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COMMITTEE ON
ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES SIXTY-NINTH
SESSION
Issues Concluding
Observations on Reports of Estonia, Yemen, South Africa,
Oman, Mongolia, Denmark, Norway and Ukraine
18 August 2006
The Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination today concluded its
sixty-ninth session, issuing concluding observations and
recommendations on the reports of Estonia, Yemen, South Africa,
Oman, Mongolia, Denmark, Norway and Ukraine on how they
implement the provisions of the International Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee
discussed the report of the working group on reservations and
adopted its annual report to the General Assembly before closing
its session.
During the current session, the Committee examined the situation
of Malawi, Seychelles, Saint Lucia and Namibia under its review
procedure for States parties whose reports were seriously
overdue. It also looked at complaints relating to Suriname,
Nicaragua, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Peru, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo under the Committee's early
warning and urgent action procedure. In a decision on Suriname,
the Committee drew the attention of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights and the Human Rights Council to the alarming
situation in relation to the rights of indigenous and tribal
peoples in the country.
On 11 August, the Committee adopted a statement on the situation
in Lebanon – in solidarity with the High Commissioner and the
Secretary-General – reflecting its deep concern that the
continuation of the conflict there might intensify racial
discrimination and hatred in the region and the wider world.
Also during this session the Committee had a dialogue with the
United Nations Expert on Minority Rights Gay McDougall, with a
view to finding synergies with the work of the Committee; held
discussions on treaty body reform; discussed the situation in
the Non-Self-Governing Territories with regard to the
Convention; discussed follow-up to individual communications;
and considered follow-up to the Durban Programme of Action.
At the beginning of its meeting today, Catherine Phuong of the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights presented the
report of the Working Group on Reservations (HRI/MC/2006/5),
which met for the first time on 8 and 9 June 2006 in Geneva with
a view to defining and adopting a common approach on
reservations for all treaty bodies. Among other observations,
the Working Group held that general treaty law was applicable to
the human rights instruments; that treaty bodies were competent
to evaluate the validity of reservations; and that
identification of criteria for determining the validity of a
reservation in the light of the object and purpose of a treaty
might be useful not only for States, but also for treaty bodies.
The Working Group on reservations would meet again in December
2006 to work on a more detailed report.
The next session of the Committee will be held in Geneva from 19
February to 9 March 2007. During that session, the Committee
will consider reports of Israel, Liechtenstein, the Czech
Republic, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India,
Canada, Antigua and Barbuda and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. It will also examine, under its review procedure, the
situation in Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Congo, Papua New Guinea, and
Togo.
Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Country
Reports Estonia
Among positive aspects in the sixth and seventh periodic reports
of Estonia, the Committee noted that the Supreme Court
had declared unconstitutional several decisions refusing the
grant of residence permits on the sole basis of immigration
quotas. The Committee commended the State party for its
continuing efforts to encourage social integration of
non-citizens, including the planned adoption of a State
Integration Programme for the years 2008-2013. It welcomed
efforts to combat trafficking in persons, including the adoption
in January 2006 of the National Action Plan against Trafficking
in Human Beings. The Committee further welcomed State party
efforts to combat hate speech on the Internet.
The Committee noted that the current official definition of
national minority excluded non-citizens, including stateless
persons of long-term residence in Estonia, and was concerned
that might lead to alienation of such groups. The Committee
noted with regret that the procedure for the resolution of
disputes related to racial discrimination in the private sphere
remained a limited instrument, and noted the absence of a Paris
Principles national human rights institution. The Committee also
remained concerned about the absence of comprehensive
anti-discrimination legislation.
The Committee recommended the State party encourage the media to
play an active role in combating prejudices and negative
stereotypes which led to racial discrimination and that it adopt
all necessary measures to combat racism in the media. The
Committee also recommended that a study be conducted to fully
examine the reasons for the disproportionate representation of
members of Russian-speaking minorities in the population of
convicted prisoners, and requested the State party to include
results of that study in its next periodic report. Given the
considerable number of persons who remained stateless in
Estonia, the Committee recommended that it make further efforts
to enhance and facilitate access to the naturalization process,
in particular, by considering providing high-quality free
language courses to all applicants, and to strengthen
awareness-raising efforts on the naturalization procedure and
its benefits.
Yemen
Having considered the fifteenth and sixteenth periodic reports
of Yemen, the Committee welcomed the establishment of the
Ministry of Human Rights in 2003. It noted with satisfaction the
adoption of a policy of continuing education and
awareness-raising programmes for members of the judiciary, the
Department of Public Prosecutions and law enforcement officials.
It welcomed the efforts made by Yemen to establish a national
human rights institution in accordance with the Paris
Principles. The Committee commended the efforts of the State
party to reduce poverty, in particular the adoption of the
National Poverty Reduction Strategy for 2003-2005, the purpose
of which was to improve the living conditions of marginalized
groups and vulnerable people.
The Committee took note of the discrepancy between the
assessment of the State party, according to which Yemeni society
is ethnically homogenous, and credible information the Committee
had received regarding descent-based and/or culturally
distinguishable groups including the Al-Akhdam. It remained
concerned at the absence of a definition of racial
discrimination in domestic legislation and recommended that the
State party incorporate in its domestic law a definition of
racial discrimination that included all elements set forth in
article 1 of the Convention. The Committee noted with concern
that the status of the Convention in domestic law was unclear
and that it apparently had never been directly invoked in
domestic courts.
While welcoming Yemen's open-door policy towards refugees coming
from the Horn of Africa, the Committee was concerned about the
absence of national legislation specifically defining the rights
of refugees. Furthermore, it was also concerned with regard to
the poor living conditions and the reported lack of access
refugees had to education, employment, health care and
protection from physical abuse and maltreatment. The Committee
requested Yemen to adopt a legislative protection framework for
refugees and to remove obstacles that prevented the enjoyment of
refugees of economic social and cultural rights. The Committee
was deeply concerned at the persistent reports of de facto
discrimination against descent-based, culturally distinct
communities, among others, the Al-Akhdam. It requested the State
party to provide further information regarding the right of all
persons within its territory, including members of marginalized
or vulnerable groups to obtain and own property. The Committee
requested Yemen to include in its next periodic report
statistical information on prosecutions launched, and penalties
imposed, in cases of offences which related to racial
discrimination.
South Africa
Having considered the initial to third periodic reports of
South Africa, the Committee wished to record the
profound significance – in fact the emotional overtones – of
commencing constructive dialogue with South Africa, in terms of
the Convention whose genesis was strongly influenced by the
cruel, inhuman and degrading effects of apartheid in that
country. The Committee expressed its satisfaction over the
peaceful transition from apartheid, as well as for the adoption
of the Constitution of 1996 with its Bill of Rights, enshrining
the values of “human dignity, equality and non-racism”. The
Committee welcomed the establishment of the South African Human
Rights Commission with competence to promote respect for human
rights, monitor and investigate their observance and seek
effective redress for human rights violations, and noted its
very active role in eliminating the residual effects of racial
discrimination.
The Committee remained concerned by the de facto segregation
that persisted in spite of measures to put an end to that
situation, especially regarding ownership of property, access to
finance, and social services such as health, education and
housing. While acknowledging the provisions of the Constitution
and in other legislation, the Committee was also concerned about
the frequency of hate crimes and hate speech and the
inefficiency of the measures to prevent such acts, as well as
acts of violence against women, especially reports of rapes and
domestic violence, considering that victims were most often from
disadvantaged and poor ethnic groups. The Committee recommended
that legislation and other effective measures be adopted to
prevent, combat and punish human trafficking. It encouraged the
State party to strengthen its policy of land restitution and
post-settlement support to ensure to re-settled ethnic
communities an improvement in the enjoyment of their economic,
social and cultural rights under the Convention.
The Committee was concerned with the situation of indigenous
peoples, in particular hunter-gatherer, pastoralist and nomadic
groups, and noted the absence of information on the specific
measures adopted to ensure the enjoyment of all rights by those
communities. The Committee recommended that the State party
strengthen its health programmes, with particular attention to
minorities, and encouraged it to take further measures to combat
HIV/AIDS. The Committee also recommended that measures be taken
to reform the justice system, and raise the sensitivity of its
members on the provisions of the Convention and their
application.
Oman
Following its review of the initial periodic report of Oman,
the Committee welcomed the recent accession of Oman to the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women. The Committee noted with satisfaction that the
Omani Labour Code affirmed the equality of all workers, without
any discrimination based on nationality, gender, religion or any
other distinction. The Committee welcomed information concerning
the inclusion in school curricula of courses designed to combat
racial discrimination and to promote human rights, understanding
and tolerance among individuals and groups of different ethnic
origins or religious beliefs.
The Committee took note of the discrepancy between the State
party’s assertion that Omani society was ethnically homogeneous,
and information that the population included various ethnic
groups, including Balochi, Swahili-speaking Omanis born in
Zanzibar and other regions of East Africa, Liwatiyah and Jibalis,
as well as a large number of migrant workers from the Indian
subcontinent, the Philippines, and other Asian countries, and
recommended that disaggregated statistical data on the ethnic
composition of the population be provided. The Committee noted
that the Basic Law of the State did not include "race",
"descent" and "national or ethnic origin" among prohibited
grounds of discrimination.
The Committee recommended that Oman adopt comprehensive
legislation to prevent, prohibit and punish racial
discrimination. It took note with concern that in its report the
State party maintained that it had no need to take any measure
to ban the formation of organizations that promoted and incited
racial discrimination, on the ground that such organizations did
not exist on its territory. The Committee was also concerned
that the Basic Law of the State provided that only citizens were
equal before the law and entitled to exercise public rights
without discrimination. The Committee drew attention to its
General Recommendation No. 30 on non-citizens, and recommended
that Oman revise its legislation in order to guarantee equality
between citizens and non-citizens in the enjoyment of the rights
set forth in the Convention. The Committee regretted that the
report contained no information on the number and nature of
cases relating to racial discrimination brought before the Omani
courts, on their outcome and on compensation awarded to victims.
The Committee recommended that the State party consider the
establishment of a national human rights institution, in
accordance with the Paris Principles.
Mongolia
Among positive aspects in the sixteenth to eighteenth periodic
reports of Mongolia, the Committee noted with
satisfaction the establishment of the National Commission for
Human Rights of Mongolia, in accordance with the Paris
Principles. The Committee commended the Law on Advertisement,
which contained a provision prohibiting advertisements in the
media unfavourably comparing religions, professions, sexes,
ages, social status, languages and ethnic groups, or promoting
racial discrimination and discord. The Committee noted with
satisfaction that a new amended Criminal Code had been passed in
2002, which provided for three types of offences against racial
discrimination and acts of genocide, as well as the adoption, in
2005, of the Tuva Language Study Programme aimed at supporting
the Tsaatan minority in their efforts to preserve their cultural
heritage.
The Committee remained concerned that no clear definition of
racial discrimination existed in the legislation of the State
party. While acknowledging the State party’s security concerns,
the Committee remained concerned that the Law on the Legal
Status of Foreign Citizens prescribed numerical thresholds for
entry and residence of non-citizens according to nationality.
The Committee also remained concerned about the low levels of
representation of minority groups in the police force. The
Committee noted the absence of provisions in domestic law that
prohibited organizations that promoted and incited racial
discrimination.
While noting that the State party had been cooperating with the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Committee was
concerned that Mongolia had yet to enact legislation on asylum
matters and to introduce an asylum-determination procedure. It
also regretted the lack of information provided on refugees and
asylum seekers residing in Mongolia. The Committee recommended
that the State party facilitate the participation of ethnic
minorities in the elaboration of cultural and educational
policies that would enable them to learn or to have instruction
in their mother tongue, as well as in the official language.
Noting the statement that there had been no reports of racial
discrimination in Mongolia, the Committee reminded the State
party that the mere absence of complaints and legal action by
victims of racial discrimination might be mainly an indication
of the absence of relevant specific legislation, or of a lack of
awareness of the availability of legal remedies, or of
insufficient will on the part of the authorities to prosecute.
The Committee requested the State party to ensure that
appropriate provisions were available, and to inform the public
about all legal remedies in the field of racial discrimination.
Denmark
Following its review of the sixteenth and seventeenth periodic
reports of Denmark, the Committee welcomed the adoption
in 2003 of a National Action Plan to promote equal treatment and
diversity. It also welcomes the adoption of the Act on Equal
Ethnic Treatment, prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of
racial and ethnic origin as regards access to social protection,
access to and supply of goods and services, and including also a
prohibition of harassment on the grounds of race and ethnic
origin. It further welcomed the awareness campaigns carried out
in the State party, in particular the campaign “Show Racism the
Red Card”, which involved the participation of professional
football players in the fight against racial discrimination.
The Committee, while taking note of the State party’s efforts to
combat hate crimes, was concerned about the increase in the
number of racially motivated offences and in the number of
complaints of hate speech. The Committee was also concerned
about hate speech by some politicians in Denmark. While taking
note of the statistical data provided on complaints and
prosecutions launched under Section 266 b of the Criminal Code,
the Committee noted the refusal by the Public prosecutor to
initiate court proceedings in some cases, including the case of
the publication of some cartoons associating Islam with
terrorism. The Committee noted with concern that decisions by
the Refugee Board on asylum requests were final and could not be
appealed. It was also concerned about information according to
which asylum seekers did not have the right to engage in social,
professional, educational and cultural activities outside
refugee centres except to a limited extent, and could be
transferred many times from one centre to another.
The Committee recommended that Denmark assess the extent to
which the disproportionate level of unemployment among persons
coming or originating from countries outside the European Union,
North America, and the Nordic countries was the result of
discrimination they faced, and that it take measures to combat
that phenomenon. While welcoming Denmark’s willingness to
prevent “ghetto-isation”, the Committee wished to receive more
detailed information on the issue, in particular on measures
adopted by the State party to strike an adequate balance between
the prevention of “ghetto-isation” and the right to freedom of
residence and cultural rights of persons belonging to ethnic or
national minorities.
Norway
Following its review of the seventeenth and eighteenth periodic
reports of Norway, the Committee welcomed the
establishment of a National Human Rights Institution in
accordance with the Paris Principles in April 2006. It noted
with satisfaction the adoption of the Act on Equality and
Anti-Discrimination Ombud and the Equality and
Anti-Discrimination Tribunal. It welcomed the adoption of the
Finnmark Act in 2005, which set out procedures to enhance the
Saami people’s right to participate in the decision-making
processes regarding management of land and natural resources in
the areas they occupied. The Committee acknowledged the entry
into force in 2006 of amendments to the Penal Code, which aimed
to strengthen protection against expressions of racial hatred,
and the new article 100 of the Norwegian Constitution. It
welcomed the establishment of the Romani People’s Fund in 2004,
to compensate Romani victims for the negative effects of
previous assimilation policies.
The Committee reiterated its concern regarding the lack of
statistical data in the report of the State party on the ethnic
composition of its population, and recommended that it provide
information on the use of mother tongues as indicative of ethnic
differences, together with information derived from targeted
social surveys performed on a voluntary basis. While noting that
the State party had explained its difficulty in addressing the
notion of “race” in the Convention, the Committee was concerned
that the Anti-Discrimination Act did not specifically cover
discrimination on the ground of race and recommended that Norway
ensured that discrimination on that ground was adequately
covered in existing legislation.
The Committee was concerned that the Finnmark Act did not
address the special situation of the East Saami people, and
recommended that special concrete measures to ensure their
adequate development and protection be adopted. It was also
concerned that, under the Immigration Act, a non-citizen could
be remanded in custody on suspicion of having provided a false
identity. It was also concerned that there was no maximum time
limit for the period of that custody and by reports according to
which some non-citizens had been remanded for more than one
year. The Committee urged Norway to take measures to strengthen
participation of children with immigrant backgrounds in upper
secondary education and recommended that it ensure that public
educational institutions were open to non-citizens and children
of undocumented migrants residing in the territory of the State
party.
Ukraine
Among positive aspects in the seventeenth and eighteenth
periodic reports of Ukraine, the Committee welcomed the
Bill before Parliament which recognized the right of members of
national minorities to use their traditional names and native
languages; the programme, adopted in May 2006, for the
integration of formerly deported persons, in particular Crimean
Tatars; and the establishment in 2006 of a Council for State
Policies for the advancement of the rights and freedoms of all
persons, including those belonging to national minorities. The
Committee noted with appreciation that Ukraine had withdrawn any
deadlines for the submission of asylum applications from its
Refugee Law. It also welcomed information that a considerable
number of minority children received instruction in, or on,
their language and culture, including some 5,000 Roma children
and some 3,500 Crimean Tatar children.
The Committee was concerned that the Office of the Ukrainian
Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights was reportedly
relatively unknown and under-funded, lacked expertise in some
areas, and that only 0.5 percent of the complaints received by
the Commissioner concerned alleged violations of minority
rights. It also noted with concern that the draft
Anti-Discrimination Bill covered direct but not indirect
discrimination.
The Committee recommended that the State party consider
explicitly including organizations that promoted and incited
racial discrimination among the list of prohibited associations
under the Citizens’ Association Act. It urged Ukraine to take
immediate steps, by removing administrative obstacles, to issue
all Roma with personal and other relevant identification
documents in order to enhance their access to the courts,
employment, housing, health care, social security and education.
The Committee was concerned about allegations of police abuse of
Roma, including arbitrary arrests and searches and pre-trial
abuse based on racially motivated presumptions of guilt, and of
persons belonging to other minorities, asylum seekers and
non-citizens of different ethnic origin. The Committee
recommended that the State party consider amending its Refugee
Law to clearly define standardized refugee determination
criteria and to include the concept of temporary protection on
humanitarian grounds, as well as safeguards on the withholding
of personal data from country of origin authorities.
Other Decisions Adopted During the Current Session
Decisions Under the Review Procedure
During its present session, the Committee also examined the
situation in six countries whose reports were seriously overdue.
On Malawi, the Committee agreed that the State party would
request technical assistance from the Office of the High
Commissioner, and that the Committee would await the submission
of its periodic report. Concerning the Seychelles, which had not
presented a report since August 1988, and that in the absence of
a State party delegation, it was decided to send preliminary
confidential observations. In the case of Saint Lucia, whose
initial to eighth periodic reports were overdue, the Committee
decided to send a letter of reminder to the State party
concerning its overdue reports. On Namibia, whose last periodic
report was submitted in 1996, following a presentation by a
representative of the State party, the Committee decided to
request Namibia to submit its overdue periodic reports by 30
June 2007.
Complaints Under the Early Warning and Urgent Action
Procedure
The Committee reviewed complaints relating to Suriname,
Nicaragua, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Peru, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo under the Committee's early
warning and urgent action procedure.
On Suriname, the Committee issued a formal decision in which it
expressed its deep concern about information alleging that
Suriname had authorized additional resource exploitation and
infrastructure projects that posed substantial threat of
irreparable harm to indigenous and tribal peoples, without
seeking prior agreement of the affected communities, and
strongly recommended that Suriname ensure legal acknowledgement
of the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples to their communal
land and associated natural resources. The Committee also drew
the attention of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the
Human Rights Council to the situation.
Concerning Nicaragua, in a case involving the indigenous land
rights, it was decided to send a letter requesting the State
party to include information on the situation in its periodic
report due in September 2006.
Regarding the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and charges of
discrimination against the Hmung people, it was decided that, as
the case was already being considered under the follow-up
procedure, no specific action would be taken under the urgent
action procedure.
In Peru, on a complaint by indigenous Andean communities that
their rights to surface and groundwater had been infringed, the
Committee decided to send a letter to the Government requesting
further information.
Concerning complaints regarding land rights from indigenous
groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it was decided
to move the date for consideration of that country’s report
forward to March 2007, and to send a letter to the Government
requesting further information to be considered in conjunction
with its report.
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