MORNING
HR/CN/99/65
30 April 1999
Commission on Human Rights Adopts Resolution on Defamation
of Religions, Concludes Fifty-Fifth Session
High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson this morning addressed the concluding
meeting of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on Human Rights, urging a peaceful
resolution of the conflict in Kosovo which had victimized innocent people on all sides,
Serbs as well as Kosovars and other nationalities.
Mrs. Robinson warned that unless diplomacy succeeded, Kosovo would be thoroughly
cleansed of Albanians while Serbs would be bombed without end. The High Commissioner
called for an immediate end to ethnic cleansing and urged the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia to declare unequivocally that every refugee and displaced person will be
entitled to return to his or her home in safety. At the same time, those responsible for
the deliberate ethnic cleansing that had gone on in Kosovo must be brought to justice, she
stressed.
Gerald Walzer, Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the
stream of refugees crossing from Kosovo continued unabated at an alarming rate. There was
now a total of about 600,000 Kosovar refugees in the immediate region without counting
those who had found refuge further afield. This represented a staggering proportion of the
ethnic Albanians of Kosovo. UNCHR deplored the gross and systematic violation of human
rights that had led to the mass displacement of civilians from Kosovo. Human rights
violations were at the core of this refugee crisis.
Also this morning, the Commission adopted by consensus a resolution on the defamation
of religions. In this resolution, the Commission reaffirmed that discrimination against
human beings on the grounds of religion or belief constituted an affront to human dignity
and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. It expressed deep
concern at negative stereotyping of religions and deep concern that Islam was frequently
and wrongly associated with human rights violations and with terrorism.
According to the resolution, the Commission called on all Governments to take all
appropriate measures to counter intolerance and related violence based on religion or
belief, including practices of discrimination against women and including desecration of
religious sites. The Commission also urged all States to take all appropriate measures to
combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance, and acts of violence, intimidations and
coercion motivated by religious intolerance.
Representatives of India, Pakistan, Guatemala, Chile and Germany addressed the
Commission on the resolution.
For a roundup of the work of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on Human Rights,
which includes the concluding statements by Mrs. Robinson and Commission Chairperson Anne
Anderson, please see HR/CN/99/66.
Statements on Kosovo
MARY ROBINSON, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the internal
conflict in Kosovo had resulted in the disproportionate use of force on the part of the
Yugoslav authorities which caused widespread loss of life and displacement of the
population. While a group of countries sought to broker a peace agreement, the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia was rejecting it. She noted that the Commission had condemned the
gross violations of human rights taking place in Kosovo and had called for the deployment
of human rights monitors.
Mrs. Robinson said the indisputable facts of the matter included, among others, that
children, women and the elderly had been mistreated in the most callous manner; that there
had been deliberate looting and destruction of the homes, property and belongings of the
Kosovar Albanians; that there had been a pattern of ethnic cleansing carried out with
cold-blooded determination; and that large numbers of civilians had incontestably been
killed in the bombing by the North Atlantic Organization Treaty of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
Under the principle of justice, one thing must surely be agreed upon: that those
responsible for the deliberate ethnic cleansing that had gone on in Kosovo must be brought
to justice, said Mrs. Robinson. The right of the refugees and displaced persons to return
to their homes and to be compensated for the losses and damages they had suffered must be
vindicated.
Mrs. Robinson said since the conflict had regrettably victimized innocent people on all
sides, Serbs as well as Kosovars and other nationalities, it was all the more crucial and
pressing that diplomacy and peacemaking be stepped up to bring about a peaceful
resolution. Unless diplomacy succeeded, Kosovo would be thoroughly cleansed of Albanians
while Serbs would be bombed without end. The High Commissioner called for an immediate end
to ethnic cleansing and urged the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to declare unequivocally
that every refugee and displaced person will be entitled to return to his or her home in
safety.
GERALD WALZER, Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the
situation in Kosovo continued to evolve rapidly. The stream of refugees crossing from the
province of Kosovo into the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania continued
unabated at an alarming rate. There were now 371,000 refuges in Albania, 155,000 in the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and 63,000 displaced people from Kosovo in the
Republic of Montenegro. These came to a total of about 600,000 refugees in the immediate
region without counting those who had found refuge further afield. This meant that a
staggering proportion of the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo had been forced to leave their
land and homes.
Having just returned from a week in Albania, Mr. Walzer spoke of the magnitude of the
humanitarian crisis and the daunting tasks that confronted all. The essential point was
that refugees fleeing Kosovo had to be given asylum. The right of refugees to seek and
enjoy asylum in places of complete safety outside the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia must
be the cornerstone of the response to this humanitarian tragedy. He commended the
generosity of the neighbouring States that had already given asylum to thousands of
refugees and urged them to continue to keep their borders open to those forced to flee.
UNHCR recognized the serious implications and the destabilising effect that the conflict
in Kosovo had on neighbouring States hosting large refugee populations. Overcrowding, poor
sanitation and lack of basic facilities were causing additional suffering to people who
had already undergone terrible experiences.
Mr. Walzer said another important issue was that of refugee registration. Many had been
stripped of their documents, or had lost them. In collaboration with the International
Organization for Migration and other key partners, UNCHR had embarked on a process of
registration and documentation of all refugees. This was a crucial task for family
tracing. It also reduced the risk of statelessness and prepared the way for the eventual
return of refugees to their homes. The complex issue of humanitarian evacuations and
relocating refugees temporarily outside the immediate region was an essential tool through
which the burden of this refugee crisis could be shared - particularly to alleviate the
exceptional circumstances faced by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. UNCHR
therefore appreciated the generosity of those States participating in the Humanitarian
Evacuation Programme.
In conclusion, Mr. Walzer said UNHCR had developed continency plans to allow it to
effectively respond to further influxes from Kosovo. These plans were to address the very
hard protection and assistance challenges that were being faced. In this complex
situation, such challenges ranged from assisting and protecting persons in host families;
co-ordinating family reunification programmes for the significant numbers of separated
minors; and wider protection issues, including those related to non-refoulement and camp
security. UNHCR was working closely with governments, United Nations agencies and others
in this endeavour. UNCHR deplored the gross and systematic violation of human rights that
had led to the mass displacement of civilians from Kosovo, both internally and across
frontiers. Human rights violations were at the core of this refugee crisis -- one of the
larges and most catastrophic that Europe had seen since the end of World War II.
Action on draft resolution L.40 Rev.1
The Commission adopted by consensus (E/CN.4/1999/L.40 Rev.1) on the defamation of
religions, in which it reaffirmed that discrimination against human beings on the grounds
of religion or belief constituted an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations; reaffirmed the call of the World
Conference on Human Rights for all Governments to take all appropriate measures to counter
intolerance and related violence based on religion or belief, including practices of
discrimination against women and including desecration of religious sites; underlined the
importance of creating conditions to foster greater harmony and tolerance within and among
societies and conscious of the importance of education in ensuring tolerance of and
respect of religion and belief; emphasized that non-governmental organizations, religious
bodies and communities had an important role to play in the promotion of tolerance and the
protection of freedom of religion or belief; expressed deep concern at negative
stereotyping of religions; expressed deep concern that Islam was frequently and wrongly
associated with human rights violations and with terrorism; urged all States to take all
appropriate measures to combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance, and acts of violence,
intimidations and coercion motivated by religious intolerance; called upon the Special
Rapporteurs on religious intolerance and racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance to take into account the provisions of this resolution when reporting
to the fifty-sixth session of the Commission on Human Rights.
H. K. SINGH (India) said that it would have preferred to let matters rest, but the text
of the draft resolution, although it marked some improvement, had not been released in
time for the Indian delegation to consult, both with the sponsors and with the Indian
Government. The new text did not remove all the concerns raised yesterday. The
non-transparent process was a matter of concern and was not conducive to reflection upon
the issue. India reaffirmed that the premises on which L.40 was based merited further
consideration and hoped that the issue would be taken up again at the next session.
MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan) said that the claim made by the Indian delegation was erroneous
since the deliberations upon the draft declaration had been open to all and the text had
been made available. The Indian delegation had transmitted a suggestion regarding the text
this morning which had been integrated in the text. To therefore say that the Indian
delegation had been left outside the proceedings was fallacious, as was the suggestion
that the proceedings had been rushed through.
LUIS PADILLA MENENDEZ (Guatemala) said his country had studied L.40 Rev.1 which was the
result of the discussions between Germany and Pakistan and fully agreed with the revision.
Guatemala agreed with the idea of tolerance for religions. Guatemala also agreed with
statements by other delegations that the negative stereotyping of religions or religious
extremism and political extremism too often led to terrorism. It was a problem which was
common to all mankind and was adequately handled within other mechanisms of the United
Nations. Guatemala could have voted on the three texts and was happy to have helped to
synthesize them into the present Rev.1.
FERNANDO LABBE (Chile) said his country was pleased with the result of negotiations
between the European Union and the Organization of Islamic Conference. The Ambassador of
Sri Lanka, who launched the successful initiative, was congratulated. Chile had a policy
of religious tolerance which promoted respect for religious minorities and their rights.
Chile had benefited from various migratory flows, some from Islamic countries. This was
reflected in various aspects of the language and culture of the country. Chile believed
that any form of intolerance, notably defamation, was a dangerous practice. All States of
the international community had a contribution to make to international security. Thus,
although expressions of religious intolerance did not take place in Chile, it believed
that it had a contribution to make at this level. Chile supported the OIC, noted the
stereotyping of Islam in the press and the cinema, and considered this unacceptable. Chile
wholly and unreservedly supported the consensus text.
WILHELM HOYNCK (Germany), speaking on draft resolution L.40/Rev.1, said there had
remained a high degree of uncertainty on whether this was an appropriate manner of
handling the issue. Germany called for further discussions on the issues raised by the
countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference. All must work together against any
intolerance. Germany was happy that consensus was finally reached. |
Document compiled by Dr S D Stein