74 Statement of—Continued Page McHenry, Hon. Donald, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations...- 395 Miller, Hon. George, a Representative in Congress from California.- 131 Moore, John Norton, University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottes ville, Va., and vice chairman, section of international law, American 66 Newman, Hon. Frank C., Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California, Sacramento, Calif.. 231 Oliver, Covey T., professor of public affairs, Rice University, Houston, Tex. 118 Owen, Roberts B., Legal Advisor, Department of State, accompanied by Arthur Rovine, Assistant Legal Advisor.- 24 Redlich, Norman, dean, New York University Law School, and trustee, Freedom House, New York, N.Y., accompanied by Leonard 248 Schachter, Oscar, professor, Columbia University School of Law, New York, N.Y.. 85 Schlafly, Phyllis, Alton, Ill.. 104 Shestack, Jerome J., president, International League for Human Rights, New York, N.Y. 338 Simmons, Althea T. L., director, Washington Bureau, National Asso ciation for the Advancement of Colored People, Washington, D.C. 260 Sohn, Louis B., Bemis professor of international law, Harvard University Law School, Cambridge, Mass.- 90 Weissbrodt, David, professor, University of Minnesota School of Law, Minneapolis, Minn. 175 Wipfler, Rev. William L., director, Human Rights Office, National Council of Churches, Washington, D.C.-- 352 Yost, Hon. Charles, former U.Š. Ambassador to the United Nations, Washington, D.C.. 3 Insertions for the record: Prepared statements of Hon. Jesse Helms... 7, 227 Mr. Rovine... submitted by the Lawyers Committee for International Human 48 Response by the Department of State to the Critique of Reservations to the International Human Rights Covenants by the Lawyers Com- 54 Ms. Patricia Derian's responses to additional questions submitted by Senator Helms.-- 57 Prepared statement of Hon. Claiborne Pell, cochairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.. 60 Biographical sketch of John Norton Moore.. 65 Prepared statement of John Norton Moore. 69 Biographical sketch of Tom Kahn. 76 Response to Senator Pell's query re Which State Department Reservation the NAACP Objected To; submitted by Althea Simmons.. 81 Mr. Moore's response in connection with the Power Authority of New York v. the Federal Pouer Commission. 83 Biographical sketch of Prof. Oscar Schachter. 84 Prepared statement of Prof. Oscar Schachter. 87 Biographical sketch of Prof. Louis Bruno Sohn.. 89 Prepared statement of Prof. Louis B. Sohn.. 92 Prepared statement of Prof. Thomas J. Farer. 97 Prepared statement of Phyllis Schlafly 106 Prepared statement of Bruno V. Bitker. 116 Prepared statement of Prof. Covey T. Oliver.. 120 Page 129 132 138 141 163 164 168 175 178 224 230 231 239 247 251 255 257 258 263 266 268 Insertions for the record— Continued Letter from Bruno V. Bitker to Senator Pell, dated November 28, 1979, concerning Genocide Convention... and International Human Rights; from the University of Pennsyl vania Law Review, April 1968. the Human Rights Covenants; from the Minnesota Law Review, November 1978... 1979, in reference to the status of treaties in Soviet law.... article 7(c) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights... to what they have done in the past year. Javits.. ture by Any Member of U.N. or Party to ICJ.. Pre statement of Dr. David Hinkley -Appendix: Letter to Senator Church from President Jimmy Carter, dated No vember 30, 1979.--- Committee on National Legislation, Washington, D.C. December 13, 1979.- Commission for the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cul tural Organization..., Letter to Senator Church from the International Union, United Auto mobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America UAW, dated November 29, 1979.. International Human Rights. dassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, New York, N.Y.- of University Women; Dr. Wes Schwemmer Cady, Association In- 275 319 323 330 336 340 355 371 399 402 409 420 453 453 457 458 460 461 461 469 Page 465 466 470 472 473 474 476 479 480 Appendix-Continued Letter to Senator Church from American Newspaper Publishers Association, dated December 28, 1979.- Washington University --- Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, Washington, D.C---- Methodist Church, Washington, D.C.---- ton, D.C.-- and president, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada.- Affairs, Church Women United, New York, N.Y.- Declaration of Human Rights.. Under Optional Protocol to Civil and Political Rights Covenant- Nations, New York, N.Y. General Assembly, 34th session, item 84(b) of the provisional Nations General Assembly, 34th session, item 86(b) of the pro visional agenda-Rights or Wrongs—Editorial commentary from Barron's, October 17, 1977. York Times, November 24, 1979---- Service, as requested by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.International Covenants on Human Rights: Excerpt from the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe's November 1979 report on U.S. compliance with the Helsinki Final Act. Covenants on Human Rights, by James W. Skelton, Jr., reprinted 483 488 492 495 497 498 527 531 INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1979 UNITED STATES SENATE, Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:33 a.m., in room 4221, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Claiborne Pell, presiding. Present: Senators Pell, Javits, and Helms. Senator Pell. The Committee on Foreign Relations will come to order. As the witnesses know, the hearing is scheduled for 9:30, I think perhaps inappropriately. But, as long as it is scheduled for that time and everyone was duly notified, we will begin. Is the Honorable Arthur Goldberg here? Senator PELL. Are Ms. Patricia Derian or the Honorable Robert Owen of the State Department here? (No response.) Senator PELL. Wonderful. My dear, old friend is here and I am delighted. We will begin with Ambassador Yost in this case. Would you please come forward, Mr. Yost, while I deliver my opening statement. OPENING REMARKS The first step toward safeguarding the human rights of all peoples was taken nearly 31 years ago on December 10, 1948. For, on that day, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Eleanor Roosevelt delivered a passionate speech before the General Assembly in support of the Declaration. She said: We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind, that is, the approval by the General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recommended by the entire committee. This Declaration may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere. We hope its proclamation by the General Assembly will be an event comparable to the proclamation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, by the French people in 1789, the adoption of the Bill of Rights by the people of the United States, and the adoption of comparable declarations at different times in different countries. The International Human Rights Covenants before us today represent the culmination of the commitments we assumed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But, indeed; the American commitment goes back to the very creation of our Government. We have always believed in human rights and have followed this principle through the years. From the beginning, our Republic was to be a safe harbor for liberty. Government was to be by consent of the governed, with its powers divided among separate branches, and with certain individual rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, decreed to be inviolate. Most Americans felt, along with Thomas Jefferson, that their "great experiment in republican government" would serve as a "standing monument and example for the aim and imitation of the people of other countries." Of course, if we are to set such an example, we must practice what we preach. We must keep striving to end discrimination and attain basic human rights for minority groups and oppressed peoples. Speaking personally, in 1956, I was in charge of the International Rescue Committee's Hungarian Relief operation, and I learned first hand about the human rights violations in that nation. I also grow up in an age when barbaric acts of inhumanity were perpetrated without the slightest regard for human life. Indeed, the Holocaust still stands out as the most massive and savage destruction of people in the history of mankind. In this connection, my own father, Herbert C. Pell, Jr., was the head of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations War Crimes Commission in 1943, and was responsible for having genocide declared a war crime. Although, I regret to say, we will not be considering the Genocide Convention during these hearings, let us bear in mind that this treaty stands as the first universal declaration that genocide would never again be tolerated by the community of mankind. The International Human Rights Treaties before us today represent the first opportunity to give the full force of international law to the principles of human rights. In the world at large, the sad fact is that free government is the exception and repression the rule. But the United States must still persevere in securing the rights of the downtrodden and repressed. Questions surely abound concerning the appropriate method for achieving these lofty goals. These hearings serve as the first step toward a comprehensive review of the options available to us. At the very least, the human rights treaties before us today codify language that everyone should be able to support. As cochairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, I am concerned that a year from now, when the Second Review Conference is held in Madrid in compliance with the 1975 Helsinki accord, we will be in a poor position to demand full compliance with the Helsinki accords' provisions on the part of the Soviet Union and its allies, if we ourselves have not ratified the foremost human rights conventions in the world. Senator Javits, do you have an opening statement? Senator JAVITS. Mr. Chairman, I see Ambassador Yost is at the witness table, and not Mr. Goldberg. Senator Pell. We are trying to begin on time today, and Ambassador Yost was present. |