COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ADOPTS CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON REPORT OF ITALY

CERD
59th session
8 August 2001
Morning


Concludes Public Consideration of Report of Sri Lanka


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning adopted its conclusions and recommendations on the thirteenth periodic report of Italy by recommending that the State party, among other things, ensure that the local authorities took more resolute action to prevent and punish racially motivated acts of violence against Roma and other persons of foreign origin.

While noting that the legislation adopted by Italy regarding article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was appropriate and contained a comprehensive definition of racial discrimination, the Committee, concerned about allegations that racist organizations were not being properly punished, requested the State party to examine thoroughly such allegations.

Also this morning, the Committee concluded its public consideration of a report presented by the Government of Sri Lanka after hearing the response of the delegation to questions raised yesterday.

Responding to allegations made by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of acts of torture committed by law enforcement officers, the Sri Lanka delegation said that while there had been incidents of such offences, the perpetrators had not enjoyed any immunity. It had been found that 28,000 persons had gone missing from 1 January 1988 to 31 December 1990. At present, 1,438 cases had been examined and criminal action had been instituted against 591 police officers and armed personnel. Among the missing persons, 16,800 were Sinhalese who had disappeared during an ultra Marxist insurrection in the non-Tamil areas, the delegation added.

Tang Chengyuan, the Committee Expert who acted as country rapporteur to the report of Sri Lanka, said in preliminary remarks that the Government had adopted huge measures towards the resolution of the armed conflict and was also investigating allegations of human rights violations, including cases of disappearances; the role of Norway should be appreciated for its efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict with the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE).

The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Sri Lanka before the end of its three-week session which ends on 17 August.

Participating in the debate were Committee Experts Michael E. Sherifis, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Regis de Gouttes, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Ion Diaconu, Marc Boussuyt, Partick Thornberry, Yuri A. Reshetov, Francois Lonseny Fall and Gabriele Britz.

Sri Lanka is among the 157 States parties to the Convention and as such it is obligated to present periodic reports to the Committee on how it was implementing the provisions of the human-rights instrument.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will take up the ninth periodic report of Viet Nam.

Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Report of Italy

In its concluding observations and recommendations, the Committee found as a positive aspect Italy's establishment of cultural mediators who were expected to contribute to a constructive and successful dialogue with foreigners present in the country and between individuals from different communities. Among other things, the Committee noted with satisfaction that new courses on human rights implementation and principles had been set up for the police, the carabinieri and for the personnel of detention facilities. It welcomed the imminent adoption of the draft law on "measures against trafficking in persons" that had already been adopted by one chamber of the State party's legislature.

The Committee, recognizing that 2.2 per cent of the population was foreign, recommended that active measures be taken to promote tolerance between all individuals and within the law enforcement authorities. It reiterated its encouragement to the State party to recognize the minority status of Roma populations whose members had resided in Italy for an extended period of time and who had become sedentary; it recommended that Italy consult effectively with representatives of the Roma population; and the Committee expressed its concern with regard to the possible inappropriate consequences of the State party's policy of encouraging Roma to apply for stateless status.

Further, the Committee recommended that the State party ensure that the local authorities took more resolute action to prevent and punish racially motivated acts of violence against Roma and other persons of foreign origin; and it considered that the education of Roma children was one of the priorities for the integration of their community in Italian society.

While noting that the legislation adopted by Italy regarding article 4 of the Convention was appropriate and contained a comprehensive definition of racial discrimination, the Committee, concerned about allegations that racist organizations were not being properly punished, requested the State party to examine thoroughly such allegations.

The Committee said it was concerned particularly by incidents of racist violence that recently occurred during football matches, although it noted the State party's indication in its report that the number of incidents of racist violence had decreased.
Taking note of the information provided by the State party according to which women represented 58.8 per cent of the immigrant labour force in domestic work, and of the possibility for them to be easily subjected to exploitation, the Committee recommended that the State party take all appropriate measures to reduce that risk.

The Committee recommended that the State party intensify its efforts and its cooperation with other countries, including the countries of origin, in order to reduce illegal immigration, criminal trafficking and commercial exploitation of human beings.

The State party was invited in its next report to provide further information on the implementation of article 6 of the Convention, and particularly on the number of persons who had been convicted following racist incidents, on the different forms of such incidents and on the response provided by Italian courts. The Committee would welcome updated information on the incidents that had occurred in 1998 and 1999 in Venice, Milan, Rome, Barletta, Turin and Bologna referred to in the report.

Response by Sri Lanka

In response to queries raised by Committee Experts yesterday afternoon, the members of the delegation said that the Government had made efforts to negotiate peace with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Despite the LTTE's intransigence and provocative acts, the Government had presented proposals for a devolution of power that could form the basis for further discussions with all parties concerned. Those proposals were brought to the attention of the LTTE previously. The Government believed in the need for a political solution, emphasizing clearly that there was no military solution for the ongoing conflict in the country. The facilitation efforts by the Government of Norway would continue and Sri Lanka hoped that the result would be a peaceful solution.

The delegation said that the commission on human rights had the right to inquire into violations of human rights complaints alleged to be committed by any person, including public authorities. It was also empowered to investigate any abuse of individual rights by police officials. Offenses committed by public officers were punished; and no perpetrator was left unpunished. The Government was not willing to tolerate any form of human rights violation committed particularly by security forces personnel and police officers. Whenever such incidents had occurred, prompt investigations had been conducted and perpetrators had been prosecuted.

In application of article 4 of the Convention on the condemnation of racial superiority, the delegation said that the commission of acts of violence or racial or communal disharmony could attract an imposition of a minimum mandatory sentence of five years, which could be extended up to 20 years.

Responding to allegations made by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of acts of torture committed by law enforcement officers, the delegation said that while there had been such offences, the perpetrators had not enjoyed any immunity. The Government had appointed three zonal commissions of inquiry to inquire into the disappearance of persons from 1 January 1988 to 31 December 1990. It had found that 28,000 persons had gone missing during those years. In addition, a special unit had been set up on missing persons at the Attorney-General's Department to monitor the investigations and to evaluate the evidence. At present, 1,438 cases had been examined and criminal action had been instituted against 591 police officers and armed personnel. Among the missing persons, 16,800 were Sinhalese who had disappeared during an ultra Marxist insurrection in the non-Tamil areas.

Concerning acts of torture, the delegation said that at present eight indictments had been referred to the high court and decisions had been taken on four of the cases. In addition, investigations were being conducted by police with respect to a number of cases and those investigations were expected to be concluded by the end of the year.

Further, police were conducting investigations into the disappearances of 150 Tamil persons from the Northern province, the delegation said. The investigation of 134 cases had been completed after recording statements by witnesses. Such actions militated against the assertion of immunity for law enforcement officers with respect to offences committed in the Tamil areas.

A question was raised about the justiciability of the infringement of fundamental rights by judicial action in respect of criminal proceeding in the proposed constitution, to which the delegation said that the proposal enshrined the fundamental right for a person charged to have his or her case tried without undue delay by a competent court.

Regrading the recording of statements of Tamil suspects, the delegation said that no statement made by any person to a police officer was admissible as evidence. However, the prevention of terrorism act provided an exception where a confession recorded by an officer of the higher rank was admissible. Interpretation service was available to persons not conversant with investigating officers.

A question was raised about the killing of 27 persons at a rehabilitation centre, to which the delegation said that within a few hours of the incident, the Government had immediately ordered an investigation and statements of more than 200 witnesses and 47 suspects had been recorded.

The Government of Sri Lanka was ready to enter into a political dialogue with the LTTE within the context of national unity, the delegation said. It was also ready to make arrangements for power sharing under the new constitutional concession.

TANG CHENGYUAN, the Committee Expert who acted as country rapporteur to the report of Sri Lanka, said in preliminary remarks that the report and the delegation's attitude in responding to the Committee's questions were honest. The Committee was now clear on how the State party was implementing the provisions of the Convention. The impediments to the full implementation of the Convention were also known to the Committee. The country was not free from problems.

The Government had adopted huge measures towards the resolution of the armed conflict, Mr. Tang said. It was also investigating allegations of human rights violations, including cases of disappearances. The role of Norway should be appreciated for its efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict involving the LTTE. The Government attached great importance to bilingual education; and other efforts in improving the situation should also be appreciated.

MICHAEL E. SHERIFIS, the Committee Chairperson, said that the delegation had admitted the problems faced by the Government and had expressed the determination of the authorities to seek solutions to the problems and to bring peace in the country.



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