The necessity of shortening the procedure in dealing with urgent cases of infringement of human rights was stressed today by Dr. F. Bienenfeld, head of the World Jewish Congress legal department, when he appeared before the United Nations Human Rights Commission here. The commission is meeting to draft a covenant of human rights and enforcement measures.
Under the present draft covenant, the speaker said, preliminary investigation of a complaint would start only in two years time. Meanwhile, he pointed out, life and freedom would be destroyed. A human rights committee, he declared, should have discretion to institute special proceedings if warranted by the situation.
He asked that the right of petition be given to “responsible non-governmental international organizations” acting as intermediaries between aggrieved individuals and the state concerned since individuals affected might be deterred from filing complaints for fear of being considered traitors to their country.
Replying to a remark by the Egyptian delegate that infringement of human rights was really an internal question and that there was much exaggeration in this respect, Dr. Bienenfeld stressed that suppression of human rights by the Nazis was one of the main causes of World War II.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
