III. Rights and Reality – Personal Experience:
Yasser Al-Amoudi is one of the descendant of 1948's refugees. Without much detail, he submitted a claim pursuing his right of getting protection and assistance from the Office of the Refugee Agency in Cairo. The request was denied, and the reason given by the Office was: "Manifestly unfounded". Then, on the date 18/03/2003, he made an appeal, saying that he built his request on the fact that he was a Palestinian refugee, and he was out of the activity territories of UNRWA while there was no international agency to provide protection or assistance to him. The latter exact point on which the claimer relied can makes visible the inconvenience (concepts of right dissociation) of the interpretations given by the Refugee Agency to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, if he was empowered with an effective way to complain. But, of course, it was by no means possible for him. He submitted to the Committee for Human Rights (source: the Committee) on the date 11/08/2005 a note complaining the United Nations Refugee Agency (read text of complaining note). The Committee, in its reply dated 18/08/2005, dismissed the complaint (read the reply), on the basis that the Committee could not in general examine disputes for individuals and any claimed violations to human rights committed by non-state representatives.
Then, the claimer sent a reply to the decision of the Committee, indicating that the rights referred to in the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights were entitled to the "individual", and that civil rights approved by the Covenant, including the right to complaining, applied to everyone. On the other hand, the Committee for Human Rights replied (read the reply) that it could not examine the complaint submitted by him because the United Nations Refugee Agency was not a contracting state on the optional protocol appended to the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights.
Upon the developments leading to the idleness of the Committee for Human Rights and the emergence of the Human Rights Council (Human Rights Council – Preamble and Conclusion) with more authority as proclaimed, the claimer on 07/06/2006 resubmitted his complaining note to the new Council, from which no response or reply was received.
Comment:
The General Assembly gave instructions to the Human Rights Council that it should address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon. It should also promote the effective coordination and the mainstreaming of human rights within the United Nations system. Moreover, the work of the Council shall be guided by the principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity, with a view to enhancing the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development.
Resolution 251/60/RES/A involves the following:
Decides that the Council should address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon. It should also promote the effective coordination and the mainstreaming of human rights within the United Nations system.
Decides further that the work of the Council shall be guided by the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity, constructive international dialogue and cooperation, with a view to enhancing the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development.
The contradiction is apparent between that intended and the reality. Political considerations and selectivity still have clear impact on the Resolutions and positions of the Human Rights Council.