any activities of the Third Committee. 16. Referring to the draft convention against torture, he said that torture was in gross contrast to all norms of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The German Democratic Republic had therefore participated actively in the elaboration of the draft convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and had shown a large measure of compromise as was reflected, for example, in paragraph 22 of the report of the open-ended working group on the draft convention (E/CN.4/1984/72), in relation to the adoption of article 3, paragraph 2, and articles 5, 6 and 7 of the draftJ in approving articles 17 and 18 of the draft, his delegation had agreed to the establishment of a special committee under the future convention. However, there were still serious objections to the functions of the Committee as envisaged in draft articles 19 and 20. For reasons of principle, the German Democratic Republic was not prepared to accept such a competence of a committee of experts as might affect the sovereignty of States. The mechanism which the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provided for the Human Rights Committee could also be applied in the case of the convention against torture. 17. Mr. RAJAPAKSE (Sri Lanka), speaking on agenda item 98, said that the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the General Assembly in 1948 and the entry into force of the Covenants on Human Rights constituted a historic achievement of the United Nations. With the development of methods and modalities directed towards the promotion and protection of human rights, a further step had been taken towards translating those instruments into reality." In that context, the Human Rights Committee played an important role in implementing the 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing international law and human rights, specifically the development of a convention against torture. The language used is formal and diplomatic, indicating a discussion among governments or international organizations. The text does not mention economic or social development, natural resources, industry, transport, communication, international trade, health, education, employment, humanitarian aid, or culture.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, International law