United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-12-10

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 10 December, 1998

HEADLINES

• Commitment to "all human rights for all" pledged as United Nations marks 50th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• General Assembly urges greater national and international efforts to promote human rights.
• UN agencies stress link between human rights and their work for children, refugees and the hungry.
• United Nations honours human rights activists from five continents.
• World celebrities join United Nations to mark 50th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• UN weapons inspectors in Iraq continue work without blockage.
• Secretary-General recommends six-month extension of United Nations mission in Cyprus.
• World Bank announces major support for Central America to recover from Hurricane Mitch.
• World Health Organization welcomes UK call for worldwide action to ban tobacco advertising.
• International Court of Justice concludes public hearings regarding immunity for UN official.

The Declaration was adopted on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, by 58 Member States of the United Nations General Assembly. It was the first time in history that a document considered to have universal value was adopted by an international organization. The adoption was preceded by a two-year drafting process in the 18-Member UN Commission on Human Rights, which in its first years was chaired by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.

The 50th anniversary of the Declaration was marked on Thursday in a wide range of gala events at United Nations Headquarters in New York and throughout the UN system. The programme included a special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly and a presentation of human rights prizes, as well as press conferences, video links and radio broadcasts, musical recitals of world-renowned performers, exhibits, screenings of documentary films and the launch of a special United Nations Web site devoted to the Declaration.

At the outset of a day-long commemorative meeting which was addressed by representatives from more than 120 countries, the Assembly adopted a consensus resolution, solemnly declaring its commitment to the Declaration as a common standard for all peoples and all nations.

The Assembly also declared its commitment to the Declaration as a source of inspiration to further promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms -- political, social, civil and cultural -- including the right to development.

Assembly President Didier Opertti of Uruguay said human rights, justice and peace were the triad of values that had to guide the society's evolution as it entered the next century. Genuine respect of human rights could only be achieved if the root causes of violations, which resided in the hearts and minds of human beings, were tackled.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Assembly that human rights were foreign to no culture and native to all nations. To the United Nations, he said, the anniversary was "a mirror that reflected how far we have come and how far we have yet to go." The mirror "flatters and shames us", he added. It revealed a record of progress for parts of humanity, and a reality of horrors for others. Above all, it taught the United Nations that without human rights, no peace and no prosperity would ever last.

Also addressing the Assembly, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, said the task was to close the gap between rhetoric and reality which exists in so many regions. Despite all the legislation, procedures and mechanisms in place, millions were routinely deprived of their basic rights.

Not only were civil and political rights being violated, she continued, there had been poor progress on economic and social rights. The goal should be to have all States sign and ratify the two Covenants and the four principal Conventions within two years. They should make all their citizens aware of the Universal Declaration and introduce it into primary education curricula. States should redouble their efforts to implement its 30 Articles in full, stressed the High Commissioner.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, said it was a sad fact that violations of basic human rights continued to create refugees in many parts of the world. One in every 120 people on earth had been forced to flee because of violence or persecution. She appealed for greater political will to prevent further human rights violations.

Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of UNICEF, called for a renewed commitment to children's rights and singled out in particular the need to end the abduction and forced induction of child soldiers.

The UN World Food Programme said for millions, the ability to get food was threatened by armed conflict and natural disasters. It reminded States of their obligation to ensure the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, several countries had enshrined in their constitutions the right to adequate food, or at least State responsibility in that area, but none had adopted national legislation expressly to implement that right.

The United Nations Human Rights Prizes, which are awarded every five years, were given to Sunila Abeyesekera of Sri Lanka, Angelina Achen Atyam of Uganda, Jimmy Carter of the United States, Jose Gregori of Brazil, and Anna Sabatova of the Czech Republic. The sixth Prize honoured all human rights defenders all over the world. The prizes were awarded by United Nations Secretary-General after the opening of the all- day special commemoration in New York.

Sunila Abeyesekera is the Executive Director of INFORM, one of the key human rights organizations in her country. She has been an activist for almost 30 years, focusing mainly on women's rights, armed conflicts and conflict resolution.

Angelina Acheng Atyam is a founding member and vice chairperson of the Concerned Parents Association, a group of Ugandan parents who came together to demand action when 139 girls were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army from St. Mary's School in Uganda in 1996. She has worked tirelessly to secure the release of children in rebel captivity.

Jimmy Carter, former United States President, has committed himself to the cause and international defence of human rights. Mr. Carter has been involved in activities ranging from defending religious minorities in Eastern Europe to working to eradicate river blindness.

Jose Gregori of Brazil has been involved in human rights since the 1950s. He is the head of the recently created National Secretariat for Human Rights. He has been active in strengthening national and regional cooperation in defence and promotion of human rights.

Anna Sabatova has been involved in human rights activities for the past 30 years. She is one of the founding members of "Charter 77", which was a centre of civic resistance against the Soviet invasion and domination of Czechoslovakia.

The day got under way with a video conference between the Secretary- General and French President Jacques Chirac who was attending a ceremony at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris where the Declaration was signed on 10 December 1948. In his video address, the Secretary-General said that the Universal Declaration drew from the best of human imagination and the worst of human experience. Its principles guided the work of the United Nations, he added.

At UN Headquarters in New York, Vanessa Redgrave hosted a presentation, "For the Worldwide Right to Asylum". Speakers included Amnesty International Executive Director, William Schultz, UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Mary Robinson, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Federico Mayor, and the actors Tim Robbins and Mia Farrow.

Another highlight of the programme was a live phone-in radio broadcast featuring High Commissioner Mary Robinson who answered questions by journalists from various parts of the world. The broadcast was organized by UN Radio with the cooperation of Voice of America, Radio Vatican, All India Radio, Radio Netherlands, Channel Africa, Deutsche Welle and Radio Canada International.

Other events included the opening of a Department of Public Information Human Rights Exhibit and the launch of a Website of the Universal Declaration in 250 languages. Later, three UN Messengers for Peace -- Michael Douglas, Luciano Pavarotti and Italian journalist Anna Cataldi -- presented the Secretary-General with newly designed "children's passports" with the Declaration printed inside.

The day concluded with a musical recital in the General Assembly Hall by Wynton Marsalis and Mr. Pavarotti.

A United Nations spokesman said on Thursday that a delay of entry lasting about 45 minutes had occurred at one site declared by the Iraqi side to be "sensitive". A difference of view over how to inspect a "sensitive site" had emerged and had been resolved by the Iraqi side accepting the UNSCOM view. The UN inspection team was allowed to inspect the site.

UNSCOM, which is overseeing the elimination of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, transmitted its weekly report to the Security Council on Wednesday.

In his report to the Security Council, the Secretary-General says that the presence of UNFICYP on the island remains indispensable for the maintenance of the ceasefire between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides.

The Secretary-General says that during the past six months, the situation along the ceasefire lines remained generally calm, notwithstanding numerous minor violations. He points out that the situation in Cyprus is not static and the continuing upgrading of military equipment and infrastructure gives cause for concern.

Mr. Annan says that UNFICYP continued to use its best efforts to maintain the ceasefire by controlling the United Nations buffer zone between the forward lines of the opposing forces and responding quickly to any incidents.

The Secretary-General says that there are changes to be made in the mission's headquarters organization to improve the services to the two sides. In this connection, it is to be hoped that the Turkish Cypriot authorities will reconsider their position concerning contacts between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots on the island, says Mr. Annan.

UNFICYP was established by the Security Council in 1964 in order to prevent fighting, help maintain law and order and promote a return to normal conditions following the outbreak of the conflict between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities the previous year.

James D. Wolfensohn said in Washington D.C. that about $1 billion in new interest-free credits would be provided over the next few years from the Bank's International Development Association (IDA) to Honduras and Nicaragua. These countries are not only the poorest but also the most seriously affected by the hurricane.

The Bank will also provide assistance to El Salvador and Guatemala to help them meet their needs through its traditional lending window. This support is in addition to $200 million which was made available to the four countries immediately after the emergency through the reprogramming of ongoing operations.

The new IDA credits will help in the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure, including schools, health clinics, roads and bridges. It will also address medium and longer-term issues such as environmental management and disaster preparedness measures to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.

Mr. Wolfensohn also announced the establishment of a new Central America Emergency Trust Fund for the affected countries to meet their debt service on existing loans owed to multilateral institutions.

Addressing a meeting of Central American Presidents and the donor community in Washington D.C., Mr. Wolfensohn said that the World Bank was committed to helping the affected countries ensure that the real gains in peace and development achieved before Hurricane Mitch were not lost.

The new policy was outlined in a Tobacco White Paper, entitled "Smoking Kills" that also pledges support for WHO's long-term mission to reduce tobacco consumption.

WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland, said the paper showed tremendous support for the agency's initiative against tobacco. According to WHO estimates, 3.5 million people die each year as a result of smoking. The figure was expected to rise to about 10 million by the year 2030 and 70 per cent of those deaths would occur in developing countries.

The hearings, which started on 7 December 1998 in the Hague, involved the case of Dato Param Cumaraswamy of Malaysia who was appointed in 1994 as Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. Mr. Cumaraswamy is currently facing several lawsuits filed in Malaysian courts by different plaintiffs for damages in a total amount of $112 million. The plaintiffs assert that Mr. Cumaraswamy used defamatory language in an interview he gave to a magazine in 1995.

According to the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Cumaraswamy spoke in his official capacity of Special Rapporteur and was thus immune from legal process by virtue of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. The Secretary-General has tried to ensure respect for this immunity but the Malaysian Government has not appropriately intervened in the Malaysian courts to protect the Special Rapporteur.

During the hearings, the Secretary-General was represented by the Legal Counsel, Hans Corell. The Court's Advisory Opinion will be delivered during a public sitting in the spring of 1999.

From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

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