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News
December 10, 2002
U.N.:
Integrate Human Rights Into Security Council Work
New York (Human Rights Watch) – As the United
Nations Security Council marks Human Rights Day with a debate on the protection
of civilians in armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said the Council has made
some progress incorporating humanitarian issues into its work, but it still
often acts as if the United Nations human rights machinery is not there.
Human Rights Watch said the United Nations has begun to recognize that conflicts
cannot be addressed effectively without considering human rights aspects, but it
is vital to integrate human rights specifics into its debates and actions in
conflict situations. Participants in today’s open debate on protecting civilians
in armed conflict will include High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira
de Mello.
“It would be hard to find a more timely way to recognize the anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” said Joanna Weschler, U.N.
Representative for Human Rights Watch. “But the High Commissioner for Human
Rights and the rest of the U.N. human rights machinery need to be household
names around the Council every day of the year.”
Over the past decade or so, the Security Council has made significant advances
in the consideration of the protection of civilians in armed conflict, clearly
acknowledging the connection between the protection of civilians, including
vulnerable groups such as women and children, and the maintenance of the
international peace and security. The Council has issued several resolutions and
statements, held open debates and requested three reports from the
Secretary-General. It has routinely addressed humanitarian aspects of specific
conflict situations it has been dealing with. But while the United Nations has
made great progress in developing its operational thinking on the humanitarian
side of the agenda, it still needs to better integrate human rights into its
analysis and action.
Human Rights Watch urged the Security Council to:
· incorporate human rights assessments in its debates on all conflict
situations;
· include human rights monitors in peace keeping operations and require human
rights analysis in all Secretary-General’s reports on specific situations;
· routinely use human rights reports of UN special rapporteurs and independent
experts on human rights as part of an early warning system;
· invite UN special rapporteurs and experts to brief the Council on situations
on its agenda;
· undertake missions to countries with early signs of crisis;
· make accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and gross abuses
of human rights an integral part of peacemaking, peace keeping, and peace
building;
· prepare to exercise its International Criminal Court referral powers by
developing a system under which complaints can be brought and assessed;
· develop a policy of zero tolerance for any crimes or abuses committed by
peacekeepers and prepare to revoke impunity granted to peacekeepers by
resolution 1422;
· assure full respect for human rights in the war against terrorism through the
work of the Counter Terrorism Committee, and in particular, insist that counter
terrorism measures adopted by states contain human rights safeguards so that
they do not impact on non-violent political activity.
More Human Rights Watch analysis of this issue is available at:
http://www.hrw.org/un/
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Pirates still thrive
in Vietnam after trade pact
HANOI (Reuters) -
Eight days after the latest James Bond thriller "Die Another Day" was released
in the United States, pirated DVD versions of the movie shot with camcorders
were being hawked for a little over $1 in Vietnam's capital.
Other major Hollywood films, such as "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets",
"Road to Perdition" and "Signs" are also up for grabs in a nine-square-metre
(97-square-foot) shop next door to Vietnam's Trade Ministry office.
The room is stacked to the ceiling with cheaply packaged DVDs of 200 films.
A young salesman said he has served a wide range of customers, even diplomats.
"When it comes down to one's pocket, they are here," the salesman dryly
commented.
A year after the communist-run country signed a historic bilateral trade pact
with the United States that included a 22-page section on protection of
intellectual property, there is much work to be done.
Under the pact, the southeast Asian country promised to be compliant on patent
and trademarks within 12 months of the December agreement, and on copyright and
trademarks within 18 months. The trade pact took effect on December 10, 2001.
U.S. officials have warned that continued neglect in enforcing such rules could
hit foreign investment and lead to trade sanctions.
But for this one DVD shop, little has changed.
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Jon Huntsman visited the store in May and
noted the infringements, but said he believed Vietnamese officials recognised
the seriousness of the issue.
Authorities have held public demonstrations to destroy pirated music and video
products, but they are still cheaply and widely available.
MORE TIME
Vietnam is not the only country selling fakes.
Malaysia, China, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia and even
squeaky-clean Singapore all offer imitation entertainment products.
China and Russia have been cited as the biggest offenders.
Movie executives estimate that 80 percent to 90 percent of all movies sold
worldwide on DVD or videocassette are pirated. The Business Software Alliance
estimates that piracy cost software makers about $11 billion last year.
Reviewing the two-way pact's first year, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Raymond
Burghardt referred to the lax enforcement of intellectual property laws as one
area of concern.
"As everyone in this room knows, it is almost impossible to find and to buy
legitimate software, DVDs and CDs in Vietnam," he told reporters recently.
Hanoi says it needs more time to resolve the problem.
"This is a new issue for Vietnam so it is certain that during the transitional
period, both sides need to consider and act accordingly with each situation,"
said Director Vu Manh Chu of the Copyright Department, Hanoi's supervisory body
on the issue.
"Comprehensive education for the public to raise the awareness and the
compliance to legal rules on the Intellectual Property rights is the priority of
the Vietnamese government," Chu said in a written answer to Reuters' queries.
In October, the non-profit International Intellectual Property Institute based
in Washington held workshops for judges and business leaders in Hanoi and
southern economic hub Ho Chi Minh City on anti-piracy.
Authorities that month seized more than 3,000 copies of pirated software in Ho
Chi Minh city.
U.S. legal experts on trademark issues have also suggested that Hanoi set up a
special court for intellectual property protection, a model now existing in
other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and
Singapore.
The piracy has already cost Vietnam lost opportunities. Software giant Microsoft
maintains just two representative offices in Vietnam but has no production
facilities.
Bruce Lehman, president of the International Intellectual Property Institute
said during a recent visit he did not think there would be any foreign direct
investment in software until Vietnam brought piracy under control.
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