Sie befinden sich hier: Publikationen Archiv Völkerrechtliche Praxis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1994
Peter-Tobias Stoll
b. Praxis im Rahmen der VN-Organe
79. Die Beschlüsse der Menschenrechtsweltkonferenz der Vereinten Nationen in Wien im Juni 1993 und ihre Umsetzung beschäftigten im Berichtszeitraum den Deutschen Bundestag.199 Sie waren auch Gegenstand der umfangreichen Stellungnahmen, die deutsche Vertreter für die Europäische Union in der Generalversammlung abgaben.
So führte der deutsche Vertreter für die Europäische Union im 3. Ausschuß aus, daß von den vielen Gesichtspunkten, die auf der Wiener Menschenrechtskonferenz behandelt worden seien, die folgenden für die Europäische Union von besonderer Bedeutung seien:
| "Freedom from torture, prevention of enforced disappearances, no arbitrary detention and no summary executions as well as no impunity for grave violations of human rights, combating of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance, improvement of the rights of the child, equal status and human rights of women, the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, the interrelationship between human rights, democracy and development, the international decade of the world indigenous people, human rights education, the elimination of religious intolerance, the role of national human rights institutions and last but not least the acknowledgment of the vital role of non-governmental organizations and the media."200 |
| "The promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms must be considered as a priority objective of the United Nations in accordance with its purposes and principles, in particular the purpose of international cooperation." |
| "The UN has not yet achieved this. The efforts undertaken to promote respect for human rights do not indicate that this is one of its three paramount aims."201 |
80. Am 21. November 1994 nahm der deutsche Vertreter für die Europäische Union und Österreich zur Todesstrafe Stellung:
| " ... The United Nations advocate three principles:
– the defense of the right to life, as expressed in Art. 3 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and in Art. 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which refers to the abolition of the death penalty in terms that suggest that abolition is desirable; – the call for restrictions in the application of the death penalty limiting it to most serious crimes and exempting persons under the age of 18, pregnant women, new mothers and insane persons from its application. This is expressed in Art. 6 para. 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in Art. 37 para. (a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in ECOSOC-Resolution 1984/50; – the establishment of safeguards, notably in Art. 6 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and in ECOSOC-Resolution 1984/50 and the Annex attached to it. The European Union welcomes the framework established by these documents and urges the full implementation by all States concerned. It strongly endorses the tenet that capital punishment, where it is applied, should be limited to the most serious crimes, should exempt the persons specified in the above-mentioned documents, and should only be imposed for crimes that were subject by law to the death penalty at the time of commission. The European Union is also concerned about circumstances where the death penalty is applied in a generalized way, or based on political, racial, religious, gender or other bias, or as a form of revanche. Furthermore, the European Union attaches great importance to the observance of the established safeguards, in particular the right to due process, including the right to effective legal assistance and to a public procedure before the competent court, obeying to the rules of fair trial, the right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction and the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence."202 |
81. Zu dem Protokoll zur Folterkonvention bemerkte der Vertreter:
| "The European Union further welcomes the innovative approach to treaty monitoring outlined in the Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In future negotiations it will be essential, in our view, not to burden the envisaged procedure with restrictions or preconditions that would diminish its preventive and deterrent effect."203 |
82. Für die Europäische Union begrüßte der deutsche Vertreter die Überwindung der Apartheid in Südafrika. Er führte weiter aus:
| "The struggle against apartheid has now been won, yet racism and racial discrimination live on world wide, taking many forms. The European Union has always been, and continues to be vehemently opposed to all forms of racism and racial discrimination. The equality and dignity of every human being, without distinction of any kind on grounds of race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, are at the very foundation of our legal order; the violation of these principles is in clear contradiction to our basic beliefs." |
| "In some countries, manifestations of racial discrimination, intolerance, xenophobia and racially motivated violence may occur not as a government policy, but as the deeds of individuals or groups of individuals. In recent years this has been the case also in our own countries, often as a result of deep, and deeply felt social changes. This fills us, and the vast majority of people in our states with horror and shame. It is the responsibility of governments to work to eliminate such behaviour. Combating discrimination in all its forms is essential for the preservation and promotion of the European Union as a community of states governed by the rule of law. The European Union has therefore not hesitated to take resolute action."204 |
83. Zum Recht auf Selbstbestimmung führte der deutsche Vertreter für die Europäische Union und Österreich aus206:
| "We consider the denial of this right a human rights violation and endeavor to vote towards its universal and peaceful implementation. The exercise of this right is an ongoing process, not a single event, and can be implemented in a variety of ways, appropriate to the situation. The exercise of the right to self-determination is intrinsically linked to the enjoyment of other human rights, notably the right to freedom of expression and the freedom of peaceful assembly and association. To be able to determine effectively their destiny, everybody must be able to take part in the conduct of public affairs, to have access to public service and to vote and be elected at genuine periodic elections by universal and equal suffrage in accordance with the provisions of the relevant international legal instruments. In this context, we recall that democratic and representative political structures as well as the respect for human rights, including a special sensitivity to the rights of persons belonging to minorities, can be of paramount importance to ward off any potential conflict between the right to self-determination and the territorial integrity of sovereign and independent States." |
84. Die Europäische Union votierte gegen den Resolutionsentwurf "Respect for the principles of national sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of States in their electoral processes."207 Der deutsche Vertreter führte im Namen der Europäischen Union, Österreichs, Finnlands und Schwedens aus208:
| "In our opinion, this draft detracts from efforts made by many states throughout the world to genuinely enhance the effectiveness of the principle of periodic and genuine elections. The European Union is fully committed to the principles of the Charter, to which the draft resolution refers. The Union objects, however, to any selective use of the Charter to justify the denial to the people of their rights to free and democratic elections. As in all cases related to the promotion and protection of human rights by the United Nations, these principles should be considered in conjunction with Art. 55 and 56 of the Charter under which all states pledged themselves to take joint and separate action to promote the universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion." |
85. Eine andere Erklärung betraf den Resolutionsentwurf mit dem Titel "human rights and terrorism".209 Der deutsche Vertreter führte aus, die Europäische Union sei befriedigt darüber gewesen, daß am 9. Dezember 1994 ein Resolutionsentwurf des 6. Ausschusses mit dem Titel "Declaration on measures to eliminate international terrorism" im Konsens verabschiedet werden konnte. Er machte darauf aufmerksam, daß die Europäische Union in demselben Geist auch den Konsens für den vorliegenden Resolutionsentwurf getragen habe, obwohl ernsthafte Vorbehalte bestünden:
| "While there can be no doubt about the European Union's condemnation of terrorism as a serious obstacle to the enjoyment of human rights and about our support for all efforts to combat terrorism which are in conformity with international law, human rights standards and the rule of law, we are of the opinion that a careful distinction has to be made between acts attributable to states and criminal acts which are not. Strictly speaking, only acts attributable to states should be considered as human rights violations. ... The fact that the resolution speaks about human rights violations being perpetrated by terrorist groups does not, in our view, confer on terrorists any status under international law. ... While it is only natural that human rights bodies keep the general context in mind when examining a country's human rights situation, the existence of terrorism cannot justify human rights violations by the state. They must remain the focus of attention of the human rights mechanisms."210 |
86. Mehrfach nahmen die deutschen Vertreter zu der Frage des Zusammenhangs zwischen der Gewährleistung der Menschenrechte und der Entwicklung Stellung. So führte Deutschland für die Europäische Union aus:
| "Indeed, the Vienna Declaration, the Secretary General's report on the 'Agenda for Development' and the deliberations of the Working Group on the Right to Development have consistently pointed to the interrelatedness of development, human rights and democracy. The central role is assigned to the human person and the development process must find its expression in development policies being focused on sustainable human development, which fully integrates the environmental and social dimension, and in people's participation in the decision-making processes which affect their lives. These basic tenets of development can only be achieved when democracy and the enjoyment of human rights are ensured.211
The promotion of human rights supports development. Human rights activities are a part of, not an alternative to, development activities. People are the center of development; their personal dignity and their well-being the ultimate goal of development. Development requires a framework of democracy, transparency and good governance as the main elements, as well as the rule of law and respect for, recognition of and enforcement of human rights."212 |
| "It is hard to understand the argument that the financing of human rights activities might divert resources from developmental activities. If we look at the figures, one can only wonder how the activities of the Center for Human Rights and of the High Commissioner, which only represent 1,3% of the regular UN budget and correspond to approximately 2 % of the UNDP programs, could possibly prejudice any developmental activity. More importantly, human rights activities, not least those of a preventive nature, are an essential part of, not alternative to developmental activities.213
The European Union is therefore convinced that the financing of human rights activities should not be seen as diverting resources from development activities, but as an important practical contribution to development."214 |
87. Ausführlich nahm der deutsche Vertreter außerdem zur Förderung und zum Schutz der Rechte von Kindern Stellung. Er hob die schwierigen Umstände, die Kinder in bewaffneten Konflikten zu ertragen hätten, das Los der "street children", "the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography", "traffic in children" und Kinderarbeit hervor.215
88. Zur Frage der Förderung von Frauen nahm im Namen der Europäischen Union ein deutscher Vertreter ausführlich Stellung.216 Im Hinblick auf die Weltfrauenkonferenz in Peking führte er aus, daß sich die Europäische Union an dem regionalen Vorbereitungstreffen der ECE in Wien im Oktober 1994 beteiligt habe. Dabei sei eine "Regional platform for action – Women in a changing world" verabschiedet worden, die u.a. folgende Punkte enthalte:
| "d. promote equal treatment between women and men workers and the harmonization of work and family responsibilities;
e. promote full participation of women in public life; ..." |
89. Im Hinblick auf die " International Conference on Families" führte die deutsche Vertreterin für die Europäische Union am 18. Oktober 1994 u.a. aus:
| "... I have mentioned earlier that the form and concept of the family can vary from one state to another. But whatever form it takes in a given country and whatever the religious and ethical values, cultural backgrounds and philosophical convictions of its people, the European Union believes that relations within the family must be based on respect for the rights and dignity of each of its members."217 |
90. Im Hinblick auf die bevorstehende Weltbevölkerungskonferenz in Kairo legte die Bundesregierung auf Schriftliche Anfrage ihre Haltung zu Fragen der Abtreibung und das Recht dar, frei von staatlicher Bevormundung oder gar staatlichem Druck über die Zahl ihrer Kinder selbst zu entscheiden:
| "... die Bundesregierung [hat] ... darauf hingewirkt, daß ein konsensfähiger, auch mit der deutschen Rechtslage in Einklang stehender Text erstellt wird. ... Die Bundesregierung lehnt dabei wie bisher Abtreibung als Mittel der Bevölkerungspolitik bzw. Familienplanung ab. Dies bedeutet, daß sie keinem Text zustimmen kann und wird, der ohne Rücksicht auf die Rechtslage in den einzelnen Staaten ein Individualrecht auf Abtreibung festschreibt. ... Der Grundsatz, daß 'allen Individuen und Paaren das Grundrecht auf freie und verantwortliche Entscheidung über Anzahl und zeitliche Abfolge ihrer Kinder' (Prinzip 7) zusteht, ist im Entwurfstext des Schlußdokumentes ausdrücklich enthalten."218 |
91. Mehrfach begrüßte Deutschland für die Europäische Union die Einsetzung eines Hochkommissars der Vereinten Nationen für Menschenrechte219 und setzte sich für eine bessere Finanzausstattung der mit dem Menschenrechtsschutz befaßten Institutionen der Vereinten Nationen, für eine wirtschaftlichere Mittelverwendung und allgemein für eine besser abgestimmte Zusammenarbeit der entsprechenden UN-Organe untereinander ein.220
92. Weiterhin führte Deutschland für die Europäische Union aus, daß es die Pflicht der Internationalen Gemeinschaft sei, den Schutz der Menschenrechte durch die Überwachung der Umsetzung der verschiedenen Menschenrechtsverträge zu verwirklichen.221 Weiter heißt es:
| "The monitoring bodies established under these instruments must be seen as a part of an all-encompassing system ... whose need for further strengthening has been underlined by the Vienna Declaration and Prgramme of Action. We will defend the consensus reached at Vienna against any attempts to retrench the existing mechanisms or to interfere with the independent execution of their mandate. We welcome the current campaign ... for universal adherence to the human rights instruments. We also call on states which have made reservations contrary to the spirit of these instruments to consider withdrawing them." |
| "The European Union rejects anybody's claim to be exempt from monitoring. We believe in particular that historical, cultural or religious particularities offer no exemption from criticism. As a Union comprising a multitude of ethnical, cultural and religious groups, the European Union is well aware of the significance of these particularities but maintains that they cannot be invoked to justify either the abridgement of internationally recognized human rights standards or the refusal to cooperate with the United Nations monitoring mechanisms. We urge all Governments to extend to these mechanisms their full cooperation and assistance, including by providing all information requested, by facilitating visits to their countries and by giving adequate follow-up to their recommendations." |
