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July 1998 |
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July 1998 |
UN Committee issues report on Cyprus
The UN Committee on Human Rights issued its report on Cyprus' compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on April 6, 1998. Among other things, the Committee expressed concern that conscientious objectors are discriminated in Cyprus, and can be subject to repeated punishment, including long prison terms for their refusal to fulfill their military service. The Committee also found continued de-facto and de-jure inequalities between men and women, specially in the laws related to marriage, nationality, immigration, employment and education. Homosexuals are also legally discriminated against in Cyprus, and homosexual acts are criminalized; Cyprus was urged to revoke these laws.
Holland continues to violate social and economic rights
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued a draft report on Holland's compliance with the treaty last May 15. In the report, it expresses concern about the "continuing discrimination against women at work. Their higher rate of unemployment, their lower position on the wage scale, their disproportionate representation in part time work, reveal that the principle of equality established by the law is not effectively enforced." The Committee also found racial and age discrimination in employment, which it linked to the higher unemployment rates of both immigrants and people over 55 years old. The Committee also expressed concerns about a number of different issues, including the reform of the social security system (which it found may have certain adverse consequences for the most underprivileged sectors of society), the living conditions of asylum seekers in some reception centres, and the effects of the Tuition Fees Act (which has led to a constant increase in the cost of education and is contrary to equality of opportunities between the children of rich families and poor families).
Special Rapporteur Finds Widespread Sexual Misconduct in US Women's Prisons
The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women reports widespread sexual misconduct by prison staff in US women's prison. Sexual misconduct seems to be particularly pervasive in Michigan, where, on the eve of her scheduled visit, the Governor prohibited the Special Rapporteur from visiting US prisons or meet with State representatives. The Special Rapporteur also received serious allegations of sexual misconduct occurring in the security housing unit of the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, California. Some states such Georgia and Minnesota have instituted comprehensive programs to combat sexual misconduct in women's prisons that could serve as models for the rest of the country. The Special Rapporteur visited US state, federal and immigration prisons from June 1 to 18, 1998. Her report will be published at the end of this year and discussed at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in March/April 1999.
UN Human Rights Prize
The UN is seeking nominations from Member States, specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations in consultative status and other sources for the UN Prize in the Field of Human Rights, an award given to individual and organizations for outstanding contributions to the promotion and the protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other United Nations human rights instruments. The Prize was set up by the UN in 1968 and is given every few years. It is honorary in nature. Prior winners include Eleanor Roosevelt (posthumously), Nelson and Winnie Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King (posthumously), as well as human rights organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International and the Vicaria de la Solidaridad in Chile.
The prize will be awarded on 10 December 1998; nominations are due by August 15, 1998. Visit the UNHCHR website (http://www.unhchr.ch/) for the nomination form.
Australia tolerant towards religious minorities
The Special Rapporteur on the question of religious intolerance visited Australia in February and March, 1997, and presented his report to the UN Commission meeting in March 1998. The Special Rapporteur found that in general the situation in Australia with regard to tolerance and non-discrimination based on religion was very satisfactory. Australia's model of integration rather than the assimilation of all components of society, and the government's approach to secularity which favors not the rejection of religions and new religious movements, but equality for all under the prevailing law, greatly contributes to religious tolerance in the country. There were some exceptions and signs of religious discrimination, however. "Obstacles to the construction of places of worship or religious training centres for Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist minorities have at times been observed; this is mostly due to opposition by one sector of the population founded on ignorance, which encourages manifestations of racism. For instance, in the case of Muslims, the 1991 Gulf War led to incidents involving Muslim women wearing the head scarf (see para. 44) and more generally to the expression of opinions where Islam was associated with Saddam Hussein and terrorism with Arabs and Muslims. There have also been outbreaks of anti-Semitism, in the form of acts of vandalism against synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, and verbal attacks. The intolerance which is manifested is not religious, however, but racial, founded on ignorance and encouraged by extremist political speeches". The Special Rapporteur recommends that education be use to prevent intolerance by disseminating a culture of tolerance among the masses.
