Specific questions relative to human rights:
women and human rights, contemporary forms of slavery, new priorities,
especially terrorism

The plenary session started with a presentation by M. Emmanuel Decaux, an expert to the sub-commission on the promotion and protection of human rights, about the stakes and the modalities of an effective universality of international human rights instruments.
The goal on the agenda is to obtain an effective universal ratification of human rights treaties. Thus the objective of this report was not only to find a way to encourage States to ratify universally human rights treaties, but also to push them to implement the human rights treaties that they have ratified. M. Decaux informed the audience: "There are still two hundred ratifications missing, to have a universal ratification of the six human rights instruments that have a monitoring mechanism. Two thirds of those missing ratifications are concentrated in a small number of countries."

Also, M. Decaux stressed that it was necessary to understand the existing obstacles to a universal ratification of human rights treaties, and to evaluate the ways that could encourage the universal ratification of those treaties. According to M. Decaux, "We should engage in a constructive dialogue with the States that have not ratified human rights treaties or do not implement them although they have ratified them, on the political, economic and social difficulties that prevent those States from an effective ratification of human rights treaties. We could also establish a seminar relative to the universal ratification of human rights treaties." M. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, an expert to the sub-commission, supported Mr Decaux' s statement, claiming that "there should be an evaluation of the effective ratification by States of human rights treaties, and of the effective protection of the rights of victims of human rights abuses".

Subsequently, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) expressed their concerns about different cases, where States still permitted human rights violations. Their reports were circumscribed to the issues treated by the order of the day: women and human rights; contemporary forms of slavery; and new priorities, especially terrorism.

Firstly, concerning the human rights abuses to which women are often victim, the representatives of the Inter-African Committee and of the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), denounced the traditional practices (e.g. the mutilation of women's genital parts, which are done to control women's and girls' sexuality, and affect their health).

To explain the toleration in some States of those traditional practices, the representatives of the Inter-African Committee stated that "attitudes deeply entrenched in societies influence the attitudes of the governments towards those violations of human rights." Delegates of the Fédération Internationale des Femmes Universitaires added that injustice against women was entrenched in cultures. "Cultural relativism is the main obstacle to a substantial progress of women's rights at the international level". As a result, as was pointed out by the representative of the OMCT, murders of women are committed whenever they step out of their social and domestic roles.

Secondly, NGOs denounced contemporary forms of slavery (e.g. the systematic rapes of women, sexual slavery and practices similar to slavery) which continually occur during armed conflicts.

The representatives of the Franciscans International, and of the Dominicans for Justice and Peace, denounced in a joint statement, the trafficking of women, and asked the sub-commission to force States to take effective measures, such as legislative measures and information campaigns, to try to stop the trafficking of women.

However, the representatives of the OMCT added another perspective to the problem, by looking at the causes that make women vulnerable to women trafficking. "Women are very vulnerable to be trafficking victims because of the feminization of poverty, of the discrimination they face in their jobs, and of the difficulty for them to migrate legally to other countries."

Also, several delegates raised the issue of the women that have been used for the "comfort" of militaries during the Second World War, and to whom Japan still has not provided reparations. The Japanese Fellowship on Reconciliation notably stressed the importance for the Japanese legislatures, to give some redress to the victims of those crimes. And the International Association of Democratic Lawyers added: "the sub-commission should try to reinforce the international consensus on the need to provide reparations to all the victims of wars of aggression".

Additionally, several NGO representatives denounced the systematic rapes of women that often occur during armed conflicts, especially wars of aggression. The Congrès du Monde Islamique notably talked about the rapes and molestations that are practiced by the Indian army in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. "More than 9,000 women have been raped by the Indian army [...] Rape is used by them as an instrument for the war. They know the shame that raped women will then have".

Thirdly, the question of new priorities, and especially terrorism, was addressed. In this respect, several delegates raised the issue of State terrorism. The Congrès du Monde Islamique and the International Islamist Federation of Students Organizations notably accused the State of India to be using terrorism to prevent the state of Jammu and Kashmir to benefit from its right to self-determination, and to justify the Indian army's repression, perpetration of massacres of innocent civilians, and military presence in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The delegates of the Congrès du Monde Islamique therefore urged the sub-commission to monitor India's behavior regarding terrorism and human rights, while the International Islamist Federation of Students Organizations asked the sub-commission to push India to implement Kashmiris' right to self-determination.

On the other hand, the Afro-Asian People Solidarity Organization and the International Institute for Peace, accused Pakistan of having used terrorism in a subversive war to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, in order to acquire this territory. They notably emphasized the fact that Pakistan had been training terrorist groups on its soil, before sending them to Jammu and Kashmir.

Thus, the implementation of peoples' right to self-determination, was found as a new priority by several delegates. In fact, Pax Romana stressed: "No treaty body is monitoring the duties of governments to protect and promote the right to self-determination of peoples under their rule as a part of their contractual obligations under international law. The Human Rights Committee is the only positive exception. [...] As a body of independent experts, the sub-commission should study peoples' right to self-determination, and contribute to the promotion and protection of this right."

Furthermore, the American Association of Jurists raised the issue of weapons of mass destruction that are using depleted uranium and causing superfluous harms and strike without discrimination (thus violating human rights). They notably denounced the use of such weapons by the United States during the third Gulf War.

Finally, to conclude the session, M. Asbjorn Eide, expert to the sub-commission, observed that in light of all those statements, the most important goal on the agenda at the moment was to encourage states to implement the human rights treaties that they have already been ratified. He remarked: "States' compliance with regards to human rights obligations depends in part, on States' ratification processes of human rights treaties. Therefore, it would be useful for the sub-commission to look at the constitutional processes associated with States' ratification of human rights processes".

By: Delphine Pastorel

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