COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES REVIEW OF REPORT OF CHILE

MORNING

HR/CERD/99/46
11 August 1999





The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded this morning its consideration of a report of Chile, with a Government delegation telling the panel that the country was repairing past prejudices against indigenous peoples.

The Chilean delegation told the Committee that since 1991, a debate had been going on over including the rights of indigenous peoples in the Constitution. Regrettably, that reform was still pending. However, Government representatives said, the President of Chile recently had given new impetus to the matter and steps had been taken accomplish Constitutional reform.

Luis Valencia Rodriguez, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur for the report of Chile, said special emphasis should be placed on achieving recognition by the Constitution of Chile of the existence of indigenous peoples in the country. He also said a Constitutional ban on groups or organizations engaged in spreading racially discriminatory ideas should be coordinated with article 4 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The following Committee experts also participated in the discussion: Michael E. Sherifis, Agha Shahi, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Eduardo Ferrero Costa and Ivan Garvalov.

The Committee will publish its formal observations and recommendations on the report of Chile towards the end of its four-week session, which concludes 27 August.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will take up a report of Latvia (document CERD/C/309/Add.1).

Discussion

At the beginning of the meeting, some Committee Experts put additional questions. One Expert expressed the opinion that the recent recognition by the Government of the rights of indigenous peoples was in fact reparation for injustices dating from the colonial period. Another contended that Chile should apologize for harm done in the past and compensate indigenous peoples for prejudices they had been subjected to.

A question was also asked about the extent of indigenous peoples' participation in the political affairs of the nation.

Responding to questions raised by Committee Experts yesterday and this morning, members of the Chilean delegation said, among other things, that the provisions of the Convention were considered to be part of domestic law and could be invoked in the courts. In court cases involving racial prejudice, either judges or citizens could invoke not only the Convention but the Inter-American Human Rights Convention, which was also considered part of domestic law.

Concerning dissemination of the Convention, the delegation said that in the report produced by the Truth and Nation Reconciliation Commission, which had been established by the previous Chilean President, it had been recommended that the terms of the Convention be widely known by the general public. The Commission had established that between 1973 and 1990, a wide range of human-rights violations had been committed.

With regard to the publicity given the Chilean report to the Committee, the delegation said the human-rights advisory section of the Ministry of External Relations, which had prepared the report, had already distributed copies to the country's human-right commission, church organizations, indigenous associations and other relevant bodies. The delegation said it would take note of the Committee's suggestion that the report and the Convention be translated into indigenous languages.

On the subject of Constitutional reform, Chilean officials said that from 1991, a debate had been going on in the country over whether to include the rights of indigenous peoples in the Constitution. Regrettably, the reform was still pending. However, recently the President of Chile had given new impetus to the reform procedures and steps had been taken to pursue the matter. In addition, the Government had completed preparations to ratify International Labour Office (ILO) Convention 169 concerning the rights of indigenous peoples.

The delegation said that in order to respond adequately to obligations under article 4 of the Convention, Chilean law had regulated the rights of associations and groups that sought to set up totalitarian systems or spread ideas which could incite racial discrimination. In addition, the State Security Act contemplated punishment against persons or organizations promoting doctrines of racial hatred.

A question was raised on education in indigenous languages, to which the delegation said a reform had been undertaken by the Government in a departure from "Western-type" education towards inter-cultural and bilingual education, including instruction in indigenous vernaculars. To prepare the ground for the reform, teachers had been trained and teaching materials were being prepared. Other measures had been implemented, including the awarding of 48,200 scholarships to indigenous students to enhance the image they had around the country and to improve their living standards.

On the topic of indigenous land ownership, members of the delegation said the Government had bought 30,000 hectares of land in 1997 and had transferred ownership of the property to indigenous peoples. Another 18,000 hectares suitable for forestry and livestock were in the process of being transferred to the Andean community.

Concerning Korean and Peruvian migrants in Chile, the delegation said their rights were protected by legal provisions governing migration. There was no specific discrimination against those groups and no courts had considered allegations of racial incidents against them. Although the number of Korean migrants had decreased, the number of Peruvians coming to the country legally or illegally had increased, the delegation said.

LUIS VALENCIA RODRIGUEZ, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur for the report of Chile, thanked the delegation members for their efforts to provide information. He noted that the report had recognized the existence of racial discrimination in the country, particularly with regard to indigenous peoples. He appreciated Chile's recognition of the Committee's competence to examine individual claims of racial discriminations under article 14 of the Convention.

Mr. Valencia Rodriguez said Chile’s 1993 law on indigenous peoples and the work of the National Indigenous Corporation (CONADI) were efforts to give proper representation to indigenous peoples. Although much had already been done on the subject of land ownership by indigenous peoples, the Government should continue its endeavours in that field, he said. Special emphasis should be laid on achieving recognition by the Constitution of the existence of indigenous peoples. The Chilean Constitutional ban on groups or organizations engaged in spreading racially discriminatory ideas should be coordinated with article 4 of the Convention, he suggested.