COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ADOPTS CONCLUSIONS ON FIJI AND CÔTE D'IVOIRE

CERD
62nd session
21 March 2003
Afternoon




Adopts Decisions on Côte d'Ivoire and Guyana



The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon adopted its final conclusions and recommendations on the reports of Fiji and Côte d'Ivoire and approved decisions on Côte d'Ivoire and Guyana.
The Committee Experts first completed adopting their conclusions on the sixth to fifteenth periodic reports of Fiji in which, among other things, they expressed concern that, according to some information, hate speech and assertions of the supremacy of indigenous Fijians regularly occurred. The Experts urged the State party to take appropriate measures.
In its conclusions on the fifth to fourteenth periodic reports of Côte d'Ivoire, the Committee welcomed, among other things, the country's commitment to prosecute any media which may incite hatred or racial discrimination. The Committee expressed its concern about information relating to police violence, as well as violations committed on an ethnic basis which gave rise to the existence of mass graves in certain regions of the country. It encouraged the State party to continue its efforts to prevent the repetition of such incidents and to punish the persons responsible for such acts.
Also, in a decision on Côte d'Ivoire, the Committee urged the United Nations Secretary-General to invite the competent United Nations organizations to adopt the appropriate humanitarian assistance measures on behalf of the displaced persons in Côte d'Ivoire, particularly measures to help the Government in its efforts to prevent or halt acts of discrimination based on race or ethnic origin.
Concerning Guyana, the Committee decided that it may request and discuss information on the state of racial discrimination in that country under its warning and urgent action procedure even earlier than March 2004, the date when the State party has said it will submit its initial report. Guyana has never presented a report.
The Committee adopted a text in which it gave its responses to the report "Draft Guidelines: a human rights approach to Poverty Reduction Strategies", submitted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
And the Experts approved a letter which will be sent to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Terrorism of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The Special Rapporteur had asked for input on "terrorism and human rights" and the Committee referred him to its statement adopted on 8 March 2002 at its sixtieth session on racial discrimination and measures to combat terrorism.
The Committee adjourned its three-week spring session this afternoon. Its sixty-third session will be held from 4 to 22 August 2003 at the Palais des Nations at Geneva. During that session, Committee Experts will examine periodic reports from Finland, Bolivia, Latvia, Norway, Cape Verde, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United Kingdom, Albania and the Czech Republic.

Conclusions and Recommendations on Reports of Fiji
Continuing with its conclusions on the reports of Fiji, the Committee expressed concern about the under-representation of Indo-Fijians in the police, the army and other public services in general, and recommended that specific programmes be adopted to ensure appropriate representation of all ethnic communities in those services. It requested updated statistics on the situation.
The Committee was concerned that, according to some information, hate speech and assertions of the supremacy of indigenous Fijians regularly occurred. It urged Fiji to take appropriate measures with that regard, reminding the State party that dissemination of doctrines of superiority based on ethnic origin were socially unjust and dangerous, as well as in breach of the Convention.
The Committee recommended that the State party take into account the relevant parts of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action when implementing the Convention in the domestic legal order.
Conclusion and Recommendations on Reports of Côte d'Ivoire
Among positive aspects in the fifteenth to fourteenth periodic reports of Côte d'Ivoire, the Committee welcomed with satisfaction the conclusion of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement of 23 January 2003 and the Accra Agreement of 8 March 2003, which enabled a government of national reconciliation to be formed, as a means of restoring confidence and overcoming the crisis; and the State party's commitment to prosecute any media which might incite hatred or racial discrimination. It noted with satisfaction that Côte d'Ivoire had established a Ministry of Human Rights and planned to set up a National Human Rights Commission and an office of the Ombudsman; and that the State party was a party to most of the United Nations human rights conventions.
The Committee expressed its concern about information relating to police violence, as well as violations committed on an ethnic basis which had given rise to the existence of mass graves in certain regions of the country, and encouraged the State party to continue its efforts to prevent their repetition and to punish the persons responsible for such acts. It noted with concern that the interpretation of election laws had given rise to tensions between ethnic and religious groups and recommended that those laws should be reviewed in the light of the provisions of the Convention relating to the rights of all citizens to take part in the country's political life.
Noting with concern that some of the national media had used propaganda to incite war and encourage hatred and xenophobia, the Committee recommended that the State party should take every necessary measure to put an end to that practice.
The Committee recalled the State party's request for the setting up of an international commission of inquiry as a fact-finding mechanism throughout the national territory in order to identify cases of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law since 19 September 2002. The Committee urged the State party to take the necessary measures and create the necessary conditions for such investigations and to include information on that question in its next periodic report.
The Committee recommended that, in giving effect in its internal legal system to the provisions of the Convention, the State party should take account of the relevant parts of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

Decision on Côte d'Ivoire
The Committee, concerned that there were many displaced persons who were in a precarious humanitarian situation and who might, as a result of the present crisis, be subjected to acts or manifestations of discrimination; taking note of the request by the delegation of Côte d'Ivoire for increased assistance by the international community on behalf of the displaced persons; urged the UN Secretary-General to invite the competent United Nations organizations, in their perspective fields of competence, to adopt the appropriate humanitarian assistance measures on behalf of the displaced persons in Côte d'Ivoire, particularly measures to help the Government in its efforts to prevent or halt acts of discrimination based on race or ethnic origin.

Decision on Guyana
The Committee recognized the difficult economic and social conditions facing Guyana and remained deeply concerned about the extensive political and ethnic conflicts which had aggravated the situation in the country and led to serious clashes. Many intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and UN agencies agreed that the vicious circle of political and ethnic tensions had brought Guyana to a state of political instability which adversely affected human rights and had weakened civil society, increasing racial violence, poverty and exclusion among indigenous population groups, and hampering both the administrative of justice and the application of human rights standards.
While the Committee had acceded to the State party's request to submit its initial report in March 2004, in light of the urgent character of the situation outlined in this text, it may request and discuss information on the state of racial discrimination in Guyana under its early warning and urgent action procedure even earlier than March 2004.

Adoption of a Text on Committee's Response to the Report on Poverty Reduction
In the text it adopted on the response of the Committee to the report "Draft Guidelines: a human rights approach to Poverty Reduction Strategies", the Committee welcomed the document submitted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The draft guidelines constituted a substantial contribution to the discussion of a rights-based approach to poverty reduction. The link between poverty and discrimination was noted by the Committee when considering the situation of various countries in all regions of the world, and it made the draft guidelines very relevant to combating discrimination. The guidelines might become an important tool for the elimination of poverty-sustained discrimination which had so far proved to be a difficult endeavour.
Among the responses of the Committee, it was emphasized that more attention could be given to some ethnic groups that were particularly vulnerable to discrimination and poverty and in particular the Roma, indigenous peoples and persons discriminated against on the basis of descent. Furthermore, the Committee suggested that circumstances where racial discrimination mainly affected women be given greater emphasis.
The Committee welcomed the draft guidelines and expressed the hope that those comments would contribute to strengthen the perspective of equal treatment and non-discrimination in combating poverty.

Letter to be Sent to Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Terrorism
The Experts approved a letter which will be sent to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Terrorism of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The Special Rapporteur had asked for input on "terrorism and human rights" and the Committee referred him to its statement adopted on 8 March 2002 at its sixtieth session on racial discrimination and measures to combat terrorism.
In this statement, the Committee recalls that the prohibition of racial discrimination is a peremptory norm of international law from which no derogation is permitted; and demands that States and international organizations ensure that measures taken in the struggle against terrorism do not discriminate in purpose or effect on grounds of race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin.



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