UN Human Rights Treaties

Distr. LIMITED E/CN.4/1993/L.61 2 March 1993 Original: ENGLISH COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Forty-ninth session Agenda item 10 QUESTION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF ALL PERSONS SUBJECTED TO ANY FORM OF DETENTION OR IMPRISONMENT Austria, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Greece*, Hungary*, Ireland*, Italy*, Japan, Liechtenstein*, Luxembourg*, Philippines*, Portugal, Sweden* and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: draft resolution 1993/... Staff members of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies in detention The Commission on Human Rights, Recalling General Assembly resolutions 42/219 of 21 December 1987, 43/225 of 21 December 1988, 44/186 of 19 December 1989, and 45/240 of 21 December 1990, in which the Assembly deplored the increase in the number of cases where the functioning, safety and well-being of officials had been adversely affected, including cases of detention in Member States and abduction by armed groups and individuals, and the increasing number of cases in which the lives and well-being of officials had been placed in jeopardy during the exercise of their official functions, __________ * In accordance with rule 69, paragraph 3, of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council. GE.93-11428 (E) E/CN.4/1993/L.61 page 2 Recalling its resolution 1992/26 of 28 February 1992, in which it requested the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to ensure that the human rights and privileges and immunities of United Nations staff members and experts and their families were fully respected, and to submit to the Commission at its forty-ninth session an updated version of the report on the situation of United Nations staff members, experts and their families detained, imprisoned, missing or held in a country against their will, Welcoming resolution 1992/24 of 27 August 1992 of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in which the Sub-Commission, inter alia expressed its appreciation to its Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Mary Concepción Bautista, for the work she had carried out aimed at improving on a long-term basis the protection of personnel of the United Nations system and their families, as well as of experts and consultants, and expressed satisfaction at the recommendations contained in the final report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1992/19), Considering that at a time when the United Nations is undertaking greater responsibilities in various parts of the world, particularly in peace-keeping missions and humanitarian operations in difficult conditions, it is imperative that its staff members be able to perform their duties with the assurance that their human rights, privileges and immunities will be fully respected, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and other international instruments, Gravely concerned that a significant number of United Nations staff members, experts and their families continue to be detained, imprisoned, missing or held in a country against their will, Gravely concerned also that a significant number of United Nations staff members, recruited nationally or internationally, have been killed since January 1992, Noting the need for updated and complete information on the situation of the United Nations staff members, experts and their families detained, imprisoned, missing or held in a country against their will, Convinced that a better coordinated and more detailed reporting system, with a better dialogue between the United Nations and the host country, may contribute to a faster solution of cases, E/CN.4/1993/L.61 page 3 Preoccupied by the inordinate delays which different organizations of the United Nations system face when trying to exercise fully the right of functional protection of their staff members, Greatly appreciating the efforts of the Secretary-General to promote a satisfactory resolution of all cases of this kind, and noting that these efforts have already produced concrete results concerning the security of United Nations staff members, experts and their families, Having examined the updated report of the Secretary-General on detention of international civil servants and their families (E/CN.4/1993/22) and the final report of the Special Rapporteur on the protection of the human rights of United Nations staff members, experts and their families, 1. Takes note with interest of the updated report of the Secretary-General; 2. Expresses its appreciation to the Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities for her final report on the protection of the human rights of United Nations staff members, experts and their families; 3. Requests the Secretary-General to take steps aimed at ensuring the application without delay of all the recommendations contained in the final report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1992/19, chap. III, B); 4. Appeals once again to Member States to respect and to ensure respect for the rights of staff members and others acting under the authority of the United Nations and their families; 5. Requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to ensure that the human rights, privileges and immunities of United Nations staff members, experts and their families are fully respected and to seek redress and compensation of the damage caused to them, as well as their full reintegration, when their human rights, privileges and immunities have been violated; 6. Urges Member States, in accordance with the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (General Assembly resolution 43/173, annex), to provide adequate and prompt information concerning the arrest or detention of United Nations staff members, experts and their families, and to grant the representative of the competent international organization access to them without delay; E/CN.4/1993/L.61 page 4 7. Also urges Member States to allow medical teams to investigate the health of staff members, experts and their families who are being detained in order to provide them with the necessary medical assistance; 8. Calls upon Member States to allow the representative of the competent international organization to attend any hearing concerning United Nations staff members, experts and their families; 9. Requests the existing human rights mechanisms, including the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, to examine as appropriate the cases involving the human rights of staff members of the United Nations system and their families, as well as experts, special rapporteurs and consultants, and to transmit the relevant part of their reports to the Secretary-General for inclusion in his report to the Commission on Human Rights; 10. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its fiftieth session an updated version of the report on the situation of United Nations staff members, experts and their families detained, imprisoned, missing or held in a country against their will, including those cases which have been successfully settled since the submission of the last report, as well as on the implementation of the measures referred to in paragraphs 6 and 7 of the present resolution.