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The Fifty-Sixth Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2017

Michael J. Dennis
Michael J. Dennis*
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of State
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Extract

The fifty-sixth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights took place in Geneva from March 20 to April 28,2000, under the chairmanship of Ambassador Shambhu Ram Simkhada of Nepal. The delegations of fifty-three member states and ninety-one observer states werejoined by 1760 representatives of 224 nongovernmental organizations. The Commission ultimately adopted one hundred resolutions and decisions, three-fourths of them by consensus.

Type
Current Developments
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 95 , Issue 1 , January 2001 , pp. 213 - 221
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 2001

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References

1 The Report of the Commission on Human Rights [CHR] on its Fifty-sixth Session, UN ESCOR 2000, Supp. No. 3, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2000/167 [hereinafter Report], contains the resolutions and decisions of the Commission, as well as a listing of the participants. See also Statistics Relating to Fifty-sixth Session, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2001/12 (2000).

2 Like similar essays on the 1994-1999 sessions, this report is a personal reflection and not a complete record. See Crook, John R., The Fiftieth Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 88 AJIL 806 (1994)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Crook, John R., The Fifty-first Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 90 AJIL 126 (1996)CrossRefGoogle Scholar [hereinafter Crook, 51st Session]; Dennis, Michael J., The Fifty-second Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 91 AJIL 167 (1997)CrossRefGoogle Scholar [hereinafter Dennis, 5 2d Session]; Dennis, Michael J., The Fifty-third Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 92 AJIL 112 (1998)CrossRefGoogle Scholar [hereinafter Dennis, 53d Session]; Dennis, Michael J., The Fifty-fourth Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 93 AJIL 246 (1999)CrossRefGoogle Scholar [hereinafter Dennis, 54th Session]; Dennis, Michael J., The Fifty-fifth Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 94 AJIL 189 (2000)CrossRefGoogle Scholar [hereinafter Dennis, 55th Session].

3 CHR Res. 2000/47 (Apr. 25). For a discussion of the 1999 resolution, see Dennis, 55th Session, supra note 2, at 191.

4 For a summary of the debate, see Report, supra note 1, at 432-37; UN Press Release HR/CN/00/58, Apr. 25, 2000, at 1-9. The Commission’s press releases are available online at <http://www.unog.ch.>.

5 CHR Res. 2000/40 (Apr. 20).

6 CHR Res. 2000/64 (Apr. 26).

7 For a summary of the debate, see Report, supra note 1, at 463-64; UN Press Release HR/CN/00/61, Apr. 26, 2000, at 2-3.

8 CHR Res. 2000/65 (Apr. 26).

9 The statement is contained in UN Doc. E/CN.4/2000/162, Annex 2. For a summary of the debate, see Report, supra note 1, at 464-66; UN Press Release HR/CN/00/61, supra note 7, at 3-5, 8-9.

10 Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh, Explanation on Vote (Apr. 26, 2000) (on file with author).

11 A resolution on the death penalty was also defeated at the 1994 General Assembly. See Dennis, 53d Session, supra note 2, at 114. The sixth quinquennial report of the Secretary-General on capital punishment, submitted in accordance with ECOSOC Resolution 1995/57 of July 28, 1995, UN Doc. E/2000/3, reveals that a majority of countries retain the death penalty for the most serious offenses.

12 CHR Res. 2000/30 (Apr. 20); Alvaro Mendonca e Moura, ambassador of Portugal, Explanation of Vote (Apr. 20, 2000) (on file with author).

13 CHR Res. 2000/69 (Apr. 26).

14 CHR Res. 2000/45 (Apr. 20).

15 See, e.g., CHR Res. 1999/42 (Apr. 26, 1999) (elimination of violence against women); see also CHR Res. 2000/ 54 (Apr. 25, 2000) (violence against women migrant workers).

16 CHR Res. 2000/59 (Apr. 26). The General Assembly subsequently adopted the protocols on May 25, 2000. See Dennis, Michael J. , Newly Adopted Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 94 AJIL 789 (2000)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

17 Address of Dr. Shambhu Ram Simkhada (Apr. 28,2000) (on file with author). In other actions, the Commission authorized a ninth two-week negotiating session on an optional protocol to die Torture Convention (to establish a system of prison visits) and a sixth two-week session of a working group charged with drafting a declaration on indigenous rights. CHR Res. 2000/35 (Apr. 20) and 2000/57 (Apr. 25), respectively. Results of the 1999 sessions for both working groups were disappointing. See UN Docs. E/CN.4/2000/58 and E/CN.4 /2000/84, respectively, for the reports of the working groups. In a related matter, the Commission requested that the Office of the High Commissioner hold a consultative meeting with a view to finalizing a text on the right to reparation for victims of grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that had been prepared by the Commission’s independent expert on the subject. CHR Res. 2000/41 (Apr. 20).

18 CHR Res. 2000/61 (Apr. 26).

19 For a summary of the debate, see Report, supra note 1, at 459-61; UN Press Release HR/CN/00/60, Apr. 26, 2000, at 4-6.

20 The declaration was adopted by General Assembly Resolution 53/144 of December 9, 1998. In other actions of note, the Commission renewed the mandates of the working group on arbitrary detention and the special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers for three-year periods. CHR Res. 2000/36 and 2000/42 (Apr. 20), respectively.

21 See Dennis, 54th Session, supra note 2, at 246-47.

22 CHR Res. 2000/63 (Apr. 26).

23 For a summary of the debate, see Report, supra note 1, at 462-63; UN Press Release HR/CN/00/60, supra note 19, at 9-11. For other resolutions involving civil and political thematic mechanisms, see CHR Res. 2000/14 (Apr. 17) (special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism); 2000/31 (special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions); 2000/33 (special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief); 2000/36, supra note 20; 2000/37 (working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances); 2000/38 (special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression); 2000/41 (independent expert on right to restitution); 2000/42, supra note 20; and 2000/43 (special rapporteur on torture) (all Apr. 20).

24 CHR Res. 2000/10 (Apr. 17).

25 CHR Res. 2000/9 (Apr. 17).

26 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GA Res. 217A (III), UN Doc. A/810, at 71 (1948).

27 Article 11 (1) of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights similarly provides: “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing . . . .” Paragraph 2 of Article 11 further states that the “States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international co-operation,” certain measures. International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Dec. 16, 1966, 993 UNTS 3.

28 The Right to Adequate Food (Art. 11), General Comment 12, UN Doc. E/C.12/1999/5, paras. 15, 32.

29 See Statement by the Cuban minister of foreign affairs, Felipe Pérez Roque (Mar. 30, 2000) (on file with author). “[W]hy is it that the Commission approves twice as many resolutions on civil and political rights, as on economic, social and cultural rights?” he asks. “It is in the interest of the developed countries that the Commission concerns itself only with civil and political rights. Because rights to development, to life, to food . . . are not priorities for anybody other than us—the poor and underdeveloped countries.”

30 See Ford Runge, C. & Senauer, Benjamin, A Removable Feast, Foreign Aff., May-June 2000, at 39 Google Scholar; Reid, T. R., Feeding the Planet, Nat’l Geographic, Oct. 1998, at 56 Google Scholar.

31 CHR Res. 2000/62 (Apr. 26). For other resolutions involving thematic mechanisms relating to economic, social, and cultural rights, see CHR Res. 2000/5 (Apr. 13) (independent expert and working group on right to development); 2000/9 (Apr. 17) (special rapporteur on right to education); 2000/12 (Apr. 17) (independent expert on extreme poverty) (mandate renewed for two years); 2000/72 (Apr. 26) (special rapporteur on toxic waste) (adopted by a vote of 37-16); 2000/82 (Apr. 26) (merger of mandates of independent expert on the effects of structural adjustments and foreign debt) (adopted by a vote of 30-15-7).

32 CHR Res. 2000/87 (Apr. 27).

33 Cuba called for the vote and abstained on the decision, arguing that the establishment of the forum should not necessarily result in the abolition of the working group. (The Cuban representative also serves as the Sub-commission’s chairman of the working group.) Cuba also proposed amendments and paragraph votes, all of which were rejected. For a summary of the debate, see Report, supra note 1, at 452-55; UN Press Release HR/CN/00/63, Apr. 27, 2000, at 5-8.

34 Michael J. Dennis, U.S. delegation, Explanation of Position (Apr. 25, 2000). For other thematic resolutions involving specific groups and individuals, see CHR Res. 2000/3 (Apr. 7) (special rapporteur on mercenaries); 2000/45 (Apr. 20) (special rapporteur on violence against women); 2000/48 (Apr. 25) (special rapporteur on migrants); 2000/53 (Apr. 25) (special representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons); 2000/85 (Apr. 27) (special rapporteur on sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography and special representative of Secretary-General on children and armed conflict).

35 CHR Res. 2000/58 (Apr. 25); see also Nullis, Clare, Human Rights Meeting Praised as Success over Chechnya, AP, Apr. 27, 2000, obtainable from <http://www.usia.gov/clips.nsf>Google Scholar.

36 See UN Press Release HR/CN/00/27, Apr. 5, 2000, at 1-4 .

37 See Russian Planes Bomb Guerrillas in Chechnya; Moscow Rejects Inquiry into Rights Abuses, Int’l Herald Trib., Apr. 27, 2000, at 7.

38 See Report, supra note 1, at 409-12 (giving the text of the unsuccessful resolution, as well as the vote on the no-action motion). In 1995 the no-action motion failed for the only time by a vote of 22-22-9; however, the text was ultimately rejected by a vote of 20-21-12. See Crook, 51st Session, supra note 2, at 127-28. The no-action motion carried by a vote of 22-17-14 in 1999; by 27-17-9 in 1997, see Dennis, 55th Session, supra note 2, at 196 & n.51; and by 27-20-6 in 1996, see Dennis, 52d Session, supra note 2, at 175.

39 See Olson, Elizabeth, China Eludes Censure at UN Rights Forum, Int’l Herald Trib., Apr. 19, 2000, at 4 Google Scholar; Voh, Minh T., When Pocketbook Issues Clash with Human Rights, Christian sci. Monitor, Apr. 3, 2000, at 7 Google Scholar.

40 CHR Res. 2000/25 (Apr. 18).

41 See Sequera, Vivian, Cuba Protests UN Rights Resolution, AP, Apr. 18, 2000 Google Scholar, available in 2000 WL 19051689 (Allnews File); Despite UN Censure, Cuba Proud’ on Rights, Agora’: Conferenza Cuba, NYT/Reuters, Apr. 19, 2000, <http://agora.stm.it/htbin/ago?CONF=cnfcuba&SCHEDA=560>.

42 See Tamayo, Juan O., Irate Cuba Cancels EU Visit, Miami Herald, Apr. 22, 2000 Google Scholar, available in 2000 WL 9319363 (Allnews File).

43 CHR Res. 2000/18, 2000/20, 2000/15, 2000/19, 2000/23, 2000/21 (all Apr. 18), respectively.

44 CHR Res. 2000/17, 2000/28, 2000/27, 2000/26 (all Apr. 18), respectively.

45 Statement of the U.S. ambassador, George Moose (Apr. 18) (on file with author); UN Press Release HR/CN/ 00/52, Apr. 18, 2000, at 9-11. See UN Docs. E/CN.4/1999/38/Add.1 and A/54/467 (1999) for the most recent reports of the special rapporteur.

46 See Report, supra note 1, at 417. Chairman Simkhada also read negotiated statements concerning the human rights situation in Colombia and East Timor. Id. at 389-92, 418-19. For other country resolutions, see CHR Res. 2000/2 (Apr. 7) (Western Sahara), 2000/24 (Apr. 18) (Sierra Leone). The Commission also again requested that the Secretary-General fund the advisory and technical assistance activities of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Haiti, Cambodia, and Somalia. CHR Res. 2000/78, 2000/79,2000/81 (Apr. 26), respectively.

47 The text of the resolution, S-5/1, is contained in the report on the special session, UN Doc. E/CN.4/S-5/5 (Oct 17-19, 2000). See also UN Press Releases on the special session (Oct 17), obtainable from <http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/newsroom> and the Web site supra note 4. For the report of High Commissioner Robinson on her subsequent visit of November 8-16, see UN Doc. E/CN.4/2001/114.

48 As in prior years, the Commission at its regular session adopted five resolutions on the situation in the Middle East, each over negative U.S. votes. The annual Middle East resolutions critical of Israel were as follows: CHR Res. 2000/4 (Apr. 7) (occupied Palestine), adopted by a vote of 44-1-6; CHR Res. 2000/6 (Apr. 17) (occupied Arab territories, including Palestine), adopted by a vote of 31-1-19; CHR Res. 2000/7 (Apr. 17) (occupied Syrian Golan), adopted by a vote of 31-1-19; CHR Res. 2000/8 (Apr. 17) (Israeli settlements in occupied Arab territories), adopted by a vote of 50-1-1 (Romania); and CHR Res. 2000/16 (Apr. 18) (southern Lebanon and western Bekaa), adopted by a vote of 51-1-1 (Romania).

49 Simkhada, supra note 17.