UN Human Rights Treaties

United Notions GENERAL ASSEMBLY THIRTY-THIRD SESSION THIRD COMMITTEE 42nd meeting bold on Friday, 10 November 1978 at 10.30 a . m . New York SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 42nd MEETING Chairman: Mrs. SHAHARI (Philippines) CONTENTS AGENDA ITEM 12: REPORT OP THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM 69: ELIMINATION OP ALL FORMS OP RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE AGENDA ITEM 50: HUMAH RIGHTS AND SCIENTIFIC AND TECNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS OTHER NATTERS 78-58369 A/C.3/33/SR.42 English PAGE 2 The meeting was called to order at 11 a.m. AGENDA ITEM 12: REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (A/33/3 and Add.l, A/33/163, A/33/219; A/C.3/33/L.4, L.20) AGENDA ITEM 89: ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE (A/33/l60) AGENDA ITEM 90: HUMAN RIGHTS AND SCIENTIFIC AMD TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS (A/33/151, A/33/103) 1. The CHARMAN said that she wanted to clarify certain points concerning the discussion of item 12 relating to the report of the Economic and Social Council (A/33/3) before the statements to he made by the Assistant Secretary-General for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, by the Executive Director of the United Rations Fund for Drug Abuse Control (UNFDAC) and by the Director of the Division of Human Rights, which would deal with particular sections of that report. 2. After inviting representatives to refer to her note on item 12 (A/C.3/22/L.1/Add.l), she drew the attention of the Committee to the main chapters of the report and pointed out that there was no documentation specifically relating to chapter II, entitled ""General discussion of international economic and social policy, including regional and sectoral developments". 3. In chapter III, entitled 'Questions considered without reference to a sessional committee", one subsection under section B entitled "Migratory labour in southern Africa" was the concern of the Third Committee; the Economic and Social Council had, at its second regular session for 1978, taken note of a draft resolution on the question (A/C.3/33/L.4) and would transmit it to the General Assembly for consideration at Its current session. Section C of that chapter, entitled '"United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees humanitarian assistance programmes in the Horn of Africa , would be considered at the sane tine as the report of the High Commissioner for Refugees (item 85). 4. With regard to section a, entitled "Assistance to South African student refugees", she invited the Committee to refer to the Secretary-General's report on the question (A/33/163)- 5. Chapter V, entitled "Questions considered by the Second (social) Committee", consisted of five sections. The draft resolution on national experience in promoting the co-operative movement (A/C.3/33/L.3), contained in section A ("Social development questions71), would be considered under item 78- However, the decision taken by the Committee in the matter would also be mentioned in its report on item 12. Paragraph 296 of the report of the Economic and Social Council (A/33/3) mentioned the three decisions adopted by the Council on the questions under section A. 6. Section B, entitled ,:Human rights questions", would be introduced by the Director of the Division of Human Rights. A/C.3/33/SR.42 Page 3 (The Chairman) 7- Section C, on activities for the advancement of women, would be considered separately in connexion with the report of the Commission on the Status of Women and related matters and would be introduced by the Assistant Secretary-General for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs. 8. Section D, relating to narcotic drugs, would be introduced by the Executive Director of the United Rations Fund for Drug Abuse Control (UNFOAC). i 9. Paragraphs 360, 36l and 362 of the report mentioned the decisions taken by the Council on the subject of non-governmental organizations, which was dealt with in the final section of that chapter. 10. lastly. she suggested that chapter VII, section E ("Reinforcing the social development sector within the United nations"), should be introduced at a later meeting, since the report of ACC (E/1978/102) would have to be taken up in the near future by the Economic and Social Council at its resumed second session. 11. Mrs. SIPILA (Assistant Secretary-General for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs), introducing section C ("Activities for the advancement of women; United Rations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace") of chapter V of the report of the Economic and Social Council, said that at its first regular session for 1978, the Council had considered the report of the Commission on the Status of women on its twenty-seventh session (E/1978/32/Rev.l), as well as a report by the Secretary-General on the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women and a note by the Secretary-General on contributions of the regional commissions to the World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women, 1960. The Council had adopted 10 resolutions on the item, six of which had a direct bearing on the preparations for and the holding of the World Conference. The report of the Preparatory Conference (A/CORF.94/PC/4) made it clear that it had given due regard to the Council's recommendations for the organization of the Conference's work. The Council's resolutions 1978/30 ("Provisional agenda of the World Conference of the United Rations Decade for Women"), 1978/31 ("World Conference of the United Rations Decade for Women"), 1978/32 ("Subtheme of 'Employment, Health and Education' for the World Conference of the United Rations Decade for Women"), and 1978/33 ("Effects of apartheid on the status of women") related in various ways to the 1980 Conference, and she cited their main relevant paragraphs. 12. Resolutions 1978/29 ("Question of elaborating a draft declaration on the participation of women in the struggle for the strengthening of international peace and security and against colonialism, racism, racial discrimination, foreign aggression and occupation and all forms of foreign domination"), 1978/34 ("Women in development and international conferences"), 1978/25 ("International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women"), 1978/26 ("Rational machinery for monitoring the implementation of the Programme for the United Rations Decade for Women") and 1978/27 ("Institutions responsible for implementing the World Plan of Action within the framework of the United Nations Decade for Women"), of which she cited the main paragraphs, related to important aspects of the activities of the United Nations Decade for Women. A/C.3/33/SR.142 English Page 4 (Mrs. Sipila) 13. In addition, resolution 1976/28 ("Rationalization of the reporting systems on the status of women) was aimed at the establishment of an integrated reporting system, with a view in particular to evaluating the implementation of the World Plan of Action. The question of rationalization of procedures had also been dealt with by the Preparatory Committee at its first session. 14. Mr. REXED (Executive Director, United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control) said that the 70-year-old international struggle against drug abuse was now entering a decisive phase. Considerable advances had been made since the first Opium Conference, held at Shanghai, but achievements sometimes tended to be overshadowed by the expanding scope of the problem. 15. In the past 70 years, and even since the establishment of UNFDAC, the situation had changed a great deal. During the 1930s the League of Nations had had to work on preventing legally produced drugs from entering the illicit traffic, and the control system set up at the time had reduced the leakages to negligible proportions. After the Second World War the illicit output of opium and cannabis, from the Golden Triangle countries and more recently from the countries of the Middle East, had flowed into the illicit traffic stimulated by the growing use of drugs among young people in the industrialized countries. The struggle now seemed to have turned a corner, since the industrialized countries were determined to conduct an effective struggle against that scourge. Although there had been some success in helping countries to reduce illicit production and thus moving against drug traffic, the problem had now reached the developing countries, both drug producers and others. Those countries could hardly afford to add such a serious problem to the many others confronting them. Furthermore, the industrial production of psychotropic substances constituted another menace, and the public was not always aware that those substances required the same kind of control at the national and International levels as narcotic drugs. Ratification of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances by the maximum possible number of countries would help to draw attention to that danger and to take action against it. 16. There must be concurrent attacks aimed at reducing demand, interdicting the illicit traffic and eliminating illicit supply. Control mechanisms existed within the United Nations, and it was the responsibility of Governments to adopt effective national policies and provide the United Nations with the means for collaborating in the struggle. 17. The annual production of opium in the countries of the Middle East, South-East Asia and Latin America, destined to a large extent for countries in Western Europe, America and Oceania, was about 1,200 tons, and the production of cocaine was estimated at 60 to 160 tons per year. Programmes of demand reduction through treatment and vocational rehabilitation, scientific research, drug-law enforcement and the education of young people had to be accompanied by collective measures to combat illicit opium production. Experience showed that in order to combat the flow of drugs, it was necessary to reduce and, if possible, eliminate the illicit supply at its source by replacing illicit opium poppy and coca cultivation with other crops. UNFDAC-supported pilot projects had shown that illicit production of certain plants could be replaced by equally profitable legitimate crops. An A/C.3/33/SR.42 English Page 5 (Mr. Rexed) additional fact, and one of decisive importance, was that rural populations were coming to realize that the implementation of multispectral crop substitution programmes offered them substantial advantages (establishment of health centres, co-operative marketing arrangements, an agricultural extension service, irrigation schemes, road construction, school improvements) and offered them an attractive alternative ,to their previous ways of life, 18. The opium-producing countries and the international organizations, as well as the United Nations in its resolutions, had all expressed the view that crop substitution programmes, carried out as a part of an integrated rural development effort under the direction of UNFDAC, provided an effective way to reduce the illicit drug traffic. Furthermore, those programmes were perhaps better suited than others to helping the poorest segments of the population in the developing countries. The Second Development Decade had given high priority to integrated rural development. UNFDAC was therefore in a particularly good position to help the disinherited population of the opium-producing and coca-producing countries, which were not always given priority, for example, in the UNDP assistance programme. 19. While a number of organizations were involved in carrying out integrated rural development programmes, it should be emphasized that UNFDAC, through its close association with the International Narcotics Control Board and the United Nations Division of Narcotic Drugs, was equipped to deal with drug-control aspects or development-oriented projects aimed at combating illicit opium production, processing and trafficking. 20. Projects of that type would have to be understand a in addition to traditional development activities because the Opium-producing unties were generally not ready to give them priority at the expense of what they considered their more urgent development needs. i 21. In its role as catalyst for the execution of programmes to replace opium poppy cultivation by viable crops, UNFDAC had the co-operation of other international bodies and organizations. In June 1978 the Fund had concluded an agreement with UNDP under which the UNDP resident representative in the region acted as the United Nations team leader and the UNDP country programme provided a frame of reference for the planning and operation of development-oriented drug abuse control programmes. The UNDP resident representative kept the Fund informed of his technical co-operation programme in rural development and represented it in negotiations with Governments on field activities. UNDP had notified the Governments of the countries concerned of the contents of the agreement and they had accepted it. 22. UNFDAC kept the World Bank informed of existing and prospective development-oriented drug control programmes. For example, UNFDAC had provided the Bank with mission reports and project proposals relating to the execution of programmes in Afghanistan and Thailand and a prospective programme in Nepal. The Bank, for its part, had furnished UNFDAC with information concerning a rural development project to be implemented over a five-year period at various site3 in the eight upland and A/C.3/33/SR.42 English Page 6 (Mr. Rexed) highland provinces in the northern part of Thailand. The Bank expected that opium poppy cultivation by small hill-tribe farmers, representing about 20 per cent of the farmers in those areas who would participate in the project, would decline by about half as a result. UNFDAC-supported activities would complement the Bank's efforts to help the Government introduce viable farming systems among the poorest farmers in the northern part of Thailand. « 23. Closer ties had also been established with the Asian Development Bank. A rural development and opium poppy substitution project in the Upper Helmand Valley in Afghanistan had been drawn up in collaboration with the Bank, whose financial input in the project would be considerable. 24. UNICEF had recently announced its intention to contribute to the financning of an opium poppy crop substitution pilot project in Pakistan. He would discuss with the Executive Director of UNICEP ways and means of furthering co-operation between the two offices. 25. The fact that the opium poppy and coca bush were cultivated in only a limited number of countries and, in particular, that UNFDAC had established co-operation with those countries, which were determined to eradicate the illegal production of heroin and cocaine, gave rise to some optimism. The Fund was executing programmes in the area of the Golden Triangle, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and the coca-producing countries in Latin America. Those programmes were focused on reducing illicit production and promoting rural development. 26. The most successful UNFDAC programme was in Turkey. With UNFDAC's assistance the Turkish Government had set up a very effective system of control of cultivation and harvesting which assured that the opiates derived from poppy could be used only for medical purposes. Since the establishment of that system, no opium of Turkish origin had leaked into the illicit market, whereas only eight years earlier Turkey had been the source of 60 per cent of the heroin sold in the United States. 2T. UNFDAC had also provided the means for a more concentrated attack on the international drug traffic. In Afghanistan, for example, assistance from the Fund had enabled the Government to set up within the Afghan Police and Gendarmerie Forces a narcotics Section which in the four years since its establishment had seized almost one ton of opium a month. 28. In August 1970 he had gone to Afghanistan. The new Government of that country had affirmed on that occasion that its long-term policy of eliminating the illicit cultivation of narcotic crops could be applied if external assistance was provided During that visit he had also signed an agreement with the Afghan Government, on behalf of UNFDAC, for assistance in prevention and treatment in the province of Badakshan pursuant to which WHO consultants had immediately started to drew up a work plan. She Afghan Government was currently considering a project proposal for illicit poppy substitution and rural development. In addition, UNFDAC and UNDP were working out a plan for the rehabilitation of opium addicts through the development of agricultural employment opportunities and community services. A/C.3/33/SR.42 English Page 7 (Mr. Rexed) 29. In Pakistan a three-year agreement had been signed in 1976 for a multisectoral programme of assistance in combating illicit drug production, traffic and use in that country. The largest component of that programme was an income substitution pilot project. If it proved successful, the Government would expand it to other opium-growing areas. The multispectral programme also contained a health component aimed at treating and rehabilitating drug addicts. The emphasis in the health field was on maximum utilization of existing resources in the country; outside assistance was being limited to practical training and the provision of basic equipment for use in the Government institutions participating in the programme. The UNFDAC programme in Pakistan also included a small lava enforcement component. The agreement between UNFDAC and the Pakistan Government would expire in May 1979 but it was probable that the assistance programme would be extended for two years to enable the pilot projects to be completed. 30. In 1975 Burma had launched a nation-wide campaign against drug abuse and the authorities, with UNFDAC assistance, had destroyed poppy plantations covering more than 30,000 acres. Recently some 10 heroin refineries had been destroyed and the authorities had made unprecedented seizures of raw opium and chemicals and a large number of arrests. 31. UNFDAC had fully equipped a drug analysis laboratory operating under the Criminal Investigation Department. 32. The mobility and effectiveness of the police had been strengthened by the improvement of means of transport and communications between police posts. 33. UNFDAC had already provided Burma's agricultural services with assistance to the value of about $1 million in the form of livestock, fertilizers, seeds, simple agricultural tools and sericulture equipment. That had made it possible to convert to other crops a total of 23,000 acres in the period 1976-1978. Training courses were being organized on a regular basis to teach representatives free the opium-producing areas bow to use modern agricultural techniques and bow to introduce substitute crops. 34.. In-patient and out-patient services to Burma's rapidly growing number of addicts had been provided. In order to make those services more efficient, training courses had been initiated with the aid of consultants provided by the United Nations, which had also made available medical equipment and supplies. A first team of 40 social workers would counsel known addicts and work in the urban areas where non-registered addicts were concentrated. Efforts were also being made to facilitate the social reintegration of former addicts. 35. UNFDAC was likewise supporting an education and prevention campaign organized in practically all the primary and secondary schools in the country. That programme. which was of five years' duration, would expire in 198l. 36. In 1972 UNFDAC had launched a programme to assist in the eradication of opium production in Thailand. The major component was an opium poppy substitution pilot project. That project entailed a profound transformation of a A/C.3/33/SR.42 English Page 8 (Mr. Rexed) very complex economic and social structure in which the hill tribes, because of their isolation, were highly vulnerable to pressure from landlords and traffickers. It required a considerable effort in the training of personnel, agricultural research and the building of roads to connect the producing areas with outside markets, as also the improvement of education and public health. That project, carried out in the northern part of Thailand, had demonstrated that it was possible to substitute food and export crops for opium cultivation, which the members of the hill tribes had already voluntarily given up. The Government of Thailand had set as a priority goal the extension of the results of the project to all parts of the country where opium was illicitly cultivated. A plan for systematically and gradually replacing poppy cultivation in some 800 villages was being prepared and would be put into effect beginning in 1979- Marketing and rural credit were considered top priority aspects of the plan and the Government was already preparing for the establishment, with UNFDAC assistance, of a production and marketing organization. The expansion of the project would require socio-economic surveys, soil surveys, the training of extension workers, the establishment of village health centres and the organization of training at the village level. UNFDAC, whose financial input was estimated at $20-25 million over the next four or five years, hoped to sign an agreement with the Thai Government in January 1979. 37. The Government of Laos had declared the fight against drug abuse to be a national priority and had approved a plan of action aimed at eliminating opium production and the illicit traffic in and consumption of drags within ten years. UNFDAC was collaborating with UNDP in a pilot project for the rehabilitation of addicts. A special representative of the Secretary-General had visited Laos in September 1978 to explore possibilities of further assistance to the Government in its programme of opium poppy substitution and community development for former opium poppy growers. UNFDAC would provide the services of consultants in agronomy, crop substitution and community development. 38. Following a technical mission to Malaysia in December 1977, UNFDAC had co-operated in a programme for drug abuse prevention, education, rehabilitation of addicts and research. 39. UNFDAC had financed a technical mission to Nepal in May-June 1978. The mission had concluded that it was possible to produce silk in areas of illicit narcotic crop production. UNFDAC had proposed the financing of a second phase of a project for the training of Nepalese technicians and the provision of equipment and further expert advice under the UNDP country programme. UNFDAC would consider financing a third phase of an extensive pilot programme of silk production, subject to the Government's taking the requisite law enforcement measures. 40. In Latin America, country programmes were continuing in Argentina (education), in Bolivia (strengthening of enforcement measures and treatment and rehabilitation) and in Peru (strengthening of narcotics police resources). UNFDAC was currently negotiating project extensions with the Bolivian and Peruvian Governments. 41. In August 1978 UNFDAC had sent a technical mission to Colombia to study the A/C3/33/SR.42 English Page 9 (Mr. Rexed) possibility of assisting in the suppression of the growing traffic in cocaine and cannabis, the eradication of illicit cultivation, and information on drug abuse. 42. The Mexican Government night request assistance in finding a substitute for the illicit cultivation of opium poppies and of cannabis in certain areas. 43. UNFDAC had to date received financial contributions from 77 countries, totaling approximately $5 million per year. The total cost of UNFDAC's annual programme, excluding multispectral country programmes, was currently $6 million. Since a gradual increase in that figure was expected over the next three years, annual contributions from Governments must be increased by at least 20 per cent starting in 1979. Furthermore, the large-scale multispectral rural development programmes called for financial resources far in excess of what the UNFDAC had at its disposal. As those programmes were worked out, UNFDAC would have to request additional contributions for their execution. Some countries had already responded to UNFDAC'S appeal for development aid contributions. He thanked those countries and expressed the hope that others would follow their example. The programme proposals would be circulated on a project by project basis to potential donors and UNFDAC would sign a programme agreement only if it had succeeded in raising the funds necessary to finance the entire programme. 44. The implications of those programmes were very important. After many years of negotiation, the opium-producing countries were determined to eradicate opium poppy cultivation through rural development programmes. Co-operation had been established, modalities had been worked out, and programmes were ready for 1979: it was therefore essential, in the interests of the entire international community, to mobilize the necessary financial resources. 45. The Division of Narcotic Drugs was keeping a close watch on the development of the illicit world traffic in drugs. Governments encountered numerous difficulties in attempting to control that enormous traffic, which was steadily increasing. However, the efforts made had had tangible effects. Much information had been gathered and disseminated on methods used by drug traffickers in selling drugs. The financial interests that supported drug traffickers and some of the ramifications of drug traffic were beginning to be better understood. The competent authorities of Member States should concentrate their efforts on an integrated national policy in accordance with the international drug control treaties and through co-operation at the regional, interregional and international levels. In that connexion, the co-operation that had been established, for example, between South-East Asia and Western Europe, where there had been a marked reduction in the availability of illicit heroin originating in South-East Asia, augured well for the future. 46. At its next session in February 1979, the Commission on narcotic Drugs would examine, in accordance with the request addressed to it in General Assembly resolution 32/124, the possibility of launching a meaningful programme of international drug abuse control strategy and policies in the hope of reversing A/C.3/33/SR.42 English Page 10 (Mr. Rexed) the current trend in the area of drug addiction. Unfortunately, the beat efforts were likely to he ineffective as long as the demand for illicit drugs persisted. For that reason, the Commission and the Division, with the financial support of UNFDAC, had striven in the past years to find means of reducing that demand. In that connexion, he noted that a work entitled 'Resource Book', which was soon to appear, had been designed to assist countries in reducing the demand for illicit drugs by proposing to then specific programmes to that end. The bodies dealing with different aspects of the drug problem were combining their efforts along those lines and he stressed the excellent co-operation between the Division of Narcotic Drugs in its capacity as secretariat of the Commission and the secretariats of the International Narcotics Control Board and the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control• 47. Reducing the demand for drugs was an enormous task that required reliable and comparable data. It was essential to be aware of current policies in that field, to evaluate programmes, to undertake treatment and rehabilitation activities that would be both effective and realistic, and to evaluate the impact that new methods of combating drug abuse might have. 48. Education played an important role in that connexion. Within the framework of the International Year of the Child in 1979 • UNFDAC and the Division on Narcotic Drugs were planning various activities designed to alert public opinion and promote public awareness of the multiple dangers to children represented by increasing drug abuse. However, experience showed that success in the struggle against drug addiction depended essentially on the resolve of countries, a resolve which should be expressed first of all through the ratification of international conventions on drugs, particularly the 1961 Single Convention on narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. He therefore urged countries that had not yet ratified those instruments to do so without delay. 49. The active participation of countries in drug abuse control should not be limited to the ratification of international treaties but should be expressed in a variety of commitments. Countries should give high priority to the drug problem, undertake activities to eliminate the supply of and demand for illicit drugs, adopt adequate legislation in that field, allocate sufficient funds to national law-enforcement agencies and promote the rehabilitation of drug addicts so that they could become useful members of society. 50 Mr. van BOVEN (Director, Division of Human Rights), recalling the statement made on " October 1978 by the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation, said that development was increasingly seen as a process that should be geared to the human factor both as the agent and as the beneficiary of development. The Committee for Development Planning had arrived at the same conclusion in document ST/ESA/60, in which it stated that emphasis was now being A/t'.3/33/SR.42 English Page 11 (Mr. van Boven) put on specific human concerns of development, such as the elimination of moss poverty, the promotion of employment and the rapid satisfaction of people's basic needs. Those two statements were heartening because they avoided the dangerous tendency to give an overriding and disproportionate emphasis to the more material aspects of growth and to see human beings as instruments of production. Even where it was recognised that the end of economic development was a social objective, methods of development which were a denial of basic human rights were sometimes used. 51 The United Rations was currently engaged in the restructuring of its economic and social sectors and in the elaboration of a new international development strategy for the third United Nations Development Decade. He recalled is that connexion that the General Assembly, in its resolution 2027 (XX), had emphasized the link between the First Development Decade and human rights. At the beginning of the Second Development Decade, the General Assembly had declared in the preamble to the International Development Strategy that equality and economic and social Justice among nations and within nations should go hand in hand. Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights expressed the same concept at the individual level in stating that everyone was entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration could be fully realized. 52. As he had said in the Committee in 1977. one of the most important challenges of the present time was the need to work out human-rights approaches to problems and human-rights strategies for solving them. 53. The United Nations Charter gave a prominent place to respect for human rights, and the General Assembly had emphasized, in its resolution 32/130, that economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights were indivisible and interdependent. He therefore believed that one of the urgent tasks of the United Rations today-was the integration of human rights with economic and social policies, particularly in the development process. 54. Attention had been focused on the relationship between economic issues and human rights in the context of development policies, and recent years had also witnessed efforts to focus on international dimensions of that relationship, touching upon global issues such as the new international economic order on the one hand and patterns of repression and discrimination sustained by economic. political and military powers on the other hand. The practices of international financial institutions had come under increasing scrutiny aimed at seeing how they affected human rights. Individuals and non-governmental organizations had concerned themselves with the support given to oppressive or racist regimes by the public and private sectors of various countries. It was thus apparent that the international community was striving to make it clear that economic relations at the national and international levels could not be divorced from the problem of human rights. 55- In its resolution 32/197 on the restructuring of the economic and social sectors of the United Nations system, the General Assembly invited the Secretariat, inter alia* to identify and bring to the attention of Governments economic and social A/C.3/33/SR.42 English Page 12 (Mr. van Boven) issues of international concern. He also recalled that in its resolution 32/130, the General, Assembly expressed the view that the thirtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be marked by an over-all analysis of existing problems in the field of human rights and by increased efforts to find appropriate solutions. 56. The world did not yet sufficiently realize the important part which human-rights organs played in the development effort and the role which human rights could play as a positive factor in the development process. The present report of the Economic and Social Council provided an opportunity for demonstrating that cardinal role. 57. Turning to the structural aspects of the question, he recalled that the United nations had, since its inception, been engaged in the establishment of a new international order encompassing political, economic and social, cultural and legal dimensions. More recently, the United Nations had concentrated its attention on the establishment of a new international economic order and a new international information order, and it also envisaged the establishment of a new social order and a new human order. The human-rights organs of the United Nations were able to play an important role in that process. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights represented the human-rights dimension of the new international economic order. At its thirty-first session, the Sub Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities had decided to include in the agenda of its thirty-second session an item on the new international economic order and the promotion of human rights, and important developments might be expected to flow from the Sub-Commission's deliberations on that item. At the request of the Commission on Human Rights, the Division of Human Rights was currently engaged in the preparation of a detailed study on the right to development. That study could make a useful contribution in the establishment of a new international economic order with human foundations. 58. As wait well known, the rights of self-determination and of permanent sovereignty over natural resources were enunciated in the International Covenants on Human Rights, and human-rights organs were engaged in determined efforts to implement those structural principles. At the structural level also attention was given to the adverse consequences for human rights of the arms race and of aid given to oppressive regimes. 59. With regard to the problem of human resources, he said that development should not have unwarranted social costs and should never be a pretext for denying the basic rights of human beings and of peoples. Violations of human rights not only degraded human dignity but also harmed the effective utilization of human resources by diminishing the individual's will to contribute to the national development effort. The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities was giving regular consideration to the question of slavery and slavery-like practices, such as debt bondage, serfdom and the exploitation of women and child labour, which impeded the full utilization of human A/C.3/33/SR.42 English (Mr. ran BOTCH) resources. Hunan rights organs were also .striving to bring about a harmonious integration and full development of minorities and indigenous populations in their respective societies- Moreover, they were concerned with the rights of migrant workers and non-citizens. Lastly, the elimination of colonialism and racial discrimination, which prevented the emancipation and economic development of the developing countries and peoples, was one of the priority objectives of those organs. 60. On the subject of human rights and the development process, be said that a society in which respect for human rights and social Justice prevailed, was necessarily one in which the people would be motivated to participate actively in development. The human-rights programme offered certain concrete options. Under the programme of advisory services in the field of human rights, seminars and training courses held in various regions of the world dealt with human rights and social problems confronting the various societies. Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the services of experts could be placed at the disposal of Governments which desired their aid in formulating human-rights policies or social policies. 61. With regard to social justice, he recalled that the Under-Secretary-General for International Economic and Social Affairs had brought out very forcefully the correlation between the social and economic aspects of development and had emphasized that the benefits associated with growth should be equitably distributed. The raison d’être of the human-rights programme was to realize precisely that objective. 62. In connexion with the human-rights aspects of development policies, he recalled that the report of the Secretary-General on the collection of data and information relevant to the formulation of a new international development strategy (E/£056/Add.1) touched upon numerous questions directly related to human rights; population, employment, education, housing and many others. There was reason to wonder, however, whether human-rights concerns were being given adequate attention in the formulation and implementation of development policies in all those sectors. 63. He wondered whether it was in fact necessary to place any restrictions on human rights in the development process. In the formulation and implementation of development strategies, attention must be given to determining whether methods could be devised for minimizing or eliminating such restrictions. 64. He hoped that consideration of the report of the Economic and Social Council would contribute to the better integration of the economic, social and human-rights factors in the development process and would lead to a truly unified approach to development based on respect for human rights. 65. He directed his comments next to the financing and strengthening of advisory services in the field of human rights, financing of the United Nations human-rights programme and the question of adoption of a convention on the rights of the child. On the last point, he drew attention to Economic and Social Council resolution A/C.3/33/SR.42 English Page 14 (Mr. Tan Boven) 1978/14 in which the Council requester that, commencing with the 1980-1981 programme budget, the financing of the advisory services programme in the field of human rights should be arranged as a part of the budget of the United Nations human-rights programme, and reiterated its request to the Secretary-General to organize at least two seminars and one training course annually and also to grant at least 25 fellowships a year, giving special attention to the needs of the developing countries. On the subject of the financing of the United Nations human-rights programme, he drew attention to Economic and Social Council resolution 1978/19, in which the Council invited the General Assembly, at its thirty-third session, to consider taking appropriate action to increase, within the limits of available resources, the allocations to the budget of the United Nations human-rights programme. He recalled that Mr. Pierre Sanon, Deputy Director of the Division of Human Rights, in his statement to the Committee on 9 October 1978, had stressed the acute lack of staff and resources in the Division of Human Rights and the necessity for strengthening and expanding the advisory services. With regard to the adoption of a convention on the rights of the child, he asked the Committee, in its deliberations, to bear in mind paragraph 2 of Economic and Social Council resolution 1978/18, which recommended to the Assembly that it should consider including the question of the adoption of a convention in the agenda of its thirty-fourth session. 66. Referring to agenda item 89, he said that the informal working group established by the Commission on Human Rights to consider the draft Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Religious Intolerance was continuing its work. Moreover, on 8 March 1978, the Commission had adopted a resolution suggesting that States Members of the United Nations, the specialized agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council should submit to the Secretary-General their views on the elaboration of the draft Declaration so that the Commission on Human Rights could consider them at its thirty-fifth session. 67. With regard to agenda item 90, he drew attention to the draft outline of the programme of action for the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development contained in document A/33/303 and Add.1, and suggested that in view of the need to integrate human rights in the new international development strategy, the Committee should take steps to ensure the inclusion of the human-rights aspects in the programme of action to be adopted by the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development. 68. Mr. SUJKA (Poland) introduced draft resolution A/C.3/33/L.20 on behalf of his delegation and the delegations of Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Jordan, Peru and the Syrian Arab Republic. He recalled that in 1959. the United Nations General Assembly, on the initiative of a number of countries, including Poland, had adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which had played a significant part in promoting the rights of children in the world and international co-operation in that field. 69. Conditions had been created for establishing a legal instrument with binding effect and the observance of the International Year of the Child in 1979 provided a A/C.3/33/SR.42 English Page 15 (Mr. Sujka. Poland) particularly favourable opportunity for adopting such an instrument. His delegation accordingly proposed the adoption of an international convention on the rights of the child, a draft of which had been submitted to the Commission on Hunan Rights at Geneva at its thirty-fourth session. 70. The convention proposed by Poland was based on the principle that mankind should offer the child the best it possessed. Every child. without discrimination, should be given special care and an opportunity to grow up in physically and morally healthy conditions, in an atmosphere of freedom and dignity, and to benefit by the best conditions in all fields, whether social security, blousing, recreation or health. Children needed love and understanding. Every child had the right to education. They should be protected frost cruel or degrading treatment and should not be exploited or employed before reaching an appropriate minimum age. Children should be brought up in a spirit of tolerance, friendship, peace, universal brotherhood and respect for other nations. Finally, the draft mentioned the special rights of physically or mentally handicapped children. All those principles were already established in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted by the General Assembly, and that should facilitate and speed up the preparation of the text of the proposed convention. 71. The Commission on Human Rights and the Economic and Social Council had adopted resolutions on the subject, as recalled in the third preambular paragraph of draft resolution A/C-3/33/L.20. In operative paragraph 2, the Commission on Human Rights was requested to organize its work on the draft Convention on the Rights of the Child at its thirty-fifth session in such a way that the draft would be ready for adoption by the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth session. In paragraph 3, it was proposed that the question of the adoption of a Convention on the Rights of the Child be included in the preliminary agenda of the thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly. 72. In view of the urgent need to improve the situation of children in the world, the co-sponsors of the draft resolution hoped that all delegations would share their desire for the Convention to be adopted during the International Year of the Child and would accordingly adopt draft resolution A/C.3/33/L. 20 unanimously. 73. Mr. MERKEL (Federal Republic of Germany) said that he had consulted a number of delegations with a view to obtaining a consensus on draft resolution A/C.3/33/L.20. OTHER MATTERS 74. The CHAIRMAN drew the Committee's attention to the fact that no decision had been taken on the draft resolutions submitted under agenda items 73, 74 and 76, and that the Committee also had to take a decision on the draft resolutions under items 78, 80 and 87 concerning social development. She noted further that no draft resolution had been submitted under item 91. Finally, she requested those delegations which were working on items 78, 80, 8l and 91 to report on their progress so that she could set a deadline for the submission of draft resolutions on those items. A/C.3/33/SR.42 English Page 16 (The Chairman) 75. Since tine was of the essence in the success of the Committee's work, she appealed to delegations to ensure that meetings began on time. 76. Lastly, she announced that the Zambian delegation had become a co-sponsor of draft resolution A/C.3/33/L.22, submitted under agenda item 76. The meeting rose at 1 p.m.