UN Human Rights Treaties

United Nations GENERAL THIRD COMMITTEE 62nd meeting ASSEMBLY heia on Wednesday, 25 November 1981 THIRTY-SIXTH SESSION at 3. p.m. Official Record* New York SUMMARY RECORD of THE 62nd MEETING Chairman: Mr. O"DONOVAN (Ireland) AGENDA ITEM 12: REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AID SOCIAL COUNCIL (continued) AGENDA ITEM i29: INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE DRUG TRAFFIC (continued) AGENDA ITEM 138: NEW INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN ORDER (continued) Distr. GENERAL A/C.3/36/SR.62 3 December 1981 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 2 The meeting was called to order at 4.05 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 12: REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (continued) (A/36/3, 61, 117, 136 and Add.l and Corr.l, 138, 179, 187, 209 and Add.l, 214, 216 and Add.l, 255, 284, 354, 355, 378, 383, 421 and Corr.l, 423, 500, 524, 540, 560, 566, 584, 594, 608, 705; A/C.3/36/3, 7 and 10; A/C.3/36/L.5, L.6, L.55, L.59, L.6.0, L.61, L.62, L.63, L.64, L.66-75, and L.77-82) AGENDA ITEM 129: INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE DRUG TRAFFIC (continued) (A/36/193; A/C.3/36/L.80) AGENDA ITEM 138: NEW INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN ORDER (continued) (A/36/245; A/C.3/36/L.65) 1. Mr. WHITE (united Kingdom) said that the national statement he was about to make supplemented the statement delivered by his delegation at the 60th meeting on behalf of the meager States of the European Community. 2. Human rights were central to the work of the United Nations and representatives shared the responsibility to work together constructively on behalf of the millions of human beings in the outside world whose human rights were being violated or threatened. There had been some progress in the past three years towards the goal of universal achievement of the human rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Hunan Rights, the International Covenant - on Human Rights and other international instruments, but such progress Had been insufficient and uneven. 3. The world had witnessed the downfall of five widely condemned regimes - in Cambodia, Uganda, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Nicaragua -but that had not resulted in all cases in the immediate establishment of an acceptable human-rights system. Even some of the countries that had been ban. to pursue their own development without outside interference had understandably experienced some difficulties in that connexion, but countries making honest efforts to establish a system to protect the human rights of their peoples deserved the fullest international sympathy and support. His delegation warmly welcomed the practical measures taken by the Commission on Human Rights and the Economic and Social Council in response to such efforts. 4. Those gains had unfortunately been offset by losses. Two non-aligned countries - Afghanistan and Cambodia - had been deprived of their right to self-determination, and there had been an appalling increase in the number of refugees throughout the world, partly as a result of those events. Many people still lacked the barest necessities of life through no fault of their own. From various countries came continued reports of torture, summary executions, religious and racial persecution, terrorism, abuse of State power and other flagrant violations of human rights. It must be recognized that the international community had not yet seen the fulfilment of the political aspirations of the vast majority of the South African people, the establishment of independence for Namibia or the settlement of the problems of the middies East. A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 3 (Mr. White, United Kingdom) 5. Differences of view inevitably existed with regard to the respective importance of those problems and the most appropriate and effective ways of solving then, but the overwhelming majority of delegations would no doubt accept the summary he had given as a true picture of the major successes and failures of the past three years in the human—rights field. It was too often forgotten that the shared interest in human rights was far greater than the differences between delegations. Unless human rights were at the centre of the Committee's attention, it was not worthwhile for delegations to attend. 6. la a world of nation-States, national interests were certainly bound to con flit at times. It was the primary task of Governments to protect the political, economic and other interests of those they governed. If a Government saw its legitimate national interests threatened, it was proper for it to react. Nevertheless, human rights could not be confuted within national borders. The story of the Good Samaritan, who had had a strong natural concern for the welfare of another human being and had given him absolute priority, could point a moral for the Third Committee, In his opening statement, the Chairman had rightly described the Committee as the most human Committee and one that dealt with the issues closest to the human heart. The universal nature of its concerns was well illustrated by the word "humanity", a word which meant "Human nature", "kindness", and "mankind as a whole". That triple definition embodied the duty of the Committee, none of whose members could shall to be affected by violations of human rights. It was that community of interest and concern that should direct the Committee's work. 7. The obligations of States and of the international community to uphold human rights were recognized and codified in Articles 55 and 56 of the Charter of the United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other international instruments. 8. Delegations in the Committee represented a wide range of Governments and peoples, and there were inevitably differences of perspective and priority to which the availability or lack of basic material needs in their respective societies would contribute. That did not, however, diminish the universality of the shared objective of the full and universal enjoyment fey all peoples of the human rights set forth in the Universal Declaration, in the International Covenants on Human Rights and elsewhere. 9. The Committee*s discussions too often reflected its differences rather than its shared concerns. Delegations might therefore appear to be divided and working against each other for different objectives rather than united for a common objective. They were sometimes divided into opposing camps in which there were advocates of collective human rights as opposed to individual human rights, or of economic, social and cultural rights as opposed to civil and political rights. Such divisions were damaging and unnecessary. The right to development, on which the discussion of economic, social and cultural rights had recently focused, was an important concept and had because an important symbol of the aspirations of developing countries. If it was to become a useful tool for the promotion of economic, social and other rights, it would be necessary to explore its meaning further. A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 4 (Mr. White, United Kingdom) 10. His delegation had followed with close interest the discussions on the subject in such bodies as the Commission on Human Rights, the Commission's Working Group on the Eight to Development, and the New York seminar on the relations between human rights, peace and development. 11. His delegation had also followed closely the extensive consultations concerning the resolution on the right to development adopted by the Committee under agenda idea 79, and it had welcomed the readiness of the sponsors to seek and accept compromises, even though such compromises had not gone far enough to enable it to vote for the resolution. It hoped that the report of the Working Group of the Commission on Human Rights would provide a basis for further discussions and for a broader measure of agreement on the important concept of the right to development. 12. It was significant and appropriate that the Commission on Human Rights had taken up the subject in conjunction with the item on the International Covenants on Human Rights. The United Kingdom delegation in the Commission had pointed out that the formulation of international standards in general and the evolution of the concept of the right to development in particular were dynamic processes. In order to make progress in that respect, it was necessary to start on the basis of what had already been agreed. 13. The Universal Declaration ana the International Covenants on Human Rights focused on the promotion and protection of the human rights of individuals. Most of their articles were designed to enable the individual to play a full part in the society in which he lived, to enjoy a fair share of its benefits and to protect his interests against abuse. All Governments had a clear obligation to promote the achievement of those rights in their own societies. 14. That was not to deny that international measures might also be needed in some cases to secure the full achievement of certain human rights, or that rights such as the right to self-determination might be expressed and enjoyed through a national or other corporate structure; the objective, however, continued to be the recognition and enhancement of the human rights of the individual. The right to development was such a right. It was. not basically a right to be claimed from one society for the collective benefit of another; the proper beneficiary was the individual, although he might ultimately be able to enjoy such a right only through the development of his society as a whole. 15. All human-rights texts acknowledged that certain conditions had to be established within the social unit and within the international system before the individual could enjoy certain rights in practice. The conditions of article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Eights clearly had not been universally achieved. Many millions of people were unable to enjoy their economic, social or cultural rights or the dignity and free development of personality to which the Universal Declaration referred. The need for development in order to promote human dignity was stressed in the International Development Strategy, the progress report by the Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, and the communiqué of the Commonwealth Heads of Government who had met at Melbourne in October 1981. A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 5 (Mr. White, United Kingdom) 16. Mo one who was short of food or other basic requirements could be said to enjoy dignity. At the same time, neither dignity nor the full enjoyment of human rights could be assured by the provision of those basic requirements alone. A person could he fed but enslaved. The Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission had rightly pointed out that economic progress could contribute to respect for human rights at the national, regional and international levels but was not sufficient in itself. 17. The majority of the human rights set forth in international instruments, such as the rights listed in the first 27 articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, were essentially static in nature. Once they had been achieved, the prairie need was to ensure that they were not eroded. 18. Certain cither rights were essentially progressive in nature and had been recognized as such ever since the Charter and the Universal Declaration had been drafted. The right to development was part of the concept of promotion of social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, to which reference was made in the preaiibles to both those Instruments and of the concept of continuous improvement of living conditions, referred to in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, because of the dynamic nature of the right to development, its demands could never be satisfied to the full. They imposed continuing responsibilities both on national Governments and on the international community. It would be a gross oversimplifications however, to suggest that those responsibilities were only economic. Development was not a purely economic concept, any more than dignity van simply an economic condition. The economic development of a nation-State was of limited value to the majority of its population ; unless it was accompanied by progress in the social and human-rights fields. Development must be seen as a synthesis of rights. 19. That integrated approach to development had now been generally recognized in United Nations forums. In his report on the work of the Organization, the Secretary-General had stated that peace and development were necessary for the full enjoyment of human rights but that human rights were necessary to give peace and development their full meaning. His delegation welcomed the unanimous recommendation by the seminar on the relations between human rights. peace and development that the United nations should give human-rights aspects greater attention when dealing with development. 20. A narrow view of development, in which material criteria were stressed to the exclusion of other criteria, could damage the well-being of those it was designed to help. Developed countries had often made mistakes in seeking to satisfy material needs while neglecting non-material ones. If development, or the exercise of the right to development, was to contribute to human well-being and dignity, it oust not exclude any of the social, cultural, civil, political or economic needs. 21. While poverty and hunger were intolerable, his Government could not accept that their existence was a sufficient excuse for oppression. The seminar on relations between human rights, peace and development had rightly agreed that the absence of peace or of the achievement of development by a people could never exempt a State from its obligations to ensure respect for the human rights of its nationals and of the persons residing in its territory. A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 6 (Mr. White. United Kingdom) 22. His delegation also recognized that poverty could prevent the full achievement of the human rights set forth in the Universal Declaration and the International Covenants on Human Rights and that the international community and national Governments had a role to play in bringing about the conditions in which those rights could be fully exercised. 23. The issues were complex, and there would inevitably be differences of perspective, emphasis and approach, which should be respected and discussed seriously. 24. It was equally important to make sure that such' differences did not obscure the common objective of the universal achievement of all human rights, not prevent the Committee from taking active steps to protect the victims of flagrant violations of human, rights whenever and wherever they occurred. Any approach that brought a© benefit to the victims Bust be avoided. In his report on the work of the Organisation (A/36/1), the Secretary-General had rightly observed that individuals all over the world had looked to the United Nations to act effectively in securing the realization of human rights and in taking measures against the violation of those rights. The United Nations had, however, failed all too often to protect the victims of even the grossest violations. If the United Nations was to be more effective in the human-rights field, it must be seen to be working purposefully and without fear or favour for the achievement of all human rights on a world-wide sealed. 25. The Committee and other United Nations organs were privileged to share in the coaaitment to promote and protect all the human rights established in the Universal Declaration and other instruments. Delegations would be failing in their duty if they allowed their discussions and actions to be dominated by dogma and sectarianism, or if they sought to concentrate their attention on one category of human rights to the exclusion of others. 26. There should be no conflict in the efforts to promote and protect all categories of human rights. His Government was fully committed to seeking to understand and, where possible, to share the concerns of others, to working to reconcile the differences of perspective and approach that would inevitably arise, and to contributing to the further promotion and protection of all human rights without distinction. It was confident that other delegations shared that view, and it looked forward to working effectively with them. 27. Mr. BOEL (Denmark) said that the issue of human rights was one of the central issues of the Committee’s work. Among the many violations of such rights were acts that infringed upon the life, liberty and personal security of the individual. Such acts, which typically took place with the knowledge of the authorities and In contempt of international agreements and standards, were entirely unacceptable and unjustifiable. Typical examples were the torture, summary executions, disappearances and arbitrary detention of individuals because of their belief. It was tragic that such violations were an almost daily occurrence in a number of countries. The question to be considered was what the United Nations could do about the situation. A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 7 (Mr. Bole, Denmark) 28. In the case of El Salvador, the pattern of atrocities, murders, abductions and large-scale disappearances described in the report of the Special Representative of the Commission on Ban lights was shocking. His delegation hoped that draft resolution A/C.3/36/L.62 would have the broadest possible support and that the recommendation to be submitted by the Special Representative to the Commission on human rights would help to bring about a rapid improvement of the situation. 29. According to the universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone had the right to life, liberty and security of person. The right to life itself was the most fundamental human right. His delegation had therefore been deeply disturbed at continuing reports of' arbitrary and summary executions during the past year, which had taken place despite the alarm expressed in General Assembly resolution 35/172. His delegation appealed to all concerned to take the necessary steps to end such practices. 30. A recent and alarming trend reflected in the work of the Commission on Human* Rights was the abhorrent practice of enforced or involuntary disappearances of persons a practice that denied or infringed a wide range of human rights. His Government, which had supported the establishment of a Special Working Group 'to examine questions relating to such disappearances, welcomed the results of the Group's work and the Commission's decision to extend the Group's mandate for a further year; it hoped that ail Governments would co-operate fully to enable the Group to accomplish its humanitarian task. 31. Speaking on behalf of the delegations of Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well as his own, he said that the fund envisaged in Economic and Social Council resolution A/C.3/36/L.5 would cover victims of torture - an appalling and well-defined human-rights violation in respect of which a special need existed. Contributions to the fund would be voluntary and would be distributed, through established channels of humanitarian assistance, as humanitarian, legal and financial aid to victims of torture and their relatives. The Board of Trustees, which would have a geographically and politically balanced membership, would be responsible for determining the programmes of humanitarian organizations that should be supported in the light of the purposes of the Fund. 32. The initiative taken by the five Nordic countries was inspired by purely humanitarian motives. The twenty-fourth International Conference of the Red Cross had adopted by consensus a resolution welcoming that initiative and urging Governments to make financial contributions to the Fund. He hoped that draft resolution A/C.3/36/L.5 would also be adopted by consensus. The Fund would be an appropriate symbol of the concern of the United Nations - the last refuge of the weak and oppressed - for human rights in general and the rights of torture victims in particular. 33. Mr. FLORIN (German Democratic Republic), speaking on neo-fascism, said that the need to fight against all forms of racist crimes, which threatened the cause of peace, was more pronounced than ever. Those who supported the arms race and the cold war and openly opposed peace and fruitful co-operation among peoples A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 8 (Mr, Florin, German Democratic Republic) were being given complete freedom of action. Those who were hindering universal peace to a degree unprecedented since the Second World War by encouraging the racists of the apartheid regime to continue their terror and aggression, those who declared that whole regions of the globe were their spheres of interest, giving a free hand to all who were depriving the peoples of the Middle East of their rights, and those who accepted the possibility of crossing the threshold from peace to nuclear war were promoting the theories and practices which had brought the world to the brink of oblivion four decades earlier and were serving the cause of fascism and neo-fascism. In the light of its bitter historical experience, his country was following with deep concern the birth of the criminal spirit of fascism. 34. Greater attention should be devoted to that problem in view of the upsurge in the activities of neo-fascist groups, which were continually increasing in numbers and whose dangerous activities were being co-ordinate on an international basis. According to the latest information, in one Western European country alone, there were sore than 20,000 neo-Nazis grouped in 75 different organizations, who maintained close ties with like-minded organizations in other countries. The leaders of the Western States had noted with deep concern that the radicalism of the right had been transformed into open neo-Nazism. The neo-Nazis were openly pursuing goals which ran counter to the constitutions of their States. Spreading chauvinistic propaganda and the theory of the master race, they were sowing prejudice against citizens of other countries, forming paramilitary units, and planning and perpetrating acts of terrorism. The upsurge In fascist activity had been reported in Western newspapers and journals. 35. There was no doubt as to the danger posed by those forces. Quite recently, for example, hundreds of kilograms of explosives, hundreds of bombs, grenades, automatic weapons, more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition and a supply of poisons had been seized from one neo-Nazi group. There had been many victims of acts of terrorism carried out by those forces in various cities. In some places, neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists enjoyed the support of prominent figures in politics, economics and the judiciary, as well in the police and the military. They were also being given wide opportunities to influence the population by exalting fascism and war in the mass media. They would stop at nothing to prevent people from living in peace. Using such fabrications as "the threat from the East", they were attempting to prepare the groundwork for the further build-up of armaments, for military confrontations and even for the use of nuclear weapons. The same aim was served by their propaganda, which denied the responsibility of imperialism for the outbreak of wars and portrayed the annihilation of people in Europe by Hitler's bands of murderers as "the lie of the six million". 36. The basic principles of the United Nations demanded strong measures against those actions. Mankind had already suffered the consequences of indecisive and insufficiently prompt action against fascism. The fascist madness in the years of the Second World War had resulted in millions of dead, wounded, disabled and homeless, as well as massive material destruction. At a time when the international climate was complicated and tense, when peace and coexistence between peoples was A/G.3/36/SR.62 English Page 9 (Mr. Florin, German Democratic Republic)' being seriously threatened, there was a need for decisive measures against the most aggressive opponents of detente. The actions of the forces of neo-fascism were not simply an internal problem for certain States. Through terror, racism and chauvinism, they threatened international peace and directly undermined the standards of international coexistence propounded by the United Nations. The ideology and practice of racial hatred, propaganda and demagogy, as well as revanchist territorial claims, could not but arouse concern in the Organization, particularly if they were presented under the banner of fascism. 37. The German Democratic Republic, which had been established as a result of the fight against fascism and war, had fully eliminated fascism. In his country, the greatest concern of those who opposed, confrontation, namely, not to allow fascism and war, had become State policy and represented the will of the whole people. The promotion over many years of the ideals of peace and peaceful co-operation, equality, equal rights and social progress had helped ensure that his country could never be a breeding ground for fascist ideology. Aware of the * danger posed by fascist groups and organizations, his country advocated decisive national and international measures against the crime of fascism. States must offer guarantees that neo-fascists could never find any refuge or any opportunity to carry on their activities. 38. His country's determination was shared by the overwhelming majority of States Members of the United Nations. In General Assembly resolution 35/200, Commission on Human Rights resolution 3 (XXXVII) and numerous observations submitted to the Secretary-General, a concern at neo-fascist intrigues was combined with the demand that effective measures should be taken to eliminate them. That aim would be seeps by draft resolution A/C.3/36/L.70, of which the German Democratic Republic was a sponsor. 39. In conclusion, he called for a strengthening of international vigilance with regard to any forms and; manifestations of fascism and for timely action against any revival of fascist forces. Members should act jointly to fulfil the obligations enshrined in the United Nations Charter - to save mankind from the scourge of war, to guarantee peace and security in the world, to promote mutually advantageous co-operation and social progress and to achieve the universal implementation of human rights. 40. Mr. VOICU (Romania), referring to chapter XIX of the report of the Economic and Social Council concerning social development questions, and chapter XXVIII, concerning international co-operation and co-ordination within the United Nations system, said that three important recommendations aiming at promoting and developing international co-operation in the field of youth had been adopted during the current year. The first, Economic and Social Council resolution 1981/16 on "Youth in the contemporary world" was particularly important in the light of the General Assembly's adoption by consensus on November 13 of resolution 36/28 entitled "International Youth Year: Participation, Development, Peace" (the second important resolution), and he trusted that paragraph 3 of resolution 1981/16, A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 10 (Mr. Voice, Romania) requesting the Secretary-General to take into account the views expressed on youth in the Commission for Social Development in the preparation of the documentation to be submitted to the Advisory Committee for the International Youth Year, would be fully implemented during the preparation of the Secretary-General's progress report. 41. The third resolution. Economic and Social Council resolution 1981/25 on "Co-ordination and information in the field of youth", was of direct and practical importance in the preparation of the International Youth Year, particularly paragraph 1, which requested the Secretary-General to continue, in the light of the objectives and goals of the International Youth Year, to analyze the views, observations and suggestions of the specialized agencies and United Nations bodies on the situation, needs and aspirations of youth in the contemporary world and to report to the Council at its first regular session of 1982. In that connexion, he paid tribute to UNESCO's activities. Regarding paragraph 2 of that resolution, he expressed satisfaction at the activities of the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination and stressed the importance of its recommendation that the organizations of the United Nations system should analyze the specific programme of measures and activities to be undertaken prior to and during the International Youth Year (1985), as proposed by the Advisory Committee for the International Youth Year. He also welcomed the recommendation of the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination that an integrated approach to education for peace activities should be adopted by the organizations of the United Nations system, encompassing activities both explicitly directed at and implicitly related to peace. 42. He was pleased to note that from the procedural and organizational Viewpoints, all conditions had been met for a thorough examination, during the preparations for the International Youth Year, of younger generations' participation in the struggle for defending and consolidating international peace and security. In that connexion, he re-emphasized the importance of the provisions of General Assembly resolution 36/28 and reaffirmed the comments made by his delegation on the role of the General Assembly at the Committee's 21st meeting (A/C.3/36/SR.21, para. 29). 43. With regard to the social aspects of development, he said that in his delegation's view, the major topics for discussion and action should include the implications and consequences of measures relating to the establishment of the new international economic order. Discussions in various forums on the role of the legislative bodies of the United Nations system had amply demonstrated that efforts must be made to improve the way in which those organs carried out their task. Social development problems had not been given the attention they deserved in the Committee, and the report in document E/1981/3 contained useful facts, comments and recommendations. He noted in particular the recommendation in paragraph 80 that the Third Committee should regain its primary responsibility for social development and should reorient its discussions to involve actual problems of genuine social concern, such as employment, education, nutrition, health, housing and the well-being of children. 44. His delegation also believed that the dialogue on strengthening the role of the United Nations in international life and co-operation in general should be A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 11 (Mr. Voice, Romania) continued and amplified. In that connexion, he drew attention to the comment in paragraph 101 of document E/1981/3 that the Commission on the Status of Women should continue to provide leadership and act as a catalyst in exercising its mandate of advising the Economic and Social Council on measures to promote women's political, economic, social and cultural rights. Further examination of the recommendations in document E/1981/3, as well as the current debate in the Committee on agenda item 12, would, in his delegation's view, lead to valuable conclusions and proposals for implementing current and future recommendations of the Economic and Social Council and enable the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session to adopt practical measures which would meet the hopes of all who looked forward to significant improvements in social development activities. He reserved the right to speak on the question again at a later stage in connexion with draft resolution A/C.3/36/L.67. 45. Mr. RAKOTOMALALA (Madagascar) said that drug abuse and addiction afflicted all countries. Together with excessive consumption of alcohol and illegal trafficking, they engendered serious economic, social and health problems. 46. Governments were rightly concerned over the harmful effects of drug abuse on young people and on social welfare. Although primarily a problem among the young, it affected all age and social groups. Social, economic, psychological and moral causes had been cited to explain the continued growth of drug addiction. Organized illegal trafficking and marketing were also major-factors underlying increased drug abuse. New and more dangerous drugs and methods of administering them were spreading. 47, Prevention and control methods were often beyond the means of individual Governments, and therefore international co-operation, in which the United Nations had played a major role, was necessary. In that regard, his delegation had welcomed the convening of the seminars at Lagos, 'in November 1979, and at Dakar, in January 1980, in accordance with resolution 2065 (LXII) of the Economic and Social Council. Resolution 1980/18 of the Council sought to promote increased co-operation among African countries in order to Control drug abuse and trafficking In the African continent. African countries had to deal not only with the problem of drugs such as cannabis but also with that of psychotropic substances. International co-operation was needed to control their growth and to limit their harmful effects. 48. Efforts were being made world-wide to counter the use of drugs by making the public more aware of the problems caused by drug abuse. Attempts were also being made to curtail illegal trafficking, inter alia maintaining a global balance between the supply of drugs and the legitimate demand arising from their medical and scientific use. His delegation sympathized with the concern expressed by producer countries over the economic, social and political consequences of attempting to introduce replacement crops; importing countries should increase their aid to producer countries to assist them in resolving such problems. 49. During 1981 the Commission on Narcotic Drugs would submit its study on a strategy and policies for drug control to the General Assembly for consideration and adoption at its thirty-sixth session. His delegation fully supported the long-term strategy and five-year programme of action contained in that study. A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 12 (Mr. Rakotoaalala, Madagascar) 50. There must be International machinery to control exports of pharmaceutical products for medical purposes to third-world countries. The boundless greed of the transnational corporations had led to practices which endangered the health and lives of peoples using certain medicines. A double standard was applied in the supply and distribution of medicines: products which were banned in certain developed countries were authorized for export, products requiring prescriptions in the country of origin were sold without restriction in developing countries, advertising campaigns suggested miracle cures for all illnesses, while information on the effects of certain drugs was inadequate or unavailable in developing countries. His delegation regarded that state of affairs as immoral. 51. With regard to human rights, his delegation was convinced that the international community had the obligation to denounce and combat all human-rights violations wherever they occurred. Although human rights were afforded scant respect by many Governments, the international community should not flinch from its task. The Government of South Korea, for example, had been guilty of massive human-rights violations, which had been widely reported by the mass media. In addition, a group of United States Congressmen had protested against the granting of loans by the World Bank to certain countries, including South Korea. Concerted international pressure would help to improve the situation in that country. 52. Mrs. KRAVCHENKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), speaking on agenda item 12, said that the effectiveness of United Nations activities depended on the general situation in the world. The strengthening of international peace and security, the campaign for detente, the taking of practical steps to end the arms race and move towards disarmament, the elimination of the vestiges of colonialism and racism and the restructuring of economic relations on a just and equal basis were all major prerequisites for the successful development of international co-operation in all areas, including human rights. As had been pointed out by L. I. Brezhnev at the Twenty-sixth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, there was r:o more important question than that of maintaining peace and ensuring the most essential right of every individual, the right to life. The new Soviet proposals providing for practical steps towards detente and disarmament were intended precisely to protect that right. If those proposals were implemented and tension and the threat of war were thereby reduced, international co-operation in a variety of areas would be encouraged. 53. The Soviet Union consistently maintained that the activities of the United Nations on human-rights questions should be based on strict observance of the principles of the United Nations Charter, including the principles of the sovereign equality of States and non-intervention in their internal affairs. Such an approach reflected the realities of modern international relations, at a time when many States with different social and economic systems lived side by side: it meant that the efforts of United Nations human-rights bodies must be concentrated on the struggle against flagrant and mass violations of human rights resulting from imperialist policies of aggression, apartheid, racism, fascism, colonialism and other forms of foreign domination and oppression. Clearly that involved situations which threatened world peace and security. It was quite natural for various A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 13 (Mrs. Kravchenko. USSR) United Nations bodies to condemn the inhuman system of apartheid, to urge effective measures, including comprehensive sanctions, against the Pretoria regime, and to endeavour to put an immediate end to the illegal occupation of Namibia, One could not but condemn the policies of those imperialist countries and their Monopolies which continued to provide the South African racists with political, economic, military and other assistance. United Nations bodies had quite rightly said that such activities amounted to complicity in the crimes of the South African regime. However, the many United Nations decisions on the question had been stubbornly ignored by certain Western countries, especially the United States, which was carrying out a policy of rapprochement with the racists of South Africa and was blocking comprehensive Security Council sanctions against it. She doubted the value of the arguments on the subject of human rights, freedom and democracy of a country whose support was the main reason for the continuing existence of inhuman racist and colonial systems in southern Africa. 54. The international community was equally concerned at the flagrant and widespread violations of human rights in the Israeli-occupied Arab territories, where the Palestinian people were deprived of their inalienable right to self-determination, were exiled from their homeland and suffered repression at the hands of the Israeli forces of occupation. Israel could not behave so defiantly without the support and encouragement of its protectors across the ocean. She observed that, in an attempt to divert the attention of the United Nations from human-rights violations committed by Israel, the representative of that country had resorted to his usual tactics of mailing slanderous attacks on other countries, including the USSR. Her delegation rejected outright his slanderous fabrications against the Soviet Union, which were put forward for certain political ends and had nothing to do with the issues before the Committee. Needless to say, Soviet citizens of Jewish nationality enjoyed exactly the same rights under the USSR Constitution as ail other citizens of the country. 55. running to the question of human-rights violations in Chile, she said that since the Chilean junta had seized power in a bloody coup, with the assistance and support of certain foreign imperialist forces, tens of thousands of Chileans had died, many thousands had been disabled, and millions had been deprived of all rights. Year after year various bodies in the United Nations system had adopted decisions demanding an immediate and unconditional end to the crimes of the Chilean junta. That regime, however, continued openly to ignore the appeals of the United Nations and world opinion and, in defiance of the international community, had even refused to have anything to do with the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights. 56. The report of that Special Rapporteur (A/36/594) showed that widespread repression continued in Chile on no less a scale than before and that the human-rights situation had in fact deteriorated with the junta's declaration of an exceptional state of emergency due to threats to internal peace; as a result Chileans were deprived of all legal protection against arbitrary actions by agents of the junta. The establishment of military tribunals and the adoption of a number of new repressive legislative measures had, as stated in paragraph 500 of the report, further aggravated the previous situation. Drawing attention to paragraph 504 of A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 14 (Mrs. Kravchenko, USSR) the report, which noted that torture continued to be routinely practiced during the interrogation of detainees, she said that despite the many appeals of the United Nations, no one responsible for those crimes had yet been brought to Justice. The junta was stepping up its persecution of citizens on political grounds and for trade-union activities. Thousands of people had disappeared without a trace in Chile, as the Junta attempted to cover all traces of its crises and to instill a sense of fear into the population. As' the report noted, the repeated appeals by the international community for a proper Investigation of the fate of missing persons had not been heeded. The population of Chile were still deprived of basic social and economic rights, and trade-union rights recognized in the relevant international instruments were not exercised there. She noted the continuing deterioration of the situation of the indigenous people of Chile. as pointed out in paragraph 490 of the report. 57. The Soviet people, like the entire international community, resolutely condemned the gross and widespread violations of human rights in Chile and demanded their immediate cessation. So long as the Chilean Junta continued to commit its crimes, the United Nations must devote constant attention to that question. Her delegation hoped that the General Assembly would contribute to putting a prompt end to repression and persecution in Chile, and it supported the proposed extension of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights.) In view of the clear need for further action against human-rights violations In Chile, she was puzzled by the proposal to abolish the United Nations Trust Fund for Chile by transforming it into a so-called Fund for the Assistance of victims of Torture. That proposal ran counter to United Nations efforts on the matter, constituted a clear distortion of the original aims of the Fund and was aimed at undermining the cause of providing assistance to victims of Chilean reaction at a time when the human-rights situation in that country was continuing to deteriorate. It was therefore totally unacceptable. 58. As a result of the policy of imperialist intervention, the people of E1 Salvador had recently found themselves in a tragic situation. She recalled that, in its resolution 35/192, the General Assembly had expressed deer concern at the human-rights violations in El Salvador and had called upon the authorities of that country to put an immediate end to them. Those demands had also been supported by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 32 (XXXVII) and the 68th Conference of the Antiparliamentary Union, which had adopted a special resolution on the subject. However, the ruling Junta in El Salvador remained deaf to those demands. It was clear from the report of the Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights contained in document A/36/608 that massive oppression and persecution were being carried out in that country; as a result, more than thirty thousand people had died and hundreds of thousands had become refugees fleeing from the Junta's terror. The overwhelming majority of the country's population were deprived of basic economic, social and cultural rights. It was well known that the imperialist circles of a certain Power were directly involved in the bloody crimes being committed in El Salvador. They had ignored the call of the General Assembly at its thirty-fifth session to refrain from the supply of arms or other assistance to the Salvadorian Junta and were flagrantly interfering in the internal affairs of El Salvador. It was high time that those A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 15 (Mrs. Kravchenko, USSR) involved understood that interfering in the Internal affairs of a country and supporting bloody dictatorial regimes which were hated by their own people was both illegal and hopeless. 59. She condemned the continual large scale violence against the people of South Korea carried out by the dictatorial regime of Seoul, which relied on the support of its sponsors beyond the ocean. 60. The international community had rightly condemned the United States blackmail in connexion with Nicaragua and the direct United States threats against Cuba. Such actions were part of the imperialist policy of flagrant interference in the internal affairs of States and were incompatible with the generally accepted principles of international law, with the right of people to self-determination and with the very meaning of human rights. 61. Her delegation was convinced that socialist democracy was the highest for of democracy, since true freedom and equality were possible only when the exploitation of man by man was eliminated. Wherever a minority exploited and oppressed the majority, wherever everything, Including honors and Individual worth could be bought and sold, there could never be true freedom or equality. However, being fundamentally opposed to interference in the internal affairs of other countries, her country never intended to impose a particular interpretation of democracy and human rights on anyone. The forces of imperialism, especially the United States of America, in an attempt to achieve their own selfish ends, deliberately perverted the idea of human rights in general and the cause of international co-operation in the field if human rights in particular. The cynicism and hypocrisy of the United States approach to human rights became extremely clear if one considered that In the United States itself equality was a fiction, that millions of citizens, particularly among the non-white population, were in practice deprived of their most basic human rights, that racism was rampant in the country and that equality between men and women was not guaranteed there. 62. Since the United Nations had been founded as a result of the victory over Nazism, fascism and militarism, it could not fall to oppose any manifestation of Nazism and fascism, anywhere and in any form. The United Nations would not be fulfilling its duty to the millions of people throughout the world who had given their lives for victory in the Second World War and to the millions of victims of fascist terror if it did not strive to remove the. threat of a revival of fascism and Nazism She emphasized that such a threat did indeed exist. Neo-fascist and other racist groups in certain countries were increasingly fomenting hatred toward the citizens of new States and spreading chauvinistic propaganda. There were daily instances of violence against immigrants and against members of national minorities. It was therefore extremely relevant and timely that the United Nations should consider the question of the need to take effective steps, both internationally and nationally, to combat that dangerous trend. Another reason why there should be a vide discussion within the United Nations on that issue was that the apartheid regime in South Africa was continuing its repression of the indigenous population, who were fighting for their civil and political rights, and that terror was being extensively used against their peoples by the juntas of El Salvador and Chile and by the South Korean authorities. A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 16 (Mrs. Kravchenko, USSR) In that connexion, General Assembly resolution 35/200 and resolution 3 (XXXVII) of the Commission on Human Rights should be seen as important and essential contributions to the campaign, against flagrant and mass violations of human rights. The report of the Secretary-General contained in document A/36/209 supplied further confirmation of the concern felt by the most diverse countries at the threat of a revival of fascism and Nazism. Paragraph 11 of the report pointed out that virtually all of the reporting States had indicated their condemnation of Nazism, fascism, neo-fascism and similar ideologies and practices, had expressed their deep concern at the increased activities of numerous neo-Nazi and neo-fascist organizations in many countries. It was essential that the General Assembly should call on States to take further action against the threat of nazlsra and fascism. Draffy, resolution A/C.3/36/L.70, which her delegation fully supported, would service precisely that purpose. 63. Mrs. EL-ALI (Syrian Arab Republic), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the statement made by the representative of the Zionist entity on settlements in Palestine had sought to give offence. Zionism was a form of dictatorship imposed upon the Jewish people to support the crime of establishing settlements In Palestine and was quite alien to Judaism. The Palestinians had been expelled to provide a homeland for the Jews. Zionism was a destructive ideology which ran counter to all monotheistic religions. 64. Jews in Syria enjoyed full civil rights and had never adopted Zionism as an ideology. Indeed, they had opposed the establishment of Israel and the violation of the Palestinian people's rights. Very few Jews had chosen to emigrate from Syrian to Israel, whose colonialism challenged the Arab world. Syrian Jews believed that they were being exploited by Israel for its own ends. 65. Syrian Jews were not hostages; they had all the rights and responsibilities of any Syrian citizen. Restrictions on travel abroad had been imposed for economic and social reasons to preserve the country's human resources. No third-world country could tolerate a brain drain. Israel encouraged Syrian Jews to emigrate and presented a distorted picture of the conditions in which they lived. There was, in fact, no discrimination against Jews in Syria. 66. The racist. Jewish settlers in Palestine could not convince anyone that Jews in Syria had espoused Zion’s, an ideology which had brought humiliation to the Jewish religion. Jews and Arabs had lived in peace for centuries until the establishment of Israel, which had subsequently attempted to undermine the basis of Syrian society. Jews in Syria were, in the main, professionals and highly respected. His Government was proud that they had retained their cultural identity. Many Jews left Syria for medical and other reasons and returned more attached to their country than ever. The Israelis, who had occupied Arab territories, could hardly criticize the Syrian Arab Republic on human-rights grounds. His Government believed in the universal recognition of human rights, in contrast to the selective approach adopted by such countries as Chile and the United States of America. 67. Mr. OGURTSOV (Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the representative of Israel had made an utterly cynical statement attempting go to cast aspersions on the celebration in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic of the annual holiday to commemorate the victory over fascism. The fact was that that holiday, 9 May, was solemnly observed A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 17 (Mr. Ogurtsav, Byelorussian’s) throughout the Republic, which had lost a quarter of its population in the Second World War and had the right to celebrate its victory as it saw fit. The Israeli statement was nothing less than blasphemy against a people which had paid such a high price for victory. The tenor of the Israeli representative's remarks merely demonstrated the validity of General Assembly resolution 3379 (XXX), which had determined that Zionism was a form of racism and racial discrimination. 68. Mr. ABAWI (Afghanistan), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the representative of the United Kingdom had slandered the Head of State of Afghanistan. No one had given the United Kingdom delegation the right to judge the Governments of other countries, and it would do better to concern itself with human rights in its own country, where whole nations had been subjugated by the English. His own delegation would not descend to the level of maligning Heads of State. 69. Mr. KHMEL (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the representative of Israel had slandered his Republic by defaming the memory of the victims of Hitlerism executioners at Babi Yar in 1941-1942. His delegation categorically rejected the Israeli insinuations against the Ukrainian SSR. They merely represented an attempt to divert world attention from Zionist racist practices and the evils committed against the Palestinian people in the name of zionlsa. 70. Mr. BLUM (Israel), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the Permanent Representative of Syria had attempted at the preceding meeting to circumvent a General Assembly decision and exercise the right of reply in the morning, on the ground that he feared that a reply in the late afternoon would be weaker. In Israel's opinion, the reply would have been equally weak early or late because it was motivated solely by obsession and hatred. He requested the representative of[Syria to convey to her Permanent Representative the message that if he rid himself of obsessions and hatreds and began to be rational, his replies would improve, whatever the time of day. 71. With regard to the replies of the representatives of two sovereign and independent Member States of the United Nations, the Byelorussian and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republics, he said that Israel needed no reminder of World War II from either of them or from anyone else. The Jewish people had been the prime target and victim of the Nazis both during and before the Second World War; they had suffered more heavily from Nazism and fascism than any other people and had lost more than 6 million persons - more than one third of their number including 1.5 million children. He reminded the representatives of the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR, and others who might have forgotten, that 1.5 million Jews had fought in the allied armies to crush Nazism. and fascism and bring the United Nations into being. They should know that three-quarters of a million Jews had fought in the Red Army and helped to liberate Europe from the scourge of Nazism and fascism. It was sickening ant? saddening that even though the Soviet people had suffered heavily from Nazism and fascism and had seen the effects of anti-Semitism, today the Soviet Union, as well as other sovereign Member States of the United Nations such as the Byelorussian SSR and the Ukrainian SSR, were among the main purveyors of anti-Semitism. Since the A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 18 (Mr. Blum, Israel) Byelorussian and Ukrainian delegations had referred to the Second World War, it was worth recalling that that war had been triggered by the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop treaty between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The Jewish people had never had any treaties with Nazi Germany and its accursed tyrant, but the Soviet Union had sided with Nazi Germany in 1939, just as it now supported the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organization, another murder organization bent on the destruction of Israel. 72. His delegation had observed over the years in various international forums that every time the question of Soviet Jewry was raised, the Soviet, Ukrainian and Byelorussian delegations launched into their own tirade about Palestinian rights. He could readily understand their distress at hearing his delegation mention specific instances of persecution of and discrimination against Jews in the Soviet Union, but it was pointless to attempt to counter well-documented assertions by hurling empty charges at Israel for alleged persecution of Arabs living in Israel aad under Israel's administration. 73. Parallel with the draconian restrictions on Jewish emigration, the Soviet authorities had now unleashed a new wave of judicial repression which in the past six months alone had resulted In the sentencing of eight Jewish activists, for the so-called crime of expressing their desire to emigrate to Israel; six others were still languishing in prison. A new campaign had also been unleashed against what remained of Jewish culture in the country. Scores of Hebrew teachers in various cities had been told by the KGB and the police that unless they ceased teaching Hebrew immediately, they would be tried on various pretexts and subjected to severe punishment. For many years Jews had also been denied the opportunity to study their own history and culture in any language, because there were no Jewish schools in the Soviet Union, including the Ukraine and Byelorussia, and no books published in any language on Jewish history, literature or culture. The educational facilities accorded to all other Soviet nationalities were denied to the Jewish nationality. Attempts to send books of Jewish content to the USSR by mail led regularly to confiscation. 74. Mr. OGURTSOV (Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic), speaking on a point of order, said that the representative of Israel was totally out of order. He was not speaking in exercise of the right of reply, but was simply reading out one more statement, similar to the one heard at the preceding meeting and others over the years. He wondered whom the representative of Israel was answering. 75. The CHAIRMAN said that it was impossible for the Chairman to decide what another delegation found offensive or not offensive in a statement or to what a representative was replying or not replying. However, the Chairman would clearly prefer delegations not to raise points of order during statements made in exercise of the right of reply. He reminded the representative of Israel that, in accordance with a General Assembly decision he had a total of 10 minutes for his right-of-reply statement. 76. Mr. BLUM (Israel), continuing, said that among the scores of books systematically confiscated in the Soviet Union were works by Nobel Prize winners, and even a book published by UNESCO, of which the USSR was presumably a member. A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 19 (Mr. Blum, Israel) 77. He had a simple offer to make to the delegations of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR. If their Governments would treat their Jewish minorities, the Jews in their countries, in the same way as Israel treated its Arab citizens and Arabs living under Israel's administration, granting them the same human, cultural, linguistic, educational and religion rights, he would refrain from even mentioning the problem of Jews in the Soviet Union. Until that happened, however, the Soviet, Ukrainian and Byelorussian delegations would do well not to join the long list of States which had systematically exploited the Palestinian Arabs for their own purposes, to distract attention from their own violations of human rights. 78. Mr. LAGOS (Chile) said that the Committee had heard once again the old Kremlin gramophone record of propaganda. Without going into detail, he wished simply to answer the insults against his Government by pointing out that while there were Chileans who had left their country and wished to return, he knew of no Soviet citizens who wanted to return to that socialist paradise. The Committee could decide on the hypocrisy or sincerity of the representative of the Kremlin. 79. The CHAIRMAN reminded the Committee that in the course of a recent discussion on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in El Salvador (agenda item 12), a proposal by the representative of the Netherlands that the Special Representative for El Salvador appointed by the Commission on Human Rights should be invited to assist the Committee in its discussion of his interim report (A/36/603) had been withdrawn after a request by the representatives of Venezuela and other countries that he, the Chairman, should decide the question. He had accordingly taken extensive soundings in the Committee, through members of the Bureau and the chairmen and delegations of regional groups and had come to the conclusion that if the Netherlands proposal had been voted on, it would have been adopted. He- had accordingly invited the Special Representative to assist the Committee in its consideration of the interim report. 80. He read out the reply of the Special Rep**tentative, which had raised the question of the interpretation of paragraph 10 of resolution 32 (XXXVII) of the Commission on Human Rights, requesting the Special Representative to present an interim report to the General Assembly at the current session; the Special Representative had not been certain whether it also implied that he should speak in the Third Committee. The letter further stated that in carrying out the task entrusted to him by the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Representative had taken great care to ensure that there was a climate of mutual confidence and co-operation between himself and all parties concerned in £1 Salvador and had been glad to note that the Government had shown continued confidence and co-operation even though the circumstances were difficult and had necessitated the inclusion in his report of information with which all parties might not necessarily agree. The need to retain the absolute confidence of the Salvadorian authorities and ensure their co-operation remained the prime consideration in carrying out his task. A/C.3/36/SR.62 English Page 20 (The Chairman) 81. The letter also stated that the Special Representative had noted that in the course of the deliberations preceding the invitation - as reported to him by the Chairman - there had been certain remarks that might affect the good relations existing between himself and the authorities of El Salvador and that, in order to exclude any possibility of misunderstanding, he felt that it would be more prudent not to avail himself of the Chairman's invitation. The Special Representative had 3dded that should the need for any clarification, particularly concerning questions of fact and interpretation, arise in the course of the Committee's discussions, he would not hesitate to communicate them to the Committee at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner. 82. He said that he would keep in touch with the Special Representative and be prepared to provide assistance in case of need. The meeting rose at 6.30 p.m.