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Human Rights No Longer a Private Matter

Ted Morello writes from the United Nations, New York
***The days may be ending when human rights abuses were considered an internal matter, beyond the reach of international bodies. At its recent summit in Zimbabwe, the Commonwealth delved more, than ever before into the human rights records of its members. And there are now rumblings at the United Nations that the age-old protocol of turning a blind eye to so-called "internal affairs " of member states, may be fading.***
INTERNATIONAL tndlg
rep I of absolute national •overeignty. a •hteM for *omr of the world s most flagrant human rights abuse*.
Debates at the United Nations General Assembly. •Security Council and legal affairs committee have been marked by calls for the UN to play a metre active Interna tional role in domestic human rights issues. The Austrian foreign affairs minister has even suggested a white helmet' investigating force, the human rights parallel of the blue-helinetted UN peacekeepers.
Opponents of any such shift cite the UN Charier as evidence that the International body has no role in domestic human rights affair*. Article'2 of the Charter states: 'Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorise the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the members to submit such matter to settlement under the present Charter..."
Some governments — among them China, Myanmar (formerly Burma) and India — are resisting calls for greater UN involvement in human rights issues as an intrusion into their Internal affairs.
But UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar has set the tone for new thinking in his annual report to the 46th UN Genera! Assembly: 'It is now increasingly fclL" he said, 'that the principle of noninterference with the essential domestic Jurisdiction of states cannot be regarded as a protective barrier behind which human rights could be massively or systematically violated with impunity."
Because the protection of human rights "has now become
one of the keystone* in the arch of peace," Perez de Cuellar suggested a more aggressive enforcement role for the UN. A* the last resort.' he said. It might be necessary to establish a UN presence beyond what was regarded as permissible under traditional international law.
In a speech at Bourdcaux University in France, the
Secretary-General emphasised the point: "We are clearly witnessing what is probably an irresistible shift In public attitude toward the belief that defence of the oppressed in the name of morality should prevail over frontier* and k-gal documents.'
Chapter 7 of the UN Charter says the principle of non-intervention may be over-
ridden by "any threat to peace, breach of peace or act of aggression.' Thal was the provision Invoked by the United Slates-led coalition to legalise Ite military action against Iraq after the Invasion of Kuwait.
Now the narrow interpretation of Chapter 7 is being chal-lengcd. Austrian Foreign Minister Alois Mock told the Assembly that I he Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe 4CSCE) had already established the principle that safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms "cannot be rejected as Interference 1n internal affairs of another
He said the UN should have the authority to react quickly to serious human rights abuses and to prevent their escalation: 'I propose that the (UN) Commission on Human Rights adopt an emergency procedure based on a permanent register of experts who could be called the White Helmet* and would be at the disposal of the commission."
Mock proposed that the White Helmets be used as follow*:
• Upon learning of gros* and massive human rights violation*. the Bureau of the Commission on Human Rights would send a team of White Helmets as quickly as possible to Investigate within the country where the alleged violations had taken place.
• The team would report to the Bureau, listing conclusions and recommendations.
• The report and comments of the government concerned would be placed on the agenda of the next sraafon of the human rights commission. which would decide on folfow-up action.
Mock said: The question of human rights and fundamental freedom* ha* become essentially international. To express concern in the area of human rights constitutes an Important and legitimate element of
Netherlands Foreign Minister Hans van der Broek made similar comments before Ihc Security Council The days when countries could credibly claim that their human rights record was a strictly internal affair arc definitely over. The history of the United Nations has confirmed the legitimacy of the contrary view.
The world cannot *11 Idly by when one of the member states of the United Nation* terrorize* Its own people." The Dutch foreign minister said the UN had already setting a precedent by providing safe haven and a corp* of UN civil guards to protect Iraqi Kurds . fleeing the forces of Seddam
He also recalled how the Economic Community of West African Slate* mustered a peacekeeping force during the civil war in Liberia Van dcr Broek went on to recommend that the UN World Conference on Human Rights scheduled for Berlin next year should concentrate on 'extending the
reviewing compliance' with human right* agreement*.
Foreign Minister Jorge Carlo* Fonseca of Cape Verde *a*d "What Is' more alarming is that the United Nations witnesses all these crimes but Is incapable of taking measures tof*avejlves and protect the
Czechoslovakian deputy prime minister Jiri Dienstbier joined the debate: It is not possible to argue principles of sovereignty and non-interference when the matter at Issue is that of preventing ruthlea*. intentional and mass violations of human right* and freedoms.'
Dienstbier went so for as to say UN forces could be used in a preemptive way against 'obvious preparations for ag-
But there is also a powerful counterforce against any attempt to bring UN pressure to bear on rights Issues Indian Foreign Minister Madhavstngh Solanki warned the Assembly .that “any outside intervention tn a (UN) member country on humanitarian grounds constitutes an abridgement of national sovereignty and la, therefore, fraught with serious implications.' The New Delhi government has been severely criticised by international human rights organisations for Ite suppression of the secessionist movement In Its border province of Kashmir.
China s foreign minister Qian Qlchen accused some countries of perpetuating the Cold War by using allegations of human rights violations as an excuse for 'interfering tri the affair* which are basically within the jurisdiction of the state* ' — GEMINI NEWS
TED MORELLO to past pres idem of the UN Coma-pendents Association and is a UN correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor.