HRC- March 21st (Morning)-LR

Human Rights Council Regular Meeting
Wednesday 21st March 2007, 10am-1pm

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council concluded discussion on the reports of the Representative of the Secretary General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Mr. Walter Kalin, of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Ms. Yakin Erturk and of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Mr. Juan Miguel Petit.

Speaking in the context of the interactive dialogue were Algeria, USA, China, Canada, UK, Malaysia, Japan, Sweden, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Morocco, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Sudan, Brazil, Sri Lanka and NGOs.

In conclusion, Mr. Kalin said that the international community should provide technical assistance on the reform of land laws. Ms. Ertuk said that equal participation help bring greater inclusiveness in society which in turn can counteract human rights violations. Mr. Petit said that it was positive that China has raised the issue of donating of organs of prisoners.

The HRC then discussed the reports of the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the question of the use of mercenaries as a mean of violating human rights, Mr. Jose Luis Gomez del Prado, the Independent Expert on the effects of economic reform policies and foreign debt on the full enjoyment of all human rights, Mr. Bernards Andrew Nyamwaya Mudho and the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Mr. Vernor Munoz Villalobos.

Mr. Gomez del Prado said that the Group has established a system of individual communications process that allow it to receive and study allegations of possible violations. The WG deals with people who can be both violators and victims of human rights abuses. The WG deal for example with cases of private contractors implicated in torture, as well as cases of child-soldiers that act as mercenaries. The Chairperson-Rapporteur then mentioned specific country situation: Honduras, Ecuador and Peru. Mr. Nyamwaya Mudho said that the scope of his report was to analyse recent initiatives in the area of foreign debt and their impact on economic, social and cultural rights. The Independent Expert believes that states and international financial institutions must promote an alternative debt sustainability concept. Mr. Mudho considers a debt situation unsustainable if a country is not able to service its debt and achieve MDGs on time. Moreover, the primary responsibility of borrowing countries is to ensure that credits are invested in a productive and human rights promoting way. In summary, the exercise of the basic rights of the people of a debtor country can not be subordinated to the implementation of structural adjustment policies and economic reforms arising from debts. Mr Munoz Villalobos said that educative systems should stop seeing disabled children as problems ; on the contrary they should see them as an opportunity to enrich the system. Hence educative system should stop to segregate children with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur then mentioned two countries’ situation: Germany and Morocco.

Speaking as concerned countries were Honduras, Ecuador and Morocco.