NEW ZEALAND MISSION to the UNITED NATIONS

Te Miingai o Aotearoa
oNE uNrrED NATIoNSqLAZA zsmFLooR NEw yoRK, Ny 10017-3515, usA TELEPHoNE(212)826 (2t2)7sE 1960 FAcStMILE 0827 HOMEPAGE: www.nzmissionnv.orq

THIRD COMMITTEE

ITEM 67 (b) and (c)

STATEMENTBY TI{E NEW ZEALAND PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE THE UNITEDNATIONS TO H.E. MS ROSEMARY BAIYKS

MONDAY 30 OCTOBER 2006

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Mr Chairman, pastyearhasbeenoneof reflection the andchange the international for humanrights community'Good progress beenmadein someareas; oiherswe are still looking for a ivay has in forwardand seeking betterwaysof doingthings. New Zealandcampaigned stronglyfor the new Human RightsCouncil and worked to supportits creation. We remainambitiousfor its fufureand committedto its evolutioninto a strong,focused and effectivebody ableto deal swiftly with emerging situations humanrightsconcern of and to maintainpressure situations ongoingconcern. must be ableto do this-ina balanced in of It way, with scrupulous attention the facts; must be aspirational well as practical; working to as its .it methods mustbe transparent inclusive.Aboveall, theremustbe the politicalwill to makeit and work' This is a big askfor a new institution, together canensure newlycreated but we our Council hasthe longtermvisionandcommitment find solutions themostdifficultcircumstances. to in Universal Periodic Reviewof the humanrightssituations all MemberStates in will be a milestone in the evolution of the human rights system.New Zealandsupported the establishment the of UniversalPeriodicReview,which will ensure that the humanrigiris situationin all MemberStates is subjectto review' It is essential that this review is objective, and based partnership open on and and constructive dialogue with the concerned State. Mr Chairman, establishing HumanRightsCouncil,we agreed in the that therewas a continuing needfor our collective engagement serious on human rightsviolaiions.We wouldnow like to tak! this opportunity raisesomeof thesesituations to uoic. ou. concerns. to and New Zealand remainsdeeply concemedabout the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic Korea. Thereis evidence continuing of of syitematic serious violationof basic human rights in the DPRK in contravention the State'sobligationsunder four human rights of treaties,including the right to security of the person,freedom of movement,and freedom of expression. Whilethe DPRK allocates massive amounts funding militaryconsolidation to of to and missileand nuclear testing,its peoplecontinue suffer from deprivation their basiceconomic, to of culturaland socialrights. We notethat the DPRK hasbegunto engage with thosetreafybodiesto which it is a party.We call uponthemto engage with the Special Ralporteur to allow full and and unconstrained access humanitarian by agencies, including WorldFoodprogramme. the New Zealandhasconsistently expressed serious its concern aboutthe humanrightsabuses the and absenceof national reconciliationor genuine reform in Myanmar. Myanriar,s junta regime continues show an unwillingness cooperate to to with the international communityund i, Ori-fting towardsisolation.The National Convention remainsneitherall-inclusivenor transparent the and government yet to adhere recommendations is to madeby successive resolutions the IIN General of Assemblyand the formerCommission HumanRighti. New Zealand on remains concerned the that wider Myanmarpopulation facesdifficult socio-economic conditions. Criticalhumanrightsissues include:the right to health,in particular, rapid rise of HIV/AIDS infectionand limited the health services, right to food andeducation, forcedlabourpractices. the and The recentviolencein Sri Lanka is also a serious concern New Zealand we havecalledon to and the parties involved to declare immediately ceasefireand commit themselves a fully and unconditionally peace to talksto be heldin Geneva a few daystime. The execution-style in litting of fifteen aid workers in Mutthur was especially distressing. Humanitarian access highly to

vulnerablepeoplein north easternSri Lanka will be seriouslyhampered attackscontinue.Sri if Lankahassaidit will invitean international Groupof Eminent Persons observe Commission to the of Inquiryestablished investigate to alleged abductions, disappearances extra-judicial and killings. New ZealandurgesSri Lanka to conducta thorough,transparent and impartial investigation of allegedhumanrightsabuses and to provideassurances everything that possible will be-done to ensure safeenvironment humanitarian a for workers thecountry. in The human rights and humanitarian situationin Sudanis of profoundconcernto New Zealand. Human rights violationshave not abated, despite the May 2006 Darfur PeaceAgreement and despite intemational scrutiny and monitoring.Men, womenand children Darfurcontinue be in to victimsof systematic human rightsviolations the mostabhorrent of kind,including sexual violence against womenand children, andthe abduction children. of New Zealandwelcomes effortsmadeto date by the African Union Mission in Sudan to mediateand supporta ceasefireand peace agreement between partiesto the conflict in Darfur. New Zealand the also fully supports UNSC Resofution 1706,andbelieves UnitedNationspresence Darfur is the bestchance peace a in for and securityin the region. New Zealand callson MemberStates senda clearand unitedmessage to to the Government Sudan of thatthe situation Darfurmustend. in Mr Chairman,New Zealandremainsdismayedabout the human rights situationin Zimbabwe. Starvation resultingfrom economicmismanagement the politically motivateddistributionof and food is only part of the picture of abuse and repressionperpetrated the Zimbabwean by Govemment.New Zealand callson the international communityto take a unitedstandin pressing the Zimbabwean Government secure futureandprotectthe humanrightsof its people. to its New Zealand noteswith regret deterioration humanrightsin lran, including the in censorship and further reportsconcerning execution minors. Mr Chairman, the of New Zealand onceagainurges Iran to engage constructively with the international communityon humanrightsissues, to mJve and to address substantively thoserequiring attention, including treatment members religious the of of and ethnic minorities,includingArabs,Azeris,Baluchis, Christians, Kurds, Jews,Sufis, Sunni Muslims andBah6'is. Mr Chairman,at last year's World Summit Leadersemphasised humanrights are the third that pillar of the United Nations systemand, with peace,securifyand development, constitutethe foundations collectivesecurityand well-being. It is therefore for deeplydisappointing that, in this forum,just a year later,we have listed so many situations concern. of And, of course, there are others.No countryhasa perfecthumanrightsrecord.But thereare somewhich are ignoringtheir obligations theircitizens to the international to and community. This is unacceptable. That theseinjustices continue exist shouldspur us to a stronger to resolve- useall available to channels influenceon thesecountries, persuade of to them to acknowledge gap between the their obligations and the actualsituation, and then to supportthem in improvingtlieir humanrights implementation.