Changes suggested for Arab pact Updating human rights [Archives:2003/04/Reportage]

A number of Arab experts and representatives of non-governmental organizations in the Arab states met in Sana’a December 21 and 22 to discuss updating the Arab Pact on Human rights.
It was a follow-up to previous meetings held by Arab Centre on International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Education with Leon University, France, Amman in October and a symposium organized by Arab Sisters’ Forum for human rights and HRITC in Sana’a in November.
About 70 participants attended the most recent seminar, coming from Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Morocco, Tunis, Algeria, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan
Mahmoud Rashid, the Arab League representative and chairperson of the Human Rights Department in the Arab League also attended.
Three working committees were formed:
1. Civil and Political Rights Committee.
2. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee.
3. Protection Mechanisms Committee.
The committees’ drafted several recommendations as follows:
Changes to political and civil rights:
1. whenever exception clause is stated in the Pact that refer to “the law or within the limit of the law”, such exception clause shall be cancelled as it represent a constrain to the right, otherwise the following phrase shall be added “the law that a democratic society and the state of institutions requires, provided that such law will not undermine the natural human rights”.
2.article (3) shall remain as it was stipulated in the Pact.
3.article (4,a); to be cancelled from the Pact; as for clause (b), the following phrase “officially declared and the state party shall take the measurements that correspond to the potential risks, provided that such measures shall be removed immediately when such risks does not exist, declare of emergency state shall not allow by any means the dispensation from any other obligations stipulated in this Pact and in the international law, state of emergency shall not entail any discrimination based on the race or sex or color or religion or language or social origin”, shall be added after “state of public emergency” phrase. Clause (c), the following phrase “related to the right of life, religious freedom and the right of legal personality” shall be added after the phrase “and guarantees related to”, with reference to be made to relevant articles in this Pact.
4. article (5), must distinguish between the right of life and the right of personal integrity (safety), no person shall be deprived from his freedom by arrest or inspection or detention, unless on the basis of judicial order, and such person has the right to seek lawyer assistance.
5. article (6), the following phrase “personal punishment”, shall be added after the phrase “issuance of this text”.
6. article (7), a phrase clarifying that the trial is legal and before the concerned, ordinary and unbiased court; shall be added.
7. article (8), the word “or inspection” shall be inserted after the word “or detention”, and at the end of the article, the phrase “within 24 hours, and any detainee shall have the right to seek lawyer assistance, otherwise the failure to do so shall invalidate such procedures” shall be added after the phrase “without delay”.
8. article (9), new clause stating that “all people are equal in front of the law, and the state party shall guarantee the independence of justice and bar”, shall be added.
9. articles (10,11,12), death sentence shall be cancelled, as a general principle, however the Arab League may consider that such proposed amendment shall not be included in the Pact, rather to be included in a special protocol, meanwhile, we recommend the following:
-article (10), the phrase “the right to appeal and countermand” shall be added.
-Article (11), to add the phrase “or before extraordinary justice”, after the phrase “political crime”.
-Article (12): the following sentences shall be added
1. “death sentence for pregnant women shall be postponed for two years after the delivery”.
2. “no person whose age exceeded 75 years shall be sentenced with death”.
10. article (13), the following sentences shall be added:
1. the principle that no crime shall remain unpunished due to the course of time.
2. no impunity for torture crime perpetuators.
3. the right of reparation for the victims of such acts by the state party and the perpetuators of torture crimes, the state shall guarantee the rehabilitation of the victims of physical and psychological torture.
4. torture is a punishable crime by the law and the punishment shall be deterrent one.
11. article (15), the following phrase shall be added “accused person shall be provided with all needed guarantees to defend himself, by himself or by a lawyer that he assign and in a public trial, and the court shall assign a lawyer for the accused person free of charges in case he is unable to pay lawyer fees”.
– “UN minimum standard of treating prisoners shall be observed”.
– “Punishment imposed and executed on juvenile shall consider their reform and rehabilitation”.
12. article (16), the phrase “the right of reparation in case of judicial misjudge”, shall be added.
13. article (18), the article shall be rephrased as follows “every person has the right of legal personality”.
14. article (19), the phrase “the principle of citizen in administrating political affairs of his country, this includes the right of free, fair and secret ballot election, and the citizen right to contest and vote in the elections on an indiscriminately basis, the state party shall ensure women right of political participation in all its forms, and in a way that achieve equality.
15. articles (20, 21, 22), related to freedom of transportation, the following phrase shall be added “each citizen of the state party has the right to refer to the judiciary system and claim reparation, when constrains were imposed on exercising such right”.
16. article (23), shall be amended as follows: “each citizen has the right to refuge to another country escaping suppression, or if his right of life is jeopardized, the state parties shall ensure that no refugees or asylum seekers shall be extradited to their countries or any other countries.
17. article (24), shall be amended to read as follows “the state parties shall guarantee not to withdraw their citizens’ nationality under whatever conditions, and they shall also guarantee not to prevent them from acquiring any other nationality, the children shall have the right to acquire their parents’ nationality (their father and mother), automatically with consideration to be given to the best interest of children”.
18.article (25), the following phrase shall be added to the article “no citizen’s money or property shall be confiscated without final court verdict”.
19.article (26), the following phrase shall be added “the state parties shall guarantee citizens’ freedom of expression, communication, receiving and dissemination of information with all means, and in a way that ensure fairness and transparency”, the word “creed” shall be replaced with “freedom of believe, ideology and opinion”.
20.article (28), the phrase “unless so required by the national security requirements… to the end of the paragraph, shall be deleted and the phrase “the state parties shall ensure to their citizens and to foreigners residing there, the right of peaceful expression of their demands”.
21.article (33) of the Pact shall come under the part related to the political and civil rights, as it is concerned with the public profession/service, and shall read as follows “each citizen has the right to participate in administrating the public affairs of his country and the right to occupy public service profession, furthermore the state parties shall ensure the peaceful transition of power”.
22. the following articles shall be added to the Pact
– 1. freedom of formation of political and non-political organizations, by notifying only.
– 2. Prohibit all forms of slavery, and to criminalize sexual exploitation of women and children.
– 3. state parties shall ensure the principle of independent and judiciary system.
To be continued next week
Changes to economic, social and cultural rights:
23.article (29), stated the right of forming unions and the right of strike, without identifying the freedoms, the matter that make such right without specific contents. Therefore we recommend that the article shall be divided into tow sections, first one relates to the right of syndicate activities and freedoms related therein, and the second relates to the right of strike, accordingly the recommended amendment shall read as follows:
article (29): a- the state parties shall ensure to their citizens the right of forming unions and the right to join any syndicate that they may choose, without any restriction rather than the provisions of the specified syndicate, and in a way that protect their social and economic rights and defend their common interests.
b. The state parties shall ensure the syndicates right to coordinate and form federation, and guarantee the syndicates and federations right in forming Arab federations at the regional level, and freedom to join them.
c. The state parties shall ensure syndicates rights in exercising their activities freely without any restrictions other than that stipulated in the law, and to make necessary arrangements within a democratic society to maintain public order and security or to protect others’ rights and freedoms.
Extra article: the state parties shall ensure the right of strike according to the provision of the valid law in the concerned country.
24. Article (30), the following statement shall be added to the article: “and to take all legislative, institutional and development arrangements to realize the enjoyment of the right of work and the right of comprehensive social security.
25. articles (31 and 32) shall remain as they are.
26. article (33) of the Pact shall be transferred to the political rights part, as it relates to the public service.
27. Extra article, newly added and recommended:
a. the state parties shall ensure to their citizens the equal opportunities in enjoying the right of work and shall take required arrangements towards realizing this right through regional and international cooperation (and shall pay special care to women).
1. to adopt policies that achieve economic, social and cultural sustainable development, and productive labour that secure permanent employment opportunities.
2. conduct professional training programmes to cope with the technological progress.
3. to provide legal and practical guarantees for the provision of working conditions that ensure workers safety and health, and to specify working hours and vacations according to ILO rules, and to ensure legal guarantees for all laborers to enjoy equal opportunities of promotion according to the seniority and qualifications criteria, and such rights shall not be subjected to any other consideration.
b.the state parties of this Pact shall ensure to laborers of other state party provision of assistance to them and their families residence and settlement and protection of their legal rights, including all human rights that the hosting state recognizes to Arab citizens other than its citizens, and on the basis of (national treatment) as with regards to the rights provided to them according to the concerned country law.
Extra article: recommended:
The state party shall guarantee to each citizen the right to enjoy social and physical and psychological health care, and provision of needed protection from endemic and occupational diseases, and to take institutional and material arrangements needed to secure enjoying such right in practice, and work to provide facilities, human resources, free medicines and healthy environment free from pollution.
28. article (34), to be amended as follows:
“the state parties shall ensure citizens’ right of education, and basic education, at least, shall be compulsory, and high, vocational and university education shall be accessible to all and free, and shall quest for forming the free and integrated personality, and promoting and respecting human rights values and basic freedoms, the state parties shall provide all needed requirements to maintain this right”.
29. Article (35), the phrase “to be proud of the Arab nationalism” from the text.
30. article (36), the following phrase to be added to the article: “the state parties shall ensure each individual’s right of participation in the cultural life and provision of opportunities to promote their cultural, recreational, art and ideological talents and to benefit from the scientific and technical progress, and to protect material and moral rights of the authors, inventors and explorers, and to preserve the art, recreational, artistic and scientific material, including the national and humanitarian heritage (folklore) and the handicrafts.
31. Article (37), the phrase “the state parties shall ensure the right of using minorities’ language: shall be added to the article.
32.Article (38), the following clause (c) shall be added to the article:
c. the state parties shall take necessary arrangements to preserve these rights that includes:
1. Every person (male and female) right to form a family, and the state party shall provide required assistance and support to form the family, and enable it to perform its roles in the society, the marriage is held with the consent of the man and the woman, and with their free will without any enforcement whatsoever.
2. The state parties shall ensure health and psychological care of children, and shall protect them from any forms of social, political or economical abuses, and shall further provide special care and protection to mothers, before and after delivery, without any discrimination.
3. The state parties shall ensure the provision of special care and protection to disabled, and peoples with special needs, according to their needs and physical and mental abilities.
4. The state parties shall ensure provision of full care to older persons, for a decent life.
5. The state parties shall ensure the opportunities to achieve physical and mental development to youth with all available means.
33. Article (39), shall be cancelled as its contents already stated in article (38).
New article shall be added that include the right of new rights, such as: the right of development, the right of peace, the right of safe environment and the right of decent standard of living.
Recommendations on the mechanisms:
34. Article (40), shall be amended as follows:
1. The following phrase shall be added “Arab experts committee shall be established within the context of the Pact, and referred to as the Committee, for the advancement of human rights in the state parties”.
2. The following phrase shall be added to clause (b) of article (40): “the Committee shall consist of seven members from the state parties’ candidates, and each state shall have the right to nominate two persons from its natives, and one from another nationality to contest the elections, provided that the Committee membership shall include women”.
3. Clause (e) of article (40) shall be amended as follows: “the Committee members shall be elected for tenure of four years, and the tenure of three of them may be extended to two years, however no extension shall be made to any member more than once”.
4. clause (g) of article (40), shall be amended as follows: “shall Committee shall meet biannually at the invitation of the Committee chairperson, or the invitation of two third of the members, the Committee may call the Secretary-General to attend its meetings without having the right to vote, however the Secretary-General may call the Committee to meet, if so required”.
5. the clause (f) of article (40), shall be amended to include the following: “the candidates shall be of high experience and qualifications, and of noble conduct, and those who are specialized in the human rights and international law, also the experts shall serve on their own personal capacity, with due integrity, independence and on unbiased manner.”35. Item (3) of article (41) shall be amended to include the following: “the Committee shall submit a report that includes state parties’ viand observations to the Arab League council, accompanied with specific recommendations”.
36. Recommendations to add new articles to the Pact as follows:
Extra article:
a. the Committee is authorized to receive complains and reports on human rights violations by the state parties or complains and reports submitted by the NGOs, or groups or individuals, provided that a conditions shall be set forth as with regard to the procedures of submitting complains and reports, in order to ensure true protection of human rights.”
b. the Committee is authorized to issue comments on interpreting the Pact articles.
Extra article: this Pact may be amended, changed or revised if one of the state parties or one of the recognized NGOs by the Arab League (based on the international human rights instruments), so required in writing to the Secretary-General of the Arab League.
Extra article: the pact may include certain statement that allows the issuance of optional protocols complementary to the Pact.
Extra article: Arab Court for Human Rights shall be established.
It is recommended that new post of high commissioner of human rights shall be created, at a senior post level.
It is recommended that the following statement shall be added “the Committee shall have the right to consider state parties reports, in compliance with the practices of international human rights instruments, and to perform possible activities and programmes to advance human rights in the Arab states”.
Another statement to be added as follows: “the experts Committee shall be assigned to perform good office initiatives between two state parties to the Pact, in order to conclude amicable solution between them in issues related to human rights and basic freedoms respect so recognized in the Arab Pact”.
General recommendation:
The participants recommended to form a drafting committee to the Arab Pact consists of experts assigned by the states and the NGOs who proposed the recommendation.

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