An encompassing social agenda. - GA 56 - Third Committee Social, Humanitarian and Cultural - United Nations - Statistical Data Included

UN Chronicle, March-May, 2002

In the final two meetings of the Third Committee, two texts sparked a heated debate. One was the draft resolution on the impact of globalization on human rights, which was later adopted by the General Assembly by a vote of 116 to 44, with 9 abstentions. Belgium, who was also speaking on behalf of the European Union, argued that globalization was not the source of all evil, and violation of one right did not mean violation of all rights. The right to be free from torture, for example, had nothing to do with globalization, he said.

The Canadian representative, speaking also on behalf of Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, also voted against it. Explaining his delegation's position, he said the resolution did not recognize the complexities of globalization and did not realize the importance of domestic measures that needed to be in place in order to enjoy the benefits of globalization. The United States said it did not accept the premise that the net effect of globalization was poverty and that it negatively affected the enjoyment of human rights.

From the other side of the divide, Egypt said the impact of globalization on human rights was not about indicting or praising globalization. The resolution simply made sure that it was a fair force for all countries. The delegations from Libya and the Sudan both agreed with Egypt on this point.

The second text, on terrorism and human rights, was adopted by the Assembly by a vote of 102 to none, with 69 abstentions. Those who abstained argued that terrorist acts were not violations of international human rights law. In the Committee, the representative of Canada, who abstained, said that to equate the two weakened the protection of human rights. Terrorist acts were criminal acts and should be prosecuted under national and international criminal law, he said.

The Committee's work programme during the fifty-sixth session included an all-encompassing social agenda. Crime prevention and criminal justice, international drug control, advancement of women, refugees and displaced persons, the rights of children, indigenous people, elimination of racial discrimination, the right to self-determination and diverse human rights questions were only a few.

The Assembly adopted without a vote 53 of the 70 texts the Committee recommended for adoption.

Globalization also figured prominently in the Committee's debates. The representative of the World Bank said that there were conceptual differences in approaching the definition of globalization. At the Bank, he said, based on the testimony of poor people themselves and changes in thinking about poverty, the definition of poverty had been expanded to include not only low incomes and low consumption, but also human and social development. He noted that in the last year, the Bank had said three core elements were needed to eradicate poverty: opportunity; empowerment; and security.

Two texts--relating to protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons, and protection of migrants, human rights and mass exoduses--were adopted without a vote by the Committee as well as the Assembly.

The resolution on human rights and cultural diversity reaffirmed the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and inter-relatedness of all human rights. It also stated that specific cultural and religious backgrounds had to be borne in mind while applying human rights. However, the representative of Chile said that though her delegation joined consensus in the Committee, it felt that specificities should not be used as a pretext for the protection of human rights.

Continuing the debate on human rights issues, the Committee, while discussing a text on the protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons, requested the Secretary-General to provide his Special Representative on internally displaced persons with all necessary assistance to carry out his mandate effectively from within existing resources. The text also encouraged the Special Representative to continue to seek the contribution of States, organizations and institutions to put his work on a more stable basis.

The text on human rights and mass exoduses stressed the importance of adherence to international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law, in order to avert the mass exodus of refugees and provide protection to them and to internally displaced persons. The Committee also reaffirmed the need for Governments, intergovernmental bodies and relevant international organizations to intensify their cooperation and assistance in worldwide efforts to address human rights situations that lead to, and the serious problems that result from, mass exoduses of refugees. The text also emphasized the responsibility of all States and international organizations to cooperate with all, particularly developing countries, affected by mass exoduses.

Under the same cluster of refugee-related issues, the Committee discussed the text on human rights and cultural diversity and urged all international actors to build an international order based on inclusion, justice, equality and equity, and to reject all doctrines of exclusion based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.