Participation in the Durban Review Conference II

Please click http://undrc.blogspot.com to take a look at our participation in the Durban Review Conference II held in Geneva, Switzerland between April 20-24, 2009.

Oral Statement to the African Commission: Cooperation between the Commission and NGOs

Oral Statement by Nord Sud XXI to the 45th Ordinary Session
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
13 to 27 May 2009, Banjul, Gambia
Item 5(b)(i): Cooperation between the Commission and NGOs

Nord Sud XXI wishes to express its appreciation to the Commissioners who participated in the NGO Forum and other NGO events that proceeded the this 45th Ordinary Session of the Commission. The participation of Commissioners in these events that are organized by nongovernmental organizations send an important message concerning the valuable relationship that exists between the Commission and NGOs.

Nord Sud XXI also welcomes the Commissions decisions, abet after so many years of virtually secret negotiations, to make its Interim (Draft) Rules available for comment by NGOs. We have submitted more than six pages of comments on these Interim Rules that we trust the ommission
will take into account in its future deliberations about these Rules. We must, however, express our significant concern that even at this Ordinary Session the Commission has found it fit to consider the Rules in private session once again and not in a public session. The legitimacy of these Rules, which will govern, among other relationships, that between NGOs and the commission, depends on all partners having a vested interest in the Rules that are finally adopted and all partners feeling that they have been involved in the adoption of the these important Rules. This is not currently the case, and the continued consideration of the Rules behind closed doors only heightens the suspicions that the Rules might not enhance the relationships between the Commission and NGOs. We therefore urge the Commission to increase the transparency and inclusiveness of the process by which it finalizes it new Rules of Procedures.

Nord Sud XXI also wishes to draw the Commission's attention to new Rule 73, sub-paragraph 7, which requires NGOs with observer status to submit activity reports every two years. We urge the Commission to consider a five year reporting cycle for several reasons. First, the Commission does not have the capacity to consider the activity reports of all the NGOs with observer status every two years. Second, for many NGOs with observer status, submitting a report every two years would create an additional significant administrative burden. And third, we believe that a more realistic reporting cycle would allow the Commission to better engage NGOs in relation to the subject matter of their activity reports, when this would be of value to the Commission.

Thank you.

17, rue Ferdinand-Hodler, CH-1207 Genève, Suisse Tél. +41-22-736-9266 - Fax +41-22-736 -9193 E-mail: info@nordsud21.ch
IAC, 55 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011 USA Tél. +1-212-798-3992 - Fax +1-206-984-4734 E-mail: sara@action-mail.org

Oral Statement to the African Commission: Refugees, Asylum Seekers, IDPs, Migrants

Oral Statement by Nord Sud XXI to the 45th Ordinary Session
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
13 to 27 May 2009, Banjul, Gambia
Item 7(b)(iii): Refugees, Asylum Seekers, IDPs, and Migrants

Nord Sud XXI recognizes the important role of both the Commission and the Special Rapporteur on Refugees and Displaced Persons in Africa in protecting these persons who often lack the protection of their state of habitual residence or nationality.

We welcome the efforts that the Commission has made through its promotional
activities, in considering state reports, and through the handling of communications.

Often refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, and migrants are so vulnerable that time is of the essence in the handling of their claims. In some cases, delays in protecting the rights of the these vulnerable people completely extinguishes any chance of protecting these right for the victims. Despite this undisputed understanding of the vulnerability of refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, and migrants, even the Commission
itself has often been slow to act leaving petitioners without redress or even a decision on their claim for redress for close to a decade.

It is hoped that the Special Rapporteur will make an effort to examine the timeliness of the handling of communications related to refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, and migrants with a view to taking action to protect victims from ongoing or imminent violations of their human rights.

In cases involving victims who cannot even rely upon their 'State of attachment' to protect their human rights, time is of the essence.

We also note that the Special Rapporteur has been frequently engaged in cooperation with UNHCR during his mandate. We hope that the substantive aspects of this cooperation will be included in the mandate holders report to the Commission.

Finally, Madame Chair, we would like to extend our most sincere appreciation to Commissioner Bahame Tom Mukirya Nyanduga for his significant efforts as the Special Rapporteur on Refugees and Displaced Persons in Africa and as a Commissioner.

17, rue Ferdinand-Hodler, CH-1207 Genève, Suisse Tél. +41-22-736-9266 - Fax +41-22-736 -9193 E-mail: info@nordsud21.ch
IAC, 55 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011 USA Tél. +1-212-798-3992 - Fax +1-206-984-4734 E-mail: sara@action-mail.org

Oral Statement to the African Commission: Human Rights

Oral Statement by Nord Sud XXI to the 45th Ordinary Session
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
13 to 27 May 2009, Banjul, Gambia
Item 4: The Human Rights Situation in Africa

Nord Sud XXI, in appreciation of the significant influence that the African Commission's efforts to
ensure human rights in Africa have all over the world, welcomes the opportunity to address the
Commission.
Our representations specifically concern issues of human rights in Africa that have been dealt with in
the United Nations in particular.
In this regards, we take this opportunity to draw the Commission's attention to the Durban Review
Conference that was recently held in Geneva, Switzerland, under the auspices of the United Nations.
This Review Conference was intended to to deal with issues of racial and other similar forms of
discrimination—a human rights concern in Africa and as concerns Africans abroad. Unfortunately, the
Review Conference itself was an illustration of how Africans are often treated in a discriminatory
manner in Northern-based institutions. This occurred, as several African-based NGOs pointed out,
through the marginalization of the participation and contribution of African NGOs and members of
civil society as well as through the manner by which some states ignored the substantive concerns of
African states.
As a result the Review Conference took place with much less participation from African NGOs than
had the 2001 Durban Conference. In part this was due to the fact that the bodies that are based in
Geneva and tasked with organizing this event specifically refused to support a NGO Forum, which in
Durban has been so instrumental in ensuring attention for the important issues of slavery and other
forms of exploitation. And led by the Western European and Others Group of states—a few of whose
members did not even attend the Review Conference—the Review Conference adopted a text that had
not been transparently negotiated, in which African concerns had been largely ignored, and before a
single NGO had even had a chance to comment on it.
African states, despite accepting the text by consensus, expressed significant concern as to how their
interests had been pushed aside through a process that lacked transparency and which was
characterized more by bullying then by cooperation. One African diplomat speaking on condition of
anonymity called the result an “insult to African values.”
In light of these events and in light of the importance of the issue of non-discrimination to Africa, Nord
Sud XXI calls upon the African Commission to express in a public statement, as the President of the
United Nations General Assembly has done, its regret at the fact that the Durban Review Conference
did not address important concerns that were of essential importance to Africa and its hope that a more
valuable Review Conference will be organized as soon as possible to move the international agenda for
combating racial and other similar forms of discrimination forward in a meaningful way with due
respect for the important voices of Africans in this process.

17, rue Ferdinand-Hodler, CH-1207 Genève, Suisse Tél. +41-22-736-9266 - Fax +41-22-736 -9193 E-mail: info@nordsud21.ch
IAC, 55 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011 USA Tél. +1-212-798-3992 - Fax +1-206-984-4734 E-mail: sara@action-mail.org

Oral Statement to the African Commission: Rights of Women

Oral Statement by Nord Sud XXI to the 45th Ordinary Session
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
13 to 27 May 2009, Banjul, Gambia
Item 7(b)(ii): the Rights of Women

African women are the foundation of the African continent. They give birth to its children, care for the future of Africa, and they are an invaluable human resource that contributes to the development of the continent.

Nord Sud XXI is encouraged by some of the gains African women have made. Rwanda is now the
only country in the world where women make up the majority of the members of parliament. We
are also encouraged by the important role women have played in this august Commission.

Unfortunately, there are still circumstances in which women are not treated with respect for all their human rights, and it is still true that women suffer disproportionately from the violation of their human rights.

Nord Sud XXI seeks to bring two such situation to the attention of the Commission. The first
situation relates to the right to health of women and we bring it to your attention with assistance of IBFAN Africa, an NGO with Observer Status before the Commission that is working for women's health in Africa. The second issue we raise concerns the Commission's and the Special Rapporteur's followup on a specific case relating to the human rights of women in a State Party.

Madame Chair, Article 16(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, requires that
States protect the health of all people under their jurisdiction, including, of course, women. The
human right to health provides a framework under which state polices, including any form of social or economic development or economic cooperation such as public-private partnerships. We are particularly concerned that such partnerships may sometimes distract from the ability of the State to provide adequate health services, especially to women. Private-public partnerships concerning the marketing practices surrounding breast-milk substitutes and complementary foods are among those that have sometimes caused concern to those of us trying to improve access to, and the quality of, health care services for women and their children. In light of these concerns, we urge the Special Rapporteur to consider the integrity of the decision-making process and the transparency of public-private partnerships in her work. We also call upon the Special Rapporteur to encourage States to enact and implement the World Health Organization's International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes and relevant World Health Assembly resolutions that call upon States to ensure that best-practices related to women's health are followed in all public-private partnerships.

In relation to the specific issue of implementation of the Commission's decision relating to women, I will be very brief in merely pointing out that despite the fact that the Commission held corporal punishment to be in cruel, inhumane, or degrading punishment for women in Communication 236/00 concerning Sudan's use of this punishment for public order offences committed by women, namely, there associating with men and wearing trousers. We hope that the Commission, and especially the Special Rapporteur, will follow up the implementation of its decision by discussing with the government of Sudan how it will implement this decision that is now 6 years old.

17, rue Ferdinand-Hodler, CH-1207 Genève, Suisse Tél. +41-22-736-9266 - Fax +41-22-736 -9193 E-mail: info@nordsud21.ch
IAC, 55 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011 USA Tél. +1-212-798-3992 - Fax +1-206-984-4734 E-mail: sara@action-mail.org

Oral Statement to the African Commission: Human Rights Defenders

Oral Statement by Nord Sud XXI to the 45th Ordinary Session
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
13 to 27 May 2009, Banjul, Gambia
Item 7(b)(iv): Human Rights Defenders

Human rights defenders are the backbone of the protection of human rights in Africa. Whether they
are in government, members of this august Commission, or individuals and NGOs working to
ensure that governments respect human rights, human rights defenders everywhere deserve respect
and protection.
The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders is the focal point for the Commission's
activities in favour of the protection of the human rights defenders who operate as members of civil
society. The individuals who fall under this mandate are often critics of their government's actions
and unfortunately require the protection of outside bodies, including regional international human
rights bodies like this Commission. For this reason, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights
Defenders has sometimes found it necessary to intervene with governments to ensure that the
human rights of human rights defenders are respected.
To facilitate the protective functions of the Special Rapporteur, including for the purpose of
providing her information that may led to quicker more effective action and for providing a
collective memory for her mandate that can be passed on to future mandate holders, we propose the
establishment of a database of human rights defenders. We fully realize that the establishment and
maintenance of such a database requires the utmost concern for the privacy of the individuals whose
data is therein included. We believe that this is a concern that with the establishment of proper
confidentiality procedure and rules can be satisfactorily dealt with.
We have provided a short summary of the project to the Special Rapporteur. We hope that with the
Special Rapporteur, the Commission will consider this proposal and make an in principle decision
on it so that, should the Commission wish to proceed, we can do our best to provide or secure any
support that might be necessary.

17, rue Ferdinand-Hodler, CH-1207 Genève, Suisse Tél. +41-22-736-9266 - Fax +41-22-736 -9193 E-mail: info@nordsud21.ch
IAC, 55 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011 USA Tél. +1-212-798-3992 - Fax +1-206-984-4734 E-mail: sara@action-mail.org