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Press releases Commission on Human Rights

HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS URGES PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT IN KOSOVO

30 April 1999


MORNING
HR/CN/99/65
30 April 1999


Commission on Human Rights Adopts Resolution on Defamation
of Religions, Concludes Fifty-Fifth Session


High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson this morning addressed the concluding meeting of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on Human Rights, urging a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Kosovo which had victimized innocent people on all sides, Serbs as well as Kosovars and other nationalities.

Mrs. Robinson warned that unless diplomacy succeeded, Kosovo would be thoroughly cleansed of Albanians while Serbs would be bombed without end. The High Commissioner called for an immediate end to ethnic cleansing and urged the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to declare unequivocally that every refugee and displaced person will be entitled to return to his or her home in safety. At the same time, those responsible for the deliberate ethnic cleansing that had gone on in Kosovo must be brought to justice, she stressed.

Gerald Walzer, Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the stream of refugees crossing from Kosovo continued unabated at an alarming rate. There was now a total of about 600,000 Kosovar refugees in the immediate region without counting those who had found refuge further afield. This represented a staggering proportion of the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo. UNCHR deplored the gross and systematic violation of human rights that had led to the mass displacement of civilians from Kosovo. Human rights violations were at the core of this refugee crisis.

Also this morning, the Commission adopted by consensus a resolution on the defamation of religions. In this resolution, the Commission reaffirmed that discrimination against human beings on the grounds of religion or belief constituted an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. It expressed deep concern at negative stereotyping of religions and deep concern that Islam was frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and with terrorism.

According to the resolution, the Commission called on all Governments to take all appropriate measures to counter intolerance and related violence based on religion or belief, including practices of discrimination against women and including desecration of religious sites. The Commission also urged all States to take all appropriate measures to combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance, and acts of violence, intimidations and coercion motivated by religious intolerance.

Representatives of India, Pakistan, Guatemala, Chile and Germany addressed the Commission on the resolution.

For a roundup of the work of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on Human Rights, which includes the concluding statements by Mrs. Robinson and Commission Chairperson Anne Anderson, please see HR/CN/99/66.

Statements on Kosovo

MARY ROBINSON, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the internal conflict in Kosovo had resulted in the disproportionate use of force on the part of the Yugoslav authorities which caused widespread loss of life and displacement of the population. While a group of countries sought to broker a peace agreement, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was rejecting it. She noted that the Commission had condemned the gross violations of human rights taking place in Kosovo and had called for the deployment of human rights monitors.

Mrs. Robinson said the indisputable facts of the matter included, among others, that children, women and the elderly had been mistreated in the most callous manner; that there had been deliberate looting and destruction of the homes, property and belongings of the Kosovar Albanians; that there had been a pattern of ethnic cleansing carried out with cold-blooded determination; and that large numbers of civilians had incontestably been killed in the bombing by the North Atlantic Organization Treaty of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Under the principle of justice, one thing must surely be agreed upon: that those responsible for the deliberate ethnic cleansing that had gone on in Kosovo must be brought to justice, said Mrs. Robinson. The right of the refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes and to be compensated for the losses and damages they had suffered must be vindicated.

Mrs. Robinson said since the conflict had regrettably victimized innocent people on all sides, Serbs as well as Kosovars and other nationalities, it was all the more crucial and pressing that diplomacy and peacemaking be stepped up to bring about a peaceful resolution. Unless diplomacy succeeded, Kosovo would be thoroughly cleansed of Albanians while Serbs would be bombed without end. The High Commissioner called for an immediate end to ethnic cleansing and urged the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to declare unequivocally that every refugee and displaced person will be entitled to return to his or her home in safety.

GERALD WALZER, Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the situation in Kosovo continued to evolve rapidly. The stream of refugees crossing from the province of Kosovo into the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania continued unabated at an alarming rate. There were now 371,000 refuges in Albania, 155,000 in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and 63,000 displaced people from Kosovo in the Republic of Montenegro. These came to a total of about 600,000 refugees in the immediate region without counting those who had found refuge further afield. This meant that a staggering proportion of the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo had been forced to leave their land and homes.

Having just returned from a week in Albania, Mr. Walzer spoke of the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis and the daunting tasks that confronted all. The essential point was that refugees fleeing Kosovo had to be given asylum. The right of refugees to seek and enjoy asylum in places of complete safety outside the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia must be the cornerstone of the response to this humanitarian tragedy. He commended the generosity of the neighbouring States that had already given asylum to thousands of refugees and urged them to continue to keep their borders open to those forced to flee. UNHCR recognized the serious implications and the destabilising effect that the conflict in Kosovo had on neighbouring States hosting large refugee populations. Overcrowding, poor sanitation and lack of basic facilities were causing additional suffering to people who had already undergone terrible experiences.

Mr. Walzer said another important issue was that of refugee registration. Many had been stripped of their documents, or had lost them. In collaboration with the International Organization for Migration and other key partners, UNCHR had embarked on a process of registration and documentation of all refugees. This was a crucial task for family tracing. It also reduced the risk of statelessness and prepared the way for the eventual return of refugees to their homes. The complex issue of humanitarian evacuations and relocating refugees temporarily outside the immediate region was an essential tool through which the burden of this refugee crisis could be shared - particularly to alleviate the exceptional circumstances faced by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. UNCHR therefore appreciated the generosity of those States participating in the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme.

In conclusion, Mr. Walzer said UNHCR had developed continency plans to allow it to effectively respond to further influxes from Kosovo. These plans were to address the very hard protection and assistance challenges that were being faced. In this complex situation, such challenges ranged from assisting and protecting persons in host families; co-ordinating family reunification programmes for the significant numbers of separated minors; and wider protection issues, including those related to non-refoulement and camp security. UNHCR was working closely with governments, United Nations agencies and others in this endeavour. UNCHR deplored the gross and systematic violation of human rights that had led to the mass displacement of civilians from Kosovo, both internally and across frontiers. Human rights violations were at the core of this refugee crisis -- one of the larges and most catastrophic that Europe had seen since the end of World War II.

Action on draft resolution L.40 Rev.1

The Commission adopted by consensus (E/CN.4/1999/L.40 Rev.1) on the defamation of religions, in which it reaffirmed that discrimination against human beings on the grounds of religion or belief constituted an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations; reaffirmed the call of the World Conference on Human Rights for all Governments to take all appropriate measures to counter intolerance and related violence based on religion or belief, including practices of discrimination against women and including desecration of religious sites; underlined the importance of creating conditions to foster greater harmony and tolerance within and among societies and conscious of the importance of education in ensuring tolerance of and respect of religion and belief; emphasized that non-governmental organizations, religious bodies and communities had an important role to play in the promotion of tolerance and the protection of freedom of religion or belief; expressed deep concern at negative stereotyping of religions; expressed deep concern that Islam was frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and with terrorism; urged all States to take all appropriate measures to combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance, and acts of violence, intimidations and coercion motivated by religious intolerance; called upon the Special Rapporteurs on religious intolerance and racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to take into account the provisions of this resolution when reporting to the fifty-sixth session of the Commission on Human Rights.

H. K. SINGH (India) said that it would have preferred to let matters rest, but the text of the draft resolution, although it marked some improvement, had not been released in time for the Indian delegation to consult, both with the sponsors and with the Indian Government. The new text did not remove all the concerns raised yesterday. The non-transparent process was a matter of concern and was not conducive to reflection upon the issue. India reaffirmed that the premises on which L.40 was based merited further consideration and hoped that the issue would be taken up again at the next session.

MUNIR AKRAM (Pakistan) said that the claim made by the Indian delegation was erroneous since the deliberations upon the draft declaration had been open to all and the text had been made available. The Indian delegation had transmitted a suggestion regarding the text this morning which had been integrated in the text. To therefore say that the Indian delegation had been left outside the proceedings was fallacious, as was the suggestion that the proceedings had been rushed through.

LUIS PADILLA MENENDEZ (Guatemala) said his country had studied L.40 Rev.1 which was the result of the discussions between Germany and Pakistan and fully agreed with the revision. Guatemala agreed with the idea of tolerance for religions. Guatemala also agreed with statements by other delegations that the negative stereotyping of religions or religious extremism and political extremism too often led to terrorism. It was a problem which was common to all mankind and was adequately handled within other mechanisms of the United Nations. Guatemala could have voted on the three texts and was happy to have helped to synthesize them into the present Rev.1.

FERNANDO LABBE (Chile) said his country was pleased with the result of negotiations between the European Union and the Organization of Islamic Conference. The Ambassador of Sri Lanka, who launched the successful initiative, was congratulated. Chile had a policy of religious tolerance which promoted respect for religious minorities and their rights. Chile had benefited from various migratory flows, some from Islamic countries. This was reflected in various aspects of the language and culture of the country. Chile believed that any form of intolerance, notably defamation, was a dangerous practice. All States of the international community had a contribution to make to international security. Thus, although expressions of religious intolerance did not take place in Chile, it believed that it had a contribution to make at this level. Chile supported the OIC, noted the stereotyping of Islam in the press and the cinema, and considered this unacceptable. Chile wholly and unreservedly supported the consensus text.

WILHELM HOYNCK (Germany), speaking on draft resolution L.40/Rev.1, said there had remained a high degree of uncertainty on whether this was an appropriate manner of handling the issue. Germany called for further discussions on the issues raised by the countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference. All must work together against any intolerance. Germany was happy that consensus was finally reached.

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