COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION BEGINS CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF ECUADOR

CERD
62nd session
4 March 2003
Afternoon




The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination began review this afternoon of the thirteenth to sixteenth periodic reports of Ecuador, with a Government delegation saying among other things that the situation of the country's indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean peoples was improving.
Introducing the reports, Roberto Ponce-Alvarado, Under-Secretary for Multilateral Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Ecuador, said that acts of racial discrimination against indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean peoples still occurred, and further efforts would be needed by successive Governments to eradicate such bias.
Committee members, including the Expert who served as its country rapporteur for the reports of Ecuador, said they appreciated the reports' candid recognition of the existence of racial discrimination in the country. They said, among other things, that efforts should be continued to ease discrimination against indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean peoples.
Also representing Ecuador were Rafael Paredes-Proano, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations Office at Geneva; and Jose Valencia, staff member of the Permanent Mission.
Taking part in the afternoon's discussion were Committee Experts Kurt Herndl, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Regis de Gouttes, Morten Kjaerum, Jose A. Lindgren-Alves, Nourredine Amir, Marc Bossuyt, Patrick Thornberry and Mario Jorge Yutsis.
As one of the 167 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Ecuador must submit periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the treaty.
Also this afternoon, Committee Chairperson Ion Diaconu announced that the Bahamas had requested the Committee not to discuss that country's situation under its review procedure and promised to submit consolidated reports by 21 March. The Committee agreed to postpone its discussion of the situation in the Bahamas to its next session, in August.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 5 March, it will hear the responses of Ecuador to the questions put this afternoon.

Reports of Ecuador
The thirteenth to sixteenth periodic reports of Ecuador (document CERD/C/384/Add.8) provide information on administrative, legal and judicial measures undertaken by the State party with a view to complying with the provisions of the Convention. According to the reports, Ecuador rejects all forms of discrimination and segregation. The country's Constitution establishes that all persons are equal and accords the same rights, freedoms and opportunities to everyone.
The reports note that Ecuador's population includes indigenous and Black peoples. The diversity of racial and cultural groups is recognized by the current Constitution, which proclaims the Ecuadorean State "multicultural and multi-ethnic". In 1996, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador established definitions of "indigenous peoples" and "indigenous nationality". Ecuador does not have up-to-date information on the indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean population owing to the complexity of the technical criteria used to establish precise parameters for determining membership in ethnic groups, the reports state.
The level of political participation by indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean citizen increased following Ecuador's 1979 return to democracy, and their involvement in the political process has intensified since then, the reports contend. The State has not stood in the way of indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean peoples' self-identification as separate peoples or their establishment as social actors with a right to participate in mainstream society and a right to submit proposals affecting the life of the country as a whole.
Over the last 10 years, the Ecuadorean State has forged new links with indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean peoples and nationalities to promote their effective participation in integrated sustainable development while respecting and reinforcing their cultural identities, the reports state.

Introduction of Reports
ROBERTO PONCE-ALVARADO, Under-Secretary for Multilateral Relations of the Ministry of External Relations of Ecuador, said the intended early submission of his country's reports had been delayed mainly by war involving Peru and political instability in the country. The war between Ecuador and Peru in January and February of 1995 had resulted in the deaths of thousands of people from both sides. It also had a negative impact on the economic life of Ecuadoreans. The political instability that occurred in Ecuador between February 1997 and January 2000, in which 5 governments succeeded each other, had created a dangerous situation of political agitation in the country.
Because of that unstable political situation, now past, administrative and social institutions had not yet been consolidated to implement fully the provisions of the Convention, Mr. Ponce-Alvarado said. At present, Ecuador was emerging as a pluricultural and multi-ethnic State, reflecting elements present throughout its long history. The old-age culture of its indigenous people had also been strengthened. However, colonialism had put indigenous people in a politically, economically and politically disadvantaged position -- in fact an anti-democratic position. The colonial era was to be blamed for the persistence of racial discrimination against indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean peoples.
Ecuador was making great efforts to remedy the situation of indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian peoples, Mr. Ponce-Alvarado said. Because of the country's economic situation, the population of Ecuador had limited access to economic and social benefits. The economic crisis of 1999 had further aggravated the economic situation, with the 40 to 50 per cent of the national economy serving to pay the country's external debt. However, the Government had continued to implement the development programme it had initiated in the 1990s.
Mr. Ponce-Alvarado said the 2001 Census indicated that the population of Ecuador was 12.1 million, out of which 830,418 had identified themselves as indigenous; 271,372 as Blacks; 9,411,890 as mixed; 1,271,051 as white and 39,240 as belonging to other groups. The number of indigenous people had been estimated to be 1,525,421, however. Fearing racial discrimination, people declined to identify themselves as belonging to indigenous groups.
Mr. Ponce-Alvarado also said Ecuador was slowly moving toward creating ethnic cohesion, in which racial discrimination was fully eliminated. The Government had taken a series of measures to improve the judicial system and its responsiveness to victims of racial discrimination. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) reported that "despite the existence of remedies against racial discrimination, offenses of racial discrimination are not reported to the courts; the indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean peoples traditionally exhibit a certain lack of confidence in the justice system". For that reason, the Constitution had recognized the right of the authorities of indigenous peoples and nationalities to administer justice among their peoples and within their territories.

Discussion
TANG CHENGYUAN, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur for the reports of Ecuador, said the Government had addressed the administrative and legal issues pertaining to the implementation of the provisions of the Convention. The State party had also ratified most of the international instruments relating to the promotion and protection of human rights. And it had adopted a series of measures at the national level to foster the implementation of international mechanisms.
Mr. Tang said that according to the 2001 Census, it was difficult exactly to figure out the number of indigenous residents. The urge not to be subjected to discrimination had limited indigenous people from identifying themselves as such, and thus the exact number was not known.
Mr. Tang also said the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) had reported that offenses of racial discrimination were not reported to the courts by indigenous peoples and Afro-Ecuadoreans due to a lack of confidence in the justice system. What was the reason for the lack of confidence?
According to reports, Ecuadoreans of African descent were in a disadvantageous economic position in the country, Mr. Tang said. There was also hidden discrimination involving the police, who carried out street stop-and-search procedures in a biased way.
Exploitation of oil resources in the indigenous territories, which had polluted the area, also had resulted in the spread of skin disease among the population, Mr. Tang said. He asked for further information on the issue.
Mr. Tang said that in the northern part of the country, children of Colombian refugees and migrants had been denied access to education because of a lack of identity papers. He asked the delegation to describe the situation.
In order to increase public awareness of issues of racial discrimination, the State party should intensify its educational campaign to involve all sectors of the population, Mr. Tang said. Although Ecuador was a developing country, it should be continue to take further measures to increase racial harmony and to prevent any form of discrimination against indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean peoples.
Other Committee Experts also put questions. They asked, among other things, about the bilingual educational system; de facto discrimination in employment; the problem of self-identification of indigenous peoples; atrocities allegedly committed by law-enforcement agents against indigenous peoples and Afro-Ecuadoreans; implementation of programmes for Afro-Ecuadoreans by the military; the ethnic composition of the prison population; an apparent situation of double discrimination against Black women who were subjected and made to serve as domestic helpers; and the participation of indigenous residents and Afro-Ecuadoreans in public affairs.



* *** *