The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees appealed Wednesday for extra action to protect refugees.
Earlier, China declared that individuals must put the state's rights before their own, and that cultural and economic differences must be taken into account in enforcing human rights.In direct opposition to the Chinese view, Secretary of State Warren Christopher has told the World Conference on Human Rights that basic rights are universal.
The two views form one of the deepest divisions among the more than 5,000 delegates attending the 11-day conference, the first world human rights gathering in 25 years.
The U.N. refugee official, Sadako Ogata, called refugees the "victims of the twin scourges of human rights abuses and war" as she opened the conference's third day of deliberations.
Behind closed doors, an Asian contingent led by China won a round in the battle over control of the conference's final document when the draft committee excluded private human rights groups from following its discussions.
"The real work is being done behind our back now," said Reed Brody, a spokesman for the nongovernmental organizations attending the conference. Brody represents the Washington-based International Human Rights Law Group.
He said the panel is debating the creation of a high commissioner for human rights, establishment of an international court to punish offenders and naming a special investigator into violence against women.