ICJ-Report on Activities 1992 1994
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International Commission o f Jurists International Commission ofjurists Report on Activities 1992 -1994 © Copyright, International Commission of Jurists, 1995 Table of Contenta Préfacé ..................................................................................................... 13 An Organizational Profile .................................................................... 17 Triennium Opens With 40th Anniversaiy and Commission Meeting ..................................................................... 21 IC J Awarded UN Human Rights Prize ............................................. 25 Commission Activily and Members ................................................... 27 International Promotion of Human Rights and the Rule of Law .... 31 The UN World Conférence on Human Rights ....................... 43 Impunity and an International Criminal Court ...................... 45 Women's Rights ........................................................................... 55 Election Monitoring .................................................................... 62 Activities in the Régions ....................................................................... 71 Africa ...... ...................................................................................... 71 The Americas ................................................................................ 88 Asia and the Pacific ..................................................................... 97 Europe ........................................................................................... 111 The Middle East and North Africa ........................................... 115 Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers ..................... 127 National Sections and Affiliâtes .......................................................... 141 Financial Statement .............................................................................. 145 Members of the International Commission of Jurists* Presidènt Joaquin Ruiz-Gimenez, Spain Vice Présidents Enoch Dumbutshena, Zimbabwe Lennart Groll, Sweden Tai-Young Lee, Republic of Korea Claire l’Heureux-Dubé, Canada Executive Conunittee Michael D. Kirby (Chairman), Australia Dalmo De Abreu Dallari, brazil Desmond Fernando, Sri Lanka Asma Khader, Jordan Kofi Kumado, Ghana Fali S. Nariman, India Christian Tomuschat, Germany Commission Members Andres Aguilar Mawdsley, Venezuela Mohammed bedjaoui, Algeria Antonio Cassese, Italy Arthur Chaskalson, Republic of South Africa Sir Robin Cooke, New Zealand Marie-José Crespin, Sénégal Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, Malaysia Diego Garcia-Sayan, Peru Sir William Goodhart, United Kingdom Rajsoomer Lallah, Mauritius E w a L etow ska, P oland Gladys Li, Hong Kong Niall MacDermot, United Kingdom Daniel Henri Marchand, France J.R.W .S. Mawalla, Tanzania François-Xavier Mbouyom, Cameroon Florence N. Mumba, Zambia Dorab Patel, Pakistan bertrand G. Ramcharan, Guyana * as of 31 December 1994 Report on Activities 1992 - 1994 7 Hipolito Solari Yrigoyen, Argentina Lâszlô Solyom, Hungary Daniel Thürer, Switzerland Théo C. Van boven, Netherlands José Zalaquett, Chile Secretary-General Adama Dieng 8 International Commission of Jurists Advisory Board o£ the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers' Chairm an P.N. bhagwati, India B oard IVIembers Perfecto Andres Ibanez, Spain Lloyd barnett, Jamaica Amar bentoumi, Algeria Sir Robin Cooke, New Zealand M arie-José Crespin, Sénégal Date/ Param Cumaraswamy, Malaysia Jules Deschênes, Québec/Canada Enoch Dumbutshena, Zimbabwe Diego Garcia-Sayan, Peru Stephen Klitzman, USA Giovanni E. Longo, Italy Pablito Sanidad, Philippines beinusz Szmukler, Argentina Suriya Wickremasinghe, Sri Lanka Abderahman Youssoufi, M.orocco CI JL Director Mona Rishmawi ° as of 31 December 1994 Report on Activities 1992 ~ 1994 9 TP The The ICJ Family 10 International Commission of Jurists IC J/C IJL International Secrétariat Staff* Secretary-General Adama Dieng Légal Officers Philip Amoah (Africa) Alejandro Artucio (Latin America and the Caribbean) Dilbur Parakh (Asia and the Pacific) Mona Rishmawi (Middle East-North Africa and CI JL D irector) Peter Wilborn (CI JL Assistant Légal Officer) Press and Publications Officer Nicolas bovay Executive Officer (Finance and Administration) Trevor Davies Finance Officer Christian Grandjean Librarian « b oris b eer Programme Coordinator bineta Diop Assistant to Secretary-General N a n a M oeljadi Assistant Programme Coordinator Jasper de Raadt Computer Specialist Reza Hariri Secretaries Malin Mabrouk Edith Pellas Margarita Rosenthal Karin Stasius in 1994 Report on Activities 1992 - 1994 11 Préfacé The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is a remarkable body. It is one of the oldest and most respected of the global human rights organizations. because of its history, its mission and its membership (comprising mostly leading judges, practising lawyers, légal academics and paralegals), it is a body which has always attached the greatest importance to acting in a principled and responsible way. It adheres to the objectives of its Statute. These have committed it to the defence of the Rule of Law, safeguarding human rights and upholding the independence of judges and lawyers in ail parts of the world. The Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (CIJL) is an invaluable body, established by the ICJ and working closely with it. It has been so effective that its identification of the Attackà on Justice, listed in the annual report by that name, undoubtedly played a significant part in the acceptance by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights of the proposai to appoint a Spécial Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers during the period under report. It was no surprise when a member of the IC J (Dato1 Param Cumaraswamy, Malaysia) was appointed to fill this important office. This TrienniaL Report records the extraordinary scope of the activities pursued by the dedicated officers of the IC J under the leadership of the Secretary-General, Mr. Adama Dieng. For a body with such a small budget and modest staff complément, the range, depth, novelty and importance of the activities of the ICJ are truly astonishing. When the IC J mtervenes in the councils of the United Nations, in the countless missions, seminars, trial observances and the other activities recorded in these pages, it is listened to. It has earned this attention by the integrity and responsibility shown by the Secretary-General and his distinguished predecessors and by its staff, supported by Commission Members who comprise some of the most notable judges and lawyers in the world. Yet no organization can afford to stand still complacently. The IC J is not given to self-congratulation. Indeed, it is in the midst of an important time of change. During the triennium under report, the Report on Activities 1992 - 1994 13 Executive Committee h as pursued a vigorous policy o£ institutional renewal: • Regular Updater have been circulated to ail members of the Commission of the ICJ, Sections and Affiliated Organizations, in order to improve the transparency of the organization and to provide a more open administration; • New, modem premises with updated information technology have been secured in Geneva in place of the overcrowded and inefficient premises occupied in years past; • Active coopération with the Ford Foundation's external review of the IC J was given and received in an open- minded endeavour to benefït from the process of external scrutiny; • Intensive attention has been given to the rôle of Commissioners within the organization and to the guide- lines which should govern missions of the ICJ to assure the maximum utilisation of the high attributes of participating members; • The identification of future human rights issues has, once again, showed the IC J to be at the cutting edge of international thinking on such matters. Amongst the issues adopted for future attention by the IC J are; human rights of women and of children; human rights and drug use and drug dependence; human rights and sexual orientation; disability, including HIV/AIDS; technology and human rights, including the implications of the Human Genome Project for human rights; • The choice of the conférence theme of the Triennial Conférence in bangalore in October 1995 - the rôle of lawyers in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economie, Social and Cultural Rights - once again demonstrates the leadership rôle of the IC J in matters vital to its mission; 14 International Commission of Jurists • The ICJ's proposai for the establishment of an International Criminal Court continues to gather momentum. The establishment of spécial tribunals for war crimes in the case of the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda heralds the coming establishment of an International Criminal Court of général jurisdiction. The shocking evidence emanating from the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and from many other places, cries out for the effective establishment of the Rule of Law internationally. Again, it is a matter of pride to the ICJ that one of its Members (Professor A. Cassese, Italy) has been elected as the first Président of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from which it is hoped that an institution of général remit will shortly come. The IC J faces the challenges of the coming new millennium with confidence and renewed energy and commitment. This Trien.ni.aL Report shows what can be done by a body of jurists dedicated to the Rule of Law. Despite some setbacks, the global