Commission on Human Rights opens special session on Middle East
17 October -- The key to a peaceful and stable future in the Middle East lies in developing a culture of human rights and tolerance, Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the Commission on Human Rights today as it opened its special session on the situation in the Middle East.
"There is much evidence that the majority of the people of the region understand this very well," she said, calling on the international community, the parties concerned and the neighbouring States to "engage in deep reflection with a view to implementing strategies for the promotion of tolerance and harmony among two kindred people."
Speaking from personal experience as a national of Ireland, Mrs. Robinson noted that her own country had experienced protracted conflict. "We have had to face the agony of violence as we pursued the quest for peace," she said. The High Commissioner stressed that even in the midst of despair it was possible to dream of peace, but added that "sustainable peace must be based on a framework of protection of human rights."
The Commission also heard from Giorgio Giacomelli, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, who just returned from a mission to the region. Mr. Giacomelli said that the excessive use of force and the prevalence of weapons on both sides were leading to startling violations of human rights.
In his eight-page report to the Commission, Mr. Giacomelli expressed the conviction that the conflict "has its roots in the accumulated grievances and resentment for the continuing violations of human rights and humanitarian norms under Israeli occupation." The report outlines a series of recommendations geared towards building a sense of security and confidence on both sides.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, today voiced his concern over the tragic impact of the recent violence in the Middle East on the region's children. He appealed to the parties to do all in their power to end the violence and to "go the extra mile for the protection and well being of all children."
In another development, a spokesperson for the President of the UN General Assembly announced today that the Assembly had decided to resume on Wednesday its emergency special session on Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Originally convened in April 1997 under the Assembly's 1950 "Uniting for peace" resolution, the session was last suspended in February 1999.
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