certainly untrue", he stated. However, the situation of human rights, in particular with regard to the right to life and physical integrity, continued to be a cause of serious concern.

The Special Rapporteur stated he had received "every possible facility and co-operation from the Government and everyone else in the further execution of his mandate".

He recommended that the international community consider providing technical assistance and advice to the judiciary and police to enable them to bring to trial those responsible for serious crimes. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) should be invited to establish a presence in the country. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should send to the Government a list of names of refugees in Mexico, Honduras and Belize; that list should be compared with the list of disappearances which the Government had.

Guatemala, in commening on the report, said that it had co-operated extensively with the Special Rapporteur, and continued to open up the country towards more democratic participation, despite economic and social problems. Elections had taken place; eight political parties had participated, nominating only civilian candidates. The new Constitution was to come into effect in 1986, and would fully guarantee all human rights, including those of ethnic groups, Guatemala said.

One hundred observers from all over the world had participated in the elections, and had agreed that they had taken place in complete freedom and under correct conditions. Observers from the OAS had reported a "free and proper electoral process". The EEC and the Contadora Group, at a ministerial conference in Luxembourg in November, had concurred, issuing a communique commending Guatemala for its important step to institutionalize democracy. Guatemala hoped the United Nations would heed the Special Rapporteur's recommendations that technical assistance in human rights matters should be provided.

El Salvador: In adopting resolution 40/139 by a vote of 100 to 2 (Chile, Guatemala), with 42 abstentions, the Assembly expressed its deep concern at the fact that "serious and numerous violations of human rights" continued to take place in the country. It asked the Government and insurgent forces to adopt measures conducive to the "humanization" of the conflict by "scrupulously" observing the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977.

The Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights, it said, should for the duration of the conflict continue to inform the Assembly and the Commission of the extent to which contending parties were respecting the Conventions and optional Protocols.

The Assembly reaffirmed the right of the Salvadorian people to determine their political, economic and social future "without interference from outside", through a genuine democratic process, in which all sectors of the population participate freely. States were asked to refrain from intervening in the internal situation in the country.

The Assembly "deeply regretted" the interruption of the dialogue initiated in October 1984 between the Government and the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional-Frente Democratico Revolucionario (FDR-FMLN) and called upon those parties to renew their talks so they could achieve a negotiated political solution.

The Government of El Salvador and the opposition forces were called on to establish "as soon as possible" appropriate mechanisms to study the plans submitted by both parties.

The Assembly also deeply deplored the fact that the capacity of the judicial system to investigate, prosecute and punish violations of human rights continues to be "unsatisfactory" and urged the authorities to strengthen the process of reform of the Salvadorian judical system in order to "punish speedily" those responsible for serious human rights violations.

In 1980, Jose Antonio Pastor Ridruejo was appointed as Special Representative to investigate the human rights situation in El Salvador. He submitted annual reports from 1981 through 1984. In 1985, his final report (A/40/818) was considered.

The report stated that in past years, the co-operation given to the Special Representative by the Government had been "full and open". He had been granted extensive facilities and freedom of action and movement, and provided him with "copious information".

The Special Representative had been in El Salvador most recently from 8 to 18 September 1985. Interviews had been...