From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 21 Aug 92 10:49 PDT
Subject: UNITED NATIONS: DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700399:000:4133
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Aug 21 10:49:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: UNITED NATIONS: DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

/* Written 12:14 am  Aug 21, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: UNITED NATIONS: DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ALSO VIOLATE HUMAN RIGHTS


geneva, aug 18 (ips) -- human rights violations are not the
exclusive preserve of developing nations, but are also being
perpetrated by industrialized countries, un experts said here.

racism, cultural segregation and doctrines on state terrorism
are rife in industrialized countries, the international league
for the rights and liberation of peoples stated in a document
released here.

''there is a long series of recent and historical data which
attest to these denunciations,'' colombian expert federico
andreu, who authored the document, told ips tuesday.

andreu, who heads the league, is participating along with
other experts in the 44th session of the un sub-commission on
human rights, meeting here until aug. 28.

the sub-commission discussed discriminatory measures and the
protection of minorities throughout the world on tuesday. the
experts are scheduled to issue a final report to the un
commission on human rights at the end of this month.

''the main problem we see in europe, for example, is that
human rights violations go unpunished even though political
leaders and the press, in general, take up official positions to
the contrary,'' andreu said.

the american association of jurists (aaj) has also pointed a
finger at the growing racism in industrialized countries.

the group released a note in geneva calling on the united
nations to take immediate action in the face of racial
persecution and segregation in europe and the united states.

the aaj mentioned discrimination against north african
immigrants in france and spain, the holding of an international
neo-nazi congress in spain in late july at which a call was
launched for the ''racial purification of europe'' and the recent
political violence against the black population in los angeles.

the lawyers also deplored the fact that the united states,
which reacted rapidly to the yugoslavian conflict, is the united
nations' greatest debtor, owing it 555 million dollars (according
to official data), funds which the organization could devote to
humanitarian problems.

russian expert stanislav chernichenko told ips that immigrants
from central and eastern europe are also the targets of racism in
the european community (ec). (more)
----


''with the fall of the 'communist system' many citizens wish
to emigrate to western europe, but we know that they are treated
there as cheap labour and subjected to cultural and social
discrimination,'' he said.

''religious and ethnic persecution are on the increase in the
former soviet republics. russians are intolerant of esthonians
and vice versa and that is repeated throughout the region,
creating a situation which can get out of control,'' chernichenko
added.

fatma ksentini, an algerian expert, said that ''thousands of
families from my country and other african states continue to be
maltreated in france and germany.''

''these families practically live behind a political wall
because the attacks by racist groups are constant, even though
the press says nothing about this,'' she said.

in its report the league also lay some of the blame for human
rights abuses in developing countries at europe's door, stating
that the military doctrines used to justify human rights
violations in the third world were basically created in europe.

citing one such example, it said that the training the
colombian army gives to officials for the fight against drug
trafficking and to its counter-insurgency units is based on
official french texts written by colonel roger trinquier.

a colombian text titled ''modern warfare'' quoted by the
league points out that ''systematic torture should be used, as
colonel trinquier, an expert in the counter-insurgency war in
algeria explains,'' (end/ips/trd/so/ved-ego/kb/92)
----