Morning
THE COUNCIL EXTENDED MANDATES ON USE OF MERCENARIES AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, APPOINTED INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON SAFE DRINKING WATER
Texts also Adopted on Climate Change, Genocide, Enforced Disappearances, Extreme Poverty, Missing People, Rights of Child and Occupied Syrian Golan
The Human Rights Council this morning decided to extend for a period of three years the mandates of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination and of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. It appointed for a period of three years an Independent Expert on human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
The Council also adopted texts on the effects of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights, prevention of genocide, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, human rights and extreme poverty, missing persons, the rights of the child, and on the occupied Syrian Golan.
Of the ten resolutions adopted this morning, two were adopted by a vote and eight by consensus without a vote.
Resolutions on the Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Including Right to Development
Resolution on Mandate of Working Group on Use of Mercenaries
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.7/Rev.1) on the mandate of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination, adopted by a vote of 32 in favour, 11 against, and 2 abstentions, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination for a period of three years to elaborate and present concrete proposals while facing current and emergent threats posed by mercenaries or mercenary-related activities; to seek opinions and contributions from Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations on questions relating to its mandate; to monitor mercenaries and mercenary-related activities, to monitor and study the effects on the enjoyment of human rights of the activities of private companies offering military assistance, consultancy and security services on the international market; also decides to authorize the Working Group to hold three sessions per year of five working days each, two in Geneva and one in New York.
The results of the vote were as follows:
In favour (32): Angola, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Zambia.
Against (11): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovenia and United Kingdom.
Abstentions (2): Switzerland and Ukraine.
Speaking in explanation of the vote were Slovenia on behalf of the European Union :
ANDREJ LOGAR (Slovenia), said that the European Union continued to believe that the issue of the use of mercenaries was outstanding and that their use could lead to dangerous situations that could endanger armed conflicts. The issue of mercenaries deserved to be addressed by the United Nations, but the European Union did not believe that it should be dealt with by the Human Rights Council and that it was a human rights problem, thus the European Union would call for a vote and would vote against the resolution.
Resolution on Human Rights and Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.16) on human rights and access to safe drinking water and sanitation, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to appoint, for a period of three years, an Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, whose tasks will be to develop a dialogue with Governments, the relevant United Nations bodies, the private sector, local authorities, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and academic institutions, to identify, promote and exchange views on best practices related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation. To advance the work by undertaking a study on the further clarification of the content of human rights obligations, including non-discrimination obligations, in relation to access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Resolution on Human Rights and Climate Change
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.21/Rev.1) on human rights and climate change, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to request the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in consultation with and taking into account the views of States, other relevant international organizations and intergovernmental bodies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other stakeholders, to conduct, within existing resources, a detailed analytical study of the relationship between climate change and human rights, to be submitted to the Council prior to its tenth session; encourages States to contribute to the study conducted by OHCHR;
ABDUL GHAFOOR MOHAMED (Maldives), introducing the resolution, said that the Maldives believed that the large number of co-sponsors of this resolution coming from all regional groups was indicative of the importance of the issue of climate change. It was also an issue of existential importance to the Maldives. Its future as a viable state would be decided by the success or failure of negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This resolution dealt with the impact of the phenomenon on human beings. Developing an understanding of the impact of climate change on human rights was important. The resolution was a procedural one; it requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct a study into the relationship between human rights and climate change. The Maldives was hoped that the resolution would be adopted by consensus.
AKIO ISOMATA (Japan), in a general comment, said that Japan was concerned by the effects that climate change could bring on to the enjoyment of human rights, especially this impact on small island countries. Japan fully supported this resolution. As a host country of the G8 Summit this July, Japan had actively been contributing to the issue of climate change in collaboration with the international community.
MUSTAFIZUR RAHMAN (Bangladesh) said that climate change was the biggest threat the world was facing today. It was resulting in extreme weather conditions. These changes had great impact on the enjoyment of human rights of livelihood and shelter among others. No countries were protected and this was a global phenomena. All parties had to be part of the solution. The broad consultations conducted by the Maldives were appreciated and Bangladesh hoped the text would be adopted by consensus.
Resolution on Elimination of Violence against Women
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.22/Rev.1) on the elimination of violence against women, adopted without a vote, the Council strongly condemns all acts of violence against women and girls, and calls for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence, in accordance with the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and stresses the need to treat all forms of violence against women and girls as a criminal offence, as well as the duty to provide access to just and effective remedies and specialized assistance to victims; decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, for a period of three years; invites the Special Rapporteur to seek and receive information on violence against women, its causes and its consequences, from Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies, other special rapporteurs, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and to respond effectively to such information;
Resolution on Prevention of Genocide
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.26/Rev.1) on prevention of genocide, adopted without a vote, the Council calls upon States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to consider doing so as a matter of high priority; calls upon all States to cooperate, including through the United Nations system, in strengthening appropriate collaboration among existing mechanisms that contribute to early detection and prevention of massive, serious and systematic violations of human rights, which if not halted, could lead to genocide; recognizes the important role of the Secretary-General in contributing to prompt consideration of early warning or prevention cases, and the functions of the Special Adviser, who collects existing information, liaises with the United Nations system on activities for the prevention of genocide and works to enhance the capacity of the United Nations to analyse and manage information relating to genocide or related crimes; requests all Governments to cooperate fully with the Special Adviser in the performance of his work;
Resolution on International Convention for the Protection of All Persons
from Enforced Disappearance
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.31/Rev.1) on the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted by consensus, the Council encourages States that are in the process of signing, ratifying or acceding to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance to complete their internal procedures towards those ends in compliance with domestic legislation as expeditiously as possible; encourages all States that have not done so to consider signing, ratifying or acceding to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; and invites States to consider joining the campaign to share information on best practices and to work towards the early coming into force of the Convention with the aim of its universality.
Resolution on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.32/Rev.1) on human rights and extreme poverty, adopted without a vote, the Council affirms that the fight against extreme poverty must remain a high priority for the international community; Jean-Baptiste Mattei (France), introducing the draft resolution, said that combating extreme poverty had to remain a high priority for the international community.
Resolution on Missing Persons
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.33/Rev.1) on missing persons, adopted without a vote, the Council calls upon States that are parties to an armed conflict to take all appropriate measures to prevent persons from going missing in connection with armed conflict and account for persons reported missing as a result of such a situation; calls upon States that are parties to an armed conflict to take all necessary measures, in a timely manner, to determine the identity and fate of persons reported missing in connection with the armed conflict and to provide their family members with all relevant information they have on their fate;
Resolution on the Rights of the Child
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.34) on the rights of the child, adopted without a vote, the Council calls on States to take action in a number of areas, including implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with regard to which it calls upon States parties to designate, establish or strengthen relevant governmental structures for children and to ensure adequate and systematic training in the rights of the child for professional groups working with and for children.
ALEJANDRO ARTUCIO RODRIGUEZ (Uruguay), introducing the draft resolution on the rights of the child, said this was an initiative that had been addressed earlier during the former Commission on Human Rights with the sole importance of having States implement their commitments on the rights of the child. This was the first time this resolution was before the Human Rights Council. The resolution took as a base the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. Through this draft, it was proposed that future work be undertaken with a focused and thematic analysis in future sessions of the Council in order to generate areas for interactive dialogue thus enabling a greater depth into the best practices in the area of the rights of the child. It was necessary for the Council to have a more effective, regular and systematic way in its programme of work.
Resolution on Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other Occupied Arab Territories
Resolution on Human Rights in the Occupied Syrian Golan
In a resolution (A/HRC/7/L.2) on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted by a vote of 32 in favour, 1 against, and 14 abstentions, the Council calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to comply with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council, particularly Security Council resolution 497 (1981), in which the Council decided that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void and without international legal effect, and demanded that Israel should rescind forthwith its decision; also calls upon Israel to desist from changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan, and emphasizes that the displaced persons of the population of the occupied Syrian Golan must be allowed to return to their homes and to recover their property; further calls upon Israel to desist from imposing Israeli citizenship and Israeli identity cards on the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan and to desist from its repressive measures against them.
In favour (32): Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Zambia.
Against (1): Canada.
Abstentions (14): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine and United Kingdom.
Marco
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