COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ADOPTS OBSERVATIONS ON SITUATIONS IN ZIMBABWE, COLOMBIA AND DENMARK
Press Release
RD/864
COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ADOPTS OBSERVATIONS ON SITUATIONS IN ZIMBABWE, COLOMBIA AND DENMARK
19960312 GENEVA, 11 March (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon expressed concern at the absence of specific legislation to prevent and combat all forms of racial discrimination in Zimbabwe and Colombia, as well as noting with concern the low number of convictions against members of neo-Nazi groups in Denmark and recommending that the Government reinforce its anti-discrimination measures.In addition to those observations on implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Committee welcomed recent steps taken in Denmark and Colombia to bring national legislation in closer conformity with the Convention. It also noted with great appreciation the efforts of the Government of Zimbabwe, in power since independence, in building democracy, justice, security, tolerance and stability in the country.
Also this afternoon, the Committee examined the situation in Madagascar, whose periodic report is five years overdue. The Government of Madagascar last came before the Committee in 1989. The panel also heard a report on the situation in Burundi, one of the countries listed under its "early warning and urgent procedures" mechanism. According to a Committee expert, recent events had given rise to fears that the situation could explode on the same scale as it had in Rwanda.
Observations on Implementation of Convention
Having examined reports from the Governments of Zimbabwe, Colombia and Denmark on their implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Committee adopted observations on the situations in all three countries.
Concerning Zimbabwe, the Committee noted with great appreciation the effort of the Government in power since independence in building democracy, justice, security, tolerance and stability in the country. But the Committee expressed concern at the absence of specific legislation to prevent and combat all forms of racial discrimination, in compliance with article 4 of the Convention. Concern was also expressed that parallel systems of private school for parents who could afford them and public school for others resulted in a racially segregated school system. Other matters of concern included the
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fact that not all minority languages were used in existing education programmes, and the persistence of a dual legal system regulating marriage and inheritance.
With respect to Colombia, the Committee welcomed recent legislative and institutional measures adopted by the Government to bring the national legislation into closer conformity with the Convention and to enhance the protection of human rights of indigenous and Afro-Colombian citizens. The Committee nevertheless expressed particular concern at the lack of effective implementation of policies aimed at guaranteeing to indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities the control of the quality of their environment and the exploitation of their territories.
Serious concern was also expressed at the lack of implementation of article 5 of the Convention. The Committee noted that various corroborating sources of information indicated the persistence of structural discriminatory attitudes in Colombian society towards the indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. The Committee recommended that efficient mechanisms be immediately created by the Government to coordinate and evaluate the various policies, including the institutional aspects, of protection of the rights of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.
Regarding Denmark, the Committee noted its high standards regarding the protection of human rights and its affirmed commitment to implement the provisions of the Convention. The panel also welcomed recent steps to bring Danish law and practice into line with the Convention's requirements. However, the Committee also recalled that the comments of the official Danish Board for Ethnic Equality, among others, suggested that some governmental institutions were insufficiently sensitive to issues of racial discrimination.
The Committee also noted with concern that only three convictions had been registered in the past six years against members of neo-Nazi groups. The recent granting of licences to such groups to operate a radio station and a telephone number to which people allegedly could call to hear a message about why migrants and refugees should be deported was cause for special concern.
It was also noted with concern that officers of the Danish police had treated persons with a non-Danish background in an unacceptable manner. The Committee's recommendations included further action to protect the right of everyone to enjoy, without discrimination, the civil and political rights listed in the Convention, notably the rights to equal treatment within the criminal justice system and to security of person.
Consideration of Situation in Madagascar
Madagascar was scheduled to submit a periodic report, its tenth, in 1991. The last time that country came before the Committee was in 1989, to
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present its ninth report. In the absence of any new information from the Government, the Committee went on to examine the situation in Madagascar on the basis of a number of sources, including: the ninth report; the Government's reports to the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; the report on human rights in the world by the United States Department of State; and information from non-governmental organizations, among them, Solidarity Madagascar-Switzerland.
RÉGIS DE GOUTTES, expert from France and country rapporteur for the report, said the Government should provide information on the composition and ethnic characteristics of the population. Information was also requested on the development of the political situation, taking into account, among other things, the referendum of 1995 and the change of government of last October.
He recalled that the ethnic tension in the country had come to the attention of the Committee in 1989. There was information that the Indo-Pakistani community continued to be victims of discrimination, with outbreaks of violence in 1987 and 1994. There was also growing impoverishment of the rural population. That population was reportedly suffering particularly from a lack of public health services, which would partly explain a high mortality rate.
Madagascar's next report, he continued, should contain in its second part information on the way the Government implemented each article of the Convention. It should address: which texts of the Malagasy penal code criminalized acts of racial discrimination; what means of recourse existed for victims of racial discrimination; the role of the rights mediator established in 1992 in combating ethnic or racial discrimination; and the measures taken by the Government to attenuate the effects of the economic crisis on the most disadvantaged sectors of the population. The report should also give details on what the Government was doing to make the Convention known in the country.
Report on Burundi
SHANTI SADIQ ALI, expert from India, gave an oral report on the situation in Burundi, one of the countries listed under the Committee's "early warning and urgent procedures" mechanism. That mechanism permits the Committee to take early warning measures aimed at preventing existing problems from escalating into conflicts, or to decide to initiate urgent procedures aimed at responding to problems requiring immediate attention to prevent or limit the scale or number of serious violations of the Convention. She said recent events in that country had given rise to fears that the situation could explode on the same scale as it had in Rwanda. She cited news reports telling of the spread of fighting to three provinces and quoting a United Nations human rights representative as warning that the country was on a downward spiral. Amnesty International had reported that 1,000 people were being killed each month.
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