Statement by the Myanmar Ambassador on the oral presentation of the Special Rapporteur (9 April)

Check against delivery

Mr. Chairman,

At the outset, I should like to extend the warmest congratulations of my delegation to you on your unanimous election to the chair of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on Human Rights. I also wish to express the deep satisfaction of my delegation with the effective manner in which you have been conducting the proceedings of the Commission. We are confident that, under your able leadership, this session will come to a successful conclusion. [My tribute also goes to the other members of the Bureau]*

Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, made his brief oral presentation on his first visit to my country on Friday last.

Mr. Chairman,

Professor Pinheiro’s brief oral presentation calls to my mind the generally-accepted norms concerning the functions of the country-specific Special Rapporteurs and on the way they should write their reports on situations of human rights in the respective countries.

Mr. Chairman,

Undoubtedly, the proper role of the country-specific Special Rapporteur is to be a neutral, independent observer and to write a report on the situation of human rights in the country concerned in an unbiased and balanced manner. He must, therefore, abide by the universally-accepted principles of objectivity, non-selectivity and impartiality in dealing with the questions of human rights, which are enshrined in the Final Declaration of the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, and other legal instruments on promotion and protection of human rights.

Mr. Chairman,

I mention this on purpose, because it is the very basis on which the mechanism of the country-specific Special Rapporteurs operates.

Whether the country-specific Special Rapporteurs have actually operated on that basis and whether they have met the above-mentioned criteria and whether they have performed their functions properly are the questions that the Commission on Human Rights and the delegations, directly concerned, will have to address.

Mr. Chairman,

This explains why my Government had declined to accept the proposed visits of Mr. Lallah, the former Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar.

Mr. Chairman,

The reasons are crystal clear, sound and rock-solid. Mr. Lallah deviated widely from these established norms. His reports were very much biased, partial and slanted against Myanmar. Much as we desired to cooperate with the United Nations and the Commission on Human Rights, we had been compelled, for the reasons stated above, to decline the proposed visits of Mr. Lallah. And we had no other choice but to categorically reject and dissociate from those resolutions, which were largely based on the texts in Mr. Lallah’s reports.

It is now time that this negative approach and the unfair treatment of Myanmar be replaced by a positive approach and a fair treatment of Myanmar on the part of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar and the proponents of the draft resolution on my country.

Mr. Chairman,

I am glad that Professor Pinheiro has taken a positive approach. And rightly so,

Judging on the main thrust and the contents of the brief oral presentation by the Special Rapporteur, it is quite fairly balanced and quite positive. Much more so than the misrepresentations of facts in his predecessor Mr. Lallah’s reports.

In his brief oral presentation Professor Pinheiro made the following observations:-

"I would like to acknowledge and express my gratitude for the full cooperation I received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Director-General of the Department of International Organizations, and the Permanent Representative of the Union of Myanmar in Geneva, prior and during my visit to the country."

"I believe that the country is currently about to enter a new phase which the Commission of Human Rights and the International community must acknowledge and act upon."

"I take note of a series of steps taken by the Government recently, including their willingness to engage with the United Nations and the international community by entering into a dialogue with the Human Rights Commission through the Special Rapporteur, and their continued cooperation with the Secretary General's envoy, Ambassador Razali."

"I take note with satisfaction that the government of Myanmar has constituted a 20-member Human Rights Committee under the patronage of Secretary (1) of the State Peace and Development Council in April 2000. The Committee has eight working groups dealing with issues ranging from international human rights law, health, education and labour. During my mission I had an opportunity to meet with the Committee and have a brief exchange of views on the human rights situation in Myanmar. [The work of the

Committee is clearly in its very early stages, which makes an objective assessment difficult at present.]"*

"I take note of information received from reliable sources that in some areas where the authorities have accepted independent observation, such as in prisons, there has reportedly been much [some]** improvement."

"I believe that, despite not being able to carry out a full fact-finding mission during the short time since my appointment in December, there are several signs that indicate an evolution leading to an eventual political opening."

"Any positive initiative must be acknowledged and encouraged by the international community, which must be prepared to offer positive answers to any indicators of real progress towards democratisation and strengthening of human rights protection."

"I am convinced that the deepening of the isolation of Myanmar should be avoided. If the international community wants to contribute for the promotion of human rights, it is necessary to find ways to increase the integration of Myanmar into the international community."

Mr Chairman,

The afore-mentioned quotations from Professor Pinheiro’s brief oral presentation clearly demonstrate that the Myanmar Government has goodwill; it is acting in good faith and with sincerity; and that it has fully cooperated with the Special Rapporteur to the extent possible during his recent visit to Myanmar by extending all the assistance, sought by him, and by making all the necessary arrangements.

Furthermore, Professor Pinheiro’s oral presentation also goes a long way in rectifying and enhancing the image of Myanmar, which has been negatively portrayed by the anti-Myanmar Government elements and the Western media. It clearly demonstrates that Myanmar, the reality that he has discovered during his visit, is a far cry from the false allegations, levelled at my country.

Mr. Chairman,

In view of the time constraint and the requirement for brevity of interventions, I only wish to refresh the memory of the members and observer delegations in this room on some pointers to the recent encouraging developments in Myanmar.

- For the first time in 6 years, the Government of the Union of Myanmar has accepted the visit of the newly-appointed Special Rapporteur Professor Pinheiro. The Special Rapporteur’s visit took place just a few days ago from 3 to 5 April 2001.

The Myanmar authorities have fully cooperated with the Special Rapporteur to the extent possible during his visit to Myanmar with the result that the Special Rapporteur’s visit turned out to be a success.

- The Special Rapporteur Professor Pinheiro made his brief oral presentation on his visit to Myanmar at the meeting of the Commission on Human Rights on Friday last. This presentation is fairly balanced, and reflects the positive developments taking place in Myanmar.

- Mr. Razali Ismail, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General also paid a fruitful visit to Myanmar in January 2001. (He had visited Myanmar twice before in July and October 2000.)

- The Government has recently released 85 persons in January and 16 more in March 2001, respectively. This gives the lie to the unfounded allegations of "the increasing repression" by the Government.

- The Government has established a Steering Committee at the highest level, headed by Lt-General Khin Nyunt, Secretary (1) of the State Peace and Development Council and a Human Rights Committee, headed by Col Tin Hlaing, Minister for Home Affairs. These bodies are carrying out preparatory work and will pave the way for the establishment, in due course, of a full-fledged institution on promotion and protection of human rights.

- While my country has ceased cooperation with the ILO for the time being in relation to Convention 29 on account of the unfair treatment of my country and the unwarranted imposition of drastic measures under Article 33 of the ILO Constitution, Myanmar has shown its goodwill and positive gesture. His Excellency U Khin Maung Win, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, came to Geneva, on his way to South America to attend an international conference, and held talks with Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO on 22 March 2001.

- There are also other activities going on in Myanmar by way of promoting human rights and raising the awareness of human rights. The Myanmar Government, in cooperation with Mr. Chris Sidoti, the former Australian Commissioner for Human Rights, has been organizing workshops and seminars on human rights in Yangon from July 2000 onwards.

- Contrary to the much-publicized allegations, schools and universities are open, and students from kindergarten to post-graduate classes have been pursuing their studies peacefully.

[- There have been many more positive developments in other areas, as well, in my country in the past one year.]*

Mr. Chairman,

These are just a few pointers to the recent positive developments in Myanmar. I shall dwell at a greater length on the endeavours and the concrete achievements of the Myanmar Government in my next intervention.

Mr. Chairman,

May I reiterate here for the record that we do not accept that there have been violations of human rights in Myanmar, as portrayed by the anti-Government elements and the Western media. Nor do we accept that there be any need for having a resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. This remains to be the official position of the Myanmar Government.

Nevertheless, we are ready and willing to cooperate with the United Nations and the Commission on Human Rights to the extent possible under the prevailing circumstances.

This cooperation has resumed between the Commission on Human Rights and Myanmar with the fruitful visit of the Special Rapporteur to Myanmar just a few days ago.

Professor Pinheiro has made a good start as the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar.

We, on our part, have demonstrated our goodwill and willingness to cooperate. The full cooperation on the part of the Myanmar authorities to the extent possible has contributed to the success of the first visit of the Special Rapporteur to my country.

We do hope that Professor Pinheiro will follow through with his positive approach in the future, as well. With the proviso that he does so, it will enhance the possibility of the continuation of our cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights.

Let us, therefore, accentuate the positive, and promote a cooperative approach, rather than a coercive one.

I thank you Mr. Chairman

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* The text in square brackets was in the printed text, but not read out. Since the note "Check against delivery" heads the printed text, the oral delivery is authoritative.

** The word used by the Special Rapporteur in his oral presentation was "some", which also appears in the printed text of the Ambassador’s statement. However, the word actually read out by His Excellency the Myanmar Ambassador was "much".