COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION ON RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES PUBLIC CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF LIECHTENSTEIN

CERD
60th session
19 March 2002
Morning





Agrees to Hold a Thematic Debate
on Discrimination Based on Descent




The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning concluded its public consideration of an initial report from Liechtenstein with an Expert expressing his appreciation of the steps that country had taken to adhere to the declaration under article 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to recognize the competence of the Committee to receive and consider individual communications.

Kurt Herndl, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Liechtenstein, said the State party had designed a forward-looking strategy for the treatment of foreigners and assuring respect for human-rights. He said that the plan to increase the competence of the Supreme Court to receive individual complaints was encouraging; and the steps Liechtenstein had taken to adhere to the declaration under article 14 of the Convention to recognize the competence of the Committee to receive and consider individual communications should be appreciated.

Mr. Herndl further said that special training for law-enforcing officers should continue in order to follow the spirit of the Convention; the efforts to culturally integrate foreigners into Liechtenstein society should continue; and the emergence of new phenomenon of xenophobic trends should be fought.

Over the course of their response to the questions raised by the Committee Experts, the members of the Liechtenstein delegation said that in 2001, eight incidents of right-wing violence were reported to the police; racist expressions and symbols were sprayed anonymously on the walls in public places; and in one case of physical harm a dark-skinned Liechtenstein national was attacked and injured by several young skinheads. Police was investigating the case and interviewing a number of suspects, they said.

The delegation, led by Norbert Frick, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that 34.4 per cent of the resident population was composed of non-Liechtenstein nationals from 80 different countries; eighty per cent of those foreigners were from 17 European Economic Area countries; and the remaining 20 per cent were composed of nationals from Turkey, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Slovenia. The remaining 376 foreigners were from 56 countries.

Also participating in the discussion were Committee Experts Nourredine Amir, Regis de Gouttes, Patrick Thornberry and Mario Jorge Yutzis.

The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the initial report of Liechtenstein before the end of its current three-week session on 22 March.

Liechtenstein is among the 161 States parties to the Convention and as such it is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee on the efforts it has undertaken to implement the provisions of the treaty. A 7-member Government delegation from Liechtenstein was on hand to introduce the initial report and to answer questions raised by the Committee Experts.

Before adjourning its morning meeting, the Committee agreed to hold a thematic debate during its summer session on the issue of discrimination based on descent. During a brief exchange of views, the Experts indicated that 250 million persons suffered from discrimination because of their descent.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will hold a discussion on the follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

Response of Liechtenstein

In response to the numerous questions raised by the Committee Experts yesterday afternoon, the members of the Liechtenstein delegation said that the law currently provided for the Supreme Court to have competence to hear cases of alleged violations of the rights guaranteed in the Convention. However, the competence would be extended to the procedure of the Committee receiving and considering individual complaints. Amendments to the law on the Supreme Court would be submitted to parliament during the current year together with the amendment concerning the procedure under article 14 of the Convention.

The delegation said that in 2001, eight incidents of right-wing violence were reported to the police; racist expressions and symbols were sprayed anonymously on the walls in public places; and in one case of physical harm a dark-skinned Liechtenstein national was attacked and injured by several young skinheads. Police was investigating the case and interviewing a number of suspects. According to the criminal code, cases with racist or xenophobic motives carried a more severe punishment.

Further, the delegation said that 34.4 per cent of the resident population was composed of non-Liechtenstein nationals from 80 different countries. Eighty per cent of those foreigners were from the 17 European Economic Area countries and Switzerland. The remaining 20 per cent were composed of nationals from Turkey, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Slovenia. The remaining 376 foreigners were from 56 countries.

Although the Constitution guaranteed equal rights for women and men, in practice this equality proved to be difficult to enforce, particularly in the workplace, the delegation said. Women still earned less than men although that was still difficult to prove due to lack of statistical data. The law demanded equal pay for equal work regardless of gender but very little was known about the actual salaries. However, women tended to earn less than men.

All children of refugees and asylum-seekers enjoyed the right to enter into public schools, the delegation affirmed; however, in 1999, the Government decided not to integrate refugee children from Kosovo into the regular school system but to keep them in intensive German classes. The Government's decision was contested by some refugee families and the Supreme Court confirmed that such treatment was not the intention of the legislation. The Government reverted its decision and all children under the asylum act were granted access to the regular public school system.

The delegation said that Liechtenstein was not a State party to the 1954 Convention on the Legal Status of Stateless Persons. There were no stateless persons in the country as defined in the Convention. Liechtenstein was working on legislation to define statelessness but there was no clearly defined timetable.

KURT HERNDL, the Committee Expert who acted as country rapporteur to the initial report of Liechtenstein, said the dialogue with the Liechtenstein delegation had been positive as were the actions taken by the State party to correctly implement the provisions of the Convention. The dialogue had focused not only on the practical aspects of the legislation and other measures aimed at implementing the International Convention but also on the grass-root causes of right-wing violence.

Mr. Herndl said Liechtenstein had designed a forward-looking strategy concerning the treatment of foreigners and assuring respect for human-rights. The plan to increase the competence of the Supreme Court to receive individual complaints was encouraging. In the same manner, the Government should be appreciated for the steps it had taken to adhere to the declaration under article 14 of the Convention to recognize the competence of the Committee to receive and consider individual communications from persons claiming to be victims of a violation by that State party of any of the rights set forth in the Convention.

Mr. Herndl further said that special training for the law-enforcing officers should continue in order to follow the spirit of the Convention; the efforts to culturally integrate foreigners into Liechtenstein society should continue; and the emergence of new phenomenon of xenophobic trends should be fought.

The Government of Liechtenstein was also recommended to accede to the 1954 Convention on the Legal Status of Stateless Persons.


Discussion on Discrimination Based on Descent

The Committee Experts briefly discussed the issue of holding a thematic debate on "descent" during its summer session in August with the participation of victims of discrimination based on descent, members of treaty bodies, concerned States parties and non-governmental organizations

The preambular paragraph of the Convention says that "Racial discrimination remains a stumbling block to the full realization of human rights. In spite of progress in some areas, distinctions, exclusions, restrictions and preference based on race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, continue to create and embitter conflict, and cause untold suffering and loss of life".

Some Experts said that the debate on discrimination based on descent was part of the effective interpretation of the Convention. For that reason, a profound thematic debate should be taken up by the Committee at its next session. They said that the Committee should deal with the issue of descent in line with its debate on the situation of Roma two years ago.

During the discussion, Experts said that 250 million people around the world were suffering from discrimination because of their descent, citing the example of castes, such as Dalits and Burakus. Although some Experts said that the issue of descent was part of the broader definition of racial discrimination, consensus was reached to hold the thematic debate on discrimination based on descent.



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