Appendix I: A Review of the 55th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
| Author | Bret Thiele |
| DOI | 10.1177/092405199901700411 |
| Published date | 01 December 1999 |
| Date | 01 December 1999 |
| Subject Matter | Part C: Appendices |
Part
C: Appendices
Appendix I: A Review of the 55th Session of the United Nations
Commission on
Human
Rights
Bret Thiele'
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (Commission) met in Geneva,
Switzerland from 22 March to 30 April 1999. The Commission is composed
of
53
Member Governments. In addition to the delegations representing the Member
Governments, representatives
of
observer-governments, international organisations, and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also attended the Commission.'
The mandate
of
the Commission includes standard setting as well as human rights
monitoring. The Commission is guided by a Bureau
of
five persons elected from its
membership - one each from the five geographic regions.' In recent years the
Commission has reduced efforts at standard setting and has turned its attention toward
implementation. To this end, the Commission has increasingly addressed the needs
of
States by providing advisory services and technical assistance.
Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights opened the
Commission's six-week session under the shadow
of
the Kosovo conflict. In her opening
statement, Ms. Robinson urged the Commission to focus particular attention on the
protection and prevention
of
human rights in areas
of
armed conflict. She noted that
conflicts took place between as well as within States and that 90 percent
of
the victims
were civilians.
The Commission elected Ambassador Anne Anderson (Ireland) as Chairperson. In her
opening remarks, Ambassador Anderson noted a number
of
topics on which the
Commission must focus, including development, racism, extreme poverty, and the rights
of
women, children, indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable groups.
Elected as Vice-Chairpersons were Shambu Ram Simkhada (Nepal), Romans Baumanis
(Latvia), and Luis Alberto Padilla Menendez (Guatemala).
Raouf
Chatty (Tunisia) was
elected as Rapporteur.
IMajor
Themes
Conflict Situations: The Crisis in Kosovo
Mary Robinson's suggested focus on conflict situations could not have been timelier. Jiri
Dienstbier, the Special Rapporteur on the situation
of
human rights in the former
Yugoslavia reported that violations
of
human rights in Kosovo had reached terrible new
• J.D. cum laude, University
of
Minnesota Law School; B.S. summa cum laude, University
of
Minnesota. The
author wishes to thank Professor David Weissbrodt for all the support, guidance, and opportunities he has
so generously provided and continues to provide. The author also thanks Mayra G6mez for her support,
comments, and invaluable human rights insight.
For a list
of
participants in the 55th Session
of
the Commission see UN Doc. E/1999/23, E/CN.4/1999/167,
annex I (1999). The resolutions adopted by the Commission are contained in: UN Doc. E/1999/23,
E/CN.4/1999/167 (1999).
2The five geographic regions are Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Western Europe and Other
(including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States
of
America).
Netherlands Quarterly
of
Human Rights, Vol. 17/4. 521-532, 1999.
<0
Netherlands Institute
of
Human Rights
(81M).
Printed in the Netherlands. 521
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