UNITED NATIONS
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Sixty-first session
Agenda item 11
Civil and Political Rights
International Educational Development welcomes the completion by Sub-Commission Special Rapporteur Ms Kalliopi Koufa of her substantive report on terrorism and human rights and hopes that the Commission will approve allowing her to prepare a consolidated final report. We applaud the Special Rapporteur's steadfast intention to address all areas of terrorism and human rights, regardless of whether terrorism occurs at the hands of State or sub-State actors. We recognize that there are far more victims of State or State-sponsored terrorism than those of sub-State groups and finding ways to stem State and State-sponsored terrorism remains one of the key problems of the international community.
We have brought several situations of State terrorism to the Commission for many years, especially that of India in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and that of China against political reformists, Falun Gong practitioners and ethnic nationalities such as the Tibetans and Uighurs. While the Kashmir situation is now subject to some bi-lateral talks between Pakistan and India, we remind the international community that this is not a bi-lateral issue but, according to the Security Council, an issue for the Kashmiri people alone to decide through a UN- administered plebiscite. Bi-lateral discussions should be focused on how to establish the necessary conditions for that plebiscite - not on a "negotiated" bilateral agreement on the final disposition of Kashmir. The Kashmiri people own the right to self-determination, not either interested government.
In China, State terrorism directed at Falun Gong practitioners continues unabated, despite the reporting of it by virtually every procedure under this agenda item. Indeed, the Falun Gong cases have swamped the UN procedures, leading us to ask why the Commission still will not address this issue or the other compelling issues involving China. Surely the failure of the Commission to address China brings the forum into ridicule, especially with the preoccupation of one State on Cuba. That State's focus guarantees that there will be no Commission action on China.
State and State-sponsored terrorism is also a feature in Indonesia, where the Laskar Jihad has terrorized the people of the Moluccas with the apparent full blessing of the government, that itself has directly terrorized the Moluccan people for many years. This situation will not be permanently resolved until the Moluccan people fully exercise the rights, including the right to choose independence, granted then in the UN indorsed Round Table Conference Agreements.
The failure of the Commission responsibly to address these State-terrorism issues means that the Commission is not really serious about the support for the democratic process and remedies for State terrorism but rather in the political expediency of a only a few States.
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