VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #1093/01 3371538
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031538Z DEC 09 ZDK
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7748
INFO RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3967

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001093 
 
 
DEPT FOR IO/HR, DRL/MLGA, PRM/PIP, S/GWI 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SOCI UNGA
SUBJECT: STATEMENTS BY HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: As part of the annual discussion of human rights issues 
in the UN General Assembly, numerous Special Rapporteurs on thematic 
issues made presentations to the UNGA Third Committee.  Below are 
summaries of the hour-long presentations by the Special Rapporteurs 
for Torture, Myanmar, DPRK, Palestine, Freedom of Religion, Human 
Rights Defenders, Human Rights while Countering Terrorism, and 
Extrajudicial Executions.  The summaries for presentations for 
Special Rapporteurs on Right to Health, Right to Food, Housing, VAW, 
TIP, Migrants, and Right to Education are reported Septel. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
TORTURE 
------- 
 
¶2. On October 20, Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on Torture, 
asserts that conditions of detention in most parts of the world do 
not respect the dignity of detainees and fail to live up to 
international standards. He said most of the victims of arbitrary 
detention, torture and inhuman conditions of detention are people 
who belong to the poorest and most disadvantaged sectors of society. 
 He said one of the more surprising observations is that police and 
prison authorities do not regard it as their responsibility to 
provide detainees with the most basic services necessary for 
survival.  The full report can be found at: www.un.org. 
 
¶3. Most delegates supported Mr. Nowak and his mandate.  However, 
China's delegate said that false information about China's detention 
centers, including "brainwashing," was included in the report. 
Nigeria, in referring to allegations of torture, said this "ambush 
diplomacy" did not bode well for the prevention of torture. 
 
MYANMAR 
------- 
 
¶4. Tomas Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, said on 
October 22 that elections for 2010 had been planned but no official 
dates for the election had been announced.  He said the national 
election was the momentum the Government needed to demonstrate its 
commitment to international human rights standards.  He urged 
Myanmar to release all prisoners of conscience, including Aung San 
Suu Kyi.  He suggested the idea of creating a Myanmar election 
oversight mechanism by duplicating the Tripartite partnership 
between the Government of Myanmar, the Association of South-East 
Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the UN.  He said the situation of human 
rights in Myanmar remained alarming with a pattern of widespread and 
systematic violations resulting in serious abuses of civilians' 
rights and integrity.  The full report can be found at: www.un.org. 
 
¶5. Myanmar's delegate said that his government supported the Special 
Rapporteur's visit next month.  However, he said the report was 
"less than objective" and anti-government groups had been given a 
sympathetic ear and comments from those groups should have been 
verified before inclusion in the report.  While agreeing that 
electoral laws needed reform, he stressed that Myanmar's focus was 
not on the narrow interests of individuals, but rather on larger 
national interests. 
 
¶6. In response to the Special Rapporteur's presentation, delegations 
called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political 
prisoners.  They were not convinced that the 2010 elections would be 
held in a free and fair manner, if held at all. 
 
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC of KOREA 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. Vitit Muntarbhorn, Special Rapporteur on the DPRK, said on 
October 22 that the situation in the country remained "dismal and 
abysmal," due to the repressive nature of the power base.  He said 
the DPRK was a country based on a centralized system, geared to 
upholding the top-most leadership in a non-democratic setting, and a 
"military first" policy.  Muntarbhorn strongly urged the DPRK to 
address the rampant malnutrition by opening markets and small-lot 
farming.  He urged ending punishment of those seeking asylum abroad, 
those sent back, and inhumane treatment of persons.  He recommended 
the DPRK terminate public executions and other violations of rights 
and freedoms, by means of legal reforms.  The full report can be 
found at: www.un.org. 
 
¶8. Responding, the delegate from the DPRK reminded the Committee 
that it had never recognized the Special Rapporteur's mandate, 
saying the resolution that established it was a politically devised 
document.  He stated that the resulting report was "totally 
useless". 
He claimed that there were no human rights abuses in his country and 
that it participated with the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 
citing the country report as evidence of participation.  He said 
DPRK rejects being singled out and warned it would be a big mistake 
to think anything would change in his country by using such 
 
methods. 
 
¶9. Delegates supported the Special Rapporteur's work and called on 
the DPRK to allow him to visit.  They were concerned about food 
security and the "military first" approach.  Several delegates 
commented on the situation of asylum seekers and refugees. 
 
Palestine 
--------- 
 
¶10. Richard Falk, Special Rapporteur on Palestine, said on October 
22 that Israel had denied entry to the HRC Fact Finding Mission, 
headed by Judge Richard Goldstone, saying such behavior set an 
unfortunate precedent for the Council's relations with UN Member 
States.  Mr. Falk said his report focused on the Gaza crisis, the 
accountability gap, the International Court of Justice Advisory 
Opinion on the Israeli security wall, settlement expansion, 
Palestinian self-determination and gaps in international 
humanitarian law.  He said the right to self-determination had been 
thwarted by Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories even 
though it was assumed that the right would be brought about through 
bilateral negotiations and reinforced by the U.S. and the Quartet. 
He recommended that the GA request an advisory opinion on the 
obligations of UN Member States and urged the General Assembly to 
implement the Goldstone Report's recommendations.  The full report 
can be found at: www.un.org. 
 
¶11. The U.S. criticized the report for being one sided while Iran, 
Egypt and Syria all applauded the report as being comprehensive and 
thorough.  Iran hoped the "regime" would be held accountable for the 
"commission of war crimes," and Syria said there seemed to be no 
will of the international community to push Israel to comply with 
its obligations under intentional law. 
 
FREEDOM OF RELIGION 
------------------- 
 
¶12. Asma Jahangir, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion, said 
on October 23 that in some places the freedom to manifest one's 
religion or beliefs is subject to limitations.  He said many 
believers are prevented from identifying themselves through the 
display of religious symbols while others are required to publicly 
display them.  He was concerned about authorities who censor, 
monitor or even write sermons of religious leaders.  He says that to 
foster religious tolerance, states should take a human rights-based 
approach.  The full report can be found at: www.un.org. 
 
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS 
---------------------- 
 
¶13. Margaret Sekaggya, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, 
said on October 23 that she was concerned over the growing trend in 
adopting restrictive laws to govern NGOs and their work.  Freedom of 
association under the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights meant the right to found an association or to join an already 
existing one.  Further, security and anti-terrorism laws were 
increasingly vague, and their broad definition lent themselves 
easily to misinterpretation or abuse, she said.  The full report can 
be found at: www.un.org. 
 
HUMAN RIGHTS WHILE COUNTERING TERRORISM 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶14. The report on October 26 by Martin Sheinin, Special Rapporteur 
on Human Rights while Countering Terrorism, generated considerable 
debate among Member States for suggesting that "gender diversity" 
included the experiences of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and 
transgender individuals.  Various speakers noted that he had been 
requested to "integrate a gender perceptive" in his mandate" but had 
used personal ideas about gender, rather than what was agreed at 
international conferences.  Because of the "gender debate" the Arab 
Group and Tanzania, refused to be involved in the debate and would 
not engage with the report. 
 
¶15. The Cuban delegate said that the U.S. and its private 
contractors had tortured Muslim detainees because of their religion 
and identity.  She also said there were secret CIA bases that 
tortured people. She called for reparation and compensation for 
these victims.  The full report can be found at: www.un.org. 
 
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS 
------------------------ 
 
¶16. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, 
said on Oct 27 that "when a wide range of large and important states 
does not permit UN scrutiny of alleged killings over a period of 
almost a decade, there is something badly amiss with the system." 
He emphasized that more than two-thirds of the states he had 
approached to arrange a country visit had rejected his request or 
 
failed to respond.  He said in Colombia, the most prominent issue 
concerned "false positives" and in the U.S., the use of unmanned 
drones or predators to carry out targeted executions was of concern. 
 In Kenya, he said the main concern was the existence of death 
squads.  The full report can be found at: www.un.org. 
 
¶17. In response to the U.S. delegate's point that "targeted 
killings" were governed by international humanitarian law, Alston 
said that anywhere from 30% to 95%t of targeted killings were 
carried out through the use of drones and predators.  He said that 
the CIA operated a large majority of the weapons, in complete 
isolation.  He expressed hope that the issue would be addressed more 
constructively by the current U.S. administration. 
 
¶18. Alston also held a press conference in which he said that the 
U.S. position of the General Assembly and HRC have no role in 
relation to killings that occur in the context of an armed conflict 
was a "simply untenable" response.  The full press conference can be 
viewed at: www.un.org. 
 
Rice