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Summary: The Commission on Human Rights this afternoon adopted a resolution on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, a Chairperson's Statement on the situation in The Commission on Human Rights this afternoon adopted a resolution on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, a Chairperson's Statement on the situation in Colombia, and a resolution on the Rights of the Child at the last meeting of its fifty- eighth session. In a resolution on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, adopted by a roll-call vote of 33 in favour and 1 opposed, with 19 abstentions, the Commission expressed deep concern at the grave humanitarian situation of the Palestinian civilian population following the invasion by Israel of Palestinian cities and camps, especially Jenin Camp, and condemned the continuing gross, widespread and flagrant violations of human rights of the Palestinian people by the occupying power, Israel. The Commission also endorsed, in this context, the proposal by the High Commissioner for Human Rights for a comprehensive investigation into the breaches of human rights and international humanitarian law. In a Chairperson's Statement on the human rights situation in Colombia, adopted without a vote, the Commission strongly condemned all threats, attacks, kidnappings and assassinations of candidates in legislative and presidential elections as well as of other persons who carried out peaceful political activities, by paramilitary or guerrilla groups, and expressed its deep concern regarding the grave and persistent breaches of international humanitarian law, committed by all the parties in conflict, mainly by paramilitary and guerrilla groups. The statement also requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit to the Commission at its next session a detailed report containing an analysis by her Office of the situation of human rights in Colombia. On the Rights of the Child, the Commission adopted without a vote a resolution in which it called, among other things, upon States to recognize the right to education on the basis of equal opportunity by making primary education free and compulsory to all, and ensuring that all children, including girls, children in need of special protection, children with disabilities, indigenous children and children belonging to minorities, had access without discrimination to education of good quality. The Commission also called upon all States to translate into concrete action their commitment to the progressive and effective elimination of child labour, and called upon all States to increase cooperation at all levels to prevent and dismantle networks trafficking in children and to criminalize and effectively penalize all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, including within the family or for commercial purposes. The Commission adopted measures under the organization of the work of the session on the enhancement of the effectiveness of the working methods of the Commission, the inter-sessional activities of the Bureau, additional meetings for the fifty-ninth session of the Commission, statements by non-governmental organizations, and the electronic voting system. In concluding remarks, Krzysztof Jakubowski, the Chairperson of the Commission, said that the Commission was one of the most important organs of the United Nations, and the end of the session was a solemn moment for all. Vision, implementation and protection of human rights must be on the minds of all at a moment like this. He urged non-governmental organizations (NGOs), rapporteurs and representatives of national institutions to join the Commission in a process of reflection as to how to make sure that these three groups of participants could contribute to the work of the Commission meaningfully and effectively. The Commission also needed to think more of its relationship with the human rights treaty bodies. The Commission could draw more upon its own mechanisms. Mr. Jakubowski said the Commission also needed to think carefully about how it approached the issue of country situations on the basis of principle, tact and in a constructive spirit. The Commission needed to recognize that there was a growing feeling on the part of developing countries, that there was now a North South dimension to this issue, with countries of the South on the defensive. If the Commission were to maintain a constructive approach in this situation, it would require it to build on the principle of protection and the principles of respect and confidence building. The following delegations took the floor this afternoon: Italy, Japan, Canada, Peru, Germany, Chile, Portugal, Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, India, Syria, Spain (on behalf of the European Union), Cuba, China and France. Action on Resolution on the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights In a resolution (E/CN.4/2002/L.116) on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, adopted by a roll-call vote of 33 in favour and 1 opposed, with 19 abstentions, the Commission deplored the denial by Israel of the visit of the team headed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in defiance of Commission resolution 2002/1 and decision 2002/103; took note of the report submitted by the High Commissioner (E/CN.4/2002/184) providing details of reports of the gross widespread and flagrant violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people and the utter disregard for international humanitarian law by the Israeli forces in their operations in the occupied Palestinian territory; expressed deep concern at the grave humanitarian situation of the Palestinian civilian population following the invasion by Israel of Palestinian cities and camps, especially Jenin camp, and condemned the continuing gross, widespread and flagrant violations of human rights of the Palestinian people by the occupying power, Israel; endorsed, in this context, the proposal by the High Commissioner for Human Rights for a comprehensive investigation into the breaches of human rights and international humanitarian law; called upon Israel to ensure full respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, especially the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War; called upon the international community to provide urgent and adequate humanitarian assistance for the reconstruction of the areas in the occupied Palestinian territory destroyed by Israeli military operations; and decided to continue its consideration of this question in the light of further developments in the occupied territory. The result of the vote was as follows: In favour: Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain, Brazil, Burundi, Chile, China, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Zambia. Against: Guatemala, Abstentions: Austria, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Uruguay. ANDREA NEGROTTO CAMBIASO (Italy) said his country had voted in favour of the resolution on the mission of the High Commissioner and totally endorsed the report of the High Commissioner which called for an end to the unbearable suffering of the Palestinian people, as well as calling for accountability on both sides for the tragic events in the region. No mention had been made of terrorism in the resolution, nor had the need for both sides to be accountable been mentioned. Italy would therefore abstain in the vote on the draft resolution while wholeheartedly wishing the High Commissioner success in the difficult mission ahead. KOICHI HARAGUCHI (Japan) said that the Government of Japan was gravely concerned about the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. Japan attached great importance to the efforts of the international community to put an end to the spiral of violence. While the Government of Japan was sympathetic to the general thrust of the resolution, it felt that several paragraphs were not balanced. Japan said it would abstain. MARIE GERVAIS-VIDRICAIRE (Canada) said her country was concerned about the situation in the Middle East; the parties in the conflict should be encouraged to come back to the negotiating table; the use of inflammatory words in the text was not useful; and for that reason Canada would vote against the resolution. JORGE VOTO-BERNALES (Peru) said his country agreed with the High Commissioner on the need to protect human rights in the region and deplored that the High Commissioner had not had access to the region. However, Peru did not concur with all the provisions in the draft resolution, particularly the unbalanced nature of some provisions. Both sides needed to be accountable. Peru supported an exhaustive investigation of human rights violations as proposed to the Commission by the High Commissioner and regretted that operative paragraph 4 failed to capture the full mandate of the High Commissioner. WALTER LEWALTER (Germany) said that his country supported the decision adopted on 5 April. Germany welcomed the report of the High Commissioner and was still examining it. Even a first reading, convinced Germany that the High Commissioner had tried to present the situation in a balanced way. This balance was absent in the resolution. While sharing in the concern about the Middle East and the violence there, Germany would abstain on resolution L.116. JUAN ENRIQUE VEGA (Chile) said that his delegation would vote in favour of the resolution. ALVARO MENDOCA E MOURA (Portugal) said that from a procedural and a substantive view, the draft was a consequence of previous resolutions. There needed to be accountability on both sides and there was an urgent need for a comprehensive investigation, and draft L.116, particularly operative paragraph 4, had seemed to endorse this. In the past Portugal had supported resolutions which sought to eliminate impunity, and Portugal had been ready to vote in favour of the draft. However, given the discussions this morning, Portugal would have to abstain on the vote on the draft resolution before the Commission. Portugal stressed that there needed to be accountability on both sides GUSTAVO ALBIN (Mexico) said that it was disturbed at the humanitarian crisis in the occupied territories. Mexico agreed with the report of the High Commissioner that argued that peace could be achieved only through respect for human rights and international law. All parties should face up to their responsibilities and make sure that violations of the human rights of both Palestinians and Israelis were prevented. Mexico supported the proposal to carry out an investigation on violations of human rights and humanitarian law with the full cooperation of both parties. It was in this context that Mexico would vote in favour of L.116 CARLOS PEREZ DEL CASTILLO (Uruguay) said his delegation would abstain because of the inflexibility of the co-sponsors of the resolution. The co-sponsors did not change the ambiguity of the resolution so that everybody would have voted in favour of it. JOSE VALENCIA (Ecuador) said his country acted in full defense of human rights and it believed that one needed to consider all human rights violations. Ecuador supported the High Commissioner's objective approach and had every confidence that action would be taken and it would vote in favour of the draft resolution. However, it had been noted that the words "in the context" were manifestly ambiguous. It was stressed that all human rights violations, particularly those against civilians, needed to be looked into. EUI-YONG CHUNG (the Republic of Korea) said that it had voted in favour of resolution 2002/1 and was sympathetic to the deep concern expressed by the co-sponsors of L.116. It was with great regret that the Government decided to abstain because the draft resolution did not call for accountability from all sides. However, the Republic of Korea would continue to support an investigation of human rights violations. AUDREY GLOVER (the United Kingdom) said her delegation was unable to support the draft because it was not balanced, however, it would abstain. The United Kingdom supported the Secretary-General's inquiry mission to the region. The United Kingdom reiterated its call for an Israeli withdrawal from the areas it recently occupied and the cessation of hostilities. GEORG MAUTNER-MARKHOF (Austria) said his country had abstained on the resolution because of difficulties with some of its provisions which lacked balance. It was stressed that there were clear merits to an investigation by the High Commissioner. Such an investigation must be impartial and comprehensive and unfortunately this was not made clear enough in the resolution. HORACIO SOLARI (Argentina) said his country condemned terrorism in all its forms. For this reason, it would have liked to see this reflected in L.116. Regrettably this was not the case. Argentina would have also liked to see better language used in operative paragraphs three and four. Nevertheless in view of the scale of the violations, Argentina would vote in favour. JEAN-MARIE NOIRFALISSE (Belgium) said his delegation had regrettably abstained from the vote. The resolution had omitted mentioning the fight against impunity and other important aspects. SHARAT SABHARWAL (India) said his delegation's vote was in recognition of the situation in the region. The situation had been characterized by an increase in the loss of life and a sharp increase in human rights violations. India did not believe in acts of terror, and believed that the greatest need of the hour was moderation paving the way for a return to the negotiation table. It was hoped that the Commission would keep this in mind when taking further action on this issue. TOUFIK SALLOUM (Syria) thanked all those who had voted in favour of the resolution. The resolution reaffirmed the need to investigate the inhuman war crimes committed against the Palestinian people by the Israeli official and unofficial forces. Syria said that it did not understand why some countries considered the resolution unbalanced. The suffering of all was due to the Israeli occupation. Action on Measures on the Organization of the Work of the Session In a measure (E/CN.4/2002/L.93) on the enhancement of the effectiveness of the working methods of the Commission, adopted with 36 in favour and 17 abstentions, with none opposed, the Commission decided to initiate during its forthcoming fifty-ninth session, under present agenda item 20, an urgent and thorough review of the issue of "enhancement of the effectiveness of the working methods of the Commission on Human Rights", in particular, of those matters included in the non- exhaustive annex to this resolution; called upon the regional groups recognized in the Commission to take the steps they may consider appropriate to initiate, as soon as possible, the analysis of the matters included in the non-exhaustive annex; requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to solicit ideas and proposals on enhancing the effectiveness of the working methods of the Commission from Governments, regional groups and organizations and other participants at the Commission, with a view to submit a comprehensive compilation of said views to the Commission by 31 December, 2002; and requested the Expanded Bureau of its upcoming session to submit, at the initial stage of the fifty-ninth session, proposals on how to proceed to consider this question in 2003 under agenda item 20. The result of the vote was as follows: In favour: Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Zambia. Against: None Abstentions: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. DEBORAH CHATSIS (Canada) said that her delegation shared the concerns of other delegations with regards to the work of the Commission. It was a matter of principle to Canada that a resolution relating to the work of the Commission should be adopted by consensus. However, Canada would ask for a roll-call vote on the draft. JOAQUIN PEREZ-VILLANUEVA Y TOVAR (Spain), speaking of behalf of the European Union, said this was a matter of greatest importance and decisions needed to be approved by consensus. In the draft resolutions there were provisions that had not been explored enough. The European Union would therefore abstain on the vote on this draft. MIGUEL ALFONSO MARTINEZ (Cuba) said that such an initiative should be taken by consensus. Regrettably, it was impossible to reach a consensus and it was hoped that this would not occur again next year. In a measure on the inter-sessional activities of the Bureau, adopted by a roll-call vote of 41 in favour and 12 abstentions, with none opposed, the Commission noted the serious difficulties posed by the discontinuation of evening and night meetings during the fifty-eighth session and observed that it had made it extremely difficult for the Commission to devote sufficient time to an appropriate consideration of several of its agenda items; and authorized the Bureau, working together with the regional coordinators, after the conclusion of the session and in full consultation with all regional groups, to consider steps which could be recommended to the expanded Bureau of the fifty-ninth session regarding organization of work. The result of the vote was as follows: In favour: Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay and Zambia. Against: None Abstentions: Algeria, China, Cuba, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Uganda, Venezuela and Viet Nam RODOLFO REYES RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said his delegation did not accept the views expressed and felt that consultations should have been held at the regional level. Although the Bureau had the mandate to take decisions on inter-sessional activities of the Bureau, the proposal presented by the Bureau in the form of a decision would create a precedent. Cuba would call for a roll-call vote and would abstain from voting. JOAQUIN PEREZ-VILLANUEVA Y TOVAR (Spain) said that is supported the statement by the Bureau on the work of the Commission and stressed the need to respect the role of the Chairman. It was important that there be a consensus on this point. In a measure on additional meetings for the fifty-ninth session of the Commission, adopted without a vote, the Commission decided to request the Economic and Social Council to authorize 14 fully serviced additional meetings; and requested the Chairman of the fifty-ninth session to make every effort to carry out the work of the session within the times normally allotted, so that the additional meetings would be used only if absolutely necessary. In a measure on statements by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), adopted without a vote, the Commission decided, in view of the time constraints and the emergency measures applied during its fifty-eighth session that resulted, among other things, in numerous non-governmental organizations being unable to make statements under a number of agenda items despite having been inscribed on the list of speakers, that the full text of those statements would be issued, on an exceptional basis, in the language in which they were prepared, as documents of the fifty-eighth session of the Commission. In a measure on the electronic voting system, adopted without a vote, the Commission decided to call upon the Secretary-General to continue making the system available at future sessions of the Commission, including special sessions. RODOLFO REYES RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said that there should be no change to the rules of procedure. It would be appreciated if the Secretariat could provide a clarification as to how the procedure was arrived at. It was necessary to be prudent when it came to voting, to ensure transparency. TOUFIK SALLOUM (Syria) said that with regard to the decision on the statements by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), it should be noted that they should not exceed the time allocated to them; however, some NGOs used to circulate written statements exceeding their speaking time. This situation should be reflected in the decision. Chairperson's Statement on the Situation of Human Rights in Colombia In a Chairperson's statement on the human rights situation in Colombia, adopted without a vote, the Commission took note of the progress in the dialogue between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Colombia and the Government, and urged the Government to further strengthen its cooperation with the Office to realize the full potential of its mandate; firmly supported the extension of the mandate of the permanent Office in Bogota, as it still believed that this office played a vital role in the work against ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Colombia; called upon the Government of Colombia to implement the recommendations of all Special Rapporteurs and the thematic Working Groups, and to continue to cooperate with them; strongly believed that a negotiated political solution was necessary in order to end the conflict; strongly condemned all threats, attacks, kidnappings and assassinations of candidates in legislative and presidential elections as well as of other persons who carried out peaceful political activities, by paramilitary or guerrilla groups; expressed its deep concern regarding the grave and persistent breaches of international humanitarian law, committed by all the parties in the conflict, mainly by paramilitary and guerrilla groups; strongly condemned the persistence of impunity in Colombia especially with regard to violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law; took note of improvements in the human rights performance of the Armed Forces but remained concerned at continued reports of human rights violations attributed to the Armed and Security Forces, and deplored "momentary captures" or "government arrests" carried out by Security Forces and the military; and condemned all breaches of international humanitarian law committed by guerrilla groups and urged all the guerrilla groups, especially the FARC to comply with international humanitarian law and to respect the national authorities, the legitimate exercise of the population's human rights and their access to the mechanism and resources that guaranteed them. The Commission urged the Government to design and implement the national Action Plan that was based on the fight against paramilitarism and impunity, giving attention to forcefully displaced persons, women and children, as well as the protection of the most vulnerable groups of the population; deplored that defenders of human rights, trade union leaders and dignitaries of the church suffered attacks against their life, physical integrity and safety and freedom of movement; asked the Government to reform the Penitentiary Code and to adopt all necessary measures to overcome the shortcomings of the administration of justice and to end corruption in the penitentiary system; firmly condemned the recruitment of a large number of children into paramilitary and guerrilla groups; urged the Government to continue its efforts to address, on the basis of the principle of shared responsibility and with respect for human rights and the environment, the problem of the illegal cultivation of drugs and the scourge of drug trafficking; requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit to it at its next session a detailed report containing an analysis by her Office of the situation of human rights in Colombia. SHEN YONGXIANG (China) said that the statement had not been discussed in the Asian Group. This was abnormal and China hoped that it would not happen again. Action on Resolution on the Rights of the Child In a resolution E/CN.4/2002/L.68/Rev.1) on the rights of the child, adopted without a vote, the Commission urged once again the States that had not yet done so to sign and ratify or to accede to the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a matter of priority; urged the States that had not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; called upon States parties to implement the Convention fully and to ensure that the rights set forth in the Convention were respected without discrimination of any kind; requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations mechanisms, all relevant organs of the United Nations system, in particular Special Representatives, Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups, regularly and systematically to include a child rights perspective in the fulfilment of their mandates; reaffirmed the importance of ensuring adequate and systematic training in the rights of the child for law enforcement and other professions whose work had an impact on children; called upon all States to put an end to impunity, where applicable, for all crimes, including where children were victims; called upon all States to intensify efforts to ensure the registration of all children, immediately after birth, and to undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identify, including nationality, name and family relations; called upon all States and the international community to cooperate, support and participate in the global efforts for poverty eradication at the global, regional and country levels, recognizing that strengthened availability and allocation of resources were required at all of these levels, in order to ensure that the development and poverty reduction goals, as set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, were realized and to promote the enjoyment of the rights of the child; and called upon all States to take all appropriate measures to develop sustainable health systems and social services and to ensure access to such systems and services without discrimination. The Commission also called upon States to recognize the right to education on the basis of equal opportunity by making primary education free and compulsory to all, and ensuring that all children, including girls, children in need of special protection, children with disabilities, indigenous children and children belonging to minorities, had access without discrimination to education of good quality; called on States to take appropriate measure to prevent racism and discriminatory and xenophobic attitudes and behaviour through education; called upon all States to take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent and protect children from all forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence, including violence occurring in the family, in public or private institutions, in the community in general, or perpetrated or tolerated by private individuals, juridical persons or the States; noted with concern the large number of children, particularly girls, among the victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and stressed the need to incorporate special measures, in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child and respect for his or her views, in programmes to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; called upon States to take all necessary measures, including legal reforms where appropriate, to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by girls of all human rights and fundamental freedoms; called on States to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and all forms of violence, harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation, the root causes of son preference, marriages without free and full consent of the intending spouses and early marriages; called upon States to take necessary measures to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by children with disabilities; and called upon all States to ensure, for migrant children, the enjoyment of human rights as well as unrestricted access to healthcare, social services and education. The Commission also called upon all States to prevent arbitrary and summary executions, torture, and all kinds of violence against and exploitation of children working and/or living on the street; called on all States to protect refugee children, unaccompanied children seeking asylum and internally displaced children; called upon all States to translate into concrete action their commitment to the progressive and effective elimination of child labour; called upon Governments of all States, in particular States in which the death penalty had not been abolished, to comply with their obligations as assumed under relevant provisions of international human rights instruments; called upon all States to increase cooperation at all levels to prevent and dismantle networks trafficking in children and to criminalize and effectively penalize all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, including within the family or for commercial purposes; called upon all States to end the recruitment of children and their use in armed conflicts in violation of international law; called upon all States and other parties to armed conflicts to respect fully international humanitarian law; recommended that whenever sanctions were imposed in the context of armed conflict, their impact on children be assessed and monitored, and to the extension that there were humanitarian exemptions, that they be child-focused; encouraged States to cooperate, including through bilateral and multilateral technical cooperation and financial assistance, in the implementation of their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and decided to request the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its fifty-ninth session a report on the rights of the child. JOAQUIN PEREZ-VILLANUEVA Y TOVAR (Spain), speaking on behalf of the European Union (EU), said that the EU regretted that the draft L.68/Rev.1 did not address certain health related issues, which were a priority to the EU. In particular, the issue of sexual and reproductive health care services remained of the utmost importance to the EU. The EU found it difficult to understand why certain delegations resisted the use of previously agreed language in this issue, including language from the Cairo and Beijing Plus 5 Conferences. Closing Statement by the Chairperson of the Commission KRZYSZTOF JAKUBOWSKI, Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, said that the Commission was one of the most important organs of the United Nations, and the end of the session was a solemn moment for all. Everyone had in mind the Commission's historic vision of an International Bill of Human Rights respected and applied in all parts of the world; the Commission's historic emphasis on the importance of measures of implementation; and the tragedy of gross violations of human rights still taking place in many parts of the world. Vision, implementation and protection must be on the minds of all at a moment like this. The Chairperson made a direct appeal to the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to the rapporteurs and to representatives of national institutions to join the Commission in a process of reflection as to how to make sure that these three groups of participants could contribute to the work of the Commission meaningfully and effectively. Everyone continued to reaffirm the validity of the human rights provisions of the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to the principal international human rights conventions. Where we started to see nuances was when the Commission came to issues such as the meaning of democracy, the impact of underdevelopment on the prospects of human rights, how the principles of international human rights norms related to cultures and traditions and how to implement the principle of equality and non-discrimination, and how to carry on a dialogue among the Members on the centrality of human rights in international relations. The Chairperson said that the Commission needed to remember that it was precisely the role of the treaty bodies to help States strengthen national implementation of international human rights norms. The Commission needed to think more of its relationship with the human rights treaty bodies. The protection of human rights in conflict situations was something that the Commission had to grapple with more and more. The Commission could draw more upon its own mechanisms. The Commission also needed to think carefully about how it approached the issue of country situations on the basis of principle, tact and in a constructive spirit. The Commission needed to recognize that there was a growing feeling on the part of developing countries, that there was now a North South dimension to this issue, with countries of the South on the defensive. If the Commission were to maintain a constructive approach in this situation, it would require it to build on the principle of protection and the principles of respect and confidence building.
Colombia, and a resolution on the Rights of the Child at the last meeting of its fifty-eighth session.