Special report:
Israel-Lebanon
Conflicts
[Video] [Gallery]
Special report:
Israel, Lebanon agree on
ceasefire
GENEVA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN Human Rights
Council opened its second regular session here on Monday with a range of human
rights issues on the top of the agenda, notably the situation in Lebanon.
"I will have an opportunity later in this session, to
report on the implementation of the tasks arising from ... previous sessions,
including the Commission of Inquiry to Lebanon, and to update the Council on its
progress," UN human rights chief Louise Arbour told the meeting.
According to informed sources, four UN special
rapporteurs who traveled to Lebanon would present their conclusions on the
Lebanese situation.
Jean Ziegler, an outspoken Swiss special rapporteur
on the right to food who has been in Beirut this week, is also expected to share
his observations.
Besides Lebanon, the three-week-long session will
discuss issues such as racism, migration, forced disappearances, freedom of
religion and expression, and toxic and other dangerous substances.
Luis Alfonso de Alba, Mexican Ambassador and Council
president, said UN special investigators would present reports they had prepared
for the predecessor of the Council -- the widely-discredited UN Commission on
Human Rights.
A first set of the reports will deal with so-called
thematic issues, including the question of torture, children, rights of women,
the need to protect human rights in the fight against terrorism, and indigenous
rights, he said.
A second set of the reports refer to human rights
records in some countries such as Somalia, the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea, Cuba, Haiti, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Sudan.
Reports on the U.S.-run detention center for terror
suspects in Guantanamo Bay will also be presented.
The 47-member Human Rights Council held its first
regular session in June. It also held special sessions in July and August
condemning Israel for alleged rights violations in the Palestinian territories
and for its massive military offensives in Lebanon. Enditem
