Declaration on Torture

A major achievement of the Congress was the adoption, after consideration in sections (3) and (4), of a Declaration on Torture, sponsored jointly by the Netherlands and Sweden. This Declaration was developed in response to a 29 th General Assembly resolution requesting the Congress to consider "rules for the protection of all persons subjected to any form of detention or imprisonment against torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment."

The Declaration enunciates a set of legal principles that would deter or prohibit torture, which it defines as "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or confession, punishing him for an act he has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating him or other persons." The Declaration condemns torture, even in exceptional circumstances such as a state of war or other public emergency, and calls on states to take effective measures to prevent it. Such measures would include making acts of torture criminal offenses, providing remedies for victims of torture and punishment for its perpetrators, and training of law enforcement and other public officials responsible for persons deprived of their liberty.

After adoption by the Congress the Declaration was sent to the 30th General Assembly with a recommendation for approval. (See p. 203 for Assembly action.) Although the Declaration is not legally binding, it nevertheless represents coordinated international action to combat the use of torture and will help to keep international attention centered on this problem.

During the Congress the U.S. delegation participated actively in a working group to amend the draft Declaration as originally circulated by the sponsors. In announcing its support of the Declaration, the United States noted that it had been a cosponsor of the 29th General Assembly resolution that gave impetus to the Congress' action. The United States affirmed the need to develop detailed principles, guidelines, and standards of conduct which, if universally observed, would surely eliminate institutionalized practices of "torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" and go a long way toward eliminating even isolated instances of cruel and inhuman treatment.

A U.S. suggestion (also supported by the Secretariat and some nongovernmental organizations) that the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Offenders should be amended to deal explicitly with torture was not pursued because of (1) conceptual and technical objections to

amending the Rules, especially in the time available to the Congress, and (2) a feeling that the Congress would be unable to deal with two approaches to torture in the time at its disposal.

International Code of Police Ethics

In response to another request of the 29th General Assembly, the Congress took up the question of an international code of police ethics. The Congress had before it a draft code prepared by a UN working group and a second draft code circulated by the Netherlands. A1though there was wide acceptance of the idea of a code, there was no agreement over the texts of the two codes that were circulated. The United States joined in a consensus motion to ask the General Assembly to establish a committee of experts to study the question and prepare a new text to be considered by competent UN bodies. (See p. 203 for General Assembly action.)

International Terrorism

The Congress provided a forum for a useful airing of ideas and attitudes on international terrorism. While no action was taken and the dichotomy of views remained between those who consider terrorism to be simply a criminal act and those who believe that, in some circumstances, it may be politically justifiable, there was some educational value for delegations previously unconcerned with the problem. The United States made the point that the U.S. Government seeks the reduction or elimination of the causes of terrorism at home and abroad, including resolving legitimate grievances that might motivate potential terrorists. However, until such time as the causes of terrorism are eliminated the U.S. Government adheres to the principle that terrorists should be prosecuted for criminally defined acts of terrorism within the country of commission or be extradited to a country having appropriate jurisdiction to try the offender.

International Exchange of Prisoners, Parolees and Probationers

Considerable attention at the Congress was given to a Canadian proposal to develop methods to facilitate the international exchange of prisoners and others under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. There were informal conversations between the U.S. and Canadian delegations about the possibility of bilateral, and perhaps eventually multilateral, agreements for such exchanges.

Other Matters

The U.S. delegation to the Congress took the initiative in setting up and providing leadership for several ad hoc groups dealing with the participation of women in the criminal justice system and the problems of juvenile justice. Another subject especially addressed by the United States was compensation of victims of crime.

DISASTER RELIEF

During 1975 the UN Disaster Relief Office (UNDRO) provided assistance and helped coordinate relief efforts for disasters that included earthquakes in Pakistan and Turkey; drought in Cape Verde; floods in Romania, Egypt, Sudan, Mozambique, Yemen (Aden), Yemen (Sana), Thailand, and India; hurricanes and other wind or rain storms in Fiji, Malagasy Republic, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, and Grenada; the victims of war or civil disturbance in Indochina, Angola, and Portugal (the returnees from Angola); and famine risk in Comoros.

Both ECOSOC and the General Assembly adopted resolutions asking member states, appropriate agencies, and other organizations of the UN system to continue and intensify their special assistance to certain countries suffering acutely from disasters. Resolutions of this kind were adopted by ECOSOC in January with respect to the earthquake in Pakistan; in May with respect to droughts in Somalia, Ethiopia, and the SudanoSahelian region; and in July with respect to Ethiopia. In December the General Assembly adopted such resolutions with respect to Ethiopia and the Sudano-Sahelian region.

All the resolutions were adopted without vote.

A number of steps were taken in 1975 to strengthen UNDRO along lines called for by a U.S.-initiated resolution that had been adopted by the 29th General Assembly in 1974. That resolution called upon the Secretary General to provide sufficient staff, equipment, and facilities to strengthen UNDRO's capacity to provide an efficient and effective worldwide service of mobilizing and coordinating disaster relief. It decided that the additional funds required for this purpose should come from voluntary contributions during the first 3 years and should be concentrated on strengthening UNDRO's coordinating capability. However, it further said that this should be without prejudice to any improvements that could be made in UNDRO's disaster prevention and pre-disaster planning roles within the resources otherwise available to it. The United States offered to contribute up to $750,000 to cover substantially all the first year's costs for the strengthened program.

At the request of the Disaster Relief Coordinator Faruk N. Berkol (Turkey), a three-man panel of experts15/ met in Geneva in January 1975 to draw up a plan for implementing the resolution. The panel submitted its report on February 10, making a number of recommendations on organization, operations, communications and other equipment, and staffing. All the recommendations focused on the relief coordination aspects of UNDRO's activities. Paralleling this report, the chief of UNDRO's Prevention and Planning Division submitted recommendations for strengthening UNDRO's capability in those fields. The proposed improvements from both reports, which included increasing the staff from 11 to 42, were expected to cost nearly $3 million more than would be provided by the regular budget for the 3 years, with slightly more than two-thirds going for improved coordination.

In the course of the year pledges were received from a number of countries so that, together with the U.S. pledge, substantially all the necessary funds were provided. A new voluntary trust fund was created to receive contributions, and it was agreed by donor countries that their contributions would not be earmarked but would be used in an integrated program covering all aspects of UNDRO's strengthened activities.

In July 1975 the 59th ECOSOC took note of the UNDRO Coordinator's view that the funds available to him for small, quick emergency donations and for technical assistance in connection with disaster prevention were inadequate. Argentina introduced a draft resolution sponsored by 11 states that, after consultations with donor countries and some revision, was adopted without vote on July 30. The resolution recommended that the General Assembly (1) consider increasing the resources available to UNDRO for emergency assistance to countries stricken by natural disasters and for technical cooperation to prevent and prepare for disasters, and (2) give urgent consideration to determining the proper source or sources for funding these activities, suggesting as a possibility that the voluntary trust fund for strengthening UNDRO could also serve as a framework for contributions for these purposes.

At the 30th General Assembly the Second Committee considered UNDRO at five meetings in November. Bangladesh introduced a draft resolution, sponsored in its final form by 26 states, that was approved by the Committee on November 21 and adopted by the plenary Assembly

15/Russel S. McClure, U.S. Foreign Disaster Relief Coordinator; Jean Douard, former head of the French disaster relief office; and Col. Pacífico M. López de León, head of the Philippine disaster relief office.

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on December 9, both without vote. In its most important paragraphs the resolution (1) decided to expand the trust fund so as to (a) provide instant emergency assistance for countries stricken by natural or other disasters, and (b) provide for technical assistance in disaster prevention and preparedness, as an interim measure pending future study of alternative sources of financing; and (2) requested the Secretary General to establish an honorary committee to assist and advise him on fund-raising.

In a complementary resolution, recommended by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), the Assembly established two new subaccounts within the trust fund with separate target figures for the 1976-77 biennium of (1) $400,000 to augment funds available under the regular budget for emergency assistance (i.e., matching those funds), and (2) $600,000 for program costs of technical assistance in disaster prevention and pre-disaster planning. The resolution also authorized the Secretary General, subject to the availability of funds, to increase progressively up to a maximum of $30,000 the amount of emergency assistance per country for any one disaster. The resolution was approved by the Committee on November 21 by a vote of 79 (U.S.) to 9, with no abstentions, and adopted by the Assembly on December 17 by a recorded vote of 117 (U.S.) to 9, with no abstentions.

UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES

The primary task of the UNHCR16/ is to provide legal and political protection for refugees and to develop and promote permanent solutions for refugee problems. These tasks are carried out on behalf of (1) refugees falling within the scope of the Statute of the Office as adopted by the General Assembly in 195017/ and (2) other refugees whom he assists through his good offices under the authority of various resolutions adopted by the General Assembly.

16/ Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (Iran) is the High Commissioner for Refugees.

17/ In general, those persons who are outside their country of nationality because they have well-founded fear of persecution by reason of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion and, because of such fear, are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of the Government of their nationality.