United Nations

GENERAL THIRD COMMITTEE

ASSEMBLY 65th meeting
held on
THIRTY-NINTH SESSION Friday, 7 December 1984
Official Records* at 3 p.m.
New York

DtC 2 8 i984
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 65th MEETING

Chairman: Mr. MADAR (Somalia)

later: Mrs. BOCCHECIAMPE de CROVATI (Venezuela)

CONTENTS

AGENDA ITEM 12: REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (continued)

"Thi• rc:<:ord is •ubj..,1 to ,..,rr..,1ion. Corr...11ons !lhould be oent under the sianuurc of a member of the dele-
. pt ion ··uncc:rncd within onr MW'k ofthr tlrltr ofPllblinltlolr to the Chief or the Ofl'ldal Records Edilfna Section
roon• IX.'2-750, 2 Unit•'ll Nations Plaza, and incorporated in a copy of the record. ' Distr. GENERAL
C:orrc:.:tion' ,.;n be is.uc:d artcr tho end or the soulon, in a separate fudc:le for ncb Cornmluee.
A/C.3/39/SR.65
17 December 1984
ENGLISH
ORIGINAL: FRENCH
84-58307 3995S (E)
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The meeting was called to order at 3.30 p.m.

AGENDA ITEM 12: REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (continued) (A/39/3
(Parts I and II), A/39/81, A/39/128, A/39/133, A/39/168 and Add.l and 2, A/39/174
and Add.l, A/39/180 and Corr.l, A/39/185, A/39/193, A/39/407, A/39/414, A/39/443,
A/39/444, A/39/445, A/39/446, A/39/447, A/39/477, A/39/496, A/39/568, A/39/570,
A/39/581 and Corr.l, A/39/590, A/39/631, A/39/635, A/39/636, A/39/694J A/C.3/39/l,
A/C.3/39/4 and Corr.l, A/C.3/39/9 and Corr.l, A/C.3/39/ll) A/C.3/39/WG.l/WP.lJ
A/C.3/39/L.43/Rev.2, L.71, L.77, L.79, L.80, L.82, L.83, L.84, L.85)

1. Mr. THWAITES (Australia) said that the commission on Human Rights was one of
the most vital and creative of the specialized organs of the United Nations and the
source of many significant initiatives. Australia therefore looked forward to
becoming a member of the Commission on 1 January 1985. The Commission's standard-
setting work over the past seven years had enabled the draft Convention against
Torture to be adopted at the current session without a vote. The Commission's work
had also, among other things, led to the consideration in the Third Committee of
reports dealing with the situation of human rights in various parts of the world.

2. In his delegation's view, one issue of profound significance to the

Commission's work was how the competent bodies of the united Nations should take
action on situations revealing serious and persistent violations of human rights.
Under the Charter, the United Nations had an obligation to act for the promotion
and protection of those rights. Its action in that area must be motivated above
all by humanitarian considerations and by a determination to be effective. It
should therefore avoid the adoption of rhetorical positions in which political
objectives predominated.

3. With regard to the situation in South Africa, the just demand of the
international community for the full recognition of the human rights of all South
Africans, through the eradication of the abhorrent system of apartheid, had been
given important impetus by the work of the Commission's Ad Hoc Working Group of
Experts on Southern Africa. His delegation had already pointed out that the
suppression of the human rights of South Africa's population extended to the denial
of their right of self-determination. Australia remained deeply committed to
seeking justice and the full enjoyment of human rights for all South Africans and
was glad to be a sponsor, in conjunction with member countries of the Special
Committee against Apartheid, of a draft resolution addressing the fundamental
issues concerning South Africa.

4. The situation in South Africa served as a bleak reminder of the gap which
existed between the principles and ideals established in the field of human rights
and the capacity of the United Nations to have a significant impact on situations
in which those rights were abused in many parts of the world. Australia therefore
believed that the Commission on Human Rights must continue to seek new ways of
bringing pressure to bear on offending Governments to fulfil the obligations which
they had to the international community and to humanity to protect the human rights
of all persons within their jurisdiction.

5. That was a difficult and sensitive undertaking. It went without saying that,
in accordance with the general principles of international law, the measures

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(Mr. Thwaites, Australia)

adopted must be proportionate to the scale of the violations that occurred and to
the various obligations which rested with Governments in the area of civil and
political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. The difficulties and
imperfections which might be present in existing approaches must not be invoked as
a barrier to further action. In particular, Australia deplored the attitude of
some States which sought to reduce the consideration of situations in which human
rights were abused to a political game of tit for tat and, as a member of the
Commission on Human Rights, would not be influenced by the cynical attempts at
intimidation with which it had at times been confronted in the Commission and in
other bodies.

6. Australia attached great value to the Commission's approach of dealing with

human rights violations on a thematic or generic basis. The value of that approach
could be seen in the work of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary
Disappearances, which had yielded important gains. His delegation believed that
the WOrking Group must be strengthened and enabled to continue its work for as long
as the repugnant phenomenon of disappearances persisted, and urged all those
Governments which were in contact with the Working Group to provide it with the
fullest co-operation, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General
Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights.

7. His delegation noted with particular satisfaction that the General Assembly
would at the current session request the Special Rapporteur on summary or arbitrary
executions to pay special attention to cases in which such executions were imminent
or threatened. Australia was convinced that one of the merits of the thematic
approach was that it could in fact have a preventive effect.

8. Australia had also strongly supported th~ measures taken by the Commission on
Human Rights to address the situation of indigenous populations. In Australia's
view, a serious and comprehensive examin?tion of the probiems faced by those
populations in various parts of the world, and of the rights which they might
justly seek to assert within the States of which they were a part, was long
overdue. It particularly welcomed the completion during the past year of the
monumental report of the Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. That report would provide a wealth of
material for the substantive work of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations.
His delegation hoped to see active attention and support given to that work by
a11 members of the Sub-Commission, Governments and concerned non-governmental
organizations. In addressing the task of developing agreed standards for the
rights of indigenous populations, the Working Group could not fail to benefit from
the continued participation of a wide range of representatives of such populations.
His delegation therefore viewed with interest the Sub-Commission's proposals that a
voluntary fund should be established to assist in that objective. It had also
noted that, at its Fourth General Assembly held in Panama in Septenmer 1984, the
World Council of Indigenous Peoples had adopted a declaration of principles which
could provide an important input into the review of those questions by the
Sub-Commission and subsequently by the Commission on Human Rights.

9. His delegation acknowledged the invaluable role played by non-governmental

organizations (church groups, academic institutions, professional groups and bodies
such as Amnesty International and the International commission of Jurists) in

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(Mr. Thwaites, Australia)

collecting information and promoting international awareness about human rights

issues. In that context, it believed that the theme of Amnesty International's
"Prisoners of Conscience" week for 1984, which had been "Women in Prison", demanded
serious reflection by Governments, since there was a tendency to overlook the
pivotal role played by women in a number of countries in promoting and protecting
human rights.

10. While human rights principles were, of course, fundamental and universally
applicable, the value of applying regional perspectives to human rights problems
should not be discounted. In recent years, Australia had co-sponsored draft
resolutions on the development of regional co-operation in Asia and the Pacific and
it would continue its efforts in that field.

11. However useful a thematic approach to human rights problems might be, the
appropriate organs of the United Nations must also look into individual cases of
serious human rights violations. It was therefore essential to develop procedures
to help them sift the information and allegations which came before them in order
to gauge their responses appropriately. In that light, the Commission's practice
of appointing Special Rapporteurs to assess the situation in certain countries had
been an important development. He noted that rapporteurs had been appointed in two
situations - Iran and Afghanistan - but that they had yet to receive the
co-operation of the Governments concerned.

12. In the case of Afghanistan, the Government had explicitly stated that it had
no intention of assisting the Special Rapporteur in his task. The mandate of the
Special Rapporteur was to examine the human rights situation in Afghanistan with a
view to formulating proposals which could contribute to ensuring full protection of
human rights before, during and after the withdrawal of all foreign forces from
that country. While Afghanistan had regularly supported General Assembly
resolutions dealing with the work of Special Rapporteurs in other countries, its
refusal to co-operate with the fact-finding activities authorized by a large
majority of delegations, both in the Commission on Human Rights and in the Economic
and Social Council, called into question the genuineness of the Government's
attachment to international co-operation in the promotion and protection of human
rights. He urged the authorities in Afghanistan to consider carefully the
implications of that course of action and to co-operate with the Special Rapporteur.

13. Australia was deeply concerned at the continued reports of grave human rights
violations in Iran and at the seemingly systematic persecution of the Baha'i
community.

14. His delegation was disappointed by the hardening of the Chilean Government's
attitude as evidenced by the re-imposition of the state of siege on 6 November 1984.
Accordingly, it had decided to co-sponsor the draft resolution on the situation in
that country (A/C.3/39/L.79).

15. Australia welcomed the efforts made by the President of El Salvador to foster
reconciliation and dialogue and considered that the parties concerned should seek
as far as possible to identify political solutions to the problems of that
country. Although there were indications that the human rights situation in that

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(Mr. Thwaites, Australia)

country had improved, serious human rights violations continued to occur and he
called for urgent action to be taken to end the suffering of the civilian
population and to promote reform of the judiciary system. The General Assembly
should express its concern, in clear terms, at the situation that continued to
prevail in El Salvador.

16. The disappearances, forced relocation of the population and allegations of

the extensive use of torture in Guatemala were particularly distressing. His
Government was especially concerned at human rights violations committed against
the indigenous population of that country, given that group's particular
vulnerability, and it endorsed the call contained in draft resolution A/C.3/39/L.77
for the Guatemalan authorities to extend their full co-operation to the United
Nations Special Rapporteur and to make serious efforts to deal with the grave and
complex problems raised in the latter's report.

17. Mr. ARTACHO (Spain) said that although more and more States were acceding to
the international human rights instruments, the international community still had
far to go to attain the goal set forth in those instruments, namely, universal
respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms listed in the Declaration of 1948.
Human rights violations were gross and systematic in some cases. The renewal of
violence in the world, the spread of terrorism, the economic crisis, injustice and
oppression were some of the factors which contributed to that situation.

18. While reaffirming that it was the responsibility of the United Nations to see
to it that human rights were respected and to denounce violations wherever they
occurred, he deplored the fact that the General Assembly focused its attention
systematically on abuses that occurred in certain countries in the Latin American
region and ignored those committed elsewhere. He reiterated his delegation's
reservations about that selectivity, all the more so since it was to the detriment
of countries with which the Spanish people had deep affinities.

19. The United Nations would not be able to play its role in the defense of human
rights fully until all Member States had the courage to consider human rights
violations without regard to political considerations. His Government would not
accept that United Nations activities in that area could be considered interference
in the domestic affairs of States. While progress made in the field of respect for
human rights in a given country must be recognized, that did not mean that the
Organization should desist from insisting that the authorities of that country must
carry out their obligations fully in that area.

20. His delegation's special interest in the Latin American countries and its
desire to see those countries become pluralist democracies based on scrupulous
respect for human rights had led his delegation to study in detail the reports
relating to three of those countries, namely, Chile, Guatemala and El salvador.

21. His delegation deplored the systematic refusal of the Chilean Government to
co-operate with the Special Rapporteur, the latter had given a most disturbing
account in his report of the human rights situation in that country. The Spanish
Government had stated its concern publicly at the time of the latest developments
in Chile. It had deplored the renewed bloodshed, the intensification of repression

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(Mr. Artacho, Spain)

since the re-imposition of a state of seige on 6 November, the continuation of

police measures which totally disregarded the fundamental rights of the individual,
the numerous arrests, the censorship and the obstinate refusal of the Chilean
Government to talk to the opposition. ·His Government was particularly concerned at
the many references to violations of the right to life, torture, detention of trade
union officials and restrictions on the right to freely enter and leave the
country, contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur. It appealed to the
Chilean authorities to put an end to the practice of sentencing Chilean nationals
to forced internal exile. He deeply regretted the stubborn refusal of the Chilean
authorities to heed the numerous appeals made by democratic Governments, including
his own, by the United Nations, the European Economic Community and the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. His delegation had co-sponsored
draft resolution A/C.3/39/L.79 because it deplored not only the above-mentioned
abuses but also the systematic violation in Chile of the right to freedom of
speech, information, assembly and association, the blind repression of popular
demonstrations and the restrictions to which the judiciary was subject in that
country.

22. The representative of Chile had, on the previous day, made a statement in
which he had denounced human rights violations in Spain on the basis of the most
recent report of Amnesty International and certain information appearing in the
Spanish press. The present Spanish democracy had placed universal respect for
human rights at the centre of its internal and external policies. His country had
made the declaration provided for in article 25 of the European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, by virtue of which individuals
were allowed to lodge a complaint against the State before the European Court of
Human Rights at Strasbourg. It was a party to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights. There could, of course, always be abuses in a State based on law,
but the essential point was that such violations could be denounced and punished.
Recent history showed that, in Spain, that was precisely the case. While it had
never claimed to give lessons in democracy, his Government felt that it had to
denounc.e human rights violations, particularly when they occurred in a country with
a long democratic tradition, such as Chile. His country hoped it would resume that
tradition as soon as possible.

23. It was regrettable that the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Guatemala had not made a detailed analysis of all the information
communicated to him. That omission accounted for the differences between his
report and those drawn up by other bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights.

24. At the institutional level, there were certain indications of positive change
in Guatemala, as was shown by the establishment of the Commission for Peace with
the task of investigating human rights violations in that country. His Government
appealed to the Government of Guatemala to continue its efforts to clarify the fate
of disappeared persons and to communicate the results of its investigations to the
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, thereby demonstrating its
will to co-operate in such a crucial area. His delegation was nevertheless
concerned at the fact that the Commission for Peace had great difficulty in
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(Mr. Artacho, Spain)

carrying out its mandate independently and impartially, at the information provided
by the Special Rapporteur that the security forces were primarily responsible for
the disappearance of detained persons, at the murders, particularly of
intellectuals, at the continued discovery of secret burial grounds, at the
reappearance of the death squads, at the coercive participation of the population
in paramilitary groups such as the civil defence patrols, and at the forced
displacement of the indigenous people. Whether human rights violations were to be
attributed to government officials or the opposition forces, it was essential to do
everything necessary to punish those responsible. Draft resolution A/C.3/39/L.77,
of which his Government was a sponsor, reflected those concerns.

25. His delegation was convinced that dialogue between the Government of
El Salvador and the opposition was the most suitable way to reach a solution to the
conflict in that country. For that reason, it had considered the call for dialogue
made by the President of El Salvador in his address to the General Assembly at its
current session to be very positive. The reconciliation process thus begun should
promote the adoption of concrete measures designed to prevent human rights
violations, whether by the Government or by the opposition forces. Unfortunately,
such violations continued to take place, as was shown by the report of the Special
Representative, and his delegation particularly deplored the killings and
involuntary disappearances in El Salvador, although their number had decreased. It
hoped that the Salvadorian ·authorities would continue to take effective measures,
complementing those already adopted, to prevent the civilian population from
suffering the consequences of the current conflict. It had been with all of those
factors in mind that his delegation had become a sponsor of draft resolution
A/C.3/39/L.43/Rev.2, which it had wished to be well-balanced and acceptable to as
many delegations as possible.

26. Mr. LOUET (France) said that, given the number of human rights violations
committed in the world in spite of the efforts of the United Nations, priority
attention should be given to ensuring respect for the physical and mental integrity
of human beings without, of course, neglecting other civil and political or
economic, social and cultural rights.

27. To be effective, the Commission on Human Rights must have the greatest
possible amount of information at its disposal, whether acquired through the
appointment of special rapporteurs or with the help of non-governmental
organizations. Governments were not entitled to refuse to co-operate with special
rapporteurs on the pretext that to do so would constitute interference in their
internal .affairs since the Charter empowered the international community, acting as
an organized body, to concern itself with the manner in which States acquitted
themselves of their obligations with respect to human rights. It was fitting that
the Commission on Human Rights had extended its activities on behalf of human
rights to other parts of the world by adopting resolutions on southern Africa,
Iran, Afghanistan and Cambodia, in addition to those on Chile, Guatemala and
El Salvador.

28. The deterioriation of the situation in Chile in 1984, and particularly in

recent weeks, was saddening and alarming. It must be noted that, in spite of
stepped-up repression, the Chilean people persisted in demanding tne

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(Hr. Louet, France)

re-establishment of fundamental freedoms and democracy. The international

community must again request the Chilean Government finally to co-operate with
the Special Rapporteur.

29. In spite of a certain improvement in the situation in El Salvador since

President Duarte had taken office, it remained extremely disturbing from the
economic point of view as much as from that of the number of civilian victims.
It must therefore be hoped that the dialogue entered upon by the Government and
FDR-FMLN would result in peace and the democratic evolution of the country.

30. The state of violence obtaining in Guatemala, which was only becoming worse,
required the international community to do everything possible to see to it that
the Guatemalan Government guaranteed respect for human rights in the country.

31. It was regrettable that the Afghan Government ha6 refused to co-operate with
the Special Rapporteur at a time when serious human rights violations were
increasing in step with popular resistance. The damage caused to the economy by
the Soviet occupation combined with such violations to force a significant part of
the population to take refuge abroad.

32. With regard to Iran, the international community had all the more reason to be
·troubled by violations of civil and political rights since it had good grounds to
question the guarantees the judicial system could afford the population. His
delegation urged the Iranian Government to respect its obligations under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to put an end to attacks on
freedom of conscience, thought and religion and to violations of basic human
rights, and to co-operate with the Special Rapporteur.

33. His delegation welcomed the fact that the COmmittee had adopted the draft
convention against torture and the draft resolution on the question of enforced or
involuntary disappearances by consensus and, more generally, it welcomed the
progress made at the last session of the Commission on Human Rights. Much
nevertheless remained to be done, and his country would take action wherever the
life and dignity of individuals were threatened. It would support United Nations
action to stress the global character of the problem and to expand the definition
of the basic rights of human beings.

34. Mr. SCHIFTER (united States of America) said that his delegation had already
expressed its position on the phenomenon of "selective indignation", which, in its
view, was so common in United Nations pronouncements on the subject of human
rights. He observed that the United Nations adopted resolutions which condemned
certain human-rights violations or alleged human-rights violations in the strongest
possible terms while totally ignoring far more serious violations which took place
elsewhere. That applied, for example, to draft resolutions concerning the
human-rights situation in Latin America. Even within that region, however, the
United Nations had not applied a uniform standard. ~fuile criticism had been
directed at certain countries, some of it justified and some unjustified, the
country which was the most serious human-rights violator of them all - namely,
Cuba - had succeeded in escaping scrutiny in United Nations forums.

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(Mr. Schifter, United States)

35. The attitude of the United Nations towards that issue was not always the
result of a particular political biaS\ it was often a reflection of current themes
picked up from the news media, and the coverage which those themes received often
depended on the ease with which reporters had access to the site of a news event.
Thus, a great deal of information was furnished about human-rights violations in
countries which permitted reporters to enter freely, whereas little or nothing was
heard about countries which severely restricted reporting generally and would not
allow any reporting critical of the country concerned.

36. The observations which he had just made explained, for example, the difference
in the discussion in the Third Committee concerning Chile as distinct from Cuba.
The United States was indeed concerned about human-rights conditions in Chile and
had clearly stated its position on that subject. Nevertheless, it believed that
existing conditions and projected future developments in CUba presented by far the
bleaker picture. In his delegation's view, Cuba had been for more than 25 years
one of the world's most repressive totalitarian police States. It was one of the
countries which came closest to resembling the nightmarish State described by
George Orwell in his novel, 1984. Tbtalitarian control in Cuba served not only as
a straight-jacket for the potential dissident, who was deprived of his rights to
free expression and free association as set forth in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, but also reached the most humble non-political citizen through the
system of what were known as Neighbourhood Committees for the Defence of the
Revolution, whose task was to keep watch on the activities of the residents of each
neighbourhood and to report on those activities to the central police authorities.
Given Cuba's badly mismanaged economy, which had resulted in the rationing of
staple fOodstuffs and a severe housing shortage, and given the State's total
control over job opportunities and education, Cubans lived in constant fear of an
adverse report, which could severely affect their day-to-day life and their future
opportunities. Furthermore, the State made every effort ~o discourage religious
teaching and practices.

37. In addition, repressive measures against political dissenters were much

harsher in Cuba than in most other countries. As a recent report by the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights noted, political prisoners in Cuba
included not only political activists but also journalists, writers and artists, as
well as priests and members of religious congre~~ations. Those who refused to
participate in so-called rehabilitation programmes were subjected to inhuman and
degrading treatment reminiscent of the Middle Ages including the crowding of
prisoners into minute, poorly-ventilated and rat-infested cells, long-term
inconwunicado detention, and deprivation of food and medicine. He read out part of
a personal account of one of the former cuban political prisoners who had recently
com~ to the United States, concerning a particularly distressing episode in his
detention which had taken place in 1977, first in the state security headquarters
in Villa Marista and subsequently in Cuba's National Psychiatric Hospital. He
noted, however, that even the worst kind of repression could not totally extinguish
the human quest for freedom and that, even after decades of totalitarian rule,
there were individuals who had the courage to at least attempt to exercise the
human rights of which the Cuban Government sought to deprive them. Among them were
five men who, a few years earlier, had tried to organize an independent labour
union. They had been arrested and sentenced to very long prison terms) their
defence lawyers and one of the judges who had sentenced them had suffered a similar
fate.

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(Hr. schifter, United States)

38. Since the United Nations system had expressed such interest in human rights
in Latin America, he urged the Third Committee to focus on the extremely serious
violations of those rights which had taken place in Cuba.

39. Nr. YAKOVLEV (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) said that the sources of
information on which the United States representative had drawn were unreliable.
He (Mr. Yakovlev) had found in the statements made in recent years in the Third
Committee by the Permanent Representative of the United States, whom the United
States representative had just quoted, neither an account of true facts nor a
constructive manner of approaching the problem of human rights.

40. Latin America had furnished the world with outstanding examples of the
struggle for human rights, democracy and socialism. The example of the socialist
Republic of Cuba inspired many other heroic peoples of Latin America, Africa and
other regions of the world. He had been present during the intervention launched
20 years earlier against that small, valiant people, which had chosen the path of
socialist development after a democratic revolution. The organs of the so-called
"free" Western press, on the pretext of their concern about the alleged violations
of Western democracy in that island, had at that time organized against that
admirable country a campaign of pressure and provocation. It was still possible
today to cite many examples of political blackmail and pressure exerted against
Cuba and other small States in the region. The question of human rights was
invoked at length in that propaganda with a view to destroying the freedom and
independence of those peoples which had embarked on the path of independence,
progress and the defence of human rights. It was precisely on the basis of what
the Cuban people had achieved that President Allende had formed in Chile a
government of national union. Some defenders of Western democracy and freedoms had
taken an active part in overthrowing that Government and in taking the life of
President Allende. Thus, when considering information sources, theories and facts
which were being presented, there was a need to refer objectively to historical
truths.

41. The Third Committee had adopted by consensus a draft resolution on measures to
be taken against Nazi, Fascist and Nee-Fascist activities and all other forms of
totalitarian ideologies and practices based on racial intolerance, hatred and
terror, which had been drafted on the initiative of a number of socialist and other
countries. On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the victory against
fascism, all States should step up their struggle against neo-Nazi ideology and
take measures to consolidate international peace and security. The proclamation of
8 and 9 ~~y 1985 as days commemorating the fortieth anniversary over nazism and
fascism was of great importance.

42. Some Western delegations had tried to disrupt the constructive atmosphere of
the Third Committee debates. Now that the Committee had entered on the last phase
of its work, those delegations had tried to pose as defenders of Western "freedoms"
and of prisoners of conscience. Those statements could only be regarded as
manifestations of hypocrisy and as provocations. Those delegations could keep
praising their "Western democracy" to the skies and justifying the domination of a
financial and monopolistic oligarchy over the overwhelming majority of workers.
They could keep trying to present as a "democracy" the militaristic, police and
electronic totalitarianism which penetrated all aspects of life in Western
countriesJ their claims were disproven by the facts.
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(Mr. Yakovlev, USSR)

43. The representative of the Netherlands, for example, had tried many times to
"defend" human rights in other countries. The fact that those whom he undertook to
defend enjoyed much fuller democratic rights and guarantees than the Netherlanders
themselves did not bother him at all. In fact, he was pursuing not a "humanitarian
mission" but purely provocative and basely political ends. If he knew more about
the true situation in his own country, the representative of the Netherlands would
show more restraint. In the Netherlands, it was not a few individuals but the
great majority of the popula~ion who were victims of a system of pitiless
exploitation and contempt for elementary human rights. It might be asked who was
defending, in that country, the rights of the unemployed, who represented
18.5 per cent of the population. Discrimination against women there was prevalent
in various areas of social life, particularly in the employment and wages sector.
Other facts could also be cited concerning the lack of rights of migrant workers
and national minorities and the arrest of citizens motivated solely by the fact
that their appearance seemed to be suspicious. The Netherlands had far to go to
eliminate those serious violations of human rights.

44. The Soviet Union remained, as it had always been, the faithful defender of
real freedom for all peoples and the rights of each individual. The slanderers
should be reminded of the Soviet Union's historic contribution to the defeat of
Hitlerite fascism, the elimination of colonialism and the adoption and
implementation of international instruments against genocide, racism and
discrimination.

45. ~trs. MAITUM (Uganda) said that the implementation of human rights instruments
was far from satisfactory, owing to manifold political, economic and social
factors) that did not change, however, the intrinsic value of the norms which they
established. Her delegation noted with satisfaction that, after seven years of
work, the Commission on Human Rights had finally complete~ the elaboration of the
draft Convention against Torture. Uganqa had supported the text and had joined in
the consensus on it in the Third Committee. Similarly, it eagerly awaited the
completion of the elaboration of the conventions concerning the rights of the child
and the protection of migrant workers.

46. The question of the right to development was a major preoccupation of her
delegation, which felt that it was an integral component of the rights embodied in
the International covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, that there was
a direct relationship between the stage of development of a country and its
capacity to guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms, and that the
indivisibility of all human rights could not be over-emphasized. Her delegation
was therefore particularly disappointed that the working Group of Governmental
Experts on the Right to Development had made so little progress in its work, mainly
owing to the attempt to place the question in an ideological context) that attempt
was quite regrettable because, by considering the question of the right to
development in terms of ideological collectivism, the point was lost that the
object of development was essentially the individual.

47. With regard to the role of the United Nations in the field of human rights,
uganda subscribed to the general idea that the Organization should pay equal
attention to all human-rights violations, wherever they occurred. It felt,

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(Mrs. Naitum, Uganda)

however, that the fact of addressing of
Organization to minimize specific cases
of human rights. It was necessary also
situation that might arouse concern and
situations.
the problem globally should not lead the
of flagrant, mass and systematic violations
to ensure a contextual understanding of any
apply the same jugemental criteria to all

48. Uganda was very concerned at the violations of human rights in South Africa,
where the situation, according to the reports of the Ad Hoc Working Group of
Experts on southern Africa, had deteriorated alarmingly in recent months, where
repression persisted, where the racist regime continued to practice, despite the
repeated condemnations of the international community, its dreadful bantustan
policy and where, through "constitutional reforms", millions of women and children
would be consigned to rural poverty in bantustans by a system which made them
aliens in their own land. Uganda also conderrtned South Africa's continued denial of
the Namibian people's right to self-determination and called once again for the
imposition of comprehensive and mandatory sanctions against racist South Africa.

49. Uganda was no less concerned at the current situation in the Middle East and
urged the United Nations to assume its full responsibility in protecting the rights
of the Palestinian people.

50. Uganda specifically reiterated its solidarity with the peoples of Central
America in their quest for social justice and for the freedom to determine their
own destiny freely, without outside interference or aggression.

51. With regard to the remarks made concerning the human rights situation in
Uganda, she stressed that any fair assessment should take account of three main
factors. First, the fact that the Idi Amin regime had led to the total destruction
of the economy, the breakdown of law and order and of the judicial system and had
demoralized and deeply divided the population. Secondly, the current Government
was making determined efforts to restore the rule of law and guarantee human rights
and fundamental freedoms by practising a domestic policy of reconciliation and
national unity, by strengthening existing democratic institutions, by placing
particular emphasis on the independence of the judiciary and by trying to uphold
constitutional rights. It had also accorded priority to economic reconstruction
and development and, to that end, had adopted a 10-year economic recovery programme
(1981-1991). Lastly, it was undertaking training programmes with a view to
achieving greater discipline and professionalism in the security forces. Those
efforts had produced positive results; the proper administration of justice,
publicity of criminal trials, the right of habeas corpus, the release of more than
7,000 detainees, most of them former members of Idi Amin's army and secret police,
the restoration of civil liberties, the institution of a multi-party democracy with
an active opposition party, a return to normalcy in the West Nile region and
recovery in most sectors of the economy, especially in agricultural production.
Thirdly, following the 1980 general elections, certain political elements,
rejecting the democratic process, had attempted to overthrow the constitutional
Government by force of arms, not hesitating to resort to political assassinations
and atrocities against innocent civilians and creating disturbances in three
districts of the country (Luwero, Mpigi and Mubende), which had led to population
displacements. The Government, in co-operation with the International Committee of

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(l-1rs. Maitum, Uganda)

the Red Cross, the Ugandan Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations, had
provided needed emergency relief and protection and had launched a resettlement
programme. It was nevertheless most perturbing that the situation of those
displaced persons had often been likened to cases of human rights violations, for
the situation in Uganda differed radically from the cases considered under agenda
item 12. The democratically elected Government was facing great obstacles, but it
had never orchestrated or encouraged any form of repression. Outside of the three
districts to which she had referred, the rest of the country was currently living
in peace and tranquillity.

52. Mr. OGURTSOV (Byelorussian soviet Socialist Republic) said that the United
States representative, rather than speaking on the item under consideration, had
sought to slander the sovereign State of Cuba, whose conduct in the area of human
rights and fundamental freedoms was exemplary. His statement could only produce
just the opposite of the results he had intended.

53. The members of the Third Committee understood the particular concerns of the
delegation of the Byelorussian SSR in respect of measures to be taken against Nazi,
Fascist and nee-Fascist activities and all other forms of totalitarian ideologies
and practices based on racial intolerance, hatred and terror. The Byelorussian
people had not forgotten the sufferings caused by Fascist aggression. One quarter
of the population of the Republic had been exterminated by the Nazi butchers
between 1941 and 1945. Only in the past few years had the Byelorussian population
regained its pre-war level.

54. During the debates on the question, many delegations had drawn attention to
the rebirth of nazism and fascism and the proliferation of rightist groups and
neo-F.ascist organizations, many of which openly proclaimed their attachment to
Nazi ideology.

55. The Fascist regime of the Republic of South Africa persisted in its policy of
racism and apartheid. The Pretoria authorities had turned the country into a vast
concentration camp. In Israel, a pro-Nazi party,· the Tehiya, preached the doctrine
of the superiority of the Israelis over other peoples and the theory of lebensraum.
There was an openly Fascist regime in South Korea. TOrture, arbitrary arrests and
other human rights violations typical of fascism were common there.

56. Statements that measures to counter those ideologies and practices were
contrary to basic principles such as freedom of expression and assembly were
completely hypocritical. Such statements actually encouraged the activity of
nee-Fascist groups and organizations, which had ~ven been dismissed as not
representing a real danger. Accordingly, there was a duty to the victims of
fascism and militarism to take firm action to prevent any expression of neo-Nazi
ideology.

57. Mrs. Boccheciampe de Crovati (Venezuela) took the Chair.

58. Mr. ORAMAS OLIVA (Cuba) said that, on the eve of the fortieth anniversary of
the United Nations, and despite all the international human rights instruments
adopted by the Organization, there were still flagrant and mass violations of those
rights in many regions of the world.

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(Hr. Oramas Oliva, Cuba)

59. The exercise of economic, social and cultural rights was a pre-condition for
the exercise of civil and political rights. Nevertheless, those who posed as
champions of human rights and defenders of democracy refused to recognize the right
to development. Even worse, the very ones who supported tyrannical regimes,
collaborated with racist south Africa and did not shrink from invading Grenada,
then reproached the United Nations for its alleged selectivity, and objected to
having it examine the situation of human rights in Latin America, a situation
arising from the covert intervention of the CIA and the Government of the United
States.
60. Chile, which had for more than a decade been living through a nightmare of
arbitrary arrests, torture, disappearances, loss of freedom of association and
cultural freedom and violations of minority rights, had experienced a further
exacerbation of repression during the current year. Cuba therefore felt all the
more justified in joining the sponsors of the draft resolution on the situation of
human rights in Chile (A/C.3/39/L.79).

61. The United States also resisted by every means any consideration of human
rights violations in El Salvador, in which they were accomplices and for which they
were largely responsible. Whether it was a matter of elections held under
conditions which precluded a real choice, of the alleged decrease in the number of
human rights violations, even though freedoms were still suspended) of political
prisoners being systematically tortured, while the torturers went unpunished) of
civilians still being the target of armed attacks~ or even the agrarian reform,
which had been interrupted after the first stage, the improvements in the situation
in El Salvador, so vaunted by the United States, were purely imaginary. The
ultimate objective of the apparent evolution of the Salvadoran regime, which was
designed to deceive public opinion, was to obtain from the United States Congress
an increase in military aid for the Salvadoran Government, without which it would
collapse. It was fortunate that a dialogue had been started between the Government
and the FDR-FMLN, because only a negotiated global political solution would make it
possible to establish a genuine and lasting peace, but it was wrong to give
President Duarte credit for a step which had in fact been taken by the FDR-FMLN
several months earlier.

62. The report of the Special Representative {A/39/636) erred through lack of
objectivity and inaccuracy, faults attributable to the fact that only information
from Government sources had been used. Also, if one looked not only into the
conduct of the Salvadorian Government but also that of the FMLN, which was a way of
recognizing that there were two political and military powers in El Salvador, it
would only be fair to give FMLN the right to answer those who accused it of
violations • . The Special Representative should take those considerations into
account in preparing his final report.

63. For 30 years Guatemala had been suffering the consequences of the intervention
of the CIA, which had imposed upon it a series of military dictatorships that were
particularly harmful to the poor classes and to the Indian majority of the
population. Nevertheless, despite acts of violence against the civilian
population, the torture and disappearances, despite the forced deportation of all
the inhabitants of certain villages and their internment in camps, the Guatemalan
people remained firm in its determination to fight for its rights. It should be
able to choose its political system freely.
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(Mr. Oramas Oliva, Cuba)

64. Hi$ delegation, like all of the Guatemalan opposition, felt that the
provisional report of the Special Rapporteur (A/39/635) did not faithfully reflect
the situation in Guatemala. Lacking precision and objectivity, it tried too
visibly to exonerate the Government from human rights violations for it to be used
as a basic document for preparing the draft resolution on the question. For his
next report, the Special Rapporteur should make his study more thorough by using
all available sources and should hold consultations and gather all useful testimony
in order to grasp and understand the situation.

65. Replying to the statement by the United States representative, he said that
the latter had shown his ignorance and his cynicism. The individuals imprisoned in
Cuba had been sentenced as agents of imperialism after the discovery of exhibits
very much like the CIA manual recently found in possession of the "contras 1' .
Before criticizing Cuba, where education and medical treatment were free and where
everyone ate his fill, the United States representative would do well to look
around him. He would see what fate had been reserved in his country for the
unemployed, the homeless, the blacks and the Indians. Perhaps the purpose of
prohibiting United States citizens from going to Cuba was precisely to prevent them
from seeing for themselves that human rights were better observed in Cuba than in
their own country.

66. Cuba was a small country compared to the Power that had invaded Grenada and
was oppressing the people of Puerto Rico, but the CUban people was not afraid, and
the historic aspirations of the peoples of Latin America would triumph over the
intrigues, lies and threats of the imperialists.

67. Mr. CHAMORRO MORA (Nicaragua) said that the full exercise of human rights and
fundamental freedoms in Nicaragua had been attained at the end of a long and
agonizing struggle and that justice and peace were based on respect for the rights
of the individual as well as those of th~ community. Civil and political rights
were inseparable from economic, social and cultural rights and their indivisible
character could not be ignored by establishing a double standard in the field of
human rights.

68. Furthermore, the full exercise of human rights implied peace and conditions
favourable to economic and social development. Those rights were also
inseparable. Without peace and stability, there could be no development or social
progress, and the maintenance of peace depended on the elimination of inequality,
discrimination and exploitation.

69. The report of the Economic and social council did not indicate any significant
progress with regard to the human-rights situation in the world in spite of the
commitments undertaken within the framework of various international covenants and
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights specifically by those countries which
committed massive violations of those rights.

70. While agreeing, in accordance with the criteria of certain countries, not to
discuss the draft resolutions submitted which had already been given thorough
consideration, one could not remain silent when faced with the sufferings of
mankind, one should also avoid impeding certain efforts at the risk of becoming,
more or less unwittingly, an accomplice to violations.

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(Mr. Chamorro Mora, Nicaragua)

71. In the context of the arms race, the exploitation of the human and natural
resources of the developing countries, the increasingly frequent resort to the
use of force in international relations, the deployment of new missiles and the
problems of hunger and underdevelopment, the foremost right, the right to life,
had never before been so threatened. The figures were eloquent: 800 million human
beings suffered from hunger, 500 million died of hunger each year and more than a
billion were illiterate while transnational corporations or other institutions
accumulated profits from the exploitation of developing countries, imposed ever
more burdens on those peoples and impeded their development. The economic, social,
cultural, civil and political rights of African peoples in particular were brazenly
flouted. The debate which the General Assembly had just devoted to the critical
economic situation in Africa had clearly revealed the responsibility of the
countries which, through their economic policies, condemned millions of human
beings to die of hunger.

72. The continued existence of apartheid in South Africa, which deprived millions
of blacks of their most basic rights, condemned them to live in ghettos and
bantustans, and prevented the Namibian people from exercising their right to self-
determination, was an affront to the conscience of mankind. What then was the
Government of the United States doing for the human rights of those Africans? It
was strengthening the Pretoria regime in all fields - political, economic and
military - through its policy of so-called "constructive engagement". It was thus
preventing the United Nations, on the occasion of the celebration of its fortieth
anniversary, from counting Namibia among its Members.

73. With regard to the situation in the Middle East, was it necessary to recall
the Zionist policy of genocide with regard to the Palestinian people? In that case
also, what was the United States doing in order to defend the right to self-
determination, which was a fundamental principle of contemporary international law?

74. In Central America also, the right to self-determination of peoples and the
independence of non-aligned Members of the United Nations struggling to maintain
their political independence was subject to massive and flagrant violations. In
attempting to bring about a greater degree of justice in a region, the countries
were confronted with a dilemma: to struggle in order to impose their own pattern
of development or to accept unconditionally the hegemony of a neighbouring
imperialist Power. The violation of the principle of the non-use of force against
the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of States, which was so
evident in the region, was alarming.

75. The President and Government of the United States had unfortunately chosen to
make the violation of that sacred principle a practice based on a political theory,
and thus to flout international law, dissociate itself from civilized nations and
claim for itself an alleged right: the right to intervene in order to defend its
national interests.

76. Throughout history, mankind had known mass violations of human rights. One
recent example was the persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazis.

77. There were abundant examples in the case of Latin America: after the genocide
inflicted on the indigenous populations, dictatorships such as those of Batista,

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(Hr. Chamorro Hora, Nicaragua)

Trujillo, Perez Jimenez, Rojas Pinillas and the Somozas, without mentioning current
dictatorships, had cruelly exploited the peoples of the region by depriving them
in many cases, not only of the right to life but also of the right to education,
health care and housing as well as the right to self-determination and independence.
Those who had presented themselves as the champions of democracy and freedom had
committed mass violations of human rights and it was thus that in Nicaragua under
the reign of the Somozas more than 200,000 persons had been murdered.

78. Like those dictators, those in charge of foreign policy in the United States
also believed that they had been given a messianic role. In various regions of the
world, the United States policy of confrontation, aggression and "constructive
engagement" had helped perpetuate scandalous situations and thus increase the
number of murders, cases of imprisonment and torture, the uprooting of populations,
etc. The Namibian, Palestinian and Nicaraguan peoples numbered among the victims
of such situations. An attempt was being made to transform the territory of
Nicaragua, with the aid of puppet leaders and mercenaries, into another appendage
of the terri tory of the United States.

79. In accordance with his country's traditional policy- that of non-interference

in the internal affairs of other States - he would refrain from mentioning the
situation with regard to the basic rights of the minorities in the United States.
He would focus on the violations of the most basic rights of the Nicaraguan people
and Government which the United States had been committing for more than three
years by using all the economic and military means at its disposal.

80. Firstly, the United States was violating the right of the Nicaraguan people to
self-determination. After 45 years of dictatorship under the Somozas, the United
States Government was openly attempting to subjugate once again the Nicaraguan
people.

81. Secondly, the United states violated the right of Nicaraguans to life. Since
1981, following the war of aggression, more than 8,000 Nicaraguans, including
women, children and old people, had been killed.

82. Thirdly, the United States violated the right of Nicaraguans to economic
development. The war and the economic and financial embargo had had dramatic
consequences. The damage to infrastructure and to the property which, for the
first time in the country's history, belonged to humble workers and peasants,
amounted to almost $300 million.

83. The United States violated the right of Nicaraguans to health. Dispensaries
and medical-supply depots established in remote parts of Nicaragua in order to
treat, for the first time in its history, various endemic illnesses, had been
destroyed. Many health-care and volunteer workers had been killed or imprisoned.

84. The United States violated the right of the Nicaraguan people to education.
Many teachers and persons in charge of literacy programmes had been killed or
imprisoned, and schools and regional education centres had been destroyed.

85. The systematic violation of the rights of the Nicaraguan people, which had
been widely reported in the press and which was of concern to the international
.,

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(Nr. Charnorro MOra, Nicaragua)

community, assumed many forms. For example, the allegedly secret operations,
for which more than $100 million had been allocated and which were aimed at
overthrowing the revolutionary Sandinista Government, were being conducted from
neighbouring territories and consisted in launching attacks at the border of the
territory against defenceless villages, and in murdering and kidnapping large
numbers of citizens. The Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport had been
partially destroyed by -CIA-recruited mercenary pilots flying American aircraft.
The fuel depots in Corinto had been destroyed by American personnel from on board
landing craft belonging to the CIA. Nicaragua• s principal ports on the Pacific
and Atlantic coasts had been mined by members of the United States armed forces
and by the CIA, which had used landing craft from an American ship lying off the
Nicaraguan coast. Mention should also be made of the manual Psychological
aperations in Guerrilla War by the CIA for use by the bands of mercenaries which
were attempting to overthrow the Nicaraguan Government.

86. Those facts and the methods employed proved that terrorism had become a
political instrument of the United States Government. He wondered whether it
was not that Government which was the greatest violator of the rights of peoples.
Indeed, did not the rulers of the United States take themselves for the masters of
the world7- In that capacity, they believed that they had the right to impose their
all-powerful will.

87. were not relations among civilized nations based on law and, therefore on
reason and justice? was that the way the United States respected the provisions of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Charter of the United Nations, the
Charter of the Organization of American States and other international agreements
and covenants to which they were party? Was that the way that the United States
complied with the Order delivered on 10 May 1984 by the International Court of
Justice regarding the Nicaraguan people's right to self-determination? Was that
the way the United States observed its own laws? Should not that country be
prosecuted before an international tribunal for having violated the most elementary
norms of international law? One could only conclude that that country was guilty
of all the above-mentioned charges.

88. In spite of the abominable war unleashed by the United States Government
a9ainst the people of Nicaragua, the revolutionary Government of Nicaragua had
endeavoured to preserve its political, economic, social and cultural rights. A
national commission entrusted with the promotion and protection of human rights had
been established several years earlier. Nir.aragua was the country which had
addressed the most invitations to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights,
and had implemented a large number of its recommendations and suggestions. The
·level of illiteracy, which had been 55 per cent during the Somoza dictatorship, had
been reduced to 12 per cent, which was one of the lowest levels of illiteracy in
Central and Latin America, and that result had won praise for Nicaragua from UNESCO.
Torture, which had been institutionalized under somoza, had disappeared. The penal
system was, in spite of limited national resources, exemplary in so far as it
ensured the re-education of prisoners. Cultural life was not the prerogative of a
minority, since the entire population took an active part in it. The right of
workers to establish trade unions was fully respected, a fact without precedent in
the history of Nicaragua. The right to food and the right to health were fully
ens ured. Endemic illnesses, such as malaria and poliomyelitis, had been eliminated

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(Mr. Chamorro Mora, Nicaragua)

and the infant mortality rate had been lowered. In spite of limited resources and
the destruction caused by the war of aggression, the essential needs of the
Nicaraguan people with regard to shelter, health, food and edu.cation were ensured.
The revolutionary Government had been able, in the context of political pluralism,
a mixed economy and respect for freedoms, to respect the principles which had
inspired the revolution.

89. In conclusion, he said that the United States, whose current Government
committed the greatest number of violations of the rights of peoples and of
Governments determined to remain politically independent, should stand trial for
its actions.

90. Mr. RAJAIE-KHORASSANI (Islamic Republic of Iran), having cited surah 30,
verse 41, of the Koran, said that his country was greatly concerned at the
degrading manner in which many regimes treated innocent people and at the shocking
news which was reported in the international press. While certain crimes drew the
attention of international organizations, the latter remained deaf to other
extremely distressing phenomena which were beyond their scope of action. As an
example, he cited cases of indecent assaults on minors, in the Western countries,
such crimes were reaching proportions that were utterly scandalous. His delegation
wished that it were only poss.i ble to induce Member States to revive moral decency
and spiritual health in their societies.

91. In his delegation's view, the concept of human rights was not limited to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Man was of divine origin and human dignity
could not be reduced to a series of secular norms. Corruption of all kinds was
widespread and must be fought. Although torture, the killing of innocent people
and deprivation of freedom could not be tolerated, his delegation saw in those
phenomena effects rather than causes. Only when the real causes were examined
would it be possible to understand why certain concepts contained in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights needed to be revised.

92. Some delegations had shown sincere and honest concern at human-rights
violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Others, through misinformation or
ignorance, had levelled baseless allegations. He noted that none of the critics of
his country had a "clean slate" in the annual reports of Amnesty International.
Instead of engaging in polemics, he preferred to clarify the difference between the
axiological doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the socio-political values
upheld in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

93. Since the Islamic revolution, the Iranian people had been blessed with the
honour of living under the banner of Islam. In that connection a distinction must
be made between an Islamic State established by the Muslim people of the country in
order to administer the affairs of the State according to Islam and to implement
Islamic law, and an Islamic country of which the great majority of the population
was Muslim but which· had a regime similar in structure to Western or Eastern
secular regimes. The Islamic revolution had removed the discrepancy which had
existed between popular belief and behaviour and the political order of the country.

94. He believed that with the establishment of the Islamic regime, the prayers of
the Iranians had been answered.

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(Mr. Rajaie-Khorassani, Islamic

Republic of Iran)

95. The new political order was not simply a democracy, a theocracy, a socialist
regime, an autocracy or anarchy, but a monocracy in full accordance and harmony
with the deepest moral and religious convictions of the people and therefore most
representative of the traditional, cultural, moral and religious beliefs of Iranian
society. It recognized no authority or power but that of Almighty God and no legal
tradition apart from Islamic law. As his delegation had already stated at the
thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly, conventions, declarations and
resolutions or decisions of international organizations, which were contrary to
Islam, had no validity in the Islamic Republic of Iran. If secular States decided,
for example, to produce a convention abolishing capital punishment, his country had
no objection because it would not be bound at all by such a convention. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which represented secular understanding of
the Judaeo-<llri stian tradition, could not be implemented by Nuslims and did not
accord with the system of values recognized by the Islamic Republic of Iran~ his
country would therefore not hesitate to violate its provisions, since it had to
choose between violating the divine law of the country and violating secular
conventions. That did not mean that the allegations made against Iran were true,
or that there were no elements in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that
accorded with Islam. His country was convinced that that Declaration must be
respected by all secular and non-Muslim States because the inhuman treatment and
degrading practices often reported in El Salvador, Chile and South Africa could not
be tolerated. Those who could not live up to the divine standards of Islam should
at least meet the minimum requirments established by international organizations,
if they did not wish to become centres of corruption, torture, injustice,
oppression and tyranny. The Islamic Republic of Iran, which strongly condemned
torture, believed that corporal punishment and the death penalty did not fall
within the category of torture when carried out on the basis of Islam, in
accordance with a sentence by an Islamic court.

96. He recalled that he had invited the personal representative of the Secretary-
General to observe the situation of human rights in his country. The Commission on
Human Rights, without any verification whatsoever, had passed judgement on the
basis of claims by the terrorist who had killed many Iranian religious leaders.

97. Nr. Madar (Somalia) resumed the Chair.

98. Mr. FAJARDQ-ALDONADO (Guatemala) said that his delegation was strongly opposed
to draft resolution A/C.3/39/L.77, which was merely the product of the traditional
arrogance of European colonial Powers. The European countries which sponsored it,
ignoring the report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights
(A/39/635), interpreted the historical, political and social realities of Guatemala
in their own way and officiously accused the Guatemalan Government.

99. He wondered why they only blamed Governments for the unfortunate incidents
that occurred and made no mention of the violations committed by those who, in
the name of their political interests, waged a campaign of terror and committed
sabotage and murder. A clue might be found in the view expressed by the Deputy
Minister for Foreign Affairs of a country which was one of the most ardent
adversaries of Guatemala, in declaring publicly and arrogantly that he supported
the armed struggle and terrorism in Guatemala as a means of achieving a political

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(Mr. Fajardo-Aldonado, Guatemala)

solution. That constituted direct interference in the internal affairs of

Guatemala, in violation of the United Nations Charter, just as Guatemala was
endeavouring to promote dialogue and understanding within the country and actively
~rticipating in the efforts of the Contadora Group, to find political solutions to
ilie crisis in Central America. In that spirit, Guatemala had requested the Special
~pporteur to find out who was financing and supporting the violence in Guatemala.

100. The draft submitted by the European countries was, as usual, partial,
unbalanced and discriminatory and reflected the political prejudices of those
countries against Guatemala, which it sought to discredit. The sponsors of the
draft resolution were the very parties that continued to benefit unscrupulously
from the considerable profits they derived from th~ir commercial ties with SOuth
Africa and the exploitation of children for pornographic purposes. They
represented the very same countries that practised discrimination in their own
territory against immigrants from their former colonies and millions of workers
from poorer regions, and it was they that wished to continue to exploit the natural
resources of the developing countries. It was easy systematically to attack a
small and vulnerable developing country like Guatemala, which was making great
efforts to achieve progress in the political, economic and social spheres.

101. Some passages in the draft resolution quite clearly reflected the partial
attitude of the sponsors. The fourth preambular paragraph, for example, referred
to resolution 1984/23 of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities in which the Sub-Commission recognized, inter alia, that
in Guatemala there existed an armed conflict of a non-international character. He
wondered on what grounds the Sub-Commission presumed to make a statement that did
not reflect the true state of affairs in Guatemala. There was not and never had
been any armed conflict of that kind in Guatemala. There were only clandestine
groups which continued to use terrorism and sabotage as political weapons and the
Government therefore had to take action ~0 guarantee the safety of persoris and
property and to maintain stability and law and order.

10 2. In the fifth preambular paragraph there was a reference to "the importance of

creating conditions in which the electoral process can be pursued in a climate free
' from intimidation and terror". Those conditions already existed, otherwise the
elections of 1 July could not have been as free and democratic as Guatemalans and
foreigners generally acknowledged them to be. The Guatemalan Government had,
moreover, repeatedly reaffirmed its willingness to guarantee free and democratic
elections.

103. His delegation also rejected the insinuation in the seventh preambular
paragraph that the fate of those reported to have been tried by the special
tribunals was "unclear". His Government had given all the relevant information
to the Special Rapporteur, as was recognized in the draft resolution itself.

104. The partiality of the text was also evident in the cynicism with which the
sponsors rejected the evidence and arguments presented by his Government, as well
as the testimony and findings of the Special Rapporteur.

loS. Operative paragraph 2 was full of false accusations. As Guatemala had often
pointed out, there were no "grave and widespread violations of human rights" in

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(Nr. Fajardo-Aldonado, Guatemala)

that country. There was no civil war to warrant references to "combatants" and
"non-combatants". In actual fact secret terrorist groups were clearly seeking to
disturb the peace, undermine democracy and destroy freedom. That was why Guatemala
had repeatedly requested that the source of the financial, military and strategic
assistance received by those groups should be investigated. It was impossible to
speak of "widespread repression": Guatemala was in fact making further progress
every day in the process of democratization and civil rights were recognized to a
greater extent there than in many States Members of the United Nations. Nor was
there any displacement or confinement of rural and indigenous people. Indeed,
model villages with all the necessary infrastructure had been established, a fact
which the sponors of the draft resolution denied, attempting to portray those
villages as gulags or concentration camps. Such accusations could not be given the
slightest credence any more than the increasingly patent aggression perpetrated
against Guatemala, on the pretext of "concern" over human rights violations, could
be dissembled. The Guatemalan Government was taking measures to promote the return
of the Guatemalan refugees living abroad, for the most part in Mexico. Those
refugees were returning in increasing numbers to Guatemala, as the Mexican
authorities and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had noted. As
for the civilian patrols, it must be reiterated that the Guatemalans had the
inalienable and imprescriptible right to provide for their own defence and
security. When citizens had decided to organize themselves, the Government had
given them authorization and support without ever exerting any coercion or pressure.

106. His delegation did, however, acknowledge that the Special Rapporteur had
described the situation obtaining in the rural areas clearly and believed that that
ought to have been taken into account in the preparation of a draft resolution. It
had already been pointed out that the displacements of the rural population caused
by the insurrection a few years earlier had stopped, but the sponsors raised the
issue again in paragraph 4 of the draft resolution. Unfortunately, they seemed not
to have read paragraphs 138 to 164 of the Special Rapporteur's report.

107. In subsequent paragraphs of the draft resolution, the Guatemalan Government

was requested to investigate the fate of persons reported missing, although it had
been doing so for some time, and to ensure the independence of the judicial system,
although that independence had always been guaranteed under the Constitution.

108. Moreover, once again his delegation rejected the intolerable presumption of
calling upon Governments to refrain from supplying arms and other military
assistance to Guatemala as long as serious human rights violations in that country
continued. Guatemala, in full exercise of its sovereignty, had the right to defend
itself and to acquire the necessary means of guaranteeing its security and
independence and maintaining law and order.

109. Guatemala maintained normal diplomatic relations with the countries sponsoring
the draft resolution, but regretted their hypocritical and cynical attitude and
rejected their Presumption in interfering in its internal affairs. It was they who
were responsible for the erosion and lack of credibility of United Nations human
rights bodies, since they used those bodies to bring about the political
destabilization of friendly countries. His delegation therefore urged the Third
Committee not to adopt draft resolution A/C.3/39/L.77 because it did not contribute
in any way to peace in Guatemala or stability in the Central American region.

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110. Hr. HAHER (Netherlands), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that
his Government did not believe its obligations were limited to establishing
juridical systems for the protection of all individuals. Any person residing in
Netherlands territory was afforded access to national and international recourse
procedures if he believed that his rights had been violated. The Netherlands was a
~rty to the Optional Protocol to the International covenant on Civil and Political
~ghts and had made the declaration provided for in article 41 of that Covenant.
The Netherlands Government recognized the Third Committee's competence to receive
communications from individuals under article 14 of the International Convention
on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination. Moreover, like most
non-communist European States, the Netherlands was a party to the European
Convention on Human Rights, which was probably the international instrument with
the broadest scope in that field. The Government of the Netherlands accepted
without reservation the competence of the independent European courts established
in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

111. None of the States whose delegations had criticized the attitude of the
Netherlands on human rights matters had assumed such serious obligations concerning
the protection of persons under their jurisdiction. Some States had refused,
categorically and on principle, to afford their citizens any form of international
recourse at all. That fact needed no comment.

112. Hr. SUFOTT (Israel), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the
representative of the Byelorussian SSR had spoken of concentration camps, although
he represented a Government and a system which had invented the most reprehensible
form of concentration camp in the contemporary world, the gulag. He had spoken of
the sufferings of the Byelorussian people during the Second World War. If nazism
and the Soviet Union had not joined forces in signing the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact,
the other peoples who had been sacrificed under that agreement would not have
experienced such tremendous suffering. Nee-fascism was a phenomenon which was
deeply deplored by everyone, but those who harped on it were those who, in fact,
practised it under various guises.

113. Hr. OGURTSOV (Byelorussian soviet Socialist Republic), exerc1s1ng his right of
reply, asked the representative of Israel not to attribute to him statements that
he had never made. He had not spoken of concentration camps in Israel, although
there were quite a number there, and he could quote from letters written by
Palestinians on the subject. What he had actually said, and was prepared to
repeat, was that there were direct parallels between the exactions of the Zionist
racists and the crimes of the German Fascists during the Second world War. The
acts of genocide perpetrated, for example, in the Palestinian camps at Sabra and
Shatila and the imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese in
concentration camps were comparable to the war crimes committed by the Fascists
during the Second WOrld War.

114. Mr. SUFOTT (Israel), exercising his right of reply, said that the
representative of the Byelorussian SSR had indeed spoken of concentration camps,
on several occasions, just as he had spoken of fascism and nee-fascism, also on
several occasions. Before speaking of genocide and murder and attempting to
instruct others, he should, as other countries had done in the Third Committee,
indicate what measures the Byelorussian SSR had adopted to prevent those practices
and improve the lot of the victims of all the evils he had mentioned.

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115. Mr. oGuRTSOV (Byelorussian soviet socialist Republic), exerc1s1ng his right of
reply, said that the representative of Israel was avoiding answering questions by
asking them himself. The representative of Israel had no right to speak of the
price which the Byelorussian people had paid to bring about the defeat of Hitler's
fascism. That was one subject on which he ought to be forbidden to speak. With
regard to fascism and nazism as they currently appeared in Israel, various circles,
even in Israel, had warned against that threat. Articles could be found in the
Israeli press stating that the conditions for the rise of fascism were present, a
statement which was confirmed by the facts.

The meeting rose at 7.35 p.m.