Pax Romana Morning Session (July 31, 2003)

This morning, two interns at the Pax Romana session briefly discussed the deliberation on Item 2 at the Sub-Commission plenary yesterday. They pointed out the main issues of the discussions: the need for a review of the Human Rights Education, the rich-poor gap that exists in relation to economic rights, the problem with North Korean refugees, the need for stronger institutions against torture, special legislation and security cooperation that are needed for anti-terrorism, and the Sub-Commission itself.

Mr. Raj Kumar emphasized an important suggestion made by the Sub-Commission experts at the session: an inter-sessional working group on special procedures should take place in order to organize matters with more detail and precision. He believed this group was necessary in order to prevent the violations of human rights in many countries.

An intern then summarized discussions that took place during the Working Group on Administration of Justice. The main topic focused on sexual abuse (particularly concerning the Dalits). Three problems were addressed on this matter: 1) the definition of the sexual violation; 2) evidences of violations are difficult (or even impossible) to obtain; and 3) the systematic attacks on civilians, which is considered as a crime against humanity.

The second topic of the Working Group dealt with the privatisation of prisons. Due to time constraints, the third topic, international crime and justice, will be discussed next year.

In regards to the second topic, Mr. Raj Kumar explained that the privatisation of prisons is an important issue because of increasing extra-judiciary problems. Although a court can collect evidences, the administration of justice is still in question. According to Mr. Kumar, an international jurisdiction will help people understand this particular issue with a global perspective.

By: Alicia Pary and Melvina Araman

BACK