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NATIONS UNIES UNITED NAIIONS -
SER V-ICE- bE- L tNFO-RMA TION OFFICE DES A TIONS UN!E A dE TE YE -
INFORMA TION SER VICE - - - UNITED NA TIONS OFFICE A T GENEVA
- - Press Release HR/959 -
- - - - 4 September 1980 -
- HtThLA1'T RIGHTS SUB—C0iI tISSI0IT STARTS CONSIDE TI0N OF - -
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SCI -TTIFIC fIND TECHMOLOGICAL DEVEL0PMJ TTS
The Sub—Commission on Prevention of Discrimination audi Protection of
Minorities started. consideration at its extended. afternoon meeting on
Thursday, .4 Septemb its bon ièTh ation of its agenda 1t m 9: Huinan rights
and scientif ic.a technological deve1opments
- The debate- of the Sub—Commission was based on a report by the - -
Secretary—General (E/CH 4/Sub 2/446) on medica1 measures - that may be properl/
employed in the ±reatment of ersons d tained on the g.ouncls of. mental
il1—health and a “body of princi les for the protection of- persons suffering
from mental disorder” (documont /C 4/Sub 0 2/LiGO/3l) which was submitted. in a
writ-ten statemen-t of the International Association of Penal Law and. the -
International:. Commission of Jurists 0 The General Assembly had. requested. that
this subject ho considered. in the light of the Decl :.:a± ion on the Use of
Scientific and. Technological Progress in the Interests of Peace and for the
Benefit of Mankind.. The Sub—Commission had decided. earlier to consider
formulating guidelines -i medical measures and the : roc dures for determining -
whether adiecrua-te grounds existed. for detaining persons suffering -from mental -
ill—health and applying such medical measures 0 - -
The Sub—Commission, earlier in the afternoon, had. concluded. its three
clay debate on its agenda itm 5: ( est ion of the violation o.f human rights
and fundamental freedoms-, iiic1udin policies of ráci l discrimination and
segregation a 'c 1 of artheia rith particulal eferc2ce to co1o iia1 and other
dependent countries and territories ”- The Sub—Commission had heard statements-
b r non—governmenda]. organizations and. by governmenial observers 0 -
It also concluded. its d&ate on its agenda item 7: “G iestion of the -
human rig i-ts -of persons subjected to any forim of detention or imprisonmen ”
after having decided to defer its debate on the field. 0 f competence of the
Sub—Commission until such time as the -schedule of ori-: of the Sub—Commission
would allow an exchanee of vie-we - on -i his to ic 0 Por this reason the members
d cid.ed. no-G to: consider at this session the. projecu o uelegrams which had been
proposed to be sent to Governments by the Sub—Commission and to introduce the
ideas which were to be reflected in these cables into cb aft resolutions which
will he received by the Sub—Commission 0 -
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Les communiqués sont destinés a linformation; us ne constituent pas des documents officiels
For use of information media; not an official record
BPO003 98
Press Release HR/959
page 2
Th next m eting of the Sub—Commission is to be held, on Friday,
5 September, at 11:00 a .m. when the Sub—Commission is scheduled. to continue
consideration of its agenda item 9: Hurnan rights and scientific and
technological development ‘ .
Stat em violations of huma ri s
Blaise ROBEL ( ‘.Iorld. Confederation of Labour ) expressed deep concern about
the human rights situation in Bolivia where rights of workers had. been totally
abolished, and all Bolivian trade unions had been dissolved. The World,
Confederation of Labour had. addressed. a telegram to the Secretary—General of the
United. Nations re juesting him to exercise his good offices with a view of saving
human lives in Boli via and of putting on end. to torture, disappearances and
repression. The World Confederation of Labour had also filed a complaint with
the International Labour 0rg nisation.. against violations of freedoms and
trade union rights in Bolivia asking the Director—General of the International
Labour 0rgsni ation to send urgently a minsion ‘to visit ‘Bolivia iii 'orcler to
look into the cruestion of violations of human rights. The World. Confederation
of Labour also asked. the Sub—Commission to send. a committee of enquiry to
Bolivia in order ‘to examine allegations of human ri iits violations.
Homer A JACK ( World, Conference _ on, Rd i i anc 1 Peac ) spoke about
genocide in Kampuchea, which had been practiced from 1975 ‘to 1978. The
genocide had ceased. with ‘the ouster of the Pol Pot regime. However, the
Kampuchean people still suffered from violations of human rights, including
widespread, famine. another violation of human rights was ‘the denial of the
right to self—determination. The Khmer people, in whose country conditions of war
were continuing,, also had. not been able to enjoy for more than a decade the
right to life 0 .
The representative of the World Conference on Religion and, Peace requested
that the human rights of the Khmer people should. be kept under, review 0 He ho 'oed.
that one or more members of ‘the Sub—Commission would ‘cc enabled to examine the
human rights situation of the Khmer people.
Spee ,d r humanitarian help was needed from many United Nations aoencies,
the International Committee of the Red Cross and. bilaterally 0 The
Secretary—General should be recruestod to continue his good offices to find
urgently ‘least bac1 iolitical solutions.
Marco I PPENBEP,G ?, drew the at ent ion of
the members of ‘the Sub—Commission to ‘the violation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms experienced, by ‘the Baka ± ‘community of Iran, This community was a
religious minority with over 300,000 members 0 It was the largest religious
minority in Iron. The Baha'is wore the most fre uentiy persecuted group in
Iran. The plight of the Baha i community in Iran had been described in detail
in a report published on 12 September 1979 by the Human Rights Commission of the
Federa't ion of' Protestant Churches in Switzerland. ‘On 21 August 1980 all nine
members oi ‘th,e I”!ational Administrative Council of ‘the I3aha'is of Iran had. been”
accused. of being involved in subversive activities ‘to overthrow the Iranian
Gove nmen't. Such accusations were without any founda't ion. The representative of
the Baiia' i International Community appealed to ‘the Sub—Commission to take action
to protect the Baha is in Iran and to prevent the elimination of the Baha'i
religious minority in Iran.
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Press Release HR/959
page 3
Ale jandro ARTUCIO ( Intern iona1 rnrnission.of Ji. rists) spoke about the
human rights situations in Guatemala, El Salvador nd Bolivia 0 Some positive
advaiices had beeii made in Peru and Ecuador, In Nicara a the dictatorship had
‘oeen toppled., and Brazil had made remarkable achievements in the human rights
field 0
Th Guatemala torture, assassinations and dilsappearances of persons
had occurred. The violations 0 f human rights had reached such an extreme
proportion that urgent action by the internatIonal community was needed,
Political assassinations hap ened. at the rate Of 20 murders a day.
In El Salvador a real massacre was taking place. The junta,which had•
seized power in October 1979, had continued the policy of repression of the
previous regimes. In 1980 over 2,000 political murders had been committed. The
authorities clearly Liad respors biliçr for some of those political assa sinatione.
In Bolivia the recent cou had been more violent than previous coups. The
authorities of Bolivia were perpetratin atrocities ‘s had already been reporbod
to the Sub Commission by representatives of other non—governmental organizations.
A Special flapporteur of the Sub—Commission should be appointed for these
grave human rights situations and. the Sub—Commission should appoint
investigation committees to e:amine such situations,
Patrick H0ITTG0M Y ( Anti S layer pciet ) e pr eased grave coi cern at
recent events in the Central American Republics of 1l and Guatemala,
and referred, in particular, to widles read atrocities committed this year against
the peasant and indigenous pop lat ions of these countries.
The Anti Sla v-ery Society appealed to the Sub—Commission to recommend to
the Commission on Human Rights that the Governments of Guatemala and of El
Salvador he invited to welcome a United Nations investigation committee to study
the situations of human rights and. fundamentdl freedoms in those countries.
Mar ilpi 1L INGARTN' SpOke about
the intimidation of human rights advocates and mentioned, in this connection,
occurrencies o.f intimidation in Pakistan, South ICorea, Bolivia, the
Soviet Union and Chile, She e : ressed the hopc that the Sub—Commission would bear
in mind the need for special protective measures to aran±ee the security of
humeri rights advocates in accordance with international law and the resolutions of
the General Assembly end the Commission on Human Rights.
S t ement j rfovernmentalobservers
F, ORTIZ—1tODRIGUEZ (Cuba) referred to the statement by the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees in which he had. said that the persons who had
recently left Cuba were not political refugees. The departure of these Cubans
was due to re sons •that were connected. with the struggle for deveLopment of his
countrir,
Mostafa DABIRI (Iran) in response to the allegations raised about the
violations of human rights concerning a minority grouc in Iran, said that the
subject of minority oroups wo 13 cc specifical1 ceal w'th by he Sub —Commiss o -i
under other agenda items, His delegation would reserve the right to reply tb the
allegations raised when the Sub—Comii:.ssion considered. the relevant agenda item,
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Press Re1eas Hfl/959
page4
The Sub—Commission decided t clef er its discussion until such later date
when the checlule of wo k would ‘Dermit to find time for this debate.
The àem rs a reecl to take up stJ jects, which they wished. earlier to
deal with ini -ueiegrams to. be sent to. o ernments by the Su'o—CQmmission., in
resolutions in which the same thoughts could he expressed 0 This subject had
been raised. in connection with agenda item 7: Question of the hun an rights of
persons subjected to any form of detention or imprisonment.'
H i 1 aaidsci n±ific and. cchno1o iba1develoumen±
( United Nations Division of_ anPLi 1t ) introduced item 9
The General Assembly had. requested that, in the consideration, of ‘the. question of
scientific ai d technological progress and human rights, special attention should
be given t the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on the Use
of Scientifi and ‘Technôlogical Pro ress in thc. Interests of Peace and for the
Benefit of i .'Iankind. adopted. by the General .ssembly in resolution 3384 ( CtX)
of 10 November 1975. ‘ .
Under General Assembly resolution 33/53 of 14 December 1978 the
Sub—Commission had been requested to u .nderta ze as a matter of priority'the study
of “the question of the protection of ‘hoae “detained. on the grounds of mental
ill health”. The Sub—Commission, uoon its request, had. before it a ‘eport
(E/CN .4/Sub. /446) by the Secretary —General on “medical measures that may be
properly employed in the treatment of persons detained on the grounds of mental
il1—hea1th. ” The report had been rec ested by. the Sub—Commission with a view
to the formulation of uidelines regarding such medical measures and the
procedures for determining whether ‘adequate grounds existed for detaining such
persons and . pp1ying subh medical measures.
Hans T C Lfl' (International Corar .ssion of Jurists ) said that a draft
cod o r e i o cctio o persons s”$cring from mental disorder
was before the Sub—Commission in clocumcnt Sub. 2/EGO/Cl which had been subthittecl
by the Liternatioi al ‘Association of Penal Law and the International Commission
Oi Juri, .
This draft body of principles had. boen prepared by a Committee of
]Thcperts with experienoe in judicial, legal, psychiatric and social work in
Western, East European and. African countries. The Committee had met from
29 to 31 May ;1930 in Siracusa, Sicily. The meetinf had been organized by and.
held at the premises of the I:: ternational Institute of Higher Studies in
Criminal Sciences, ‘ . .
The Committee of Euperts had had a genuinely universal composition. For
this reason the body of principi' s might have souie compromise character, The
draft was of a preliminary nature.
The International Institute of Higher Studies ‘in Criminal Scienöes was
planning' another larger meet j C in December 1930 to discuss the dxaft further
in the light ‘of the Sub—Cornniission's comments.
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