Statement of the EU on agenda item 3: Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development
Mr. President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. (Alignment formula)
While the statement is being distributed in its full written form, I will read it out in abbreviated version due to time constraints.
Mr. President,
This year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration was a turning point in the history of human rights as it enshrines all human rights, regardless of cultural, religious, economic and social differences. Yet in reality a lot of differences still remain.
Economic deprivation is a standard definition of poverty. This definition however does not take into account various economic, social and cultural aspects of this phenomenon. Poverty and discrimination very often go hand in hand and are both the causes and consequences of human rights violations and attacks on human dignity.
A case in point is arbitrary confiscation of farmer’s land by the authorities in Burma/Myanmar. This ongoing practice means not only losing their farming land without any compensation, thus depriving farmers of their primary source of income, but results in deprivation of their other basic social, economic and cultural rights, such as the right to property, the right to education of their children as their parents can no longer sustain their schooling or their right to health and their right to housing.
Mr. President,
Vulnerable groups, such as migrants and persons belonging to minorities are very often exposed to economic deprivation. The EU attaches outmost importance to the question of migration and considers that this very important matter has to be treated in a comprehensive manner by paying attention to the needs of states to have secure borders, while at the same time respecting human rights of all, including those of asylum seekers and refugees. Migration is an important human rights area where there is no room for complacency and that goes for all regions, including the European Union.
The promotion and protection of human rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities offers an important means of promoting inclusion, stability and conflict prevention. The EU supports the mainstreaming of minority issues in the UN system and commends the positive developments in this regard.
Gender based violence in all its forms, not only impairs the enjoyment of rights by all women but also creates obstacles to the achievements of equality, development and peace. However, the wide spread discrimination and violence, including sexual violence, against women in different regions around the world remains appalling. All our societies continue to be affected by the phenomenon of violence against women which is often hidden and difficult to recognize. It is therefore critical to put in place legislative and practical measures to address and eradicate all forms of VAW.The EU welcomes the launch of a multi year world wide campaign to combat violence against women by the UN Secretary-General during the last CSW.
The EU also notes with concern the many and disturbing instances of discrimination based on sexual orientationand gender identity in all parts of the world, as witnessed inter aliy by the Mayor of Moscow prohibiting Gay Pride Marches, the arrest of transgender people in Kuwait on the basis of a law prohibiting cross-dressing and states which still maintain death penalty on the ground of homosexuality, such as Sudan or Iran.
The EU attaches the outmost importance to the rights of children. We are only beginning to recognize many dimensions of a yet unrecognized issue of children of prisoners.Regrettably violence against children exists in all countries of the world. The consequences may vary according to its nature and severity. But the repercussions are almost always grave and damaging. Too many children throughout the world are still subjected to work, exploitation, especially through trafficking, and violence. Children continue to be affected by armed conflicts around the globe and including in DR Congo, Sudan and Sri Lanka.
Mr. President,
The provisions of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights speak of the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.
Everybody has the right to the highest attainable standard of physically and mental health as reflected in many universal human rights documents; among them Universal Declaration on Human Rights, both Covenants and other instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is lacking only three ratifications to enter into force.
Mr. President,
Freedom of expression is one of the core human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is a necessity in democracy. In a democratic society any dissatisfaction with the exercise of freedom of expression can not justify any threats to a person exercising it. It is equally important that freedom of expression goes hand in hand with the need to respect others while exercising it. The EU would like to reiterate its call that all opposition and ethnic groups in Burma/Myanmar must be given the right to participate fully in the political process. We have consistently stressed the need that all political actors, including ASSK and other political prisoners , as well as political orgaisations representing the ethnic nationalities, be allowed to play their full part in shaping the country's future. Tripartite dialogue and participation was a fundamental demand in the UNSC Presidential statement of 11 October 2007.
The EU would once again like to reiterate the important role of human rights defenders, many of whom continue to suffer persecution, torture, arbitrary detentions, threats to their dignity and even their lives on a daily basis in many countries of the world.
We use this opportunity to call on Zimbabwe to respect the freedom of expression and opinion and the rights of the human rights defenders, particularly in this critical period in the run up to the forthcoming presidential elections.
Different practices of torture exist in many states, such as Uzbekistan, Belarus, Zimbabwe, Russian Federation, Nepal, and Sri Lankaand many others remain alarming. The major aim of the Convention against Torture is to end torture in all its forms. The Convention requires each State Party to ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law and punishable by appropriate penalties, which take into account their grave nature. With the aim of denying safe havens for perpetrators of torture, all acts of torture should be submitted for prosecution or extradited in accordance with the principle of universal jurisdiction with regard to the crime of torture. Furthermore, re-defining or narrowing the scope of the practice of torture outside the existing international standards is not acceptable.
The entry into force of the international convention for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearances will shortly provide us with a new instrument to deal effectively with the practice that is regrettably still wide-spread. The EU notes that the Working Group on enforced disappearances is gravely concerned at the increase of the reported cases of recent enforced disappearances.
Mr. President,
Mercenaries are often used as a means of violating human rights, humanitarian law and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination. The EU condemns the activities of mercenaries offering military assistance on the international market.
The EU remains deeply concerned about the renewed conflict in Sudan, particularly in West Darfur. Serious violations of international humanitarian law continue to be of grave concern. We deplore acts of violence committed by all sides to the conflict. The 2005 Word Summit for the first time affirmed universally the responsibility to protect, including prevention and re-establishing stability. The Human Rights Council, by acting to halt human rights violations that could lead to or are related to the perpetration of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or ethnic cleansing, can contribute to the on-going efforts to operationalise the Responsibility to Protect.
Thank you, Mr. President.