labor: as a means of political coercion or education or as punishment for holding or expressing political views ideologically opposed to the established system; as a method of mobilizing and using labor for economic development; as a means of labor discipline; as punishment for participating in strikes; and as a means of racial, social, national, or religious discrimination. It requires states to take effective measures to secure immediate and complete abolition of such forced or compulsory labor. The Convention on the Political Rights of Women provides that women shall be entitled on equal terms with men to vote in all elections; that women shall be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies established by national law; and that women shall be entitled to hold public office and to exercise all public functions established by national law. Under the Convention Concerning Employment Policy, members are required to pursue a policy designed to promote full, productive, and freely chosen employment irrespective of race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, or social origin. The policy shall take due account of the stage of economic development and be pursued by methods appropriate to national conditions and practices. Recommendations 9. The Department of State should undertake a comprehensive review of the international human rights conventions which the U.S. Government has not signed or sent to the Senate for its advice and consent; and submit with suitable reservations or understandings as many of these conventions as appropriate to the Senate for its advice and consent. Early attention should be directed to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (U.N.), and the American Convention on Human Rights (OAS). 10. The Senate should consent to ratification of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and the other human rights conventions pending before the Senate; namely: Convention on the Granting of Political Rights of Women (OAS); Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention (ILO); Abolition of Forced Labor Convention (ILO); Convention on the Political Rights of Women (U.N.); and When appropriate, reservations or understandings should be attached to a ratification. UNITED NATIONS EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON HUMAN RIGHTS The United Nations has promoted respect for human rights through educational programs in several ways: undertaking comprehensive studies of particular rights, reviewing reports by states on their human rights practices, sponsoring seminars, and granting fellowships on particular human rights problems. The U.N. recognized that the standards set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments could not be readily and fully implemented. The educational programs were designed principally to encourage states to respect these standards and to provide the technical information required to bring their own laws and practices up to the international standard. The Studies Program The studies provide a comprehensive accounting of conditions throughout the world concerning a particular human right. They have been conducted by the Commission on Human Rights, the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and the Commission on the Status of Women.* Often a special rapporteur acting in his personal capacity conducts the study which gives him the opportunity to view conditions more critically than would the U.N. Secretariat. In the studies by the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, the rapporteur concludes his study with recommendations and often includes draft principles relating to the particular right under study. Often the Subcommission adopts a set of principles based on the special rapporteur's recommendations. In some cases the principles have been incorporated into a declaration or convention on the subject. In recent years the U.N.'s attention in the human rights field has been directed primarily toward the elimination of racial discrimination and colonialism, and the promotion of economic and social rights. As a consequence, civil and political rights have received less attention both generally and with respect to the studies program. U.N.System for Periodic Reports on Human Rights For many years, the United Nations has had a program of voluntary periodic reporting by states on their human rights practices. A committee of the Commission on Human Rights reviews these reports and makes general recommendations. The United Nations has never been able to adopt a satisfactory method for reviewing these reports.5 Many states tend to report only 4 The Commission on Human Rights has conducted studies on such matters as: The right of everyone to be free from arbitrary arrest, detention, and exile; the right of arrested persons to communicate with those whom it is necessary for them to consult in order to insure their defense or to protect their essential interests; and the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights. The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities has conducted studies in the following fields: Study of discrimination in education; study of discrimination in the field of employment and occupation; study of discrimination in the matter of religious rights and practices; study of discrimination in the matter of political rights; study of discrimination in respect of the right of everyone to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country; racial discrimination; study of discrimination in the matter of political rights; the study of slavery; study of the protection of minorities (in progress); study of the question of the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide (in progress); and study of the problem of discrimination against indigenous populations (in progress). The Commission on the Status of Women has conducted the following studies: Study on the interrelationship of the status of women and family planning; constitutions, electoral laws and other legal instruments relating to the political rights of women; status of women in private law-parental rights and duties including guardianship; and status of women in private law-legal capacity, including freedom of movement (in progress). In contrast, the International Labor Organization has a more effective system of periodic reports (pp. 44–45). on the favorable developments in their country. They emphasize the legal status of human rights without giving an accurate picture of the actual conditions. Efforts to conduct a critical review of the reportscomparing the conditions as reported by the governments with actual conditions-have been resisted by many states. The present committee of the Commission which reviews the reports is not adequate for the task. It is composed of governmental representatives and consequently is unable to independently and critically review the reports. Moreover, the cycle for submitting reports is too infrequent. The reports are divided into three fields: economic, social, and cultural rights; civil and political rights; and freedom of information. States report on one of these fields every 2 years. Consequently, when the Commission reviews the reports, it will be considering material that may be as old as 6 years or more. John P. Humphrey, the former Director of the U.N. Division of Human Rights, recommended in his testimony that "there should be a small body of really independent experts appointed perhaps by the Secretary General without reference to governments, people who have nothing to fear from governments and no hope of any reward, who would be given the time to analyze and study these reports and make recommendations to the Human Rights Commission, the Economic and Social Council, and the General Assembly." 6 Such a committee would be able to do what the United Nations has never succeeded in doing-provide objective criticism (and praise) of the practices of specific governments, and make recommendations to the governments. Representatives of the governments should, of course, be provided the opportunity to appear before the committee to explain their report and answer questions.7 Seminars and Fellowships U.N. seminars and fellowship programs in human rights enable government officials to learn how other governments handle human rights questions. The officials are frequently able to apply in their own country the methods utilized in another country. Under the fellowship program the individual fellows can travel abroad to observe and study for several months how the host country government handles particular problems. The United Nations conducts several seminars each year. In 1972 seminars were held on human rights and scientific and technological developments, and on the status of women and family planning. The topic considered by the seminar is partly determined by the host government, which incurs much of the financial cost of the seminar. The United States has never hosted a human rights seminar, but it should, in order to encourage member states to give greater importance to civil and political rights. 6 Hearing, Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements, Oct. 18, 1973. 7 This procedure is followed with respect to the Racial Discrimination Convention. The Committee on Racial Discrimination, established under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, conducts a thorough study of the reports by the states parties on their implementation of the convention. Representatives of the states' parties participate in the discussion of their reports. Recommendations 11. The Department of State should request the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to devote special attention to civil and political rights in their studies of particular human rights questions. 12. The Department of State should request the U.N. Commission on Human Rights to establish a committee of independent experts appointed by the Secretary General to review the periodic reports on human rights, to make objective comments and recommendations on international conditions generally and regarding specific countries. 13. The United States through the Department of State, should host a human rights seminar under the U.N. advisory services program. U.N. PROCEDURES FOR ACTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS In 1947 the Commission on Human Rights declared that it had no power to act upon human rights complaints received from individuals. and groups. The U.N. receives thousands of complaints (known as communications at the U.N.) each year, but until recently the only action taken was to forward the communication to the government concerned. In 1967 the Economic and Social Council authorized the Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to examine information relevant to gross violations of human rights contained in the communications on human rights. The Sub-Commission was asked to prepare a report containing information on violations of human rights from all available sources. The Commission, after careful consideration of the above information, was authorized to make a thorough study of situations which reveal a consistent pattern of violations of human rights. In 1970 the Council established special procedures for the Sub-Commission and the Commission to review the communications on human rights and make recommendations concerning any situation which appears "to reveal a consistent pattern of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms ***"9 Under these procedures a working group of five members of the Sub-Commission makes the initial review of the communications and refers to the Sub-Commission communications "which appear to reveal a consistent pattern of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms within the terms of reference of the 8 Economic and Social Council Resolution 1235 (XLII), June 6, 1967; Commission on Human Rights Resolution 8 (XXIII), March 16, 1967. Economic and Social Council Resolution 1503 (XLVIII), May 27, 1970. Sub-Commission." The Sub-Commission reviews cases referred to it by the working group and decides whether they should be referred to the Commission on Human Rights. The Commission reviews those cases referred to it by the SubCommission and decides whether a case requires a thorough study by the Commission or an investigation by an ad hoc committee appointed by the Commission. Such an investigation would require the consent of the state concerned. After completion of the study or investigation, the Commission decides whether to make recommendations to the Economic and Social Council. All actions envisaged in the implementation of these procedures remain confidential until such time as the Commission decides to make recommendations. In 1972 when the procedures were first implemented, the working group referred several cases to the Sub-Commission but it postponed taking a decision on them. In 1973 the working group referred eight cases to the Sub-Commission, and the latter referred them to the Commission. The cases concerned the following situations: torture in Brazil, detention of political prisoners in Indonesia, torture by the United Kingdom in Northern Ireland; arrest of trade unionists in Portugal; suppression of political rights in Iran; forced marriages in Tanzania, and discrimination against East Indians in Guyana.10 In March, 1974, the Commission failed to decide whether any of the eight cases required a thorough study or an investigation. Instead, it appointed a working group to meet immediately prior to the next session of the Commission (in 1975) to decide what action should be taken on these cases as well as any other cases which the Sub-Commission may refer to it. Some delegations and observers criticized the Commission for failing to determine whether any of these eight cases required a thorough study or investigation. At its 1974 session the Commission also discussed extensively the violation of human rights in Chile. Although it could have initiated a study of conditions in Chile, the Commission simply decided to telegram the Chilean Government and to express concern regarding the violation of human rights in that country. Despite the recent disappointments, the adoption of the procedures for reviewing human rights communications and the general authority for the Commission and Sub-Commission to act upon human rights violations are both significant steps forward in the international protection of human rights. The Commission and Sub-Commission should implement these new responsibilities fairly without regard to political considerations. The procedures for reviewing communications should be broadly interpreted with due consideration given to the interests of both the authors of the communications and the governments concerned. During the course of the subcommittee's hearings a number of suggestions were made for strengthening the procedures. Under the present procedure the authors of communications are only informed by the U.N. that their communication will be handled in accordance with the above-mentioned resolutions. They do not receive a copy of the reply, if any, of the government concerned. They 10 The New York Times, U.N. Rights Group is Under Attack, Mar. 10, 1974, p. 1. |