A Guide to Human Rights (1999)
CONTENTS
Why
is it important to learn about human rights?
The
issue of human rights concerns all of us. In all parts of the world, people
and governments continue to commit acts such as torture, arbitrary detention,
extra-judicial killing, and other human rights abuses against individuals.
It is important to have an understanding of basic human rights and freedoms
in order to prevent abuses from taking place. Some governments attempt
to define human rights on the basis of cultural differences. This distinction
ignores the universal nature of human rights which recognises that all
human beings everywhere have common basic needs and should be treated with
equal human dignity.
Individuals
and governments which fail to uphold human rights standards are accountable
to their people and to the world community. By understanding human rights,
one can develop a sense of responsibility toward defending and advocating
respect for human rights as well as expressing concern for those people
whose human rights have been or are being violated. Human rights violations
can only be remedied if one realises his or her basic ‘ rights and is willing
to work for the promotion and protection of the human rights of oneself
and of others.
Human
rights education enables individuals and groups to become aware of the
universal standards set forth in internationally recognised human rights
instruments and increases understanding of both the personal and communal
nature of human rights. Human rights thus become relevant to people’s relationships
with each other as well as with the state and other entities. It is only
through the realisation of human rights that social justice and human freedom
can be achieved.
This
booklet aims to impart information about human rights, to promote respect
for human rights, and to encourage action in defence of those rights.
TCHRD
is committed to developing awareness and understanding of international
human rights standards as well as the knowledge of relevant international
mechanisms for the protection of human rights within the Tibetan community.
Our goal is to encourage ordinary citizens to work towards safeguarding
the human rights of all people. We believe that education is one of the
most powerful means of preventing abuses of human rights.
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Introduction
This
year the international community celebrates the 50th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document, drafted in the wake
of the second world war, aims to ensure respect for human rights in all
pans of the world. Since then, substantial efforts have been made to promote
and protect human dignity and human rights. However, many people and governments
continue to violate human rights resulting in barbarous acts against mankind.
Governments
are obliged, under international law, to act as the protectors of universal
human rights. Tibet is one such instance where the international community
thus far has failed to prevent widespread abuses of human rights. Even
the most fundamental rights, such as the right to life or the right not
to be subjected to torture, are consistently violated by the Chinese government.
The
history of human rights is a long one with its roots in many individual
struggles for freedom and equality in different parts of the world. Its
principles can also be found in most of the world’s religions and philosophies.
The idea of human rights, therefore, pre-dates the United Nations, yet
the creation of this international body represented the formal recognition
of the importance of human rights in the world.
The
area of human rights does not refer merely to violations. Human rights
are becoming incorporated into many aspects of life; a type of social contract
that fulfils people’s aspirations to live in dignity and freedom. Human
Rights are also about the prevention of the misuse of power. The real protection
of civil society can only come from its own creators: the people. People
want to know that they are in full control of their lives and that they
are recognised as unique individuals within society.
As
the 20th century draws to a close, human rights in the world are confronted
with many serious challenges and threats. Despite the many legal instruments
and international mechanisms set up to ensure respect for human rights,
shocking violations continue to take place in all parts of the world. Human
rights are not a kind of miraculous cure for all the world’s ills; it is
dependent on the people themselves to respect human dignity and work actively
to end human suffering.
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What
are Human Rights?
Human
rights can be defined generally as those rights which are inherent in our
nature and without which we cannot live as human brings. They are rights
which every human being is entitled to enjoy and to have protected. Human
rights and fundamental freedoms allow us to develop fully and use our human
qualities and to satisfy our spiritual and other needs.
Human
rights are a human creation. They grow out of the feeling of injustice
which human beings experience when their humanity is abused or denied.
They are based on mankind’s increasing demand for a life in which the inherent
dignity and worth of each human being will receive respect and protection.
Human rights introduce the idea of justice in the natural order of the
world, thereby giving human existence a higher sense and purpose.
Human
rights are universal moral rights that should be respected in the treatment
of all men, women, and children. These are also called natural rights and
they belong to people simply because they are human. They do not have to
be earned, bought or inherited. People are equally entitled to them regardless
of their race, sex, colour, language, national origin, age, class or religious
or political beliefs. The underlying idea of such rights exists in some
form in all cultures and societies. People still have human rights even
when the laws of their own countries do not recognise or protect them.
Human
rights affect society as a whole. The denial of human rights creates conditions
of social and political unrest, sowing the seeds of violence and conflict
within and between societies and nations. The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights opens with the declaration that recognition of the equal rights
of all members of the human family ‘is the foundation of freedom, justice
and peace in the world’.
Human
rights are enshrined in internationally recognised laws such as the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. The Universal Declaration and various other
covenants, conventions and declarations are created by international bodies
such as the United Nations and they make up a body of “law” that has moral
and sometimes binding force on nations.
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UNIVERSAL
DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
On
December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was
created for the people of the world, affirming that all people are born
equal in dignity. It was one of the first major achievements of the United
Nations in the field of human rights. The Universal Declaration was drafted
in the wake of World War 11 as a protest against the terrible atrocities
which had occurred during the war and to help ensure that they would not
be repeated. Each year on 10 December, the anniversary of the adoption
of the Declaration is observed internationally as Human Rights Day.
The
Universal Declaration states that human rights are ‘the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace in the world.’ The UDHR laid down the basic hopes and
needs common to all of humanity. It recorded the wishes not only of people
from countries which had already reached a certain economic standard of
living, but also the rights of people in countries where millions of human
beings were still weighed down by oppression, poverty and lack of adequate
education.
The
UDHR was intended to be a “common standard of achievement for all peoples
and nations.’ It has 30 articles which include civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights, and fundamental freedoms to which every human
being is entitled.
The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly
of the UN. At that time the UN had 56 members; 48 voted in favour, none
against and 8 members abstained. The UDHR is not a treaty or a binding
legal document. It is, rather, a declaration - a statement of intent or
principle. Under the UN Charter, member states promise to take joint and
separate actions to promote universal respect for the observance of human
rights. There is therefore a strong moral expectation that member states
will respect the spirit of the UDHR and follow its provisions.
The
UDHR is also important because:
It
is used as a standard of behaviour and as a basis for appeals calling on
governments to observe human rights. It has been made into law by several
global and regional treaties or covenants”, and by legally binding agreements
and contracts between individuals, groups and countries. It has influenced
the constitutions, laws and court decisions of many nations and international
organisations.
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TYPES
OF HUMAN RIGHTS
In
1966 the rights enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
were divided into two covenants - the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The Covenants define in more detail most
of the rights set out in the UDHR and deal with some additional rights.
The
Covenants are treaties whose States Parties have formally agreed to abide
by their provisions and the rights they recognise are expected to be law
in those States. The ICCPR is considered to focus on individuals’ rights
and the obligations are meant to be discharged as soon as a State becomes
party to the Covenant. The ICESCR is drafted more in terms of communal
rights and states’ duties, and the Covenant recognises that full realisation
of these rights may have to be achieved progressively over a period of
time.
Civil and Political
Rights
Under
the heading of Civil and Political Rights, all governments are to protect
the life, liberty and security of their citizens. They should guarantee
that no one is enslaved and that no one is subjected to torture or to arbitrary
arrest and detention. Everyone is entitled to a fair trial. The right to
freedom of thought, expression, conscience and religion is to be protected.
These give people the freedom to think and to have access to information,
the freedom to act and to choose what to do, and freedom to join in the
political life of their community and society.
Articles
3 to 21 of the Declaration set forth the civil and political rights to
which all human beings are entitled, including:
-
the
right to life, liberty and security of person;
-
freedom
from slavery and servitude;
-
freedom
from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile;
-
the
right to a fair trial;
-
freedom
from arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence,
freedom of movement;
-
the
right of asylum;
-
the
right to marry and to found a family;
-
the
right to own property;
-
freedom
of thought, conscience and religion;
-
freedom
of opinion and expression;
-
the
right to peaceful assembly and association;
-
the
right to take part in government and to equal access to public service.
Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights
Under
the heading of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, all governments are
expected to work progressively to improve the living conditions of their
citizens. For example, they should try to guarantee the right to food,
clothing, housing and medical care, the protection of the family and the
right to social security, education and employment. They are to promote
these rights without discrimination of any kind. These provide people with
protection against having the basic necessities of life taken away from
them.
Articles
22 to 27 of the Declaration set forth the economic, social and cultural
rights to which all human beings are entitled:
-
the
right to social security;
-
the
right to work, to receive equal pay for equal work and to form and
join trade unions;
-
the
right to rest and leisure;
-
the
right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being;
-
the
right to education;
-
the
right to participate in the cultural life of the community.
Environmental
and Development Rights
These
are sometimes referred to as the ‘third generation’ of rights. This
is a somewhat misleading characterisation as the right of all peoples to
self-determination and to freely determine their political status and freely
pursue their economic, social and cultural development is protected in
article 1 of both the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and
the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. As such, these rights are
inalienable from the other “sets” of rights.
However,
it is true that these group-based rights were actively discussed and specifically
recognised and developed only in more recent years. The right to development
was first recognised by the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1977 and was
enshrined by the General Assembly in the 1986 Declaration on the Rights
to Development. Environmental rights include the right to live in an environment
that is clean and free from pollution and protected from destruction.
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Universality
of Human Rights
The
principle of universality is fundamental to the understanding of human
rights- i.e. That human rights apply equally to each and every human being,
regardless of the, culture in which they live. Yet it is heavily disputed,
even rejected, by certain governments and movements who advocate ‘cultural
relativism” - ie. That rights and rules about morality depend on cultural
context and therefore necessarily differ throughout the world.
Unfortunately,
cultural relativism is often used as an argument to justify the failure
to respect certain international standards of human rights. For example,
proponents of the ‘full belly thesis’ argue that individual civil and political
rights are a luxury for the starving masses and can only he granted once
the primary needs of food and health have been satisfied.
Arguments
in favour of one or the other of the ‘sets” of rights ignore the indivisibility
of human rights. This means that respect for civil and political - rights
cannot be, divorced from the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural’
rights. Authentic economic and social development cannot exist without
the individual right to participate in the political process.
The
universality of human rights was reaffirmed in the Vienna Declaration adopted
by the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993. The Declaration states
definitively that ‘The universal nature of these rights and freedoms is
beyond question” and that ‘All human rights are universal, indivisible,
and interdependent and interrelated”. This includes the broader;’ range
of rights including’ development and environmental rights and rights indigenous
peoples.
“Individual
Rights” And “Collective Rights”
Human
rights are designed to protect not only the individual but also individuals
as members ‘of groups or communities. It is therefore important to
understand the relationship between ‘individual rights” and “collective
rights”.
A
right may be ‘collective’ by virtue of the way in which it is exercised
or by virtue of its holder. There are rights and freedoms that presuppose
the existence of other individuals, groups and communities with which and
within which they are exercised. Mention may be made, by way of example,
of freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, the
right to organise and the right to free elections. These are rights with
a collective dimension by virtue of the way in which they are exercised.
Another
distinguishing factor is the holder of a right. Whereas individual rights
are rights of human beings considered in their individual essence, collective
rights construed in this sense would be rights of groups or of communities
which group individuals together. The recognition of certain group rights
is essential for the self-fulfilment of the individual as a social being
and for the achievement of an effective and genuine universality of human
rights as rights of each and every individual without exception.
“Collective’
rights and individual human rights are both complementary and mutually
exclusive. They are complementary because an individual cannot he free
if he lives in an oppressed group or population. But the two categories
of rights may also be mutually exclusive, for how can the conflicts that
are always possible between them be settled?
To
recognise the rights of groups is to maintain that such rights must be
capable of performing their function for the individual’s benefit if the
individual is to be a full human being. The rights of the groups are nothing
else than the right of the individual to receive from groups the means
he needs for his self-fulfilment. Since the group derives its own rights
from serving the individuals who compose it, it has no rights against the
rights of the individual.
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THE
UNITED NATIONS
In
order to defend human rights through the United Nations system, one must
first know how that system works. The purpose of this section of the booklet
is to explain some of the workings of the UN: why it was created; what
the different organs and bodies do; and which UN mechanisms are available
to individuals.
Background
The
predecessor to the UN was the League of Nations which was founded immediately
after the First World War. It originally consisted of 42 countries, 26
of which were non-European. At its largest, 57 countries were members of
the League. The League was created because a number of people in France,
South Africa, the UK and the US believed that a world organisation of nations
could keep the peace and prevent a repetition of the horrors of World War
1. An effective world body now seemed possible because communication technology
had improved and there was an increase in international co-operation.
The
League had two basic aims. It sought to preserve the peace through collective
action and created the League’s Council for Arbitration and Conciliation
to mediate in disputes. This body had the authority to impose economic
and military sanctions if it deemed fit. The League’s second aim was to
promote international co-operation in economic and social affairs.
As
World War II unfolded, however, it became clear that the League had failed
in its chief aim of peace- keeping in part because it had no military power
of its own. It depended on its members’ contributions and its members were
not willing to use either economic or military sanctions. Moral authority
proved insufficient. Furthermore,
several Big Powers failed to support the League: the United States never
joined; Germany was a member for only seven years from 1926-33 and the
USSR for only five years from 1934-39; Japan and Italy both withdrew in
the 1930’s. The League then depended mainly on Britain and France who were
hesitant to act forcefully. It proved difficult for governments long accustomed
to operating independently to work through this new organisation.
Birth of the
UN
The
United Nations grew out of the ashes of the Second World War. It officially
came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the UN Charter was ratified
by a majority of the original 51 Member States. The United Nations is not
a world government but is rather an organisation of sovereign nations.
The
official purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world
together to work for peace and development based on the principles of justice,
human dignity and the well being of all people. It was intended to enable
countries to balance global interdependence and national interests when
addressing international problems. While respect for human rights is one
of the founding principles of the UN, its human rights program reportedly
accounts for less than one percent of the overall budget of the organisation.
As
of May 1996, there were 185 members of the United Nations. All members
meet in the General Assembly which is the closest thing to a world parliament
currently in existence. Each country, large or small, rich or poor, has
a single vote. While none of the decisions taken by the assembly are binding,
the Assembly’s decisions become resolutions that carry the weight of world
opinion.
The
United Nations Headquarters is in New York City but the land and buildings
are international territory. The United Nations has its own flag, its own
post office and its own postage stamps. Six official languages are used
in the United Nations - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
The UN European Headquarters is iii the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.
It has an office in Vienna, Austria and Economic Commissions in Addis Ababa
in Ethiopia, Amman in Jordan, Bangkok in Thailand and Santiago in Chile.
The senior officer of the United Nations Secretariat is the Secretary-General
who is presently Mr Kofi Annan.
The
stated aims of the United Nations are:
-
To
keep peace throughout the world
-
To
develop friendly relations between nations
-
To
work together to help people live better lives; to eliminate poverty, disease
and illiteracy in the world; to stop environmental destruction; and to
encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms
-
To
be a centre for helping nations to achieve these aims
The Main Organs
of the United Nations
1.
General Assembly
The
General Assembly is the main deliberating body of the United Nations and
is a place where countries can voice their concerns to the rest of the
world. The General Assembly is composed of all UN members. Switzerland
is one nation which is not a member of the UN, although the European headquarters
of the UN is in Geneva. Each country has one vote and decisions on ordinary
matters are taken by a simple majority. Important questions require a two-thirds
majority.
The
Assembly meets regularly from September to mid-December in New York and
also holds special or emergency sessions when the need arises. Even when
the Assembly is not in session its work goes on in special committees and
bodies.
The
General Assembly serves as a forum for Member States to discuss any matters
of global concern. Each Member State is represented by a senior diplomat
but, at times, foreign ministers or even heads of state attend meetings.
The General Assembly promotes co-operation between nations in social and
economic affairs and encourages the observation of human rights for all.
It has special committees on such matters as disarmament, finance, humanitarian
issues, and social and economic concerns. Deliberations in the General
Assembly have resulted in significant agreements and the creation of new
international law. These agreements, or adopted resolutions, are only recommendations
and, as such, cannot he enforced. However, they carry great weight because
they represent the opinion of a majority of countries.
The
Assembly also sets policies and determines programmes for the UN Secretariat.
It sets goals and directs activities for development, approves the budget
of peace-keeping operations and calls for world conferences on major issues.
Occupying a central position in the UN, the Assembly receives reports from
other organs, admits new Members, approves the budget and appoints the
Secretary-General.
II.
Security Council
The
League of Nations Council was transformed into the UN Security Council
consisting of the five victors of World War 11 as permanent members and
ten other countries serving two-year terms. The five permanent members
- France, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - can
forbid a Security Council action even if the other 14 countries are in
favour. This is called veto power. The make-up of the Security Council
has received heavy criticism as being unrepresentative of the world as
a whole, and there is a growing impetus to admit new permanent members
and to increase the total number of members.
The
veto power is significant because, while the other organs of the UN can
only make recommendations to governments, the Security Council has the
power to make decisions which member states are obliged to carry out. The
main function of the Security Council is to maintain international peace
and, as such, it also serves as a forum to negotiate international disputes.
When
a threat to international peace is brought before the Council, it usually
first asks the parties to reach agreement by peaceful means. The Council
may undertake mediation or set forth principles for a settlement. It may
request the Secretary General to investigate and report on a situation.
If fighting breaks out, the Council tries to secure a cease-fire. It may
send peace-keeping missions to troubled areas, with the consent of the
parties involved, to reduce tension and keep opposing forces apart. It
may deploy peace-keepers to prevent the outbreak of conflict. It has the
power to enforce its decisions by imposing economic sanctions and by ordering
collective military action.
The
Council also makes recommendations to the Assembly on a candidate for Secretary-General
and on the admission of new members to the United Nations.
III.
Economic and Social Council
ECOSOC,
as it is often called, works under the authority of the General Assembly
and co-ordinates the economic and social work of the UN. The Council has
54 members who serve for three years - 18 new members are elected each
year. Voting is by a simple majority. It holds one month-long sessions
each year. It discusses, studies and makes recommendations to the General
Assembly relating to economic development, environmental issues, human
rights and other economic issues. It also co-ordinates the work of the
Commissions and the Specialised Agencies such as the World Health Organisation
(WHO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO).
IV.
The International Court of Justice
The
International Court of Justice (also known as the World Court) is the main
UN organ for handing down legal judgements. Only states, not individuals,
can take cases before the court. It consists of 15 judges elected by the
General Assembly. The judges are chosen on the basis of their qualifications
and not on their nationality. However, no two judges can be from the same
country. The seat of the court is in The Hague, Netherlands. The UN Charter
provides that each member of the UN is ipso facto (by that fact alone)
party to the Statute of the Court and non-members may also become parties
on certain conditions. Parties States can refer matters to the ICJ such
as border disputes, fishing and mineral rights and other matters to do
with the Charter, and the General Assembly or the Security Council may
ask the Court for an advisory opinion on any matter.
V.
The Secretariat
The
Secretariat is the ‘civil service” of the UN; it works for all the other
organs of the UN and administers their programmes. It has an international
staff of 15,000 to service the day to day work of the various commissions
and agencies. The Headquarters are in New York. Other UN centres are in
Geneva and Vienna. The head of the Secretariat is the Secretary General.
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UNITED
NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES
There
are two main UN bodies dealing with human rights: the UN Commission on
Human Rights and the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination
and Protection of Minorities. There are also a number of human rights committees,
working groups and special rapporteurs.
The
UN Commission on Human Rights
This
body was established in 1946 with 18 member countries. The membership
has increased over the years to its current total of 53 nations. The 53
member countries are elected for three year terms by the UN Economic and
Social Council: 15 members come from Africa; 12 from Asia; 5 from Eastern
Europe; 11 from Latin America and the Caribbean States; and 10 from Western
Europe and other States (including USA, Canada and Australia).
The
Commission is the central UN body responsible for promotion and protection
of human rights. Its terms of reference are extensive; it may deal with
any matters relating to human rights. The Commission considers and adopts
resolutions on a wide range of human rights issues and some country-specific
situations, makes studies, drafts international instruments setting human
rights standards, and reviews recommendations and studies prepared by the
UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.
The
Commission meets annually in Geneva for six weeks, beginning in late January
or early February. Its meetings are public, except when it meets in closed
sessions for several days to discuss the “ 1503 procedure” (the confidential
procedure for complaints about alleged human rights violations).
During the public meetings, governments which are not members of the Commission
and non-governmental organisations which have been granted consultative
status with the UN Economic and Social Council may observe proceedings
from the meeting room and make written and oral statements concerning issues
on the agenda.
The
Commission is a subsidiary of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
to which it reports annually. ECOSOC operates under the authority of the
UN General Assembly and reports annually to that body. The Commission’s
annual report to ECOSOC is a public document which summarises the results
of the session and includes the text of all adopted resolutions.
During
recent years, the Commission has discussed subjects including (but
not limited to): human rights situations in various countries, self-determination,
torture, ‘disappearances’, capital punishment, detention for exercising
the right to freedom of expression, religious intolerance, rights of the
child, migrant workers, the role of youth in the protection and promotion
of human rights, and protection of human rights defenders.
The
High Commissioner for Human Rights is the UN official with principle responsibility
for UN human rights activities. The first High Commissioner took office
in April 1994, and the current High Commissioner, selected in June 1997,
is Mrs Mary Robinson from Ireland. The High Commissioner works, through
the Centre for Human Rights, to promote and protect human rights in the
field and provides technical, financial and educational support.
The
UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities
This
Sub-Commission is composed of 26 members nominated by governments and elected
to four-year terms by the UN Commission on Human Rights. In contrast to
the Commission, the Sub-Commission members are elected to serve as independent
experts rather than to represent their government’s policies. Despite its
official title, the Sub-Commission deals with a wide range of human rights
topics. It debates and adopts resolutions on human rights issues and some
country situations, carries out studies, drafts international instruments,
and makes recommendations to the Commission.
The
Sub-Commission meets annually in Geneva for four weeks, beginning in early
August. Its meetings are public, except for the several days when it meets
in closed sessions to discuss the – “1503 procedure”. During public meetings
government representatives and non-governmental organisations which have
consultative status with ECOSOC may be in the meeting room as observers
and may make written and oral statements concerning issues on the agenda.
The
Sub-Commission submits a public report annually to its parent body, the
UN Commission on Human Rights. That report summarises the results and includes
the text of all adopted resolutions.
Human
Rights Committees
The
following six international human rights treaties are each monitored by
a committee of independent experts. The Committee monitors the extent to
which each of the States Parties (figures given are as at December 1996)
are adhering to their treaty obligations and they may be required to report
to the committee on human rights observance in their territory.
The
Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups are envoys entrusted with the politically
sensitive and sometimes dangerous task of compiling information on violations
in a specific country or of a certain type. Appointed as individuals rather
than as Government representatives, special rapporteurs gather facts, maintain
contact with local groups and Government authorities, conduct on-site visits
when Governments permit and make recommendations on how human rights institutions
might be strengthened
Working
groups and special rapporteurs are also appointed to conduct ‘thematic’
studies on issues such as torture, religious intolerance, arbitrary detention,
summary or arbitrary execution and the sale of children and to take action
in instances of abuse failing within that classification.
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NON
GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
What
are NG0s?
A non-governmental
organisation (NGO) is any local, national, or international citizens’ group
(i.e. not part of a government) which does not work for profit. This simple
definition also means that organisations under the NGO label have an extremely
broad range of functions. NG0s work in fields as diverse as law, the environment,
refugees, human rights and disarmament. They may work to influence government
policy, to provide technical or medical assistance, to conduct research,
and or to educate or train others in the community.
Over
the past decade the role of NG0s in local and international affairs has
grown tremendously, reflecting a desire on the part of citizens to influence
both their own lives and to take global responsibility for their world.
Because of their flexibility, NG0s provide a unique channel through which
ordinary citizens can participate in decisions which they feel affect their
lives.
The
work of publicising human rights violations and putting pressure on offending
governments often falls to NG0s.
At
the international level, NG0s such as Amnesty International, the International
Committee of the Red Cross and Human Rights Watch (with its divisions Africa
Watch, Americas Watch, Asia Watch, Helsinki Watch and Middle East Watch)
conduct on-site investigations, disseminate detailed reports and wage advocacy
campaigns in international and domestic forums.
Operating
with far less public awareness and physical protection than their transnational
counterparts are domestic human rights organisations, which, where possible,
monitor the actions of their respective governments.
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UNITED
NATIONS AND NGOS
NG0s
are independent and therefore willing to take risks in areas which governments
and intergovernmental organisations consider politically sensitive. Mr.
Garcia-Sayan of the UN Working Group on Disappearances commented, “...Those
who hold human rights above all other concerns are the NG0s ... They
are the fuel and the lubricant which allow the [UN human rights] machine
to function and speed the working up.”
NG0s
have, by their very nature, a freedom of expression, a flexibility of action
and a liberty of movement which enable them to complement the role of the
United Nations in the promotion and protection of human rights. At
the 1945 San Francisco meetings in which the United Nations charter was
drawn up and signed, 42 NG0s were invited to participate. They presented
draft texts for the Charter, parts of which were eventually incorporated,
including article 71: ‘The Economic and Social Council may make suitable
arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organisations…” This
statement laid the foundation for co-operation between the UN and NO0s.
71e Council granted consultative status to a limited number of NG0s which
means that these NG0s can participate in some debates and occasionally
place items on the agenda.
It
is probably “in the field’ that the presence of NO0s began to be felt most
strongly. Specialised agencies and bodies such as the UN Development Programme
and the UN Commissioner for Refugees realised early on that NG0s offered
them crucial resources and expertise. For example, without the co-operation
of humanitarian organisations such as CARE and Medicines Sans Frontier
(Doctors Without Borders) it would have been virtually impossible to meet
the needs of refugees fleeing war.
Many
of these specialised agencies have their own relationships with NG0s; they
can co-ordinate NGO efforts, provide funds for NGO projects, or even receive
funds from NG0s for their own programmes. The co-operation of NG0s has
also furthered the goals of the UN in areas such as disarmament, human
rights, education, the environment and science.
During
the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro
the broader participation of NG0s in addressing global issues was officially
acknowledged. Over 1500 organisations were accredited to participate in
the conference. In this and subsequent international conferences such as
the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna), the International Conference
on Population and Development (Cairo), the World Summit for Social Development
(Copenhagen) and the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing), NG0s have
influenced the agendas and, hence, the laws resulting from these discussions.
In
short, NG0s participate in the UN system in four ways:
-
They
raise issues such as women’s rights and the environment which then get
placed on world agendas;
-
They
shape decisions made by the UN, although they are more influential in social
and humanitarian fields than in politics;
-
They
enter into partnership with the UN to help carry out its objectives and
programmes in the field;
-
They
serve as important watchdogs of the UN; observing, criticising and reporting
on its role.
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THE
UN AND INDIVIDUALS
In
some circumstances, the UN can receive communications from individuals
who have information about human rights violations and who have tried without
success to obtain satisfaction within the country concerned. Three UN treaties
provide this possibility:
The
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights - allows a person who claims to he a victim of any of the rights
set out in the ICCPR to lodge a complaint provided that the State complained
of is party to both the ICCPR and its Optional Protocol. The Human Rights
Committee, established under the ICCPR, will consider such communications
together with any information submitted by the concerned State and can
then make its views known on whether the Covenant has been respected.
The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - allows
an individual, or group of individuals, to lodge a complaint with the Committee
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stating that their individual
or group rights under the Convention have been violated. Again, this is
possible only if the State complained of is a party to the Convention and
has declared that it accepts the optional complaint procedure.
The
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment - allows, where a State Party has so accepted, an individual
to complain to the Committee against Torture that she or he is a victim
of a violation by that State Party.
In
addition, anyone or any group in the world who feels that they have been
prevented from exercising their human rights may take their case to the
UN even when it is not covered by a UN treaty. Such complaints are dealt
with by the Commission on Human Rights under the ‘1503’ procedure. A copy
of the complaint is sent to the government concerned (with the complainant’s
name withheld unless otherwise agreed) which may submit a reply. The case
is also sent confidentially to the Human Rights Commission and Sub-Commission
and the complaint and any reply is considered by a working group of the
Sub-Commission. Where a consistent pattern of gross violations is revealed,
the Commission may carry out a thorough study or appoint a special committee
or rapporteur to investigate.
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TIBET
AND THE UNITED NATIONS
In
the early years of Tibet’s occupation by China, the UN General Assembly
passed three resolutions - in 1959, 1961 and 1965 - calling on China to
respect the human rights of Tibetans, including their right to self- determination.
Tibet
was not mentioned again at the UN for twenty years. A number of factors
contributed to the silence; perhaps chief among them was pressure by the
People’s Republic of China, which gained admission to the UN in 1971. It
was only in 1985, at the 41st session of the Commission on Human Rights,
that the representative of the NGO International Fellowship of Reconciliation,
expressed concern over the religious persecution in Tibet.
Since
then, Tibet has figured prominently at various UN human rights fora. On
August 23, 1991, the UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination
and Protection of Minority Rights passed the ‘Situation in Tibet’ Resolution,
expressing concern at “continuing reports of violations of fundamental
human rights and freedoms which threaten the distinct cultural, religion
and national identity of the Tibetan people”. As result of the Sub- Commission
resolution 1991110 of August 1991, the UN Secretary General submitted a
report on the ‘Situation in Tibet’ to the Commission on Human Rights in
1992. This was the first official UN report on Tibet since 1965 when the
last UN resolution on Tibet was adopted at the General Assembly.
At
the 51st session of the Commission in 1995, NG0s and governments, including
those from France (which headed the EU countries’ delegates), the USA,
Ireland, the UK, Norway and Australia, spoke on the critical nature of
the human rights situation in Tibet. They addressed issues in various areas
including the denial of Tibetan self-determination, lack of religious freedom
and the human rights violations of Tibetans arrested and held in isolated
detention. A number of Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups, particularly
those on religious freedom and arbitrary detention, criticised Chinese
practices in Tibet.
Progress
on the question of Tibet and human rights took a discouraging backslide
at the 53rd UN Commission on Human Rights held from March 10 to April 20,
1997. Many governments that had previously supported a resolution condemning
China’s human rights record withdrew their co- sponsorship of the resolution.
The resolution, which expressed concern over the continued detention of
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and urged China to refrain from policies which threaten
the distinct identity of the Tibetan people, was eventually initiated by
Denmark and supported by 17 countries.
UN
procedure allows for a member to propose a ‘no-action’ to any resolution
which then blocks discussion of the resolution. Since 1991 the People’s
Republic of China has successfully used the ‘no-action” to escape scrutiny
of its human rights record. In 1997, 17 countries, predominately Western
democracies, voted against China’s no-action proposal. However, 27 countries
voted in favour of the no-action and nine countries abstained meaning that
there could be no discussion of the resolution.
The
reasons for countries’ unwillingness to discuss China and its human rights
record may be based on a variety of factors. Unfortunately, one of the
most likely motivations is economic. Nations are competing for the opportunity
to gain a share of China’s immense consumer market and criticising China
on human rights violations in general, or the issue of Tibet specifically,
invariably leads to strong protests by China and a freeze in economic relations.
China
makes no secret of its readiness to cut economic ties with those who broach
the subject of Chinese human rights violations. The Danish Ambassador who
initiated the 1997 condemnation was apparently told that ‘he would regret’
his country’s efforts in respect to the draft resolution. China then published
a list of Danish corporations which it proposed to exclude from future
contacts. Trade visits to three European countries that supported the punitive
resolution were cancelled and visits were quickly rescheduled for countries
such as Australia which had withdrawn its support for the pro- Tibet initiative.
Ever since China invaded Tibet in 1949 the human rights of the Tibetan
people have been consistently violated. Forty-eight years later, the degree
of brutality has escalated rather than abated, and the existence of the
Tibetans as a people are increasingly under threat. The violation of human
rights in Tibet has a distinct character. Tibetans are being targeted as
a people and human rights abuses in Tibet are often the result of systematic
and institutionalised racial and cultural discrimination. Tibetans are
facing a gradual ethnic cleansing the annihilation of an entire race, religion
and heritage. The prevalence of arbitrary detentions, the lack of criminal
justice the absence of freedom of speech and assembly, and the disregard
for the basic rights of women and children are some of the critical grounds
of concern for the Tibetan people. Many of these rights are specifically
protected in conventions to which China is, as a State Party, bound to
uphold.
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HUMAN
RIGHTS SITUATION IN TIBET
Ever
since China invaded Tibet in 1949 the human rights of the Tibetan people
have been consistently violated. Forty-eight years later, the degree of
brutality has escalated rather than abated, and the existance of the Tibetans
as a people are increasingly under threat. The violation of human
rights in Tibet has a distinct character. Tibetans are being targeted
as a people and human rights abuses in Tibet are often the result of systematic
and institutionalised racial and cultural discrimination. Tibetans are
facing a gradual ethnic cleansing – the annihilation of an entire race,
religion and heritage.
The
prevelance of an arbitrary detentions, the lack of criminal justice the
absence of freedom of speech and assembly, and the disregard for the basic
rights of women and children are some of the critical grounds of concern
for the Tibetan people. Many of these rights are specifically protected
in conventions to which China, is a State party, bound to uphold.
Political
repression
Everyone
has the tight to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and
impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers
(Article 19 Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Everyone
has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
(Article 20, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Tibetans
in Tibet can be arrested for the distribution of human rights leaflets,
the pasting of pro-independence leaflets or the shouting of independence
slogans. Small peaceful demonstrations lasting just a few minutes can result
in lengthy detention.
Tanak
Jigme Sangpo, a former primary school teacher, now 71 years-old, is serving
one of the longest sentences imposed on a prisoner of conscience in Tibet.
Tanak Jigme Sangpo had already served some 13 years in prison for independence
activities when he was sentenced in 1983 to 1 5 years imprisonment for
“counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement”. His sentence was subsequently
extended by five years and later a further eight years for shouting independence
slogans in prison. By the time he is released in 201 1, he shall have spent
28 unbroken years and a total of 41 years behind bars.
Ngawang
Sangdrol, a Garu nun, is serving an 18 year sentence, the longest known
sentence of any female political prisoner in Tibet. Originally arrested
for pro-independence demonstrating, she and 13 other nuns had their sentences
extended after recording pro-independence songs in prison. In March 1996
Sangdrol was amongst a number of female prisoners who refused to tidy her
cell, apparently as a protest against the Panchen Lama re-education campaign
being conducted in the prison, and also refused to stand up on one occasion
when a Chinese official entered the room. When she was sent to stand in
the rain as punishment, Ngawang Sangdrol called out “Free Tibet”. As a
result, Ngawang Sangdrol’s sentence was extended by another nine
years in July 1996.
Arbitrary
arrest and detention No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention
or exile
(Article
9 Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Often
detained Tibetans are not informed of the charges against them, they are
denied legal access, they are detained for unreasonably lengthy periods,
their relatives and family have not been informed of their whereabouts
and they have not been accorded a fair trial.
Chadrel
Rinpoche, head of the Chinese Search Committee for the Reincarnation of
the Panchen Lama, was arrested on 17 or 18 May 1995 and held incommunicado
under house arrest, suspected of having communicated with the Dalai Lama
in exile regarding the choice of the reincarnation. China did not respond
to UN enquiries regarding Chadrel Rinpoche’s detention until May 1996,
a year after his disappearance. Denying his arrest, it was claimed that
he had “suddenly taken ill and had to be hospitalised.” Almost two years
had passed when, on 21 April 1997, Chadrel Rinpoche was charged with &&plotting
to split the country” and “leaking state secrets” and was sentenced to
six years imprisonment in a trial closed to the public. In September 1997
it was discovered that Chadrel Rinpoche was being held in a top-secret
prison cell in which only three people are allowed to enter and from which
he is never permitted to leave.
Ngawang
Choephel, a Tibetan musician and scholar, was arrested by the Chinese authorities
while travelling in Tibet in 1995 to undertake research for the creation
of a documentary on traditional Tibetan music and performing arts. Ngawang
Choephal was held incommunicado for more than 15 months without charge
or trial. In 1996 he was sentenced to an 18 year prison term and four years
subsequent deprivation of political rights, charged with ‘spying for the
Tibetan Government-in-Exile”. No evidence was ever offered to support such
allegations and authorities clamed that Ngawang had ‘confessed’.
Religious
Repression
Everyone
has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right
includes the freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom either
alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest
his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance
(Article 18 Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
China
has launched a number of campaigns within Tibet aimed at restricting religious
practices and replacing spiritual beliefs with socialist ethics. Under
the Strike Hard “Re-education” Campaign, launched in Tibet in 1996, Chinese
“work teams” have been sent into monasteries and nunneries to “re- educate”
monks and nuns along Communist lines and to instruct them on the “evils”
of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan nationalism. A five-point political pledge
requires monks and nuns to oppose the idea of an independent Tibet, to
denounce the Dalai Lama and to recognise the Chinese-appointed Panchen
Lama. When monks refuse to accept these principles, they risk expulsion,
arrest and imprisonment.
Photographs
of the Dalai Lama are prohibited, religious festivals have been curtailed
and regulations allowing entrance into monasteries have been sharply tightened.
Entrance to the monasteries has been denied to those aged below 16 years.
The effect of this is to reduce the monastic population and to discourage
religious studies in Tibet’s traditional learning institutes.
In
July 1997, in a radical re-definition of centuries of history, China’s
top leader declared Tibetan culture to be, in fact, “Non-Buddhist”. The
official Chinese newspaper stressed that “Religion must adapt to the development
needs of socialism and not socialism adapting to the needs of religion”
and complained that monks were not contributing to economic growth.
Torture
No
one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment.
(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 5)
The
use of torture to obtain confessions is common practice in all prisons
run by the Chinese Administration in Tibet. Each year there are reports
of Tibetans having died as a result of torture and ill-treatment at the
hands of Chinese officials.
Methods
of torture include: inflicting shocks with electric batons; beating with
iron bars, rifle butts and nail-studded sticks; branding with red- hot
shovels; pouring boiling water over prisoners; hanging prisoners upside
down or by the thumbs from the ceiling; shackling; kicking with boots;
setting ferocious dogs on prisoners; exposure to extreme temperatures;
deprivation of sleep, food and water; prolonged strenuous ‘exercise’; long
periods of solitary confinement; sexual violence; taunts and threats of
torture and death.
Education
and language
In
those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities
exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the
right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy
their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or
to use their own language.
(Article 27, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)
Everyone
has the right to education. Education should he free, at least in the elementary
andfundamental stages. Elementary education shall he compulsory
(Article 26, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Actions
and policy-making by Chinese authorities reveal a striking trend to sinocise
Tibetans in Tibet through the targeting of education and language.
In April 1997, Chinese authorities in “TAW’ announced that Chinese would
be introduced from the first year of schooling and suggested that in some
primary classes Chinese will replace Tibetan as the language of instruction.
Prior to that Tibetan children were taught in their own language from age
six until thirteen and began to learn Chinese from age nine.
When
they reach medium school Tibetan students must switch to Chinese medium,
with the exception of 40 “special” secondary schools in Amdo (incorporated
into Qinghai province). Similarly in senior secondary institutions, Tibetans
are taught and examined primarily in Chinese. All except one of the 17
courses at Lhasa University are now taught mainly in Chinese.
New
schools constructed in the “TAR’ are primarily located in large towns and
cities and are geared toward Chinese settlers. Approximately one third
of school-aged children in Tibet continue to receive no education at all,
compared with just 1.5 percent of Chinese children. This is not due only
to the remoteness of some Tibetan regions, an argument frequently invoked
by China, but rather to the prohibitively high school fees charged by Chinese
authorities and discrimination against Tibetan children in school admission.
Children
who have fled to exile say that, even if their parents were able to pay
the fees and necessary bribes, their education consisted of indoctrination
lessons on the greatness of Chinese leaders and socialism and contained
ahnost nothing of Tibetan culture, history or religion.
Women
States
Parties ... shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (e)
The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing
of their children and to have access to the information, education and
means to enable them to exercise these rights
(Article
1 5 Convention on the Elimination of discrimination Against Women to which
PRC is a State Party”)
Genocide
means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole
or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: Imposing
measures intended to prevent births within the group
(Art.
II (d) Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
to which PRC is a State Party)
Birth
control policy is carried out in all parts of Tibet through propaganda,
coercion and strict regulatory measures. One of the many reports received
describes the sterilisation of 308 Tibetan women in the sub-district of
Takar in Chushur under Lhasa City in the space of just 22 days between
September and October of 1996. Amongst these women, Nyima Dolma, aged 27,
died after one such forced sterilisation. Another woman, Nyima, was forced
to abort her three month old child before also being sterilised.
Women
report being inserted with contraceptive devices without their knowledge.
Sometimes the device is implanted while the woman is pregnant, leading
to the delivery of a dead foetus. Sometimes devices are left inside the
woman long after they should have been removed and they rust and become
embedded in flesh. Some couples report having to test their luck in a lottery
system. If their names are not drawn then the mother, even if five or six
months pregnant, must undergo an abortion. If a couple bears a child without
undergoing the lottery system, they are fined heavily and their child will
be deprived of educational and welfare opportunities.
Children
No
child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily.
The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity
with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and
for the shortest appropriate time
(Article
37 (b) of the Convention on the flights of the Child to which China is
a State Party)
At
least 50 Tibetan child political prisoners currently languish in Chinese
prisons in Tibet for exercising their freedom of expression. They are detained
in adult prisons, denied legal representation and contact with family and
subjected to severe ill-treatment.
On
14 May 1995 His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. Some days later the six
year-old boy and his parents went missing, reported to have been taken
by Chinese security forces to Beijing. It was not until a year had passed
that China admitted in May 1996 that the child had been “put under the
protection of the government at the request of his parents.” The safety
and whereabouts of the boy remain unknown and no international monitor
has yet been allowed to visit the family.
Tibet’s
“Development”
All
peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they
freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic,
social and cultural development.
(Article
1, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural and Economic
Rights to which the PRC is a State Party”)
China
proudly alleges that, without Beijing’s help, Tibet would be floundering,
dependent on yaks for subsistence. In 1996 Beijing said it had invested
four billion yuan (482 million dollars) in infrastructure building and
granted three billion yuan as subsidy, yet the “TAR”s Economic Commission
admits that an estimated 300,000 Tibetans still live below the poverty
line, each living on less than 78 dollars a year.
One
Tibetan exile who visited Tibet ten years ago was struck by the development
in his village: a power generator had been built, power lines had been
erected and there were bulbs and switches in every house. Yet when, after
four days, he still had not witnessed lighting, he made enquiries of the
villagers. He was informed that the electricity stopped just a few months
after construction in the 70’s and had not returned at all in the 10 years
since. In his next visit to his home, recently made, even the power lines
had disappeared - pulled down by the villagers to be used for more practical
purposes.
The
other major Chinese ‘development’ in his village was the construction of
an irrigation channel. Tibetan “volunteers” were conscripted from every
family to work on the mega-project and many died on site. The project for
which many lost their lives now services just five families for, contrary
to basic laws of gravity, the canal had been built to run up the mountain.
China
claims to have greatly developed the hospital system in Tibet. Yet one
Tibetan describes the sharing of a single needle amongst 40 or 50 patients
and estimates the state allocation for health care as a little over 3 yuan
(35 cents) per person per month. He says that despite Beijing’s.claims
of a policy of free medical facilities, without a deposit of 5000 yuan
the “TAR’s First People’s Hospital” will not admit a patient even in the
most critical condition. Another Tibetan now in exile reported that two
Tibetans died after they were refused hospital care in Shigatse People’s
Hospital for not having the requisite deposit.
Population
Transfer
The
occupying power shall not deport or transfer pails of its own civilian
population into the territory it occupies.
(Article
49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, to which China is a signatory)
The
preservation of the Tibetan identity is perhaps the most critical and immediate
threat faced by the Tibetan people today. The Tibetan culture is a rich
and ancient mix of distinct language, religious practices, spiritual beliefs,
dress, music and literature, arts and architecture, history and folk lore,
medical and political systems, environmental respect, festivals and social
customs. Where the physical introduction of another race has the effect
of marginalising the other, these cultural riches will be irretrievably
lost.
Since
mid-1994, it is estimated that more than 500,000 new Chinese immigrants
have been moved into Tibet to work on the 62, few industrial development
projects initiated by Beijing. The population transfer that accompanies
such project results in further marginalisation of the 6 million Tibetans
who are now outnumbered by 7.5 million Chinese settlers.
These
settlers receive preferential treatment in housing, employment, education
and social services. New schools and hospitals constructed in the
“TAR’ are primarily located in large towns and cities and are geared toward
Chinese settlers. Traditional Tibetan-style housing has been destroyed
in favour of Communist-style blocks. The latest project - the massive Three
Gorge Dam - promises to wreak further havoc on Tibet’s fragile ecological
system, already seriously endangered by China’s extensive deforestation
and mining, and to propel a potential 1 million more Chinese into Tibet.
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HUMAN
RIGHTS KEY TERMS
Amnesty
is
a general pardon or conditional offer of pardon for past offences against
a government.
Apartheid
was
the policy of rigid racial segregation practised by the South African government
from 1948 to 1991which applied to housing, education, employment and transport.
It also limited the rights of non-whites to own and occupy land, to participate
in politics and to enter white neighbourhoods. Apartheid is a gross violation
of the right to be free of racial discrimination and has been specifically
recognised as a crime against humanity in the 1973 International Convention
on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.
Arbitrary
Detention: The holding of a person in
custody by means that do not conform to established human rights standards
such as length of detention, access to legal representation, fair trial.
Censorship
is the act or system of examining media, literature, entertainment, art
and even personal correspondence and, if considered necessary, of changing
or prohibiting them to make the content acceptable to the government. This
may constitute a violation of freedom of expression.
Collective
Rights are rights that apply to an entire
group of people, for example, the right of self-detention.
Convention
is another word for a treaty and forms part of international law. A convention
sets out standards which are considered to be legally binding upon those
states which ratify the convention.
Covenant
is
a treaty and is, like a convention, legally binding on its States Parties.
There are two UN covenants: the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights.
Deprivation
is
the act of taking away certain rights or freedoms by force.
Detention
is
the act of keeping in custody or confinement.
Discrimination
is the practice of treating people in different ways, for example based
on race or religion
Disappearance
is taking of a person into custody by or with the approval of the authorities,
who then deny that the victim is bieng held. Disappeared people are
often are at the risk of torture or extrajudicial execution. The word is
usually placed in inverted comas by human rights organisations to indicate
that they do not accept official explanations that these people have actually
disappeared
Economic
rights are those rights that concern the
production, development and management of material worth for the necessities
of life.
Extra-judicial
(trial) is a “trial” that occurs beyond the
action or authority of a law court.
Fair
trial occurs where the lead proceedings
in connection with a trial conform to the established international standards,
including proper pre-trial and courtroom treatment.
Freedom
of expression is the freedom to express
ones ones view in print and other media and to receive as well as communicate
ideas.
Genocide
is
the carrying out of acts with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic,
racial or religious group. The 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide declares genocide to be a crime under
international law.
Indigenous
refer
to a people or culture native or original to an area. It is often
used to refer to the inhabitants of a territory prior to invasion or colonisation
and to their descendants.
Justice
is
the administration of law and authority in accordance with international
standards of equal and fair treatment.
Liberty
is the state of being free from captivity, imprisonment or slavery; the
right or power to act and think as one chooses.
Martial
law is rule by the army instead of the
ordinary civil authorities. May be declared during a state of war or emergency.
Non-derogable
rights are those rights which may never
be suspended or limited even in emergency situations. These are the rights
to life, freedom from torture, freedom from enslavement or servitude, protection
from imprisonment for debt, freedom from retroactive penal laws, the right
to recognition as a person before the law, and freedom of thought, conscience
and religion.
Non-refoulement
is
the principle that states are obliged not to return any person to a country
where his or her life or freedom would be threatened on account of his
or her race, religion, nationality, social membership or political opinion.
It is set out in the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees,
and is also considered “customary” international law which is therefore
binding on all states, whether or not they are party to that Convention.
Persecution
is the act of targeting someone for bad treatment because of his/ her identity,
principles or beliefs; generally involves a course or period of systematic
punishment or oppression.
Political
prisoner is, in its broadest sense, any
prisoner whose case has a significant political element. This may include
the motivation of the prisoner in carrying out the specific acts for which
he or she has been detained, the nature of these actions in themselves
or the motivation of the authorities in taking the person into custody.
Prisoner
of conscience is a person imprisoned,
detained or otherwise physically restricted by reason of his/her political,
religious or other conscientiously held beliefs or by reason of his/her
ethnic origin, sex, colour or language, provided that belshe has not used
or advocated violence.
Racism
is
the belief that a particular race, especially one’s own, is superior to
other races; discrimination or prejudice against a race or races based
on this belief.
Ratification
is the act whereby a State formally establishes its consent to be bound
by a treaty; ratification of a UN treaty requires the deposit of an instrument
of ratification with the UN Secretary-General.
Refugee
is a person who flees for refuge or safety, especially to a foreign country,
in time of war, persecution, or disaster. It is more narrowly defused under
the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees to refer to individuals
who are unable to return to their country due to persecution for reasons
of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group
or political opinion.
Segregation
is
the separation of one racial group from another or from the rest of society,
for example in schools, theatres, restaurants, and other public and meeting
places.
Self-determination
is
the right defined in article 1 of both UN Covenants of all peoples to “freely
determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social
and cultural development.”
Slavery
is
where a person is considered or treated as the property of another, for
example the exploitation of prostitution and child labour. There are several
international instruments outlawing slavery-Re practices.
Solitary
confinement is the detention of a person
away from other prisoners. State Party is a nation country whose government
has ratified or acceded to a treaty or agreement, such as a Convention
or Covenant, and is legally bound to follow its provisions.
Terrorism
is
the use of terror, especially the systematic use of terror by a government
or other authority against particular persons or groups.
Torture
is
the act of inflicting severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental,
on a person. The UN Convention Against Torture deals with such acts
when they are intentionally inflicted by or in collaboration with a public
official as a punishment, for reasons of discrimination, or to make
the person give evidence or confess.
Trial
is
the act of examining and deciding a civil or criminal case by a law court.
Treaty
is an agreement, especially one between nations, signed and approved by
each nation. Tribunal is a court of justice or a place of judgement or
judicial assembly
Violation
is the act of breaking a law, rule, agreement, promise or instructions;
the disregard for human rights provisions and standards.
(Back
to contents)
"As long as human rights are violated,
there can be no foundation for peace.
How can peace exist in a society where some members oppress their brothers
and sisters and knowingly violate their fundamental human rights?
How can peace grow where truth is not allowed to surface and speaking the
truth is itself a crime?"
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
---------------------------------------------------
Tibetan
Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
The
Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is a non- governmental
organisation founded in January 1996 and registered under the Indian Societies
Registration Act on May 4, 1996. The Centre was established in response
to a need for effective monitoring of the human rights situation in Tibet
and the promotion of democracy in the Tibetan community. TCHRD relies primarily
on testimonials provided by Tibetan refugees in India, in addition to sources
within Tibet and other concerned human rights groups.
TCHRD
utilises the United Nations mechanisms and submits its reports to the UN
Commission on Human Rights, UN Working Groups and Special Rapporteurs;
participates in UN human rights conferences and other national and international
for a to highlight the human rights situation in Tibet; organises seminars
and workshops on human rights and democracy in the exiled Tibetan
community and conducts campaigns for victims of human rights violations
in Tibet.
TCHRD’s
staff members: Lobsang Nyandak, Executive Director; Tenzing Chocphel
C., Lobsang Tsering and Tenzin Chokey, Researchers; Kalsang Topgyal
and Jampel Monlain, Field Officers; Phurbu Dolma, Accountant; Melissa
Davis, Chantal Rumble, Wendy Miles and Knut Traisbach, Research Associates.
Staff members in Kathmandu office: Tenzin Tseten and Gaden Tashi. TCHRD
would like to thank Melissa Vincenty for her contribution for this publication.
TCHRD
disseminates its information through various Tibetan publications and Tibetan
broadcasting services. TCHRD has its web-site at http:www.tchrd.org
which contains information about the centre as well as current and archived
TCHRD newsletters and research publications. TCHRD also has and e-mail
discussion forum, the “Barkhor” to which you may subscribe by writing
to majordomo@cyborganic.net and include “Subscribe Barkhor” in your
message.
The
purpose of this booklet is to provide education on principles of democracy
within the Tibetan community with an aim to firmly establish democratic
values as the foundation of Tibetan society.
Tibetan
Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
Narthang
Building Gangchen Kyishong,
Dharamsala,
H.P. 1762 1 5 India
Ph:
+91 1892 23363; Fax: 23363/24957.
E-mail:
dsala@tchrd.org
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