COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES REVIEW OF ECUADOR'S PERIODIC REPORTS ON COMPLIANCE WITH CONVENTION

CERD
62nd session
5 March 2003
Morning



The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning concluded its review of the thirteenth to sixteenth periodic reports of Ecuador, with a Government delegation enumerating the measures undertaken to protect the rights of indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian peoples.
Answering questions raised by the 18-member Committee during yesterday's meeting, the delegation of Ecuador said that the slow and lengthy procedures of the justice system were among the root causes for the indigenous peoples' lack of confidence in the system. The Government had been reforming the country's administration of justice for the past five years, the delegation added.
Tang Chengyuan, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the reports of Ecuador, said that the reports and the presentation by the delegation had displayed an honesty in dealing with the issue of the elimination of racial discrimination. He added that the existence of racial discrimination in Ecuador was a legacy of the past; it could not be eliminated overnight. He appreciated the seriousness of the State party in dealing with the issue.
Also participating in the discussion were Jose A. Lindgren Alves, Morten Kjaerum, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Nourredine Amir, Regis de Gouttes, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Patrick Thornberry and Mario Jorge Yutzis.
Ecuador is among the 167 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination and, according to article 9 of the treaty, it should submit periodic reports on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures that it has adopted to give effect to the provisions of the instrument. The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports towards the end of its three-week session which will conclude on 21 March.
Before adjourning its morning meeting, the Committee members exchanged views concerning the UN Secretary-General's Agenda for Further Change, particularly concerning the reform of the human rights treaty bodies system. The discussion focused on the proposal for States parties to submit a single report to all the six treaty bodies.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will take up the initial to second periodic reports of Saudi Arabia (document CERD/C/370/Add.1).

Response of Ecuador
Responding to the numerous questions raised by the Committee's Experts, the members of the Ecuadorian delegation said, among other things, that there was a big difference between the 2001 census and the figures maintained by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) concerning the indigenous peoples. The census had established that there were 830,418 persons identifying themselves as indigenous while CONAIE affirmed the existence of 1.5 million indigenous persons in the country. According to CONAEI, indigenous peoples accounted for 40 per cent of Ecuador's total population. According to a survey carried out by the Development Project for Indigenous and Black Peoples of Ecuador (PRODEPINE), the indigenous population represented around 13.9 per cent.
The Department of Indigenous Affairs and Ethnic Minorities (SENAIME) was established in 1994 and was responsible for planning, coordinating and advising government plans for the development of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, the delegation said. The SENAIME was later replaced by the Council for the Development of Ecuadorian Nationalities and Peoples (CODENPE). In 1996, the Government created a Ministry of Ethnic Culture and appointed an indigenous leader as the Minister. However, the Ministry was rejected by indigenous organizations and it was later abolished. There was no State body responsible for indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian affairs.
A system of mediation had been created within the indigenous administration of justice, the delegation said. The mediation procedure was carried out by the indigenous authorities in keeping with the indigenous customary law. However, the indigenous justice system should not prevail over the national law. The fact that indigenous peoples had a separate justice system did not go against the jurisdictional unity of the country. The Government of Ecuador was aware that within the indigenous justice system, the use of corporal punishment still existed. The State continued to tell people of their constitutional and conventional rights.
The slow and lengthy procedures of the justice system were among the root causes for the indigenous peoples' lack of confidence in the system. The Government had been reforming its administration of justice with the support of the World Bank for the past five years.
The office of the Ombudsman was charged with defending indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian peoples, the delegation said. The "Office of Peoples' Defence" -- the Ombudsman -- also defended the human and economic rights of all ethnic minorities. In a case involving the Municipality of Quito and 5,600 mobile indigenous vendors, the Ombudsman had defended the economic interests of the vendors. The Ombudsman also continued to promote and protect the rights of indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian and other ethnic minorities.
The Constitutional articles 86 to 91 and the Law on Environmental Management guaranteed the preservation of the environment in Ecuador, the delegation said. Measures affecting the environment should obtain the prior approval of the indigenous community. Any contracts of projects could be declared null and void if they did not receive the community's approval. In the past, the Government had compensated victims affected by pollution due to oil exploration.
A national plan on human rights was adopted by Ecuador in 1998 to deal with racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related intolerance, the delegation said. A series of documents were elaborated pertaining to specific areas of human rights. Civil society was active and was working with the Government on the promotion and protection of human rights.
Ecuador's external debt stood at 16 billion dollars, with an annual debt servicing which took up 40 per cent of the national income, the delegation said. While the amount allocated for education was 21 per cent of the national budget, it was far behind the target fixed by the Constitution, which was 30 per cent. The amount of the national income allocated to the indigenous peoples was unknown.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had recognized that Ecuador was fully implementing the provisions of the international treaty relating to refugees, the delegation said. Both the Government and UNHCR were handling the cases of refugees in the regions neighbouring Colombia in the north.
The phenomenon of the exodus of indigenous persons to urban areas had intensified in recent years, subjecting them to living under marginalized conditions in cities, the delegation said. The Government had implemented a general plan of action for marginalized people in cities.
Because of the prevailing living standards in the country, many Ecuadorians, including indigenous and black people, were migrating to other countries in search of better living conditions, the delegation said. However, "coyoterismo" -- trafficking in persons -- was considered a criminal act punishable by law.
There were no cases of complaints in courts concerning the violation of article 4 of the Convention, which prohibited the ideas of superiority of one race or group of persons that attempted to promote racial hatred, the delegation said. Acts of racial discrimination and racist propaganda were seriously punished.
TANG CHENGYUAN, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the reports of Ecuador, said that the reports and the dialogue with the delegation had displayed honesty in dealing with the issue of the elimination of racial discrimination. The existence of racial discrimination in Ecuador was a legacy of the past; it could not be eliminated overnight. He appreciated the seriousness of the State party in dealing with the issue, and hoped that the next report would contain further information on the measures taken by the State concerning other issues not taken up during this session.



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