From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 14 Aug 92 10:34 PDT
Subject: UNITED NATIONS: Security Council he
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700363:000:4756
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Aug 14 10:34:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: UNITED NATIONS: Security Council he

/* Written 12:28 am  Aug 14, 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: Security Council hears of rights abuses in
Iraq

new york, aug 11 (ips) departing from practice, the u.n. security
council heard testimony tuesday from an official of the commission
on human rights on the persecution of iraqi shiites and kurds.

max van der stoel, special rapporteur of the geneva-based
commission, was invited to address the council in his personal
capacity, despite strong reservations about the procedure
expressed by india, zimbabwe and china.

the three council members argued that the security council was not
the ''appropriate'' forum to hear human right reports. the u.n.
charter assigned this role specifically to the commission of human
rights or to the u.n. general assembly.

''our concern is that this act will encroach on the jurisdiction
of other organs of the united nations, and will eventually be
detrimental to this body also,'' said s. s. mumbemgegwi,
zimbabwe's ambassador to the united nations.

but a majority of council members voted to hear van der stoel's
report. the united states, france and britain, which  sponsored
the invitation, said this was appropriate because iraq had
violated council resolution 688 calling on it to end repression
against its own population.

the council also invited the iraqi ambassador to the united
nations, abdul amir al-anbari, to participate.

in his brief report, van der stoel spoke of the imminent famine
facing kurds in the north next winter, and of iraqi army attacks
on the shiite population the south.

''there has been an alarming increase in military activity since
early june in the southern marshes. the iraqi government is using
fixed-wing aircraft to bomb its own population,'' he said.

thousands of people have disappeared and many have been summarily
executed, van der stoel claimed. he reminded the council that iraq
has previously used brutal methods to crush dissent, including the
use of chemical weapons against kurdish civilians.

he said it is ''more urgent than at the end of the gulf war'' to
persuade iraq to allow humanitarian aid agencies into the country.
iraq has made conditions of work increasingly difficult for both
u.n. and non-governmental aid organisations.(more/ips)

united nations: security council hears of rights abuses in
iraq(2-e)

united nations: security council(2)

van der stoel said the iraqi government's ''food blockade''
against the kurds in the north and the shiites in the south has
created enormous suffering ''a major international effort is
needed to avoid a catastrophe'', he warned.

according to van der stoel, iraq's maltreatment of the shia clergy
was evident saturday when the army barred thousands of mourners
from the grand ayatollah khoei's funeral. ''only six aides and one
member of his family were allowed to attend the dawn burial'', he
said.

iraqi ambassador al-anbari dismissed all of van der stoel's
allegations as being ''far from reality''. he said the big powers
always use human rights issues as a ''political tool''.

''the special rapporteur is being used as a conduit by those
powers who oppress the iraqi people and who shed crocodile tears
for human rights'', he charged.

al-anbari argued that the desperate plight of the iraqi people is
a consequence of the embargo imposed by the security council and
not due to the actions of his government. ''everything in iraq is
embargoed, except air and water,'' he said.

the ambassador admitted that his government had used fixed-wing
aircraft in the south, but said this was to hunt down ''deserters,
murderers, smugglers and foreign agents who had found a safe haven
in the marshes''.

after the council meeting, al-anbari told reporters that the whole
''show'' conducted by the security council was an attempt to carve
up his country.

''it is a cynical and orchestrated attempt to dismember iraq into
three small parts'', he said, referring to the u.n. presence in
the north and today's calls for international intevention in the
south.

a representative of the exiled iraqi shiite leader, ayatollah
hakim , told ips that he was disappointed that the security
council did not propose ''concrete action'' to save his people
from repression.

however, ali al-adhadh said he was pleased that today's discussion
had brought the issue to the world's attention. he called van der
stoel's report ''accurate'', and said he felt ''satisfied'' that
the council recognises the gravity of the
situation.(end/ips/ip/am/wr/92)