E/3272. International tax problems. Taxation in Chile, 27 de mayo …cdn.un.org/unyearbook/yun/chapter_pdf/1959YUN/1959_P1... · 2014. 12. 12. · Informe del Seminario de Clasificación

188 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL QUESTIONS

by Governments, specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations.

The United Nations Statistical Yearbook,1958, contained information on public debtand on major components of government ex-penditures and receipts. The substantial pro-

gress made in a number of countries in reclassi-fying government transactions according toeconomic and functional categories made itpossible to start a major revision of the tablescontained in the Yearbook.

DOCUMENTARY REFERENCES

ST/TAA/SER.C/39. Clasificación y AdministraciónPresupuestarias,

Informe del Seminario de Clasificación y Administra-ción Presupuestarias en Sudamérica. Santiago deChile, 27 de mayo a 5 de junio de 1959.

E/3272. International tax problems. Taxation in

capital-exporting and capital-importing countries offoreign private investments. Swedish taxation ofprivate Swedish investments abroad.

International Flow of Private Capital 1956-1958(E/3249). U.N.P. Sales No.:59.II.D.2.

CHAPTER VIII

HUMAN RIGHTS

DRAFT INTERNATIONAL COVENANTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The two draft International Covenants on Hu-man Rights, prepared by the Commission onHuman Rights, have been under considerationby the General Assembly's Third (Social, Hu-manitarian and Cultural) Committee since1954. One draft Covenant deals with civil andpolitical rights, the other with economic, socialand cultural rights. By the end of the Assembly'sthirteenth session in 1958, the Third Committeehad adopted the texts of: the preamble andarticle 1 (on the right to self-determination) ofboth covenants; all the substantive articles ofthe draft Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights; and articles 6 to 11 of the draftCovenant on Civil and Political Rights.

In 1959, at the Assembly's fourteenth session,the Third Committee continued its article-by-article consideration of the substantive provi-sions of the draft Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights. From 12 to 27 November 1959, theCommittee discussed and adopted articles 12,13 and 14.

DRAFT COVENANT ON CIVILAND POLITICAL RIGHTSARTICLE 12

Article 12, as proposed by the Commissionon Human Rights, dealt with freedom of resi-dence and movement, the right to leave anycountry including one's own and to enter one's

own country, and the prohibition of arbitraryexile.

The discussion in the Third Committee cen-tred mainly on a limitations clause which wouldpermit restrictions to be imposed on grounds of"national security, public safety, health ormorals." Argentina, Belgium, Iran, Italy andthe Philippines jointly proposed an amendmentintended, among other things, to replace theterm "public safety" by the expression "publicorder" (ordre public in the French text andorden público in the Spanish text).

Some Members of the Third Committee ob-jected to the inclusion of the concept of "publicorder (ordre public)" among the grounds per-mitting a State to impose restrictions on freedomof movement and residence. It was contendedthat far-reaching restrictions could be justifiedunder such a vague expression. Some Memberspreferred the term "public safety," which wasused in the text prepared by the Commissionon Human Rights, as this would make it clearthat the right could be limited by the State onlywhen the exercise of the right involved dangerto the safety of persons. A majority of the Com-mittee, however, favoured the use of the broaderexpression "public order (ordre public)".

The Committee finally decided to use thisexpression in the text of article 12.

The clause relating to the right of the indi-

HUMAN RIGHTS 189

vidual to enter his own country was also ex-tensively discussed. Some Members felt that thisright should not be subjected to any kind ofrestriction whatsoever. The consensus, however,was that this right was not absolute, althoughit should not be subjected to the same kind ofrestrictions as the other rights defined in thearticle, i.e., freedom of movement and residenceand the right to leave a country.

Some representatives felt, for example, thata State should not prohibit one of its nationalsfrom entering its territory for reasons of healthor morality. It was pointed out that exile wasthe only permissible restriction recognized inthe draft prepared by the Commission. SeveralMembers, however, were opposed to mentioning"exile" in the Covenant, as the laws of theircountries either prohibited or else did notrecognize exile.

To meet this objection, the Committee agreedto the following phraseology proposed by Ar-gentina, Belgium, Italy and the Philippines:"No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of theright to enter his own country." Some Membersstated that the term "his own country" shouldbe taken to mean the country of which the in-dividual concerned was a national or citizen;the necessity of being able to submit ampleproof of the fact was also emphasized.

The article, as amended, was adopted by theThird Committee on 17 November 1959 by 58votes to 1, with 11 abstentions. The text asapproved read as follows:

1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of aState shall, within that territory, have the right toliberty of movement and freedom to choose hisresidence.

2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country,including his own.

3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be sub-ject to any restrictions except those which are pro-vided by law, are necessary to protect nationalsecurity, public order (ordre public), public healthor morals or the rights and freedoms of others, andare consistent with the other rights recognized inthis Covenant.

4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of theright to enter his own country.

ARTICLE 13Article 13, as proposed by the Commission

on Human Rights, set forth the guaranteesagainst arbitrary expulsion of aliens from theterritory of a State Party.

Belgium proposed an amendment explicitlyto limit these guarantees to aliens lawfully "es-tablished" in the territory of the State con-cerned. The amendment was rejected, as themajority was opposed to the idea of narrowingthe scope of the article to a limited group ofaliens. Moreover, it was pointed out that theword "established" did not have a precisemeaning and was open to interpretation.

Some Committee Members stated that thearticle, as drafted by the Commission on HumanRights, was inadequate in that it did not in-clude any provisions relating to the right ofasylum. It was suggested, however, that a pro-vision on the right of asylum might be includedin the Covenant as a separate article.

The article as drafted by the Commissionwas adopted by the Third Committee on 18November 1959 without any changes, by 69votes to 0, with 3 abstentions. The text as ap-proved read as follows:

An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Partyto the Covenant may be expelled therefrom only inpursuance of a decision reached in accordance withlaw and shall, except where compelling reasons ofnational security otherwise require, be allowed tosubmit the reasons against his expulsion and to havehis case reviewed by, and be represented for thepurpose before, the competent authority or a personor persons especially designated by the competentauthority.

ARTICLE 14Article 14, as drafted by the Commission on

Human Rights, dealt with the right to fair trialand to payment of compensation in case of amiscarriage of justice.

It was pointed out by the representative ofArgentina that the first paragraph of the textproposed by the Commission seemed to require—particularly in the Spanish version—theholding of proceedings and the pronouncing ofthe judgement in public. Argentina proposedamendments intended to avoid such an impli-cation. In support of the amendments, it wasstressed that in many countries a large numberof trials took place on the basis of writtendocuments; the parties nevertheless enjoyedsufficient guarantees, because the contents ofthose documents could be made public.

Various criticisms were also made of thereference in the Commission's text about ex-ceptions to the principle of public trial. Some


representatives considered that there was nobasis for the distinction made in the text be-tween reasons justifying exclusion of the publicand the press during the trial and those, lessnumerous, justifying exclusion of the public atthe time of pronouncement of judgements. TheCommission's text, however, received the sup-port of most Members of the Committee.

The principle of the presumption of inno-cence was considered so important that it wasthought advisable to express it in a separateparagraph. As to minimum guarantees to whichan accused was entitled, most Committee Mem-bers thought it desirable to add the followingguarantees proposed by Israel: the right "to betried without undue delay," the right "to com-municate with counsel of his own choosing,"and the right "to be tried in his presence."

The right of everyone convicted of a crimeto have his conviction and sentence reviewedby a higher tribunal, which was dealt within a new paragraph proposed by Israel, wasconsidered important by the majority of repre-sentatives. It was pointed out that it expresseda principle which should be applied by Statesaccording to methods they considered appro-priate.

Several speakers found difficulty in acceptingthe idea of awarding compensation in cases ofmiscarriage of justice in which the authoritieshad not been at fault. They considered that itwas contrary to the interests of society to allowcompensation to persons who were clearly guiltybut whose conviction had been annulled forreasons of form or procedure. It was better, theythought, to leave the task of evaluating eachspecific case to the competent authority in eachcountry.

Others, however, felt that controversies overthe basis of responsibility—which could indeedbe solved by invoking the notion of social risk—should not prevent the victim of a miscarriageof justice from obtaining compensation; an es-sential guarantee was involved, completing thatafforded to victims of unlawful arrest by article9 of the draft Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights. Since the cases covered by the provi-sion concerning payment of compensation formiscarriage of justice were rare, the financialimplications of that provision would be verysmall.

Some representatives, while sharing these

ideas, thought that it would perhaps be exces-sive to make the payment of compensationobligatory in every case of a miscarriage ofjustice. Most Members of the Committee agreedthat only adequate legislation could solve thetechnical difficulties involved in the problemof compensation for a miscarriage of justice.

Proposals for the insertion of a new para-graph concerning prohibition of "double jeo-pardy" (non bis in idem) gave rise to lengthydiscussion.

Seven Members—Canada, Ceylon, Iran, Italy,Japan, Jordan and Pakistan—proposed anamendment to the effect that "no one shall beliable to be tried or punished again for thesame offence for which he has been finallyconvicted or acquitted." Several representativesconsidered that this text was necessary to pro-tect the individual, not only against the im-position of further punishments, but also againstthe dangers and distress of further prosecutionfor the same offence.

Some representatives preferred the adoptionof a wider formula prohibiting several trials,not only for the same "offence," but also forthe same "actions." Others, however, thoughtit necessary to take into account the laws ofsome countries which allowed a person to betried for the same actions, but on "charges"different from those for which he had previous-ly been acquitted. They maintained that theterm "charge" in the text was more appropriatethan "offence" or "actions." Still other repre-sentatives felt that the seven-power amendment,particularly the word "finally," might hinderthe ends of justice by preventing the retrial ofcriminals acquitted in error. Trials of thatnature, under certain conditions and withincertain time-limits, were provided for by thelaws of various countries.

In order to take into account this last ob-jection, an effort was made to qualify or definethe word "finally." The Committee eventuallyaccepted an oral amendment by Ecuador tostate that no one should be liable or punishedagain for an offence for which he had alreadybeen finally convicted or acquitted "in accord-ance with the law and procedure of eachcountry." The representative of Ecuador ex-plained that the words quoted were intendedto apply only to the expression "finally con-victed or acquitted."

HUMAN RIGHTS 191

The article, as amended, was adopted by theThird Committee on 25 November 1959 by 63votes to 0, with 8 abstentions. The text as ap-proved read as follows:

1. All persons shall be equal before the courtsand tribunals. In the determination of any criminalcharge against him, or of his rights and obligations ina suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fairand public hearing by a competent, independent andimpartial tribunal established by law. The press andthe public may be excluded from all or part of atrial for reasons of morals, public order (ordre pub-lic) or national security in a democratic society, orwhen the interest of the private lives of the partiesso requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in theopinion of the court in special circumstances wherepublicity would prejudice the interests of justice;but any judgment rendered in a criminal case or ina suit at law shall be made public except wherethe interest of juveniles otherwise requires or theproceedings concern matrimonial disputes or theguardianship of children.

2. Everyone charged with a criminal offenceshall have the right to be presumed innocent untilproved guilty according to law.

3. In the determination of any criminal chargeagainst him, everyone shall be entitled to the fol-lowing minimum guarantees, in full equality:

(a) To be informed promptly and in detail in alanguage which he understands of the nature andcause of the charge against him;

(b) To have adequate time and facilities for thepreparation of his defence, and to communicatewith counsel of his own choosing;

(e) To be tried without undue delay;(d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend

himself in person or through legal assistance of hisown choosing; to be informed, if he does not havelegal assistance, of this right; and to have legalassistance assigned to him, in any case where theinterests of justice so require, and without paymentby him in any such case if he does not have suf-ficient means to pay for it;

( e ) To examine, or have examined, the witnessesagainst him and to obtain the attendance and exami-

nation of witnesses on his behalf under the sameconditions as witnesses against him;

(f) To have the free assistance of an interpreterif he cannot understand or speak the languageused in court;

(g) Not to be compelled to testify against himself,or to confess guilt.

4. In the case of juveniles, the procedure shallbe such as will take account of their age and thedesirability of promoting their rehabilitation.

5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall have theright to his conviction and sentence being reviewedby a higher tribunal according to law.

6. When a person has by a final decision beenconvicted of a criminal offence and when subse-quently his conviction has been reversed or he hasbeen pardoned on the ground that a new or newlydiscovered fact shows conclusively that there hasbeen a miscarriage of justice, the person who hassuffered punishment as a result of such convictionshall be compensated according to law, unless itis proved that the non-disclosure of the unknownfact in time is wholly or partly attributable to him.

7. No one shall be liable to be tried or punishedagain for an offence for which he has already beenfinally convicted or acquitted in accordance withthe law and penal procedure of each country.

FUTURE WORK ONDRAFT COVENANTS

Not having been able to conclude the con-sideration of the draft Covenants, the ThirdCommittee adopted a draft resolution on 27November 1959, by 57 votes to O, with 7 ab-stentions, by which the General Assembly woulddecide to give priority to the item at its fifteenth(1960) session and to request the Third Com-mittee to devote as many meetings as possibleat that session to the consideration of the draftCovenants. The text to this effect was adoptedat a plenary meeting of the General Assemblyon 10 December 1959, by 70 votes to 0, with4 abstentions, as resolution 1458 (XIV).


BACKGROUND DOCUMENTSE/2573. Report of the 10th session of the Com-

mission on Human Rights, Annexes I-III.A/2929. Official records of General Assembly, 10th

session, Annexes, agenda item 28, Part II, docu-ment A/2929 (Annotations on the text of thedraft international covenant on human rights).

A/3077. Official records of General Assembly, 10thsession, Annexes, agenda item 28, Part I, docu-ment A/3077 (report of Third Committee).

A/3525. Official records of General Assembly, 11thsession, Annexes, agenda item 31, document A/3525(report of Third Committee).

A/3764. Official records of General Assembly, 12th

session, Annexes, agenda item 33, document A/3764(report of Third Committee).

A/4045. Official records of General Assembly, 13thsession, Annexes, agenda item 32, document A/4045(report of Third Committee).

GENERAL ASSEMBLY——14TH SESSION

Third Committee, meetings 954, 969, 970, 975.Plenary Meeting 852.

DRAFT COVENANT ON CIVILAND POLITICAL RIGHTSA/4149. Note by Secretary-General.A/C.3/L.788. Note by Chairman of Third Committee.


A/C.3/L.808. List of amendments to articles 12 to17 inclusive. Note by Secretary-General.

ARTICLE 12A/C.3/L.784. Denmark: amendment.A/C.3/L.789. Israel: amendment.A/C.3/L.796. Netherlands: amendment.A/C.3/L.802. Canada: amendment.A/C.3/L.804. Argentina: amendment.A/C.3/L.812 and Rev.1,2. Argentina, Belgium, Iran,

Italy, Philippines: amendment and revisions.A/C.3/L.813. Ireland: sub-amendment to revised five-

power amendment, A/C.3/L.812/Rev.2.A/4299. Report of Third Committee. Article 12, as

amended, adopted by Third Committee on 17November 1959, meeting 959, by 58 votes to 1,with 11 abstentions.

ARTICLE 13A/C.3/L.786. Belgium: amendment.A/C.3/L.790. Israel: amendment.A/4299. Report of Third Committee. Article 13 as

submitted by the Commission on Human Rights,E/2573, Annex I, adopted by Third Committee on18 November 1959, meeting 960, by 69 votes to O,with 3 abstentions.

ARTICLE 14A/C.3/L.792. United Kingdom: amendment.A/C.3/L.795 and Rev.1-3. Israel: amendments and

revisions.A/C.3/L.797. Netherlands: amendment.A/C.3/L.801. Afghanistan: amendment.A/C.3/L.803 and Rev.1. Italy and Japan: amendment

and revision.A/C.3/L.805 and Rev.1-3. Argentina: amendments

and revisions.A/C.3/L.815 and Rev.1. Italy: revised amendment.A/C.3/L.816 and Rev.1-3. Suggestions on order of

voting on article 14 and amendments to it. Note byChairman.

A/C.3/L.817. Ceylon: sub-amendment to revised 2-power amendment, A/C.3/L.803/Rev.1.

A/C.3/L.817/Rev.1. Canada, Ceylon, Pakistan: re-vised sub-amendment to revised 2-power amend-ment, A/C.3/L.803/Rev.1.

A/C.3/L.818. Ceylon: sub-amendment to Israel re-vised amendments, A/C.3/L.795/Rev.2.

A/C.3/L.819. Secretariat working paper giving: (1)text suggested orally by France and (2) text sug-ested for additional provision proposed by Italyand Japan in A/C.3/L.803/Rev.1.

A/C.3/L.820. Italy: sub-amendment to Israel revisedamendments, A/C.3/L.795/Rev.3.

A/C.3/L.821 and Rev.1. Canada, Ceylon, Iran, Italy,

Japan, Jordan, Pakistan: amendment and revision.A/C.3/L.822. Israel: revised amendment.A/C.3/L.823. Mexico and Saudi Arabia: draft reso-

lution.A/C.3/L.824 and Corr.1. Text of articles 12 and

13 and paragraphs of article 14 adopted by ThirdCommittee as of 25 November 1959.

A/4299. Report of Third Committee. Article 14, as-amended, adopted by Third Committee on 25November 1959, meeting 967, by 63 votes to 0,with 8 abstentions.

A/C.3/L.833. Text of articles 12, 13 and 14 in-corporating drafting suggestions by Rapporteur.

A/C.3/586. Text of articles 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and14 of draft Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsadopted by Third Committee at 13th and 14th ses-sions of General Assembly.

FUTURE WORK ON DRAFT COVENANTSA/C.3/L.825 and Rev.1,2. Austria and Greece: draft

resolution and revisions, adopted by Third Com-mittee on 27 November 1959, meeting 970, by 57votes to 0, with 7 abstentions.

RESOLUTION 1458(xiv), as recommended by ThirdCommittee, A/4299, adopted by Assembly on 10December 1959, meeting 852, by 70 votes to 0,with 4 abstentions.

"The General Assembly,"Not having been able to conclude at its fourteenth

session the consideration of the draft InternationalCovenants on Human Rights,

"Decides to give priority to this item at its fifteenthsession and to request the Third Committee at thatsession to devote as many meetings as possible to theconsideration of the draft International Covenants onHuman Rights."

OTHER DOCUMENTSON DRAFT COVENANTSARTICLE 15A/C.3/L.793. United Kingdom: amendment.A/C.3/L.798. Netherlands: amendment.A/C.3/L.806. Argentina: amendment.

ARTICLE 16A/C.3/L.794. United Kingdom: amendment.

ARTICLE 17A/C.3/L.785. Denmark: amendment.A/C.3/L.791. Israel: amendment.A/C.3/L.799. Netherlands: amendment.A/C.3/L.807. Argentina: amendment.

NEW ARTICLEA/C.3/L.814. USSR: article on right of asylum.

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

On 20 November 1959, the General Assemblyunanimously adopted a Declaration of theRights of the Child consisting of a preambleand 10 principles. It also made provision forpublicizing the Declaration as widely as pos-

sible. (For details of Declaration, see text citedbelow under DOCUMENTARY REFERENCES.)

A first draft of the Declaration was preparedin 1950 by the Economic and Social Council'sSocial Commission. The Council forwarded

HUMAN RIGHTS 193

this draft for comment to the Commission onHuman Rights in view of its close relationshipwith the Universal Declaration of Human Rightswhich was adopted by the General Assemblyon 10 December 1948.

The Commission on Human Rights discussedthe draft Declaration in 1957 and in 1959.After consulting Governments and non-govern-mental organizations, it decided, in 1959, topresent its comments to the Economic and So-cial Council in the form of a revised text.

The matter came before the Council's mid-1959 session.

The Council did not discuss the individualprovisions of the Commission's new draft of theDeclaration. (The Commission's text containeda preamble and 11 principles. Later in the year,the General Assembly combined two of theprinciples into a single clause with amendmentsso that the final text listed 10 principles.) Dur-ing a general debate on the draft, however,many members expressed satisfaction that thepreliminary work on the draft Declaration hadnow been completed but reservations on thetext itself were mentioned. Thus, the UnitedKingdom and the United States criticized it onthe ground that it was not concise enough andlacked clarity, while the USSR and othersbelieved that it should be more specific anddetailed in its provisions and should containsome indication of how the rights set forthwere to be implemented.

On 30 July 1959, the Council decided, byresolution 728 C (XXVIII), to transmit to theGeneral Assembly the relevant chapter of thereport of the 1959 (fifteenth) session of theCommission on Human Rights, together withthe records of the Council's discussions.

The draft Declaration as revised by the Com-mission on Human Rights was extensively dis-cussed at the Assembly's fourteenth session inthe Assembly's Third (Social, Humanitarianand Cultural) Committee.

Several representatives—including those ofDenmark, the Netherlands, the United King-dom and the United States—maintained that abrief and concise Declaration would be mosteffective. They also thought that no provisionsshould be included as to how the principlesaffirmed were to be put into effect. Others,however, believed that it would be preferableto draw up a convention. Although prepared to

support a declaration, the USSR and othersstressed that it should contain directives forimplementing the rights set forth.

These general views were reflected in manyof the amendments and sub-amendments pre-sented during the Third Committee's debateon the draft Declaration.

PREAMBLE

Two main questions were discussed in con-nexion with the preamble and also in connexionwith the principles of the Declaration: (1)should the Declaration state, in positive terms,the needs of the unborn child for special pro-tection; and (2) to what extent should the roleof the State vis-à-vis the child be emphasized.

One paragraph of the Commission's text af-firmed that "the child needs special safeguards,including special legal protection, by reason ofhis physical and mental immaturity."

Italy proposed adding a phrase to make itclear that the child required special safeguardsand care, including legal protection, "from themoment of his conception." In support of thisproposal, which was favoured by several repre-sentatives, it was maintained that the rights ofthe child were inherent from before birth andthat every child had a right to be born and aright to life.

Against this amendment, it was argued thatsome countries, especially those where abortionwas permitted under certain circumstances,would find such a provision difficult to accept.Moreover, it was held, the amendment raiseda highly controversial issue and should not,therefore, be included in a declaration whichwas to be universally acceptable.

The Italian amendment was rejected in fa-vour of a compromise text suggested by thePhilippines to the effect that "the child, beforeas well as after birth, needs special safeguardsand care, including appropriate legal protec-tion, by reason of his physical and mental im-maturity."

The question was also raised in connexionwith a proposal by Afghanistan, Argentina,Brazil, Italy, Spain and Uruguay to add a newprinciple to the Commission's text of the De-claration stating the right of the child to life,to be respected and safeguarded from the mo-ment of conception. This proposal was rejected.

Also debated was another paragraph in the


text of the preamble as proposed by the Com-mission on Human Rights whereby the GeneralAssembly would call upon "men and womenas individuals, as well as upon local authoritiesand national Governments to recognize andstrive for the observance of those rights throughthe application of the following principles."

The USSR representative, in discussing thistext, and also later when some of the principlesof the Declaration were being debated, arguedthat the child could not be adequately pro-tected without the co-operation of the Stateand society and that only the State couldguarantee many of the rights set forth. TheUSSR believed also that the text should con-tain provisions indicating measures that Gov-ernments should take to give effect to the De-claration. The USSR presented amendments tothis paragraph of the preamble, designed toplace greater emphasis on the role of Govern-ments, and also to have the Assembly appeal toall States to bring their legislation into con-formity with the principles of the Declarationand to be guided by them in practice.

Most Third Committee Members, however,could not accept the amendments as presented.It was argued that the family—especially theparents—and not the State, should be primarilyresponsible for the child's welfare. Moreover,the Declaration should state principles withoutentering into the question of their implementa-tion.

Eventually, a compromise text based on sug-gestions by the Philippines was adopted. By thefinal version of the paragraph in question, theGeneral Assembly would call "upon parents,individuals, voluntary organizations, local au-thorities and national Governments to recognizethese rights and strive for their observance bylegislative and other measures progressivelytaken in accordance with the following prin-ciples." It was on the initiative of the Nether-lands that the specific reference to "parents"and "voluntary organizations" was inserted inthis clause.

(For preamble, see text of Declaration citedin DOCUMENTARY REFERENCES below.)

PRINCIPLES

As finally adopted, the Declaration asserts,in 10 Principles, the following: the child with-out any exception whatsoever and without dis-

crimination shall enjoy all the rights set forthin the Declaration (Principle 1); he shall enjoyspecial protection and be given opportunitiesand facilities to enable him to develop in ahealthy and normal manner and in conditionsof freedom and dignity (Principle 2); he shallbe entitled to have a name and a nationalityfrom birth (Principle 3); he shall enjoy thebenefits of social security, including adequatenutrition, housing, recreation and medical ser-vices (Principle 4) ; he shall be given specialtreatment, education and care, if handicapped(Principle 5); he shall grow up in an atmo-sphere of affection and security and, whereverpossible, in the care of and under the respon-sibility of his parents (Principle 6) ; he shall beentitled to receive education and to have fullopportunity for play and recreation (Principle7) ; he shall be among the first to receive pro-tection and relief in time of disaster (Principle8); he shall be protected against all forms ofneglect, cruelty and exploitation (Principle 9);he shall be protected from practices which mayfoster discrimination, and be brought up in aspirit of understanding, tolerance, friendshipamong peoples, peace and universal brother-hood (Principle 10). (For text of Principles, seeDOCUMENTARY REFERENCES below.)

Almost all these rights were included in thedraft Declaration as submitted by the Commis-sion on Human Rights, although the ThirdCommittee changed the wording of severalprinciples and accepted a number of amend-ments aimed at making the text more concise.

An important change was made in the drafttext of Principle 1, which stated that there shallbe no discrimination in the enjoyment of therights set forth and cited certain grounds. Thedraft contained a specific reference to children"born in or out of wedlock." The Third Com-mittee, on a proposal by Saudi Arabia, deletedthis reference in favour of a general formula:every child "without any exception whatsoever."

The Committee also added certain provisionswhich had not appeared previously, either inthe draft Declaration prepared by the SocialCommission in 1950 or in the text as revised bythe Commission on Human Rights. On a pro-posal by the USSR, it was decided to add toPrinciple 6, dealing with the development andupbringing of the child, a clause affirming thatpayment of State and other assistance towards

HUMAN RIGHTS 195

the maintenance of children of large familieswas desirable.

On the initiative of Mexico, Peru and Ro-mania, it was agreed to add a paragraph toPrinciple 7—setting forth the right of the childto receive education—proclaiming that thechild shall have full opportunity for play andrecreation, directed to the same purposes aseducation, and that society and public authori-ties shall endeavour to promote the enjoymentof this right.

On Romania's proposal, it was agreed thatPrinciple 9, affirming that the child must beprotected against all forms of neglect, crueltyand exploitation, should specifically state thatthe child should not be the subject of any formof traffic.

The Committee also considered amendmentsby the USSR to the principles dealing with:social security (Principle 4); the developmentand upbringing of the child (Principle 6); andeducation (Principle 7). The amendments wereintended to spell out, in further detail, themeasures which should be taken to give effectto the rights set forth. In regard to Principle 4,the USSR proposed: that "legal and othermeasures" should be taken to provide specialcare for mother and child; that the child shouldhave the right to "free" medical services; andthat such services should be "secured by theprogressive extension of a network of publicmedical institutions." In an amendment toPrinciple 6, it was proposed that States shouldprovide for orphan children and children whoseparents so desired and had insufficient meansfor their maintenance to be maintained andbrought up in State and public institutions.

The USSR also suggested adding a para-graph to Principle 7 outlining measures whichthe State should take to ensure the right of thechild to receive free and compulsory education.In addition, it proposed the inclusion of a pro-vision prohibiting the use of teaching for thepropaganda of war and racial and nationaldiscrimination. None of these amendments wasaccepted.

With respect to orphan children and childrenwithout adequate means of support, the ThirdCommittee decided to retain, in Principle 6,a provision proposed by the Human RightsCommission stating that "society as well aspublic authorities shall have the duty to extend

particular care to children without a family andto those without adequate means of support."

Also discussed in connexion with this Prin-ciple was the question of whether or not toinclude a provision stating that the child shallhave the right to grow up in the religious faithof his parents. Guatemala and Israel, whichwanted such a provision, stressed the importanceof religious instruction in the life of the child,and drew attention to Article 26 of the Uni-versal Declaration of Human Rights whichstates that parents have a prior right to choosethe education of their children. The proposalwas not, however, adopted. Some representa-tives pointed out that while they supported thePrinciple, it would raise difficulties in States ofmany religions and also in the case of parentsof different religious faiths.

In connexion with Principles 5 and 7, theThird Committee also discussed a proposal byItaly to include in the Declaration provisionson maladjusted or delinquent children. TheItalian representative pointed out that suchchildren constituted a serious problem for mostcountries today and that it was important tostate the principle that they should be humanelytreated rather than punished. Italy proposedthe inclusion of a provision affirming that so-cially maladjusted, including delinquent, chil-dren should not be separated from their fami-lies except by decision of a competent judicialauthority. Sympathy with the Italian idea wasexpressed by many representatives on the Com-mittee.

It was, however, argued that the proposalwas not sufficiently general to permit of its uni-versal application and would therefore be in-appropriate in the Declaration. Moreover,Principle 5, which dealt with the physically,mentally or socially handicapped child, andother Principles of the Declaration, affordedadequate protection in general terms. Further,the Italian proposal, as presented, touched onthe implementation of rights, and the majorityof the Committee felt that the Declarationshould state principles and should not dealwith the implementation of the principles stated.The Italian proposal was rejected.

On 19 October 1959, the Third Committeeadopted the Declaration by 70 votes to 0, with2 abstentions. It also unanimously adopted aresolution proposed by Afghanistan, recommend-


ing that the widest possible publicity be given of the Assembly byto the Declaration.

On 20 November, the Declaration wasunanimously approved at a plenary meeting

resolution 1386(XIV).The text on publicizing the Declaration wasalso approved unanimously as resolution 1387(XIV).


ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL——28TH SESSION

Social Committee, meetings 394-396.Plenary Meeting 1088.

E/3229. Report of the fifteenth session of Commissionon Human Rights, chapter VII (Text of draftDeclaration as adopted by Commission).

E/AC.7/L.325. USSR: amendments to draft Declara-tion (E/3229).

E/AC.7/L.328. Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain,Venezuela: draft resolution.

E/AC.7/L.329. United Kingdom: draft resolutionadopted by Social Committee on 7 July 1959, meet-ing 396, by 17 votes to 1.

E/3285. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion C.

RESOLUTION 728 C (xxviii), as recommended by So-cial Committee, E/3285, adopted unanimously byCouncil on 30 July 1959, meeting 1088.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Having considered the draft Declaration of the

Rights of the Child submitted to the Council by theCommission on Human Rights in the report of theCommission on its fifteenth session,

"Decides to transmit chapter VII of the Commis-sion's report, relating to the draft Declaration, to-gether with the records of the discussion of this sub-ject in the Council, and the other documents beforethe Council, to the General Assembly for considera-tion at its fourteenth session."


Third Committee, meetings 907-929.Plenary Meeting 841.

A/4185. Note by Secretary-General.*E/3229, Chapter VII. Draft declaration, text adopted

by Commission on Human Rights at its 15th session.

PREAMBLE(NOTE: The following documents refer to the pre-

amble as finally approved by the General Assembly.)A/C.3/L.712 and Corr. 1. USSR: amendment.A/C.3/L.713. Italy: amendment.A/C.3/L.713/Rev.1. Amendment by Italy, supported

by Denmark, France, Israel.A/C.3/L.714. Netherlands: amendment.A/C.3/L.716. Afghanistan: amendment.A/C.3/L.717. Mexico and Peru: amendment.A/C.3/L.720. Philippines: amendment.A/C.3/L.734. Philippines: sub-amendment to A/C.3/

L.713/Rev.1.A/C.3/L.735. Italy: sub-amendment to A/C.3/L.734.A/C.3/L.736. USSR: sub-amendment to A/C.3/L.720.A/C.3/L.738. Text of preamble as adopted by Third

Committee.

A/4249. Report of Third Committee, Preamble, asamended, adopted as a whole by Third Committeeon 2 October 1959, meeting 914, by 64 votes to 0,with 4 abstentions.

PRINCIPLE 1(NOTE: The following documents refer to Principle 1

as finally adopted by the General Assembly.)A/C.3/L.715. Saudi Arabia: amendment.A/C.3/L.716. Afghanistan: amendment.A/C.3/L.718. Belgium: amendment.A/C.3/L.720. Philippines: amendment.A/C.3/L.739. Text of Principle 1 as adopted by Third

Committee.A/4249. Report of Third Committee. Principle 1,

adopted unanimously by Third Committee on 5October 1959, meeting 915.


as finally adopted by the General Assembly. Thiswas based on draft Principles 2 and 3 in the text ofthe Commission on Human Rights (E/3229).)

A/C.3/L.716. Afghanistan: amendment.A/C.3/L.722. Thailand: amendment.A/C.3/L.726 and Add.1; A/C.3/L.740. Netherlands:

amendments.A/C.3/L.729. Uruguay: amendment.A/C.3/L.744. Text of Principle 2 as adopted by Third


adopted by Third Committee on 6 October 1959,meeting 917, by 67 votes to 0, with 5 abstentions.

PROPOSAL FOR NEW PRINCIPLETO FOLLOW PRINCIPLE 1A/C.3/L.725. Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil,

Spain, Uruguay: amendment.Italy,


as finally adopted by the General Assembly. Thiswas based on draft Principle 4 in the text of theCommission on Human Rights (E/3229).)

A/C.3/L.721. Belgium: amendment.A/C.3/L.722. Thailand: amendment.A/C.3/L.729. Uruguay: amendment.A/C.3/L.744. Text of Principle 3, as adopted by

Third Committee.A/4249. Report of Third Committee. Principle 3,

adopted by Third Committee on 6 October 1959,meeting 917, by 68 votes to 0, with 1 abstention.

* See also E/CN.4/512, Annex. Text of Declarationof Rights of Child adopted in 1924 by Assembly ofLeague of Nations.

HUMAN RIGHTS 197



A/C.3/L.712; A/C.3/L.742. USSR: amendments.A/C.3/L.722. Thailand: amendments.A/C.3/L.726. Netherlands: amendments.A/C.3/L.741. Philippines: sub-amendment to A/C.3/

L.712.A/C.3/L.744. Text of Principle 4 as adopted by Third





A/C.3/L.731. Greece and United Kingdom: amend-ment.

A/C.3/L.732; A/C.3/L.754. Italy: amendments.A/C.3/L.755. Peru: sub-amendment to A/C.3/L.754.A/C.3/L.756. Text of Principle 5 as adopted by Third

Committee.A/4249. Report of Third Committee, Principle 5,

unanimously adopted by Third Committee on 14October 1959, meeting 925.



A/C.3/L.712. USSR: amendment.A/C.3/L.716. Afghanistan: amendment.A/C.3/L.722. Thailand: amendment.A/C.3/L.723. Guatemala and Israel: amendment.A/C.3/L.724. Denmark: amendment.A/C.3/L.726. Netherlands: amendment.A/C.3/L.731. Greece and United Kingdom: amend-

ment.A/C.3/L.743. Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Thai-

land, United Kingdom: amendment.A/C.3/L.747. Poland: sub-amendment to A/C.3/






A/C.3/L.712 and Corr.2. USSR: amendment.A/C.3/L.716. Afghanistan: amendment.A/C.3/L.722. Thailand: amendment.A/C.3/L.726. Netherlands: amendment.

A/C.3/L.729. Uruguay: amendment.A/C.3/L.730. Mexico, Peru, Romania: amendment.A/C.3/L.731. Greece and United Kingdom: amend-

ment.A/C.3/L.732. Italy: amendment.A/C.3/L.737. Cuba: amendment.A/C.3/L.743; A/C.3/L.748. Denmark, Greece, Neth-

erlands, Thailand, United Kingdom: amendment.A/C.3/L.745; A/C.3/L.751. Cuba: sub-amendments

to A/C.3/L.743 and A/C.3/L.748 respectively.A/C.3/L.752. Bulgaria: sub-amendment to A/C.3/






A/C.3/L.726. Netherlands: amendment.A/C.3/L.753. Text of Principle 8 as adopted by Third

Committee.A/4249. Report of Third Committee. Principle 8, as

amended, adopted by Third Committee on 12 Octo-ber 1959, meeting 923, by 64 votes to 0, with 1abstention.



A/C.3/L.712 and Corr.4. USSR: amendment.A/C.3/L.727. Romania: amendment.A/C.3/L.728 and Rev.1. Venezuela: amendment.A/C.3/L.759. Text of Principle 9 as adopted by Third

Committee.A/4249. Report of Third Committee. Principle 9, as

amended, adopted unanimously by Third Com-mittee on 15 October 1959, meeting 926.



A/C.3/L.716; A/C.3/L.746. Afghanistan: amend-ment.

A/C.3/L.722. Thailand: amendment.A/C.3/L.731. Greece and United Kingdom: amend-

ment.A/C.3/L.749. Afghanistan, Greece, Thailand, United

Kingdom: amendment.A/C.3/L.758/Rev.1. India and Mexico: sub-amend-

ment to A/C.3/L.749.A/C.3/L.760. Poland and Romania: sub-amendment

to A/C.3/L.749.A/C.3/L.762. Text of Principle 10 as adopted by

Third Committee.


A/4249. Report of Third Committee. Principle 10,adopted by Third Committee on 16 October 1959,meeting 928, by 68 votes to 0, with 1 abstention.

PROPOSALS FOR NEW PRINCIPLESAT END OF DECLARATIONA/C.3/L.716. Afghanistan: amendment.A/C.3/L.761. Ecuador: amendment.

PROPOSAL FOR NEW TITLEA/C.3/L.719. Israel: amendment.

WORKING PAPERS ON DECLARATIONA/C.3/L.733. Amendments to draft Declaration. Note

by Chairman.A/C.3/L.757 and Add.1. Drafting suggestions sub-

mitted by Rapporteur.

TEXT OF DECLARATIONA/4249. Report of Third Committee, containing draft

Declaration of Rights of Child, adopted as a whole,as amended, by Third Committee on 19 October1959, meeting 929, by 70 votes to 0, with 2abstentions.

RESOLUTION 1386(xiv), as submitted by Third Com-mittee, A/4249, adopted unanimously by Assemblyon 20 November 1959, meeting 841.

PREAMBLE

"Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have,in the Charter, reaffirmed their faith in fundamentalhuman rights and in the dignity and worth of thehuman person, and have determined to promote socialprogress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

"Whereas the United Nations has, in the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights, proclaimed that every-one is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forththerein, without distinction of any kind, such as race,colour, sex, language, religion, political or otheropinion, national or social origin, property, birth orother status,

"Whereas the child by reason of his physical andmental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care,including appropriate legal protection, before as wellas after birth,

"Whereas the need for such special safeguards hasbeen stated in the Geneva Declaration of the Rightsof the Child of 1924, and recognized in the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and in the statutes ofspecialized agencies and international organizationsconcerned with the welfare of children,

"Whereas mankind owes to the child the best it hasto give,

"Now therefore,"The General Assembly"Proclaims this Declaration of the Rights of the

Child to the end that he may have a happy childhoodand enjoy for his own good and for the good ofsociety the rights and freedoms herein set forth, andcalls upon parents, upon men and women as individ-uals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authori-

ties and national Governments to recognize theserights and strive for their observance by legislativeand other measures progressively taken in accordancewith the following principles:

PRINCIPLE 1

"The child shall enjoy all the rights set forth in thisDeclaration. Every child, without any exception what-soever, shall be entitled to these rights, without dis-tinction or discrimination on account of race, colour,sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, na-tional or social origin, property, birth or other status,whether of himself or of his family.

PRINCIPLE 2

"The child shall enjoy special protection, and shallbe given opportunities and facilities, by law and byother means, to enable him to develop physically,mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthyand normal manner and in conditions of freedom anddignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose,the best interests of the child shall be the paramountconsiderations.

PRINCIPLE 3

"The child shall be entitled from his birth to aname and a nationality.

PRINCIPLE 4

"The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security.He shall be entitled to grow and develop in health; tothis end, special care and protection shall be providedboth to him and to his mother, including adequatepre-natal and post-natal care. The child shall have theright to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation andmedical services.

PRINCIPLE 5

"The child who is physically, mentally or sociallyhandicapped shall be given the special treatment, edu-cation and care required by his particular condition.

PRINCIPLE 6

"The child, for the full and harmonious develop-ment of his personality, needs love and understanding.He shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care andunder the responsibility of his parents, and, in anycase, in an atmosphere of affection and of moral andmaterial security; a child of tender years shall not,save in exceptional circumstances, be separated fromhis mother. Society and the public authorities shallhave the duty to extend particular care to childrenwithout a family and to those without adequate meansof support. Payment of State and other assistancetowards the maintenance of children of large familiesis desirable.

HUMAN RIGHTS 199

PRINCIPLE 7

"The child is entitled to receive education, whichshall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementarystages. He shall be given an education which willpromote his general culture, and enable him, on abasis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, hisindividual judgement, and his sense of moral andsocial responsibility, and to become a useful memberof society.

"The best interests of the child shall be the guidingprinciple of those responsible for his education andguidance; that responsibility lies in the first placewith his parents.

"The child shall have full opportunity for play andrecreation, which should be directed to the same pur-poses as education; society and the public authoritiesshall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of thisright.

PRINCIPLE 8

"The child shall in all circumstances be among thefirst to receive protection and relief.

PRINCIPLE 9

"The child shall be protected against all forms ofneglect, cruelty and exploitation. He shall not be thesubject of traffic, in any form.

"The child shall not be admitted to employmentbefore an appropriate minimum age; he shall in nocase be caused or permitted to engage in any occupa-tion or employment which would prejudice his healthor education, or interfere with his physical, mental ormoral development.

PRINCIPLE 10

"The child shall be protected from practices whichmay foster racial, religious and any other form ofdiscrimination. He shall be brought up in a spirit ofunderstanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples,peace and universal brotherhood, and in full con-sciousness that his energy and talents should bedevoted to the service of his fellow men."

PUBLICITY FOR DECLARATIONA/C.3/L.763 and Rev.1. Afghanistan: draft resolu-

tion and revision, adopted unanimously by ThirdCommittee on 19 October 1959, meeting 929.

RESOLUTION 1387(xiv), as submitted by Third Com-mittee, A/4249, adopted by Assembly without ob-jection, on 20 November 1959, meeting 841.

"The General Assembly,"Considering that the Declaration of the Rights of

the Child calls upon parents, upon men and women asindividuals, and upon voluntary organizations, localauthorities and national Governments to recognize therights set forth therein and strive for their observance,

"1. Recommends Governments of Member States,the specialized agencies concerned and the appropri-ate non-governmental organizations to publicize aswidely as possible the text of the Declaration of theRights of the Child;

"2. Requests the Secretary-General to have theDeclaration widely disseminated and, to that end, touse every means at his disposal to publish and dis-tribute texts in all languages possible."

ADVISORY SERVICES IN HUMAN RIGHTS

Under the United Nations programme of ad-visory services in human rights, assistance maybe given to Governments, at their request, inthe form of advisory services of experts, fellow-ships and scholarships, and seminars.

In 1959, the main emphasis in the programmecontinued to be placed on the organization ofregional seminars. Three such seminars wereheld: two on judicial and other remedies againstthe illegal exercise or abuse of administrativeauthority; and one on the participation ofwomen in public life.

ACTIVITIES DURING 1959The first seminar on judicial and other reme-

dies against the illegal exercise or abuse ofadministrative authority was held in Peradeni-ya, Ceylon, from 4 to 15 May 1959. Participantsfrom the following countries and territoriesattended: Australia, Burma, Ceylon, China,the Federation of Malaya, Hong Kong, India,Indonesia, Iran, Japan, the Republic of Korea,

Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines andSarawak.

The other seminar on this subject was heldin Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 31 Augustto 11 September 1959. The following countriesand territories sent participants: Argentina,Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, CostaRica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, ElSalvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico,Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States,Uruguay and Venezuela.

The seminar on the participation of womenin public life was held in Bogotá, Colombia,from 18 to 29 May 1959. It was attended byparticipants from the following countries andterritories: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada,Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, DominicanRepublic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gua-temala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pana-ma, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Surinam, theUnited States, Uruguay, Venezuela and theWest Indies.


CONSIDERATION BY ECONOMICAND SOCIAL COUNCIL

On 30 July 1959, the Economic and SocialCouncil adopted a resolution (729(XXVIII)),by 14 votes to 0, with 3 abstentions, noting withsatisfaction the success achieved in the seminarsorganized under the programme and approvingthe holding of three seminars (requested byGovernments) in 1960.

CONSIDERATION BYGENERAL ASSEMBLY

At the General Assembly's fourteenth session,

a budget of $100,000 was approved for the1960 programme, which was scheduled to in-clude three seminars: one on the role of sub-stantive criminal law in the protection of humanrights, and the purposes and legitimate limitsof penal sanctions, to be held in Tokyo, Japan,from 10 to 24 May 1960; one on the protectionof human rights in criminal procedure, to beheld in Vienna, Austria, from 20 June to 4July 1960; and one on the participation ofwomen in public life to be held in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia, from 12 to 23 December 1960.



Social Committee, meetings 396, 397.Plenary Meeting 1088.

E/3228. Report of Commission on the Status ofWomen, thirteenth session, Chapter IX.

E/3229. Report of Commission on Human Rights,fifteenth session, Chapter V.

E/3253 and Add.1,2. Report of Secretary-General.E/AC.7/L.330. United States: draft resolution

adopted by the Social Committee on 8 July 1959,meeting 397, by 14 votes to 0, with 4 abstentions.

E/3286. Report of Social Committee.RESOLUTION 729(xxviii), as recommended by Social

Committee, E/3286, adopted by Council on 30 July1959, meeting 1088, by 14 votes to 0, with 3 ab-stentions.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Noting with satisfaction the success achieved in the

seminars held since its twenty-sixth session in pursu-ance of the programme of advisory services in thefield of human rights,

"Approves the plan presented by the Secretary-General for holding three seminars in 1960."

REPORTS ON SEMINARSST/TAO/HR/4. 1959 seminar on judicial and other

remedies against illegal exercise or abuse of adminis-trative authority, Peradeniya (Kandy), Ceylon,4-15 May 1959, organized by United Nations inco-operation with Government of Ceylon.

ST/TAO/HR/5. Seminar on participation of womenin public life (1959), Bogotá, 18-29 May 1959,organized by United Nations in collaboration withGovernment of Colombia.

ST/TAO/HR/6. 1959 seminar on judicial and otherremedies against illegal exercise or abuse of adminis-trative authority, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 31August to 11 September 1959, organized by UnitedNations in co-operation with Government ofArgentina.


Third Committee, meetings 930-937.Fifth Committee, meeting 738.

A/4143. Report of Economic and Social Council,Chapter VII, C.

A/4250. Report of Third Committee.A/4110. Budget estimates for the financial year 1960,

section 18.A/4170. Report of Advisory Committee on Adminis-

trative and Budgetary Questions, para.217.

PERIODIC REPORTS AND SPECIAL STUDIES

PERIODIC REPORTSA system of periodic reporting on progress

in human rights was initiated by the Economicand Social Council and the Commission onHuman Rights in 1956. The first periodic re-ports, covering the years 1954 to 1956, weresubmitted in 1958. Others covering the sameperiod were submitted in 1959. The reportscame from Members of the United Nations andof the specialized agencies which are asked (inaccordance with Council resolution 625 B(XXII) of 1956) to report every three years

on developments and progress in human rightsin their metropolitan, non-self-governing andTrust Territories. The rights reported on arethose enumerated in the Universal Declarationof Human Rights and the right of peoples toself-determination. Specialized agencies werealso asked by the Council to submit triennialsummaries of reports from their MemberStates on the rights set forth in the UniversalDeclaration falling within their purview.

In all, 41 Governments submitted reports inthis first series which covered the period 1954

HUMAN RIGHTS

to 1956. The Commission on Human Rightsconsidered them in 1958 and 1959 on the basisof a summary prepared by the Secretary-Gen-eral. Summaries of reports or other relevantinformation were received from the Interna-tional Labour Office (ILO); the United Na-tions Educational, Scientific and Cultural Or-ganization (UNESCO); the World HealthOrganization (WHO); the Universal PostalUnion (UPU) and the International Telecom-munication Union (ITU).

At the Commission's request, the Secretary-General, in consultation with the specializedagencies, prepared suggestions for the Commis-sion's 1959 (fifteenth) session which were in-tended to assist Governments in preparing fu-ture reports. He suggested that Governmentsshould concentrate on describing and explainingonly such developments in the three-year periodunder review as were of special significancerather than attempting to cover all the rightsset forth in the Universal Declaration. He in-vited Governments especially to mention anydifficulties encountered and the manner inwhich these had been overcome, as well as pro-gress achieved.

On 30 July 1959, acting on the basis of arecommendation by the Commission, the Eco-

201nomic and Social Council unanimously adopteda resolution (728 B (XXVIII)), asking Mem-bers of the United Nations or of the specializedagencies to take full account of the Secretary-General's suggestions in drafting their triennialreports.

SPECIAL STUDIESIn 1956, the Commission on Human Rights

and the Economic and Social Council madearrangements for studies of specific rights orgroups of rights to be undertaken, with a viewto making objective and general recommenda-tions. The first subject for special study was"the right of everyone to be free from arbitraryarrest, detention and exile," and the Commis-sion on Human Rights set up a committee offour members to study this subject. In 1959,the Committee consisted of representatives ofArgentina, Belgium, Ceylon and the Philip-pines.

In 1959, the four-member committee sub-mitted a progress report to the fifteenth sessionof the Commission which dealt primarily withthe material available to, and the documenta-tion prepared by, the committee; it also statedthat the committee would prepare its final re-port in the course of 1960.


PERIODIC REPORTS



E/3229. Report of Commission on Human Rights,15th session, Chapter VI.

E/3229, Chapter XIV. Draft resolution III, submittedby Commission, adopted unanimously by SocialCommittee, on 3 July 1959, meeting 394.

E/3285. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion B.

RESOLUTION 728 B (xxviii), as recommended by So-cial Committee, E/3285, adopted unanimously byCouncil on 30 July 1959, meeting 1088.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Considering that the suggestions submitted by the

Secretary-General will assist Governments in preparingand submitting triennial reports on human rights,

"Requests States Members of the United Nations ormembers of the specialized agencies to take full ac-count of those suggestions in drafting their triennialreports on human rights."

SPECIAL STUDIESE/3229, Report of Commission on Human Rights,

15th session, Chapter IV.Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest, Detention and Exile.

Yearbook on Human Rights: First SupplementaryVolume. U.N.P. Sales No.: 59.XIV.2.

PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES

At its eleventh session, in January 1959, theSub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimina-tion and Protection of Minorities continued itswork on problems of eradicating discriminationin various fields. The Sub-Commission—a sub-sidiary body of the Commission on HumanRights—considered such matters as: discrimina-

tion in education, in employment, in religiousrights, in political rights and in the right toleave any country.

Some of the Sub-Commission's reports andrecommendations on these questions were con-sidered by the Commission on Human Rightsat its fifteenth session held from 16 March


to 10 April 1959. Also taken up during theyear—by the Commission and by the Economicand Social Council—was the question of theSub-Commission's membership.

DISCRIMINATIONIN EDUCATION

During their 1959 sessions, the Sub-Commis-sion and the Commission were informed of adecision taken at the tenth session of the Gen-eral Conference of the United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) whereby UNESCO would assumeresponsibility for drafting recommendations toits member States and an international conven-tion on the various aspects of discrimination ineducation. UNESCO's Director-General wasauthorized to prepare a preliminary report,draft recommendations and a draft conventionfor the comments of UNESCO's member States.The Sub-Commission asked that the report,the draft recommendations and draft conven-tion be made available so it could comment onthem in 1960 before they were adopted byUNESCO. The Commission on Human Rightsasked UNESCO to submit a progress report tothe Commission's sixteenth session in 1960.

DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENTAND OCCUPATION

The Sub-Commission noted with satisfactionthat the International Labour Conference hadadopted a Convention Concerning Discrimina-tion in Employment and Occupation, and asupplementary Recommendation, and statedthat this marked an important step towards theabolition of discrimination in this field. On therecommendation of the Sub-Commission andthe Commission, the Economic and Social Coun-cil—at its twenty-eighth session in mid-1959—noted the adoption of these instruments withsatisfaction and invited the Governments ofUnited Nations Members and members of theInternational Labour Organisation to ratify orto take other appropriate action with regardto the convention, and to adjust their policiesto the recommendation. The Council did so byresolution 728 D (XXVIII), adopted on 30July 1959 by 15 votes to 0, with 2 abstentions.

DISCRIMINATION IN RELIGIOUSRIGHTS AND PRACTICES

At its 1959 session, the Sub-Commission dis-cussed a supplement to the draft report on dis-crimination in the matter of religious rightsand practices, (prepared by its Special Rappor-teur, Arcot Krishnaswami) which it had ex-amined in 1958. In the supplement, the SpecialRapporteur reported on the further progresswhich he had made in the study and submitteda series of proposals for action by the UnitedNations. He was asked to complete his finalreport for consideration at the Sub-Commission'stwelfth session in 1960.

DISCRIMINATION INPOLITICAL RIGHTS

Also in 1959, the Sub-Commission examineda progress report on the study of discriminationin the matter of political rights submitted byits Special Rapporteur, Hernan Santa Cruz. Itasked the Secretary-General to provide the ne-cessary assistance so that a draft report couldbe completed for its 1960 session and a finalreport for its 1961 session. After the Secretary-General had indicated that this would be pos-sible only if new funds for staff beyond the ex-isting level were provided, the Economic andSocial Council considered that the study shouldbe completed without additional cost and, on31 July 1959, asked the Sub-Commission andthe Commission to adjust their programmes ac-cordingly.

FUTURE STUDIESIn 1959, the Sub-Commission also discussed

a preliminary study of discrimination in thematter of the right of everyone to leave anycountry, including his own, and to return tohis country. This was prepared by Jose D.Ingles, one of its members. In view of stafflimitations and prior commitments, the Sub-Commission recognized that a full study of thesubject could not be undertaken before 1960and asked Mr. Ingles to continue such pre-paratory work as he found useful and feasible.

There was also some discussion in the Sub-Commission, the Commission and the Economicand Social Council about broadening the scope

HUMAN RIGHTS 203

of the proposed study, but the debate at theCouncil's mid-1959 session indicated oppositionto such a step.

MEMBERSHIP OF SUB-COMMISSIONON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATIONAND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES

In view of the fact that terms of office of themembers of the Sub-Commission were due toexpire at the end of 1959, new members of thisbody had to be elected in 1959. The Commission

on Human Rights decided to increase the mem-bership of the Sub-Commission from 12 to 14,subject to the Economic and Social Council'sapproval. The Commission elected 12 members.The Council approved the increase on 30 July1959, at its twenty-eighth session. It did so byresolution 728 E (XXVIII) which was adoptedunanimously. The Council also agreed to electthe two new members at the resumed part ofits twenty-eighth session later in 1959. (Fordetails of membership, see below, APPENDIX III.)


DISCRIMINATION IN EDUCATIONE/CN.4/Sub.2/197. Resolution adopted by General

Conference of UNESCO at its tenth session regard-ing discrimination in education.

E/CN.4/778. Report of 11th session of Sub-Commis-sion on Prevention of Discrimination and Protectionof Minorities (paras. 152-159, and Resolution E) .

E/3229. Report of 15th session of Commission onHuman Rights (paras. 200-208, and Resolution6(XV)) .

DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENTAND OCCUPATIONE/CN.4/778 and Corr.1. Report of 11th session of

Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discriminationand Protection of Minorities (Chapter V and Reso-lution A).

E/CN.4/778, Annex II. Texts of Convention andRecommendations Concerning Discrimination inRespect of Employment and Occupation.


Social Committee, meeting 396.Plenary Meeting 1088.

E/3229. Report of 15th session of Commission onHuman Rights (paras. 212-214 and Resolution7(XV)) .

E/AC.7/L.327. Mexico and Sudan: draft resolutionadopted by Social Committee on 7 July 1959,meeting 396, by 15 votes to 0, with 3 abstentions.

RESOLUTION 728 D (xxviii), adopted by Council on30 July 1959, meeting 1088, by 15 votes to 0, with2 abstentions.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Having considered resolution 7(XV) adopted by

the Commission on Human Rights,"1. Notes with great satisfaction the adoption by

the International Labour Organisation of a Conven-tion and a Recommendation concerning Discrimina-tion in Respect of Employment and Occupation;

"2. Invites the Governments of States Members ofthe United Nations and members of the InternationalLabour Organisation to ratify or to take other appro-priate action with regard to the said Convention, andto adjust their policies to the said Recommendation."

DISCRIMINATION IN RELIGIOUSRIGHTS AND PRACTICESE/CN.4/778. Report of 11th session of Sub-Commis-

sion on Prevention of Discrimination and Protectionof Minorities (Chapter VI and Resolution B) .

E/CN.4/Sub.2/L.123/Add.1. Supplement to draft re-port on discrimination in matter of religious rightsand practices.

DISCRIMINATION INPOLITICAL RIGHTSE/CN.4/778. Report of 11th session of Sub-Commis-

sion on Prevention of Discrimination and Protectionof Minorities (Chapter VII and Resolution C).

E/CN.4/Sub.2/L.147. Progress report on study ofdiscrimination in matter of political rights.

E/3229. Report of 15th session of Commission onHuman Rights (paras. 218-221 and Resolution8 (XV)).

RESOLUTION 742(xxviii), Annex, para. 5, adopted byCouncil on 31 July 1959, meeting 1089.

(For text, see below, DOCUMENTARY REFERENCES forCHAPTER XIII.)

FUTURE STUDIESE/CN.4/778. Report of 11th session of Sub-Commis-

sion on Prevention of Discrimination and Protectionof Minorities (Chapter IX and Resolution F).

E/CN.4/Sub.2/195. Memorandum of Secretary-Gen-eral concerning future work of Sub-Commission.

E/3229. Report of 15th session of Commission onHuman Rights (paras. 222-227 and Resolution9(XV)).


Social Committee, meeting 396.

MEMBERSHIP OF SUB-COMMISSIONON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATIONAND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES


Social Committee, meeting 396.Plenary Meeting 1088.

E/3229. Report of 15th session of Commission onHuman Rights (paras. 231-242 and Resolution11(XV)).


E/AC.7/L.326. Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Venezuela:draft resolution, as amended by sponsors, adoptedby Social Committee on 7 July 1959, meeting 396,by 13 votes to 0, with 5 abstentions.

RESOLUTION 728 E (xxviii), adopted by Council on30 July 1959, meeting 1088, by 13 votes to 0,with 4 abstentions.

"The Economic and Social Council,

"Having considered resolution 11(XV) adopted bythe Commission on Human Rights,

"1. Approves the decision of the Commission onHuman Rights to increase the membership of theSub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination andProtection of Minorities from twelve to fourteen;

"2. Decides to elect the two new members of theSub-Commission at the resumed twenty-eighth sessionof the Council."

THE STATUS OF WOMEN

During 1959, the main topics discussed inUnited Nations organs in regard to improvingthe status of women included the following:political rights of women, status of women inprivate law, nationality of married women, equalpay for equal work, economic opportunities forwomen, tax legislation applicable to women,access of women to education, participation ofwomen in the work of the United Nations andthe United Nations programme of advisoryservices in human rights in relation to the statusof women.

These subjects were discussed by the Com-mission on the Status of Women at its thirteenthsession held at United Nations Headquarters,New York, between 9 and 27 March 1959, andlater, in mid-1959, at the twenty-eighth sessionof the Economic and Social Council, on thebasis of the Commission's annual report.

POLITICAL RIGHTS OF WOMENThe Commission reviewed the progress

achieved towards the recognition of politicalrights for women. It was generally agreed thatmuch had been achieved in most countries bythe enactment of legislation securing politicalrights for women. It was felt, however, that itwas now essential to investigate ways of enablingwomen to make use of their rights. Among themethods of encouraging the active use of poli-tical rights suggested were: community serviceas a way of introduction to political activityat a level of local interest; the development ofpersonal contacts between women active in theeconomic and political life of their countrieswhether by means of seminars, by exchangingvisits of delegations and of individuals and byfellowships. Stressed, too, was the role of non-governmental organizations in training theirmembers for participation in parliamentaryactivities.

With a view to making the greatest possible

use of the material furnished in the annualreports of the Secretary-General on progressachieved in the field of political rights forwomen, the Commission suggested that a con-solidated, up-to-date version of these develop-ments be prepared for the fourteenth session ofthe General Assembly. The Commission alsoasked that the report of the Bogota seminar onthe participation of women in public life (dueto be held in Bogotá in May 1959) be madeavailable by the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations in time for the Commission's 1960 dis-cussions on the political rights and responsibi-lities of women. In addition, the Commissioninvited non-governmental organizations havingconsultative status with the Economic and So-cial Council to help develop international co-operation in promoting equal political, civil,educational, economic and social rights of wo-men through facilitating personal contacts andexchanges of persons, experts and materials inthese fields.

The Commission was in general agreementwith a proposal to ask the Secretary-Generalto send a letter to Governments of States whichwere parties to the Convention on the PoliticalRights of Women as a follow-up to an Economicand Social Council resolution on measures takenby them to implement the Convention's pro-visions.

By the end of 1959, the Convention had beensigned by 42 countries and had been ratifiedor acceded to by 33 countries. During the year,Austria signed the Convention, Guatemala rati-fied it and the Republic of Korea acceded to it.

STATUS OF WOMEN IN PRIVATE LAWAGE OF MARRIAGE, FREE CONSENT

AND REGISTRATION OF MARRIAGES

There was much discussion at the Commis-sion's 1959 session on an Economic and SocialCouncil resolution of 10 July 1958 on age of

HUMAN RIGHTS

marriage, free consent and registration of mar-riages. By this resolution the Council had askedthe Secretary-General to prepare a draft recom-mendation on the subject for the Commission's1960 session. Commission members generallydeemed the subject so important that the prin-ciples in question should be laid down in aninternational instrument carrying great authori-ty and accordingly adopted a resolution invitingthe Council, in effect, to reconsider its resolutionof 1959 on the matter.

The Council considered the Commission'sresolution at its twenty-eighth session in mid-1959. While appreciating the Commission'swish for a convention, most Council membersalso favoured making an additional provisionfor an alternative instrument. It was felt thatthe provision of both a recommendation and aconvention would enable a large number ofcountries to adhere to one of the instrumentsand thus ensure their efficacy. The Council ac-cordingly asked the Secretary-General to prepareboth a draft convention and a draft recom-mendation on the subject for the Commission's1960 session, including provisions for regularreporting by United Nations Member Govern-ments. The Council's decision to this effect wasunanimously approved on 14 July 1959 as reso-lution 722 B (XXVIII).

RITUAL OPERATIONS

The Commission also examined the questionof the ritual practices to which girls are exposedin some parts of the world. On 10 July 1958,the Economic and Social Council had requestedthe World Health Organization (WHO) toundertake a study of these practices. Commis-sion members expressed concern at the actionof the Executive Board of WHO, which hadadopted a resolution to the effect that the studyrequested was outside of WHO's competencesince the practices concerned were of a socialand cultural rather than a medical nature. TheExecutive Board's resolution was subsequentlyapproved by the World Health Assembly inMay 1959.

NATIONALITY OF MARRIED WOMENCommission members expressed satisfaction

at the continuing progress in the direction ofequal nationality rights for men and women.By the end of 1959 the Convention on the Na-

205

tionality of Married Women had been signedby 25 countries and had been ratified or ac-ceded to by 19 countries. During the year, Cana-da, Denmark, Hungary and Yugoslavia ratifiedthe Convention; the Federation of Malaya andPoland acceded to it.

The Commission adopted a resolution, forfinal approval by the Economic and SocialCouncil, asking that the Secretary-General pre-pare a pamphlet setting out the history of theConvention, giving a commentary on its pro-visions and bringing up to date the informationcontained in a publication entitled Nationalityof Married Women, which had been issued in1955.

When the matter came before the Council,there was general agreement that for reasonsof economy it was desirable at this stage toissue a publication containing the history andcommentary; a separate publication of informa-tion dealing with national legislation could beissued later. The Council took a unanimousdecision to this effect on 14 July 1959, in theform of resolution 722 C (XXVIII).

EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORKAt the Commission's 1959 session, there was

general agreement on the importance of theprinciple of equal pay for equal work, particu-larly in view of the increasing significance ofwomen's role in national economies and thegrowth of the female labour force.

Some countries favoured legislative actionto further this principle, it was pointed out,whereas in other countries wages and salarieswere largely determined through collective bar-gaining agreements between employers and em-ployees. Stressed, too, was the importance ofwomen's participation in trade union activities.

There was general approval of a revised draftpamphlet on equal pay for equal work pre-pared by the Secretary-General in collaborationwith the International Labour Office, and theCommission adopted unanimously a draft reso-lution, for approval by the Economic and SocialCouncil, recommending that this pamphlet beissued by the United Nations as a sales publica-tion after some revision in the light of the Com-mission's debate. This recommendation wasunanimously adopted by the Economic andSocial Council on 14 July 1959 in the form ofresolution 722 D (XXVIII).


OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN

At its 1959 session, the Commission paid spe-cial attention to the occupational outlook forwomen as architects, engineers and lawyers.Though a few legal barriers remained, it waspointed out, it was still necessary to strive forthe elimination of prejudice and antiquatedcustoms before complete equality of opportunitycould be achieved. The value of adequate vo-cational guidance programmes was stressed as ameans of acquainting girls with the wide rangeof occupations in modern society. Attention wasdrawn to the desirability of continuing inquiriesinto occupations, particularly in architectureand engineering, qualifications for which didnot require a university education. Such in-quiries would be useful in revealing the rangeof occupations now evolving, the backgroundof workers who moved to higher levels, themethods of acquiring training and skills, andthe possibilities of training programmes forolder women workers, and could in turn leadto studies of economic opportunities for womenin unskilled and manual work.

The Commission unanimously decided to askthe Secretary-General to prepare a report forits 1961 session, in consultation with the spe-cialized agencies involved, based on informationobtained from Members of the United Nations,of the specialized agencies and non-govern-mental organizations having consultative statuswith the Economic and Social Council. Thisreport was to indicate the availability of oppor-tunities in certain occupations related to thearchitectural, engineering and legal professions.

AGE OF RETIREMENT AND RIGHT TO PENSION

Debate in the Commission on the age ofretirement and right to pension centred on thedesirability of equal or lower retirement andpensionable ages for women as compared tothose of men. Several members stressed the im-portance of absolute equality of pension andretirement rights for men and women, so as toavoid dangers of discrimination against womenin employment. Others deemed this inadvisablebecause it had certain disadvantages for manyworking women. Attention was called to theimportance of distinguishing between compul-sory and voluntary retirement systems.

The Commission asked the Economic andSocial Council to recommend that all Membersof the United Nations and of the specializedagencies "facilitate, by all appropriate means,the equal treatment of men and women workerswith respect to pension plans, and the imple-mentation of the principle that the retirementage, either optional or compulsory, and thepensionable age, should be the same for menand women workers."

The Council was divided in its view on thesubject, and revised the Commission's text inthe form of resolution 722 F (XXVIII), whichit adopted by 16 votes to 0, with 1 abstention.The Council thereby agreed to take no decision"at the present time," while affirming the prin-ciple that women workers should not be placedat any disadvantage as compared with men inregard to arrangements for pensionable age andretirement age, and recognizing the differencesof opinion on whether this principle was in-fringed by an age of earlier optional retirementand an earlier pensionable age.

TAX LEGISLATIONAPPLICABLE TO WOMEN

Discussion in the Commission centred onthose aspects of tax legislation which in anyway discriminated against women, and in par-ticular, the married working woman. Considera-tion was given to the relative advantages oftaxing incomes individually and of taxing hus-bands and wives, or members of a family unit,jointly. Individual taxation, it was felt, recog-nized the individual identity of the spouses,but some members thought that both types oftaxation reflected variations in social patternsand that tax legislation could be worked outonly in the light of a country's own system. Itwas generally agreed that this subject be furtherconsidered by the Commission in 1960.

ACCESS OF WOMEN TO EDUCATIONIn discussing access to education, most Com-

mission members considered that the eradicationof illiteracy was of primary importance. It was,however, recognized that this was hindered bysuch factors as a shortage of trained staff, limitedfinancial resources of Governments or familyfinancial difficulties. While the need to give girlsand women access to every level of educationwas acknowledged, it was generally felt that

HUMAN RIGHTS 207emphasis should be placed on the need for freeand compulsory education. Also stressed wasthe need for teachers.

In discussing the problem of the access ofwomen to the teaching profession, Commissionmembers agreed that, while there was no suchproblem, in most countries women teacherswere often faced with other problems, such asdismissal on marriage, unequal pay scales anddifficulties in advancing to high posts in theirprofessions. Background information for thediscussion included a report proposed by theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul-tural Organization (UNESCO).

The Commission adopted unanimously a draftresolution, for approval by the Economic andSocial Council, inviting UNESCO to preparea further report (for the Commission's 1961session), on the access of women to the teachingprofession, based on information from UnitedNations Member States and other authoritativesources, and taking into account the debates inthe Commission and the developments arisingfrom the report of a meeting of experts onteachers' problems convened by the Inter-national Labour Organisation (ILO) in Genevain October 1958. On 14 July 1959, the Councilunanimously approved this text as resolution722 E (XXVIII).

PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN INWORK OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Also considered at the Commission's thir-teenth session was the participation of womenin the work of the United Nations and thespecialized agencies.

Several Commission members stated thatwomen should not be limited mostly to employ-ment at lower levels in the Secretariats of theUnited Nations and the specialized agencies.They should also occupy senior posts and moreGovernments should appoint women to respon-sible positions in their delegations. Confidencewas expressed that the Secretary-General wouldcontinue to make every effort to appoint womento senior positions in the Secretariat.

FUTURE WORK PROGRAMMEOn 14 July 1959, the Economic and Social

Council, in taking note of the report of theCommission's 1959 session, endorsed the futurework programme and priorities agreed to by theCommission. The Council's decision was em-bodied in resolution 772 A (XXVIII).

(For information about advisory services inrelation to the status of women, see above, inthis chapter, section on ADVISORY SERVICES INHUMAN RIGHTS.)



Social Committee, meetings 390-392.Plenary Meeting 1078.

E/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission onStatus of Women, 9-27 March 1959. (For list ofdocuments prepared for the session, see Annex I.)

POLITICAL RIGHTS OF WOMENE/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission, Chap-

ter II.A/4159. Constitutions, electoral laws and other legal

instruments relating to political rights of women.Memorandum by Secretary-General for 14th sessionof General Assembly, 1959.

STATUS OF WOMEN IN PRIVATE LAWE/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission, Chap-

ter III.E/3228. Chapter XVII. Draft resolution B, as recom-

mended by Commission and as amended by 3powers, E/AC.7/L.321, adopted by Social Commit-tee on 1 July 1959, meeting 391, by 17 votes to 1.

E/AC.7/L.321. Chile, Netherlands, New Zealand,United States: amendment to draft resolution Bsubmitted by Commission.

E/3280, Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion B.

RESOLUTION 722 B (xxviii), as recommended by So-cial Committee, E/3280, adopted unanimously byCouncil on 14 July 1959, meeting 1078.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Recalling its resolution 680 B (XXVI) of 10 July

1958 concerning a minimum age of marriage, therequirement of the free consent of both parties to themarriage, and the compulsory registration of mar-riages,

"1. Considers that it may be appropriate to pre-scribe desirable standards in these fields by means ofinternational instruments prepared under the auspicesof the United Nations;

"2. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare forthe fourteenth session of the Commission on the Statusof Women a draft convention and a draft recommen-dation dealing with the three questions referred toabove, including provisions for regular reporting bythe Governments of Member States."

NATIONALITY OF MARRIED WOMENE/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission, Chap-

ter IV.


E/3228. Chapter XVII. Draft resolution C, as recom-mended by Commission and as amended by UnitedKingdom, E/AC.7/L.323 and orally by UnitedStates, adopted unanimously by Social Committeeon 1 July 1959, meeting 391.

E/AC.7/L.323. United Kingdom: amendment to draftresolution C submitted by Commission.

E/3280. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion C.

RESOLUTION 722 C (xxviii), as recommended by So-cial Committee, E/3280, adopted unanimously byCouncil on 14 July 1959, meeting 1078.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Noting that, by its resolution 1040(XI) of 29

January 1957, the General Assembly had adopted theConvention on the Nationality of Married Women andthat, by 6 March 1959, the Convention had beensigned, ratified and acceded to by sixteen countries,

"Noting that the printed publication on the Nation-ality of Married Women prepared by the Secretary-General for the ninth session of the Commission onthe Status of Women is practically exhausted,

"Noting also the subsequent reports prepared annu-ally by the Secretary-General for submission to theCommission on the Status of Women, containingchanges in legislation affecting the nationality of mar-ried women and other valuable information,

"Believing that a history of the Convention and aconcise and objective commentary on its provisionsshould be made available to the public in the form ofa printed publication similar to the successful publica-tion on the Convention on the Political Rights ofWomen,

"Requests the Secretary-General:"(a) To prepare a publication on the Convention

on the Nationality of Married Women, containing ahistory of the Convention and a commentary on itsprovisions, and arrange for its issuance at an earlydate;

"(b) To make preparations for a later publicationbringing up to date the information contained in thepublication prepared for the ninth session of theCommission on the Status of Women and in subse-quent reports."

EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORKE/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission, Chap-

ter VI.E/3228, Chapter XVII. Draft resolution D, as recom-

mended by Commission, adopted unanimously bySocial Committee on 1 July 1959, meeting 391.

E/3280. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion D.

RESOLUTION 722 D (xxviii), as recommended by So-cial Committee, E/3280, adopted unanimously byCouncil on 14 July 1959, meeting 1078.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Noting the recommendation of the Commission

on the Status of Women that the draft pamphlet onequal pay prepared by the Secretary-General in col-laboration with the International Labour Office beissued by the United Nations as a sales publication,

"Believing that progress in this field may be stimu-lated by this publication,

"Requests the Secretary-General to issue this pub-lication as soon as possible."

Equal Pay for Equal Work. U.N.P. Sales No.:60.IV.4.

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMENE/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission, Chap-

ter VIII.

AGE OF RETIREMENT AND RIGHT TO PENSIONE/3228, Chapter XVII. Draft resolution F, as recom-

mended by Commission and as amended by UnitedKingdom, E/AC.7/L.324, adopted by Social Com-mittee on 1 July 1959, meeting 392, by 9 votes to5, with 4 abstentions.

E/AC.7/L.324. United Kingdom: amendment to draftresolution F submitted by Commission.

E/3280. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion F.

RESOLUTION 722 F (xxviii), as recommended by So-cial Committee, E/3280, and as amended orally byFrance and United Kingdom, adopted by Councilon 14 July 1959, meeting 1078, by 16 votes to 0,with 1 abstention.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Affirming the principle that arrangements in regard

to pensionable age and retirement age should not besuch as to place women workers at any disadvantageas compared with men workers,

"Having considered draft resolution F in the reportof the thirteenth session of the Commission on theStatus of Women,

"Recognizing that differences of opinion continueto exist as to whether an age of earlier optional retire-ment and an earlier pensionable age for women con-stitute any infringement of the above-mentionedprinciple,

"Decides to take no decision at the present time onthe above-mentioned draft resolution."

TAX LEGISLATIONAPPLICABLE TO WOMENE/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission, Chap-

ter V.

ACCESS OF WOMEN TO EDUCATIONE/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission, Chap-

ter VII.E/3228, Chapter XVII. Draft resolution E, as recom-

mended by Commission, adopted unanimously bySocial Committee on 1 July 1959, meeting 391.

E/3280. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion E.

RESOLUTION 722 E (xxviii), as recommended by So-cial Committee, E/3280, adopted unanimously byCouncil on 14 July 1959, meeting 1078.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Noting the views expressed in the debates of the

Commission on the Status of Women at its thirteenthsession on the report prepared by the United NationsEducational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on

HUMAN RIGHTS 209

the access of women to the teaching profession,"1. Calls the attention of Governments to its reso-

lutions 547 K (XVIII) of 12 July 1954 and 587 G(XX) of 3 August 1955;

"2. Invites the United Nations Educational, Scien-tific and Cultural Organization to prepare for thefifteenth session of the Commission on the Status ofWomen a further report on the access of women tothe teaching profession based on information fromMember States and other authoritative sources, thisfurther report to take into account the debates in theCommission at its thirteenth session and also thedevelopments arising from the report of the Meeting ofExperts on Teachers' Problems convened by the Inter-national Labour Office in Geneva in October 1958."

PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN INWORK OF UNITED NATIONSE/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission, Chap-

ter X.

FUTURE WORK PROGRAMMEE/3228. Report of 13th session of Commission, Chap-

ters XIV and XV.E/3228. Chapter XVII. Draft resolution A, as recom-

mended by Commission and as amended by UnitedStates, E/AC.7/L.322, adopted unanimously bySocial Committee on 1 July 1959, meeting 392.

E/AC.7/L.322. United States: amendment to draftresolution A submitted by Commission.

E/3280. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion A.

RESOLUTION 722 A (xxviii), as recommended by So-cial Committee, E/3280, adopted unanimously byCouncil on 14 July 1959, meeting 1078.

"The Economic and Social Council"Takes note of the report of the Commission on the

Status of Women (thirteenth session) and endorses thework programme and priorities contained therein."

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

The Economic and Social Council in 1959adopted proposals dealing with informationmedia in under-developed countries, prepara-tion of reports on developments in freedom ofinformation, and reduction of internationalpress telegram rates.

These proposals were adopted on the basisof recommendations submitted by the Commis-sion of Human Rights. The Commission madeits recommendations after considering a reportby its Committee on Freedom of Informationestablished in 1957.

The Economic and Social Council adoptedresolutions also on a draft Declaration on Free-dom of Information.

Also in 1959, the General Assembly begandiscussion of the text of the draft Conventionon Freedom of Information. This draft wasbased on a text originally prepared by theUnited Nations Conference on Freedom of In-formation held in Geneva in 1948, as revised in1951 by a special committee set up by the As-sembly in 1950.

INFORMATION MEDIA INUNDER-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

On 12 December 1958, the General Assemblyadopted a resolution (1313 A (XIII)) ex-pressing the hope that the Economic and SocialCouncil would formulate a programme of con-crete action for developing information mediain under-developed countries. At the same time,the Council was asked to invite the Commission

on Human Rights to give particular attentionto procedures to assure a constant review of theproblems of providing technical aid in the in-formation field to under-developed countries.

The matter was considered by the Commis-sion at its fifteenth session, held from 16 Marchto 10 April 1959.

The Commission adopted a proposal, laterapproved unanimously by the Economic andSocial Council on 24 April 1959 (as resolution718(XXVII), Part I) asking that the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) undertake a surveyof the problems of providing technical assistanceto under-developed countries in the field ofinformation. UNESCO was asked to forwardits report to the Commission and to the Councilbefore mid-1961, to enable the Council to evalu-ate the needs and resources for carrying out thetechnical assistance programme envisaged.

REPORTS ON DEVELOPMENTSIN FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

At its 1959 session, the Commission on HumanRights decided, by 15 votes to 0, with 3 ab-stentions, to review developments affecting free-dom of information as a regular item on itsagenda.

It adopted a proposal, later approved by theEconomic and Social Council on 24 April 1959(as resolution 718(XXVII), Part II), asking theSecretary-General to submit annual reports onsuch developments to the Commission on the


basis of material furnished by UNESCO andother interested specialized agencies, as well asany other information available.

The Secretary-General was also asked to pre-pare a substantive report, for submission to theCouncil in 1961, on developments in the fieldof freedom of information since 1954. The re-port was to be prepared in co-operation withUnited Nations Member Governments., the spe-cialized agencies (particularly UNESCO), non-governmental organizations having consultativestatus with the Council, and professional or-ganizations concerned.

The resolution to this effect was approvedby 13 votes to 3, with 2 abstentions.

In the course of the debate which took placewhen the Commission's proposals came beforethe Council, the USSR representative main-tained that the proposals for reports on freedomof information went beyond the scope of Gen-eral Assembly resolution 1313 A (XIII) of 12December 1958, which, in his view, restrictedthe competence of the Commission on HumanRights in formulating concrete plans for theprovision of technical assistance to under-de-veloped countries in the field of information.The United States representative and othersmaintained that that Assembly resolution didnot alter the Commission's terms of referencewhereby the Commission was granted compe-tence with regard to all aspects of freedom ofinformation.

Most representatives considered that objectivereports would be needed to assess the freedomof information situation. No comprehensive re-port on freedom of information had been sub-mitted to United Nations organs since 1953,they pointed out. The representatives of theUnited Kingdom and the USSR, however,doubted whether such reports could substan-tially advance the work of the United Nationsin the field of freedom of information; indeed,they might rather stir up political controversies.

With regard to the procedures for preparingthe reports, there was no objection to a state-ment made on behalf of the Secretary-Generalsaying that the proposal on annual reports wasinterpreted to mean that the information soughtwould be drawn from official and public sources.

Also discussed were arrangements contem-plated by the Secretary-General to appoint aconsultant to prepare the substantive report on

developments in freedom of information for1954-1961. The USSR representative objectedto a consultant being vested with such authority,and pointed out that the system of appointingspecial rapporteurs or consultants had not pro-duced good results in the past.

The majority of members, however, favouredthe arrangements which the Council approvedon 24 April 1959 by 15 votes to 3.

INTERNATIONAL PRESSTELEGRAM RATES

On 20 March 1959, the Commission on Hu-man Rights adopted a draft resolution for finalapproval by the Economic and Social Councilstating that the existence of high and divergentrates for international press cables was a seriousimpediment to the "free flow of undistorted andaccurate information" and to the developmentof understanding. The draft resolution alsovoiced the hope that efforts by the InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU), United Na-tions Educational, Scientific and Cultural Or-ganization (UNESCO) and other bodies to-wards reduction of international press cablerates would be continued, and in particular, thatreduced international press cable rates would beagreed on at the ITU conference of plenipo-tentiaries to be held in October 1959.

This text was revised at the Economic andSocial Council's twenty-seventh session heldfrom 7 to 24 April 1959. Thus, the statement inthe preamble about the effects of high and di-vergent press cable rates was revised to statethat the existence of such rates was a seriousimpediment to the "free flow of information"rather than to the "free flow of undistorted andaccurate information."

In addition, the Council's text voiced thehope that the efforts of ITU, UNESCO andother bodies to reduce international press tele-gram rates would be "continued at appropriateconferences of ITU and through other arrange-ments to bring reduced international press tele-graph rates into effect."

The text as thus amended was unanimouslyadopted by Council on 24 April 1959 as resolu-tion 719 (XXVII).

QUESTION OF A DECLARATIONON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

In 1959, the Economic and Social Council

HUMAN RIGHTS 211

submitted the text of a draft declaration onfreedom of information to United Nations Mem-ber Governments for comment. It also decidedto consider the question further at its twenty-ninth session in 1960.

Among the points set forth in the draft de-claration, as circulated to Governments for com-ment, were the following:

Everyone has the right "to seek and conveyinformation and ideas" (article I). All Govern-ments have the responsibility to "pursue policiesunder which the free flow of information will beprotected" (article II). Since "media of informa-tion should be employed in the service of thepeople," there should be no monopoly on themeans of disseminating information, and theindividual should be free to choose from a di-versity of sources of information (article III).All information media should "report honestlyand in good faith" and strive to ensure the ac-curacy of their reports, so as to provide thebasis on which enlightened opinion could beformed (article IV). The rights and freedomsproclaimed above should be "universally recog-nized and respected," subject only to such properlimitations as are required for protecting "therights and freedoms of others," and in the in-terests of "morality, public order and the generalwelfare in a democratic society" (article V).

The Council discussed the question of a draftdeclaration on freedom of information at bothits sessions in 1959 (the twenty-seventh andtwenty-eighth sessions). The Council did notconsider the substance of the draft declarationsubmitted, but discussed the advisability of theUnited Nations' adopting it, and also the properprocedure for dealing with the question.

The matter was first raised, on 16 April 1959,at the Council's twenty-seventh session, whenChile, Costa Rica, Mexico and the United Statessubmitted the text of a draft declaration onfreedom of information, together with a draftresolution.

By the draft resolution, the Council wouldstate that such a draft declaration "could be afurther step towards the realization of the pur-poses of the United Nations." Recalling that on12 December 1958 the General Assembly haddecided (by resolution 1313 C (XIII)) to dis-cuss the draft Convention on Freedom of In-formation1 in 1959, the Council, "without pre-judice to the Assembly action in this respect,"

would also "decide to place the question of adraft declaration on freedom of information onthe agenda of its twenty-eighth (mid-1959)session."

Afghanistan submitted amendments to thefour-power proposal, to make the followingpoints: the only question to be considered inthe near future should be "the desirability of aUnited Nations draft declaration on freedom ofinformation"; this question should be referredto the General Assembly rather than to theCouncil itself; matters relating to the draft de-claration should be considered "without preju-dice whatsoever to the action of the GeneralAssembly in connexion with the discussion ofthe draft Convention on Freedom of Informa-tion with a view to its adoption as soon as pos-sible." Another of Afghanistan's amendmentswas to delete the paragraph in the preamble ofthe four-power text stating that the declarationcould be a further step towards the realizationof the United Nations purposes.

The sponsors of the four-power text gave as-surances that they did not wish the Council toimpede the General Assembly's work on thedraft Convention; all they had in mind was toplace the question of a draft declaration on theagenda of the Council's next session. Afghani-stan's amendments were rejected in the Coun-cil's Social Committee by 11 votes to 4, with 3abstentions.

The four-power text was adopted by the So-cial Committee on 21 April 1959. The Councilapproved it on 24 April as resolution 720(XXVII). The vote in both cases was 13 to 3,with 2 abstentions.

At the Council's mid-1959 session, Chile,Costa Rica, France, Mexico, the Netherlandsand the United States submitted a revised draftdeclaration on freedom of information (the textof which is summarized above), together with adraft resolution.

By this draft resolution, the Council, whilestating its desire to take no action which wouldhinder or prejudice General Assembly actionon the draft Convention, would: (1) acceptthe text of the draft declaration for submissionto United Nations Member Governments fortheir comments; (2) ask the Secretary-General

1

For further details, see Y.U.N., 1958, pp. 227-228,230, and also section below on DRAFT CONVENTION ONFREEDOM OF INFORMATION.


to prepare a report embodying the commentsreceived from Member States on the draft textand also on the desirability of the United Na-tions' adopting a declaration on freedom of in-formation. The Council also decided to considerthe question further at its twenty-ninth session(scheduled to open on 5 April 1960) in thelight of the comments received.

On the recommendation of its Social Com-mittee the Council agreed to this by adoptingresolution 732(XXVIII) on 30 July 1959. Thevote in both cases was 13 to 3, with 2 absten-tions.

At both Council sessions in 1959, some speak-ers—in particular, the representatives of Af-ghanistan and the USSR—declared themselvesagainst the proposals on the following maingrounds: the elaboration of a draft declarationon freedom of information could only delay thesolution of the problems in that field, andwould disturb the atmosphere of political com-promise in which the General Assembly hadbeen able to reach agreement on preparing adraft Convention as the most constructive ap-proach to this question; indeed, the proposalson the draft declaration seemed to disregard theGeneral Assembly decision of 12 December 1958(as expressed in resolution 1313 C (XIII)) toconcentrate on the draft Convention. While theConvention would place precise and bindingobligations upon the States parties to it, a de-claration could only repeat the principles pro-claimed in the Universal Declaration on HumanRights and would have no legal force.

The sponsors of the proposals on the draftdeclaration felt that the drafting of a declara-tion—a project which had been suggested asearly as 1953 by the Council's rapporteur onfreedom of information—would in no way pre-judice the Assembly's action on the draft Con-vention. The text of the draft declaration wasin no way incompatible with the more specificprovisions of the draft Convention. Moreover,the Council was not asked at the present stageto take a stand on the desirability or the con-tents of a draft declaration but merely to seekthe views of Member States and study the ques-tion further. Adoption of a declaration pro-claiming fundamental principles in the field offreedom and information would, the sponsorsalso maintained, be a positive step towards pro-moting that freedom.

DRAFT CONVENTION ONFREEDOM OF INFORMATION

The draft Convention on Freedom of In-formation was originally drawn up in 1948 bythe United Nations Conference on Freedom ofInformation. In 1951, it was revised by an adhoc committee of the General Assembly. On 12December 1958, the Assembly decided to pro-ceed in 1959 to a detailed discussion of the adhoc committee's draft text (which consisted ofa preamble and 19 articles).

In 1959, at the Assembly's fourteenth session,discussion took place in the Assembly's Third(Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) Commit-tee. After a general debate, the Committee wenton to examine the preamble and the first articleof the draft Convention.

Many Members of the Committee taking partin the general debate welcomed the opportunityof proceeding, after many years of delay, to thefinal drafting of what was described as themost important instrument in the field of free-dom of information. Some Members, however,reiterated the basic objection of their Govern-ments to a draft Convention. In its present form,they argued, the draft emphasized restrictionson, rather than freedom of, information. Someother representatives, while having misgivingsabout the project, were willing to participate inthe work of the draft convention.

There was much debate, as at previous As-sembly sessions, on such matters as the generalproblem of the difficulty of striking a balancebetween freedom (which was always in dangerof degenerating into licence) and responsibility(the enforcement of which could lead to un-desirable restrictions).

A number of the Members referred to theresponsibility of information media in regardto reports affecting relations between peoples,and the need to protect the "consumer" of newsand information from inaccuracy, falsehood anddistortion. All such aspects, it was maintained,should be reflected in the Convention.

Other Members, however, considered that themain emphasis in the Convention should be onways and means of ensuring the freest access tothe facts and the fullest possible flow of newsand information concerning these facts. If thisis to be achieved, and if the peoples of the worldare to be fully and adequately informed, in-formation media should be free from govern-

HUMAN RIGHTS 213

mental restrictions and should, among otherthings, be left to themselves to set and enforcestandards.

PREAMBLE

The preamble of the text before the ThirdCommittee stated:

(1) that "freedom of expression and the freeinterchange of information and opinions, bothin the national and in the international spheres,are fundamental human rights and essential inthe cause of democracy and peace and for theachievement of political, social, cultural andeconomic progress";

(2) that it was the desire of the States partyto the Convention "to co-operate fully with oneanother to guarantee these freedoms and therebyto promote democratic institutions, friendly re-lations between States and peoples and the peaceand welfare of mankind"; and

(3) that "in order to achieve these aims, themedia of information should be free from pres-sure or dictation, and that these media, byvirtue of their power for influencing publicopinion, bear a great responsibility to the peoplesof the world."

Among the amendments discussed was oneby India, Liberia, Mexico, the Philippines, Sau-di Arabia, the United Arab Republic and Vene-zuela. They proposed amending paragraph (1)so that it would refer to the "free interchangeof accurate, objective and comprehensive in-formation and opinions" rather than to the"free interchange of information and opinions."This rewording was advocated so as to stressthe need to combat the dissemination of slander-ous or biased information, which, it was argued,was most harmful to international understand-ing and particularly prejudicial to the under-developed countries which were ill-equipped tomake the true situation known in their terri-tories.

Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Swedenand the United States and others, however,feared that the amendment could mean givingpowers of supervision to Governments and con-doning censorship.

The Third Committee nevertheless decidedto adopt the 7-power amendment. It did so by43 votes to 9, with 18 abstentions.

Similar views were exchanged on a revisedLiberian amendment to have paragraph (3)

state that information media "have the duty torespect the truth and to promote understandingamong nations." The Committee adopted thisamendment by 33 votes to 17, with 21 absten-tions.

Belgium, Guatemala, Iceland and Italy pro-posed an amendment to stress that peoplesshould be free to seek and receive informationand opinions "from any source whatever." In-dia, Saudi Arabia and others, however, opposedit. Arguments against included the following:the proposal was repetitious since its aim wouldbe met by the 7-power amendment to paragraph(1) (see above); it might be interpreted asjustifying the publication of false or slanderousreports. The amendment was rejected by 25votes against, 24 in favour, with 21 abstentions.

France proposed an amendment to include astatement on "the right of everyone to form anopinion through the fullest possible knowledgeof the facts." The Byelorussian SSR, India,Poland and the Ukrainian SSR thought thatthis amendment lacked clarity, and that drawinga distinction between factual reports and opin-ions might prove unworkable in practice.

The Third Committee, however, approvedthe French amendment by 51 votes to 0, with20 abstentions.

On 4 December 1959, the Third Committeeapproved the text of the preamble as a whole, asamended, by 49 votes to 5, with 24 abstentions.

The text of the preamble as approved by theThird Committee reads as follows:

The States Parties to this Convention,Bearing in mind the Charter of the United Nations

and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,Considering that freedom of expression, information

and opinions are fundamental human rights,Considering that the free interchange of accurate,

objective and comprehensive information and ofopinions, both in the national and in the internationalspheres, is essential to the cause of democracy andpeace and for the achievement of political, social,cultural and economic progress,

Considering that freedom of information impliesrespect for the right of everyone to form an opinionthrough the fullest possible knowledge of the facts,

Desiring to co-operate fully with one another toguarantee these freedoms and to promote democraticinstitutions, friendly relations between States andpeoples and the peace and welfare of mankind, and

Recognizing that in order to achieve these aims themedia of information should be free from pressure ordictation, but that these media, by virtue of theirpower for influencing public opinion, bear to thepeoples of the world a great responsibility, and have


the duty to respect the truth and to promote under-standing among nations,

Have accepted the following provisions:

ARTICLE 1

Article 1 of the draft Convention before theThird Committee stated that: (a) "Each Con-tracting State shall secure to its own nationals,and to such nationals of every other ContractingState as are lawfully within its territory, freedomto seek, receive and impart without govern-mental interference and regardless of frontiersinformation and opinions orally, in writing or inprint, in the form of art or by duly licensed visualor auditory devices"; and (b) "No ContractingState shall regulate or control the use or availa-bility of any of the means of communicationreferred to in the preceding paragraph in anymanner discriminating against any of its ownnationals or of such of the nationals of anyother Contracting State as are lawfully withinits territory on political grounds or on the basisof their race, sex, language or religion."

France proposed adding a new paragraphwhereby the States party to the Conventionwould respect and protect the right of everyperson to have diverse sources of informationat his disposal. Those in favour of this amend-ment maintained that diversity of sources wasan essential guarantee of the right to be ade-quately informed and to form an opinion freely.India, the Philippines and Poland, however,feared that this text might mean that Govern-ments of under-developed countries would haveto carry an excessive burden of financing theestablishment of several news agencies in theirterritories. The Third Committee adopted theFrench proposal by 51 votes to 1, with 14 ab-stentions.

Another amendment was put forward byEthiopia, India, the Philippines, Saudi Arabiaand Venezuela. By this, Contracting Stateswould be obliged to secure "freedom to seek"rather than "freedom to gather" informationand opinions.

The sponsors argued that the amendmentwould leave people free to choose from amongthe news collected, that it was intended to pro-hibit abusive investigations being made by jour-nalists which would offend religious sensibilitiesor a country's traditions, invade personal pri-vacy or even threaten the security of the State.

Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the

United States and others opposed the amend-ment, mainly on the grounds that the word"gather" implied a passive attitude on the partof the professionals and the public, and alsothat there could not be real freedom of informa-tion unless the people concerned were allowedactively to "seek" the news for themselves.

The Committee adopted the amendment by30 votes to 29, with 7 abstentions.

Peru proposed amending article 1 to stressthat the freedom to gather, receive and impartinformation and opinions without governmentalinterference would be subject to the limitationsclause contained in article 2. Some representa-tives considered this unnecessary since article 2itself provided for limitations to all the rightsand freedoms set forth in the Convention.

Article 1 as a whole, as amended, was adoptedby the Third Committee on 7 December 1959by 41 votes to 4, with 21 abstentions. It readsas follows:

Subject to the provisions of this Convention,(a) Each Contracting State undertakes to respect

and protect the right of every person to have at hisdisposal diverse sources of information;

(b) Each Contracting State shall secure to its ownnationals, and to such of the nationals of every otherContracting State as are lawfully within its territory,freedom to gather, receive and impart without govern-mental interference, save as provided in article 2, andregardless of frontiers, information and opinions oral-ly, in writing or in print, in the form of art or byduly licensed visual or auditory devices;

(c) No Contracting State shall regulate or controlthe use or availability of any means of communicationreferred to in the preceding paragraph in any mannerdiscriminating against any of its own nationals or ofsuch of the nationals of any other Contracting Stateas are lawfully within its territory on political groundsor on the basis of their race, sex, language or religion.

FUTURE WORK ONDRAFT CONVENTION

The work on the draft Convention not havingbeen completed, the Assembly, on 10 December1959, decided by resolution 1459 (XIV) thatpriority be given to the matter at the Assembly's1960 session. The Third Committee was askedto devote as many meetings as possible to this.The Assembly took this decision by 57 votes to2, with 17 abstentions, on the recommendationof the Third Committee where the resolutionwas approved on 7 December by 43 votes to 2,with 17 abstentions, on a proposal by Afghani-stan, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras,Lebanon, Libya, Morocco and the Philippines.

HUMAN RIGHTS 215DOCUMENTARY REFERENCES

DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION MEDIAIN UNDER-DEVELOPED COUNTRIESECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL——27TH SESSION

Social Committee, meetings 387, 388.Plenary Meetings 1061, 1062, 1066.E/3205 and Add.1. Report by Secretary-General.E/3206 and Add.1. Observations and proposals re-

ceived from specialized agencies.E/3229. Report of Commission on Human Rights,

15th session, Chapter II.E/3229, Chapter XIV. Draft resolution I A, sub-

mitted by Commission, adopted unanimously bySocial Committee on 21 April 1959, meeting 387.

E/3239. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion I A.

RESOLUTION 718(xxvii), part I, as recommended bySocial Committee, E/3239, adopted unanimously byCouncil on 24 April 1959, meeting 1066.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Recalling General Assembly resolutions 1189 B

(XII) of 11 December 1957 and 1313(XIII) of 12December 1958 and Council resolution 683 C (XXVI)of 21 July 1958, and the desire manifested in theUnited Nations to ensure greater freedom of informa-tion, particularly in under-developed countries,

"Noting the recommendations of the Commission onHuman Rights with regard to freedom of information,

I"1. Notes with approval the suggestions contained

in paragraph 9 and the conclusions in paragraph 12of the report of the Committee on Freedom of In-formation concerning the development of media ofinformation in under-developed countries;

"2. Requests the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization, in consultationwith other specialized agencies concerned, Govern-ments of member States and organizations activelyengaged in the field of information to undertake, with-in the scope of its programme, a survey of the prob-lems of providing technical assistance to under-de-veloped countries in that field, bearing in mind theconclusions and suggestions in the report of the Com-mittee on Freedom of Information concerning thedevelopment of media of information in under-de-veloped countries, and General Assembly resolution1313(XIII), and to forward its report and recom-mendations to the Commission on Human Rights andto the Economic and Social Council before the sum-mer of 1961 to enable the Council to make an evalua-tion of the material, financial and professional require-ments and resources for implementation of the pro-gramme envisaged in that resolution, including expertadvice, fellowship awards, seminars and the provisionof equipment and other facilities."

REPORTS ON DEVELOPMENTSIN FREEDOM OF INFORMATION


Social Committee, meetings 387, 388.Plenary Meetings 1061, 1062, 1066.

E/3229, Chapter XIV. Draft resolution I B, submittedby Commission, adopted by Social Committee on21 April 1959, meeting 387, by 12 votes to 3,with 3 abstentions.

E/3239. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion I B.

RESOLUTION 718(xxvii) part II, as recommended bySocial Committee, E/3239, adopted by Council on24 April 1959, meeting 1066, by 13 votes to 3,with 2 abstentions.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Recalling General Assembly resolution 1189 B

(XII) of 11 December 1957 and 1313(XIII) of 12December 1958 and Council resolution 683 C (XXVI)of 21 July 1958, and the desire manifested in theUnited Nations to ensure greater freedom of informa-tion, particularly in under-developed countries,

"Noting the recommendations of the Commissionon Human Rights with regard to freedom of informa-tion,

II"1. Notes with approval the decision of the Com-

mission on Human Rights to review developmentsaffecting freedom of information, including the prob-lems of providing technical assistance to under-de-veloped countries in the field of information, as aregular item on its agenda;

"2. Requests the Secretary-General:"(a) To facilitate the Commission's regular reviews

of this subject by providing an annual report ondevelopments affecting freedom of information, in-cluding the problems of providing technical assistanceto under-developed countries in the field of informa-tion, on the basis of material furnished by the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organiza-tion and other interested specialized agencies, as wellas any other information available;

"(b) To prepare in co-operation with the Govern-ments of Member States, the specialized agencies,particularly the United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization, non-governmental organ-izations in consultative status with the Council, andthe professional organizations concerned, both na-tional and international, a substantive report for sub-mission to the Council in 1961 on developments inthe field of freedom of information since 1954, in-cluding in particular:

"(i) The news sources to which peoples haveaccess;

"(ii) The extent to which they receive news of theUnited Nations and its specialized agenciesand their work for peace;

"(iii) Developments in the facilities for the freeflow of accurate and undistorted informationinto and out of under-developed countries."

INTERNATIONAL PRESSTELEGRAM RATES




E/3229, Chapter XIV. Draft resolution II, submittedby Commission, as revised by United States, adoptedunanimously by Social Committee on 21 April1959, meeting 387.

E/3234. Comments by Secretariat of ITU on resolu-tion 2(XV) of Commission on Human Rights.

E/AC.7/L.318. United States: amendments to draftresolution II of Commission.

E/3239. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion II.

RESOLUTION 719(xxvii), as recommended by SocialCommittee, E/3239, adopted unanimously by Coun-cil on 24 April 1959, meeting 1066.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Considering that the existence of generally high

and divergent rates for international press messages isa serious impediment to the free flow of informationand to the development of international understanding,

"Noting with commendation the efforts of the In-ternational Telecommunication Union, the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organiza-tion and other bodies towards reduction of interna-tional press telegram rates,

"Expresses the hope that such efforts will be con-tinued at appropriate conferences of the InternationalTelecommunication Union or through other arrange-ments to bring into effect reduced international presstelegram rates, as expeditiously as possible."

DRAFT DECLARATION ONFREEDOM OF INFORMATION



E/L.824 and Rev.1. Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, UnitedStates: draft resolution and revision, adopted bySocial Committee on 21 April 1959, meeting 388,by 13 votes to 3, with 2 abstentions.

E/L.825. France: amendment to 4-power draft reso-lution, E/L.824.

E/AC.7/L.319, L.320. Afghanistan: amendments to4-power draft resolution (E/L.824) and revision(E/L.284/Rev.1).

E/3239. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion III.

RESOLUTION 720(xxvii), as recommended by SocialCommittee, E/3239, adopted by Council on 24April 1959, meeting 1066, by 13 votes to 3, with2 abstentions.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Recalling that the purposes of the United Nations

include, inter alia, the development of friendly rela-tions among nations, and the promotion and encour-agement of respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms for all,

"Recognizing that the promotion of freedom of in-formation as a fundamental human right is essentialto the fulfilment of these purposes,

"Mindful of the significance which the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights has acquired amongthe peoples of the United Nations,

"Considering that a United Nations Declaration onFreedom of Information could be a further step to-wards the realization of the purposes set forth above,

"Recalling that the General Assembly has decided,in its resolution 1313 C (XIII) of 12 December 1958,to proceed at its fourteenth session to a discussion ofthe text of the draft Convention on Freedom of In-formation, and without prejudice to the Assemblyaction in this respect,

"Having received the text of a draft Declaration onFreedom on Information,

"Decides to place the question of a draft Declara-tion on Freedom of Information on the agenda for itstwenty-eighth session."


Social Committee, meetings 405, 406.Plenary Meetings 1080, 1088.

E/AC.7/L.338. Chile, Costa Rica, France, Mexico,Netherlands, United States: draft resolution adopt-ed by Social Committee on 28 July 1959, meeting406, by 13 votes to 3, with 2 abstentions.

E/3295. Report of Social Committee.RESOLUTION 732(xxviii), as recommended by Social

Committee, E/3295, adopted by Council on 30 July1959, meeting 1088, by 13 votes to 3, with 2abstentions.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Desiring to promote freedom of information as a

basic human right,"Recognizing the importance of freedom of informa-

tion in the development of friendly relations amongnations, and in the fulfilment of the purposes of theUnited Nations,

"Recalling its resolution 720(XXVII) of 24 April1959 concerning a draft declaration on freedom ofinformation,

"Recalling that in the above-mentioned resolutionit called attention to 'the significance which theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights has acquiredamong the peoples of the United Nations,' and con-sidered 'that a United Nations declaration on freedomof information could be a further step towards therealization' of the promotion of freedom of informa-tion,

"Noting that the provisional agenda for the four-teenth session of the General Assembly includes thequestion of a draft convention on freedom of informa-tion,

"Desiring to take no action which would hinder orprejudice Assembly action in this respect,

"1. Accepts for submission to the Governments ofMember States the draft text of a declaration onfreedom of information annexed to this resolution;

"2. Requests the Secretary-General to transmit thisresolution and its annex to the Governments of Mem-ber States;

"3. Invites Member States to communicate to theSecretary-General by 1 January 1960 comments on:

"(a) The desirability of the adoption by the UnitedNations of a declaration on freedom of information;

"(b) The draft text;

HUMAN RIGHTS 217"4. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a

consolidated report embodying the comments referredto above;

"5. Decides to consider the question further at itstwenty-ninth session in light of the comments re-ceived."

Annex

Draft Declaration on Freedom of Information

"Whereas the development of friendly relationsamong nations and the promotion of respect forhuman rights and fundamental freedoms for all arebasic purposes of the United Nations,

"Whereas the Universal Declaration of HumanRights provides that 'Everyone has the right of free-dom of opinion and expression; this right includes free-dom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,receive and impart information and ideas throughany media and regardless of frontiers,'

"Whereas this right is fundamental to the respectfor other rights and fundamental freedoms, since noother liberty is secure if men cannot freely conveytheir thoughts to one another,

"Whereas the erection of artificial barriers to com-munication creates fear and suspicion between peoplesand impairs prospects for world peace,

"Whereas newspapers, periodicals, books, radio, tele-vision and other media of information, because oftheir function of conveying information, play an im-portant role in determining the reactions of peoplesand nations to each other,

"Whereas the efforts of the United Nations cansucceed only as the peoples of the United Nations areable to receive information about the United Nationsand its associated organizations so that they may beable to understand and support its objectives andactivities,

"Now, therefore, the General Assembly"Desiring to affirm the principles which should be

observed and which domestic law and internationalagreements for the protection of freedom of informa-tion should endeavour to support,

"Proclaims this Declaration of Freedom of Informa-tion to the end that the peoples of the United Nationsmay enjoy free interchange of information and ideas:

ARTICLE I

"Everyone has the right to seek and convey informationand ideas"The right to know and the right to seek the truth

are inalienable and fundamental rights of men.

ARTICLE II

"All Governments have the responsibility to pursuepolicies under which the free flow of informationwill be protected"The right to observe, gather and transmit news

within countries and across frontiers should be assured.

ARTICLE III

"Media of information should be employed in theservice of the people"No Government or public or private agency should

have a monopoly on all means of disseminating newsand ideas. There should be a diversity of sources fromwhich the individual may choose freely. Neither publicnor private interests should have any such control asto deprive the individual of this freedom.

ARTICLE IV

"AH media of information should report honestly andin good faith"They should strive to ensure the accuracy of their

reports and should respect the reputation of indi-viduals. It is their high privilege and responsibility toprovide the basis on which enlightened opinion canbe formed.

ARTICLE V

"The rights and freedoms proclaimed above should beuniversally recognized and respected"They should be subject only to such limitations

as are determined by law solely for the purpose ofsecuring due recognition and respect for the rightsand freedoms of others and of meeting the just re-quirements of morality, public order and the generalwelfare in a democratic society."

DRAFT CONVENTION ONFREEDOM OF INFORMATION


Third Committee, meetings 970-979.Plenary Meetings 803, 852.

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTSA/AC.42/7, annex. Text of Draft Convention on

Freedom of Information as formulated by ad hoccommittee established by Assembly by resolution 426(V) of 14 December 1950.

A/3868 and Add.1-8. Comments by Governments onDraft Convention, sent in accordance with GeneralAssembly resolution 1189 A (XII) of 11 December1957.

A/4173 and Corr.1, and Add.1-3. Comments by Gov-ernments on Draft Convention, sent in accordancewith General Assembly resolution 1313 C (XIII)of 12 December 1958.

PREAMBLEA/C.3/L.827. Afghanistan: amendment.A/C.3/L.828. Liberia: amendment.A/C.3/L.829 and Rev.1. Romania: amendment and

revised amendment.A/C.3/L.830 and Rev.1. France: amendment and

revised amendment.A/C.3/L.836. Cambodia: sub-amendment to Liberia

amendment, A/C.3/L.828.A/C.3/L.837. Belgium, Guatemala, Iceland, Italy:


sub-amendment to Afghanistan amendment, A/C.3/L.827.

A/C.3/L.838. Poland: sub-amendment to Liberiaamendment, A/C.3/L.828.

A/C.3/L.840 and Corr.1. India, Liberia, Mexico,Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Republic,Venezuela: sub-amendment to Afghanistan amend-ment, A/C.3/L.827.

A/4341. Report of Third Committee. The preamble,as amended, was adopted by Third Committee on8 December 1959, meeting 977, by 49 votes to 5,with 24 abstentions.

ARTICLE 1A/C.3/L.830 and Rev.1. France: amendment and

revised amendment.A/C.3/L.831. Ethiopia, India, Philippines, Saudi

Arabia, Venezuela: amendment.A/C.3/L.834. Peru: amendment.A/4341. Report of Third Committee. Article 1, as

amended, was adopted by Third Committee on 7December 1959, meeting 979, by roll-call vote of41 votes to 4, with 21 abstentions, as follows:In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria,Byelorussian SSR, Canada, Ceylon, Cuba, Czecho-slovakia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethio-pia, Federation of Malaya, France, Ghana, Greece,Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan,Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philip-pines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia,Thailand, Turkey, Ukrainian SSR, USSR, UnitedArab Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen,Yugoslavia.Against: Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden.Abstaining: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Finland, Gua-temala, Haiti, Honduras, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg,Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Union of SouthAfrica, United Kingdom, United States.

OTHER DOCUMENTSA/C.3/L.835 and Rev.1, and Rev.1/Corr.1; A/C.3/

L.841. Suggestions by Chairman concerning theorder of voting.

A/C.3/L.832. Cuba: amendments to articles 2 and4 of draft Convention.

A/C.3/L.843. Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela: amend-ment to draft Convention.

FUTURE WORK ON DRAFT CONVENTIONA/C.3/L.839 and Add.1. Afghanistan, Colombia,

Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Lebanon, Libya, Mo-rocco, Philippines: draft resolution adopted byThird Committee on 7 December 1959, meeting979, by 43 votes to 2, with 17 abstentions.

A/4341. Report of Third Committee.RESOLUTION 1459(xiv), as recommended by Third

Committee, A/4341, adopted by Assembly on 10December 1959, meeting 852, by 57 votes to 2,with 17 abstentions.

"The General Assembly,"Not having been able to conclude at its fourteenth

session the consideration of the draft Convention onFreedom on Information,

"Decides to give priority to this item at its fifteenthsession and to request the Third Committee at thatsession to devote as many meetings as possible to theconsideration of the remaining articles of the draftConvention on Freedom of Information."

PROTECTION OF NEWS ANDOTHER PRESS INFORMATION


E/3204. Report by Director-General of UNESCO,submitted in accordance with Council resolution522 D (XVII).

E/3239. Report of Social Committee, para. 9.

RIGHT OF ASYLUM

Article 14 of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights, adopted by the United NationsGeneral Assembly on 10 December 1948, pro-claims the right to seek and enjoy asylum frompersecution except in the case of prosecutionsgenuinely arising from non-political crimes orfrom acts contrary to the purposes and princi-ples of the United Nations.

The question of the right of asylum has alsobeen discussed in United Nations organs in con-nexion with the draft Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights, which does not, however, in-clude any provisions on asylum. It has beenbriefly discussed, too, by the International LawCommission in 1949 and 1950 in connexionwith the selection of topics for codification andpreparation of the draft Declaration on the

Rights and Duties of States. The Conventionsrelating to the Status of Refugees and to theStatus of Stateless Persons, both adopted underthe auspices of the United Nations, also bearon the right of asylum.

This right was subsequently discussed by theCommission on Human Rights at its thirteenth(1957) session when France submitted a five-point draft declaration on the right of asylumwhich the Commission decided to send to allMembers of the United Nations and of thespecialized agencies and to the United NationsHigh Commissioner for Refugees for their com-ments.

In 1959, these comments came before theCommission's fifteenth session. The main pointsof discussion were: whether the right of asylum

HUMAN RIGHTS 219

meant a right of the individual to receiveasylum or a sovereign right of the States togrant asylum; the function of a declarationon the right of asylum; and action taken inrecent times by States, individually and throughthe United Nations, to assist countries whichhad given asylum to masses of refugees. Refer-ence was made to article 33 of the 1951 Con-vention Relating to the Status of Refugeeswhich lays down that no contracting Stateshould expel or return a refugee to territorieswhere his life or freedom would be threatenedon grounds of race, religion, nationality, mem-bership of a particular social group, or politicalopinion.

To meet some of the points raised, Francesubmitted a revised draft declaration whichwould, inter alia, state that: (1) every Statehad the right to grant asylum to personsentitled to invoke article 14 of the UniversalDeclaration; (2) the international community,as represented by the United Nations, had theresponsibility to concern itself with the safetyand well-being of those who left a countrybecause of persecution or well-founded fear ofpersecution; (3) no one entitled under article14 of the Universal Declaration of HumanRights to seek and enjoy asylum should be forcedback into a territory where his life, physical

integrity or liberty would be threatened ongrounds of race, religion, nationality, member-ship of a particular social group, or politicalopinion (this would not, however, apply topersons reasonably regarded as a danger to thereceiving State, or who, having been convictedby a final judgement of a particularly seriouscrime or offence, constituted a danger to thecommunity of that country); (4) other States,and especially the international community asrepresented by the United Nations, were toalleviate, where necessary, the burden placedupon the country of first asylum.

Iraq proposed adding an article on the rightof everyone to return to his country.

The Commission decided to send the revisedpreliminary draft declaration, together with theIraqi amendment, for comments to the Mem-bers of the United Nations and of the specializedagencies, to the United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees, and to interested non-governmental organizations having consultativestatus with the Economic and Social Council.

(For other United Nations action in 1959relating to the right of asylum, see below, LEGALQUESTIONS, CHAPTER V, Section on CODIFICATION

OF PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF INTERNATIONAL

LAW ON THE RIGHT OF ASYLUM.)

DOCUMENTARY REFERENCE

E/3229. Report of Commission on Human Rights,15th session, Chapter III.

OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS

COMMUNICATIONSON HUMAN RIGHTSPROCEDURE APPLICABLE TO COMMUNICATIONS

Ever since its establishment, the United Na-tions has been receiving large numbers of com-munications relating to human rights. The Eco-nomic and Social Council therefore laid downa procedure (by resolution 75(V), subsequentlyamended and supplemented by resolutions 116A (VI), 192 A (VIII) and 275 B (X)) ,whereby communications dealing with theprinciples involved in promoting universalrespect for and observance of human rightsare summarized in a non-confidential list sub-mitted every year to the Council's Commissionon Human Rights. Other communications con-

cerning human rights (in practice largely com-plaints alleging denial or violation of humanrights (are summarized in a confidential listfurnished to the members of the Commissionevery year at private meetings without disclos-ing the identity of the writers unless they haveindicated that there is no objection to disclosure.Copies of the communications summarized forthe confidential list are sent to any UnitedNations Member States specifically referred toin the communications, and any reply which aGovernment might send is submitted to theCommission together with the confidential list.

When it first established a procedure fordealing with communications about humanrights, the Economic and Social Council ap-


proved the statement that "the Commissionon Human Rights recognizes that it has nopower to take any action in regard to anycomplaints concerning human rights."

At its fourteenth (1958) session, the Com-mission, wishing to recommend that the Councilre-examine the authorizing resolutions with aview to establishing a procedure for handlingcommunications which would be "better calcu-lated to promote respect for and observanceof fundamental human rights," appointed acommittee of seven of its members to studythe question.

The Committee on Communications sub-mitted its report to the Commission's fifteenth(1959) session. It had no changes to recom-mend in respect of the non-confidential com-munications. In respect of the confidentialcommunications, it recommended a slight re-wording of Council resolution 75(V) asamended, so as to avoid any possible impres-sion on the part of the writer of a communica-tion that the Commission on Human Rightsor the Secretary-General might take action onthe substance of his communication.

The Committee was unanimously of theopinion that communications asking for UnitedNations assistance or advice in various personalproblems should not be handled under thisprocedure. They could be left to the Secre-tariat to deal with within the limits of theresources available to it. The Committee wasaware of the fact that the actions of the Secre-tariat would of necessity be of a limited nature.

The Committee further recommended thatthe Secretary-General submit, with the confi-dential list of communications, a confidentialdocument of a statistical nature based on thatlist, which, without disclosing either the namesof the writers or the countries to which thecommunications might relate, would indicatethe number of communications received relevantto each article of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights and the number of allegedincidents relevant to each article. Communica-tions which could not be classified under anyarticle of the Universal Declaration would beindicated separately. Also separately indicatedwould be the names of non-governmental or-ganizations having a consultative relationshipwith the Economic and Social Council and thenumber of communications received from them.

During the Commission's discussions, it wasstated, on the one hand, that the Committeehad not been able to recommend a procedure"better calculated to promote respect for andobservance of human rights" and that theCommission itself had possibly not been boldenough in its approach to the question; thematter might, however, be re-opened in thefuture. On the other hand, it was pointed outthat no real improvement was possible as longas the Council continued to give approval to"the statement that 'the Commission recognizesthat it has no power to take any action in regardto any complaints concerning human rights' ";the Committee had done all it could withinthese limitations. Some Commission memberspointed out that, under the United NationsCharter, only the Trusteeship Council wasempowered to deal with petitions from privateindividuals.

The Commission accepted the Committee'srecommendation on the preparation of a docu-ment of a statistical nature.

On 30 July 1959, at the Commission's request,the Economic and Social Council unanimouslyadopted the changes to resolution 75(V), asamended, which had been recommended by theCommittee on Communications. It did so inthe form of resolution 728 F (XXVIII).

(For details, see text of resolution in DOCU-MENTARY REFERENCES below.)

LISTS OF COMMUNICATIONS AND

REPLIES FROM GOVERNMENTS

In accordance with established procedure,the Secretary-General submitted to the fifteenth(1959) session of the Commission on HumanRights a non-confidential list of communica-tions dealing with principles involved in promot-ing universal respect for and observance ofhuman rights. He also submitted a confidentiallist containing summaries of 6,277 other com-munications about human rights, as well asobservations by Governments on a number ofthese communications. Communications whichrelated to discrimination or the treatment ofminorities, or to the status of women, were alsobrought to the attention of the Sub-Commissionon Prevention of Discrimination and Protectionof Minorities and the Commission on the Statusof Women, respectively.

HUMAN RIGHTS 221

TRADE UNION RIGHTSThe Secretary-General, as requested by the

Economic and Social Council, forwards to theGoverning Body of the International LabourOffice (ILO)—for reference, if necessary, tothe Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commissionon Freedom of Association—all allegations re-garding infringements of trade union rightsreceived from Governments or trade union andemployers' organizations relating to ILO mem-ber States. Allegations concerning States whichare not members of ILO are brought to theattention of the Council. None, however, wasreceived during 1959.

VICTIMS OF EXPERIMENTS INNAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS

In implementing a request made by the Eco-nomic and Social Council in 1951 (by resolu-tion 386(XIII)), the Secretary-General in 1959continued forwarding information to the Gov-ernment of the Federal Republic of Germanyabout persons who claimed to have been victimsof so-called scientific experiments in Nazi con-centration camps.

As of 31 December 1959, 584 cases had beenbrought to the attention of the Governmentof the Federal Republic.


COMMUNICATIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS



E/3229. Report of Commission on Human Rights,15th session, Chapter IX.

E/3229, Chapter XIV. Draft resolution IV, submittedby Commission, adopted by Social Committee on3 July 1959, meeting 394, by 17 votes to 0.

E/3285. Report of Social Committee, draft resolu-tion F.

RESOLUTION 728 F (xxviii), as recommended by So-cial Committee, E/3285, adopted unanimously byCouncil on 30 July 1959, meeting 1088.

"The Economic and Social Council,"Having considered chapter V of the report of the

Commission on Human Rights on its first session,concerning communications, and chapter IX of thereport of the Commission on its fifteenth session,

"1. Approves the statement that the Commissionon Human Rights recognizes that it has no power totake any action in regard to any complaints concern-ing human rights;

"2. Requests the Secretary-General:"(a) To compile and distribute to members of the

Commission on Human Rights before each session anon-confidential list containing a brief indication ofthe substance of each communication, however ad-dressed, which deals with the principles involved inthe promotion of universal respect for, and observanceof, human rights and to divulge the identity of theauthors of such communications unless they indicatethat they wish their names to remain confidential;

"(b) To compile before each session of the Com-mission a confidential list containing a brief indicationof the substance of other communications concerninghuman rights, however addressed, and to furnish thislist to members of the Commission, in private meeting,without divulging the identity of the authors of com-

munications except in cases where the authors statethat they have already divulged or intend to divulgetheir names or that they have no objection to theirnames being divulged;

"(c) To enable the members of the Commission,upon request, to consult the originals of communica-tions dealing with the principles involved in thepromotion of universal respect for, and observance of,human rights;

"(d) To inform the writers of all communicationsconcerning human rights, however addressed, thattheir communications will be handled in accordancewith this resolution, indicating that the Commissionhas no power to take any action in regard to anycomplaint concerning human rights;

"(e) To furnish each Member State concernedwith a copy of any communication concerning humanrights which refers explicitly to that State or to ter-ritories under its jurisdiction, without divulging theidentity of the author, except as provided for in sub-paragraph ( b ) above;

"(f) To ask Governments sending replies to com-munications brought to their attention in accordancewith sub-paragraph ( e ) whether they wish theirreplies to be presented to the Commission in summaryform or in full;

"3. Resolves to give members of the Sub-Commis-sion on Prevention of Discrimination and Protectionof Minorities, with respect to communications dealingwith discrimination and minorities, the same facilitiesas are enjoyed by members of the Commission onHuman Rights under the present resolution;

"4. Suggests to the Commission on Human Rightsthat it should at each session appoint an ad hoc com-mittee to meet shortly before its next session for thepurpose of reviewing the list of communications pre-pared by the Secretary-General under paragraph 2(a)above and of recommending which of these communi-cations, in original, should, in accordance with para-graph 2(c) above, be made available to members ofthe Commission on request."


TRADE UNION RIGHTS


E/C.2/519. Statement submitted by InternationalFederation of Christian Trade Unions.

VICTIMS OF EXPERIMENTS INNAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPSA/4132. Annual Report of Secretary-General on Work

of Organization, 16 June 1958-15 June 1959,Chapter II A 10 (i).

CHAPTER IX

REFUGEE QUESTIONS

THE WORLD REFUGEE YEAR

On 5 December 1958, the United NationsGeneral Assembly approved a resolution (1285(XIII))1 calling for the co-operation of Mem-bers of the United Nations and of the specializedagencies in promoting a World Refugee Yearas a practical means of securing increased as-sistance for refugees throughout the world. Itsaims were: (1) to focus interest on the refugeeproblem and to encourage additional finan-cial contributions from Governments, voluntaryagencies and the general public for its solution;and (2) to encourage opportunities for per-manent refugee solutions through voluntaryrepatriation, resettlement or integration on apurely humanitarian basis and in accordancewith the freely expressed wishes of the refugees.

The Assembly also urged States to co-operate,in accordance with the national wishes andneeds of each country and from a humanitarianpoint of view, in promoting a World RefugeeYear as a practical means of securing increasedassistance for refugees throughout the world;in addition, it asked the Secretary-General toassist in its promotion.

It was thus clear from the resolution and thedebates preceding its adoption that the WorldRefugee Year was to be primarily a series ofnational efforts, a purely humanitarian endea-vour, and concerned with all refugees whetherinternationally recognized or not. The role ofthe United Nations was primarily to promoteinformation on refugee problems and to assistin the co-ordination of national efforts.

ACTION BY THE UNITED NATIONSIn conformity with the Assembly's resolution

of 1958, the Secretary-General designated a

member of his Executive Office as his SpecialRepresentative for World Refugee Year. Asmall staff was chosen, mainly from the Officeof the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Reliefand Works Agency for Palestine Refugees(UNRWA) and the United Nations Office ofPublic Information. The headquarters for thisunit was established in the European RegionalOffice, Geneva, with a liaison office at UnitedNations Headquarters in New York.

Although this small staff was operating on avery small budget, an extensive range of ma-terial was assembled and/or prepared and madeavailable to those interested, for example, toGovernments, national committees formed forthe purpose of promoting the Year, and non-governmental organizations active in refugeework. This material included feature pamphlets,a continuing newsletter, still photographs andenlargements for exhibition purposes, films, andradio and television programmes. It dealt withthe major refugee problems of direct concernto the United Nations such as the non-settledrefugees in Europe, the Palestine refugees inthe Near East, the European and Chinese refu-gees in Hong Kong and those in Tunisia andMorocco. At the request of the Governmentsconcerned, information was also circulated onnational refugees in the Federal Republic ofGermany, Pakistan and Viet-Nam. There hasalso been extensive contact with Governmentsin their respective capitals and through theirdelegations to acquaint them more fully withthe aims of the Year.

1

For further information, see Y.U.N., 1958, pp.235-244.

Documents

E/3272. International tax problems. Taxation in Chile, 27 de mayo …cdn.un.org/unyearbook/yun/chapter_pdf/1959YUN/1959_P1... · 2014. 12. 12. · Informe del Seminario de Clasificación