Category: CHR 56th Session – 2000

UNITED NATIONS Press Release Commission on Human Rights 56th session 17 April 2000 Evening The Commission on Human Rights carried on this evening with its annual review of the operation of human-rights mechanisms and consideration of possibilities for their improvement, hearing, among other things, praise for technical-cooperation programmes and requests for their expansion, and requests that further resources be given to relieve overburdened human-rights treaty bodies, which in some cases were years behind in considering States reports submitted to them. A representative of the Ukraine said the country had submitted reports to four treaty bodies but it would be months or years before the documents were considered. The treaty-monitoring system […]

UNITED NATIONS Press Release Commission on Human Rights 56th session 10 April 2000 Afternoon The Commission on Human Rights this afternoon continued its debate on the integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective, including violence against women. A variety of issues were raised by the speakers. The need for access to information, education and quality reproductive health care for women, especially in developing countries, was stressed. The importance of concerted action on the part of Governments and the international community to end the various forms of violence against women was underlined. The setting up of mechanisms to deal with sexual harassment of women was underscored. The […]

UNITED NATIONS Press Release Commission on Human Rights 56th session 5 April 2000 Evening The Commission on Human Rights carried on this evening with debate under its agenda item on civil and political rights, which includes such topics as torture and detention, disappearances, summary executions, freedom of expression, administration of justice, independence of the judiciary, religious intolerance, states of emergency, and conscientious objection to military service. A series of national representatives described Government efforts to protect human rights in these categories while numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) pleaded for greater attention to such matters as inherent police and judicial bias against women, children, and homosexuals; the fates of missing persons; and […]

UNITED NATIONS Press Release Commission on Human Rights 56th session 4 April 2000 Afternoon A series of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) spoke on economic, social and cultural rights this afternoon, with many of them telling the Commission on Human Rights that more had to be done to eradicate poverty around the world and many others lamenting that economic globalization, high levels of Third World debt, and “structural adjustment” programmes imposed on developing countries by international financial institutions were leaving much of humanity in a situation of hopeless and mounting poverty. Speaking were representatives of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the following NGOs: Centro de Estudios Europeos; Federation of Associations for the […]

UNITED NATIONS Press Release Commission on Human Rights 56th session 3 April 2000 Afternoon Debate on economic, social and cultural rights continued this afternoon with a series of countries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) telling the Commission on Human Rights that more had to be done to battle poverty and that a prime obstacle to improving the lives of millions was the crippling external debt owed by many of the world’s poorest nations. Addressing the afternoon meeting were representatives of Panama, Malaysia, Honduras, San Marino, Habitat International Coalition, Egypt, Bolivia, Food and Agriculture Organization, Uruguay, Iran, and Yemen. The following NGOs delivered statements: International Federation of University Women (on behalf of […]

UNITED NATIONS Press Release Commission on Human Rights 56th session 29 March 2000 Afternoon Speakers Decry Human Rights Violations in Many Countries The Commission on Human Rights was addressed this afternoon by the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, who said that there could be no hiding behind the principle of sovereignty in cases where human rights or fundamental freedoms were being violated. Jozias van Aartsen, Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, emphasized that the world had grown up and a mature and self-confident world community should be open and unafraid of taking the measure of itself; there could be no hiding behind the principle of sovereignty in cases where human rights […]