COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES REVIEW OF SITUATION IN FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

AFTERNOON

HR/CERD/99/13
8 March 1999





Committee Starts Consideration of Report of Italy


A Government official of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia this afternoon told the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia were willing to settle the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija peacefully.

The remark came as members of the six-person delegation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia responded to questions raised by the Committee's experts during the morning session. The delegation said that while the Government was committed to measures to bring peace to the region, the leaders of the Albanian community in Kosovo and Metohija were engaged in boycott actions and secession. The Government was willing to accept autonomy for the region, he said.

Peter Nobel, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, underlined the need to bring peace to Kosovo and Metohija for the sake of the people living there. All the parties should respect human and humanitarian rights. Persons who committed crimes should not be left unpunished, he added.

Also this afternoon, the Committee started its consideration of the report of Italy on how it was implementing the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Claudio Moreno, Plenipotential Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy and head of the delegation, said that Italian law did not contain any norm or principle which was discriminatory vis-à-vis members of a linguistic minority.

Ion Diaconu, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Italy, said that country had adopted a clear policy aimed at eliminating and combatting racial discrimination. Its legislation was also in conformity with most of the obligations under the Convention. However, the report did not take into account the complex situation existing in the country.

Committee experts Michael E. Sherifis and Eduardo Ferrero Costa also participated in the discussion.

Both the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Italy are among the 153 States parties to the Convention and are obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on how they are implementing the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 9 March, it will continue its consideration of the report of Italy.

Discussion on Situation in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

BRATISLAV DJORDJEVIC, Director of the Division of International Organizations at the Federal Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, said that both the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia had already accepted the principle of autonomy in Kosovo and Metohija. However, the Kosovo Liberation Army was launching terrorist activities which undermined the efforts of the authorities to bring about a peaceful solution. Some international parties were also supporting the KLA, thus jeopardizing the peace efforts and the possible dialogue with the representatives of the Albanian community in Kosovo and Metohija.

Concerning freedom of movement, Mr. Djordjevic said that international organizations had verified that such freedom was exercised by the inhabitants. Among those on the ground were representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). He noted that when a British citizen, representing an organization, crossed illegally into the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from neighbouring Albania, she was caught and punished according the law.

REDZEP HODZA, Assistant Federal Minister for Justice of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, said that the Republic of Serbia had discharged its obligations in the sphere of eduction in Kosovo and Metohija by encouraging education to be carried out in national languages. At the university level, the necessary infrastructure had been laid down to enable more students to be enrolled.

Mr. Hodza said that people in Kosovo and Metohija were not in favour of secession, but they were pressurized by their compatriots to follow the path traced by few people at the head of the group aspiring for independence.

MIRA NIKOLIC of the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the United Nations and other international organizations at Geneva said that when elections were held in Kosovo and Metohija, the political leaders of the region ordered the boycott of the election. Those who continued to participate in the election process had been victims of harassment and other cruelty by their political leaders. She said that the report presented to the Committee was not one-sided. It was a reflection of the reality in Kosovo and Metohija. The allegation that doctors were killed in Kosovo was a fact. Three Albanian medical doctors who had refused to join the separatist movement had been killed by their own people.

Ms. Nikolic said that the approach of her Government towards the peaceful solution of the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija was a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural one. But the approach of the political leaders of the region was one of boycott acts and secession.

PETER NOBEL, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, said that it was in the interest of the people living in the region that the parties start to work together in order to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict. He urged all parties to respect human and humanitarian rights. Persons who committed crimes should not be left unpunished, he added.

Report of Italy

The report of Italy (document CERD/C/317/Add.1) enumerates the administrative and legislative measures undertaken by the Government to implement the Convention. It says that since 1994, cases of intolerance have drastically diminished in number and importance. Notwithstanding a substantial increase in the number of Albanians, Kurds and citizens of the former Yugoslavia, there appears to be a widespread improvement in Italy in respect for the principles of the Convention, says the report.

The report further says that Italy had affirmed its firm position on safeguarding the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of race, language, religion, or political opinions which is based on the principles enshrined in the Italian Constitution.

The report says that over the last few years, repeated cases of sudden and excessive flows of non-European Union citizens into Italy have been recorded. Sometimes these cases have been tackled with unjustified dramatic attitudes even though markedly discriminating behaviour has never been recorded against these persons.

In conclusion, the report affirmed that the creation of organizations, associations, movements or groups aiming to promote or incite discrimination or violence on racial, ethnic, national or religion grounds is forbidden.

Introduction of Report of Italy

CLAUDIO MORENO, Minister Plenipotential at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy and Chairperson of the Interministerial Committee for Human Rights, said that during the last few years, the number of arrivals of Kurds as well as Albanians from Kosovo into Italy had increased. The illegal entry of these non-European Union citizens had been estimated to be 100 to 150 per day.

Mr. Moreno said that despite the high rate of unemployment in Italy - which stood at 12 per cent - all the social forces, including employers and trade unions, had been in favour of hosting those illegal immigrants and accepting their integration into Italian society. Because of the influx of massive numbers of illegal immigrants, the Government had been obliged to review its policy on immigrants and residence permits. It had also observed that some of the illegal immigrants were involved in criminal activities. Thus, the Government was also taking into consideration the criminal nature of some immigrants and was contributing on the Italian-Austrian proposition for the elaboration of an international convention against trafficking in migrants.

Mr. Moreno recalled that the Italian Parliament had recently approved an important law that was applicable to persons coming from countries that were not members of the European Union. According to that law, the Italian Government would globally and systematically settle the presence of the large number of citizens of third countries. In addition, the law permitted the right to reside in Italian territory on humanitarian basis. A permit of "social protection" in favour of certain categories of persons would be issued.

Concerning problems relating to racial intolerance, during 1998, there had been reduced episodes of racial and xenophobic inspirations and anti-Semitic incidents, Mr. Moreno said. In addition, Italian law did not contain any norm or principle which was discriminatory vis-à-vis members of linguistic minorities. Despite the nomadic nature of the Roma minorities, certain legal provisions were available to ensure their protection. A draft law had also been submitted to the country's Parliament regarding the Slovenian and Ladine minorities, he added.

ION DIACONU, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Italy, said that country had adopted a clear policy aimed at eliminating and combatting racial discrimination. Its legislation was in conformity with most of the obligations of the Convention. However, the report did not take into account the complex situation existing in the country.

In addition, the report did not contain statistical data concerning national minorities, as well as statistics on immigrants coming from Africa, Kurds, Albanians from Kosovo and citizens of the former Yugoslavia, Mr. Diaconu said. It was essential to indicate which minorities Italy intended to apply the dispositions of the Convention to, he added. He wanted to know the situation of a draft law on minorities in existence for more than 15 years. According to some reports, the first draft had mentioned the Roma, but it was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies in June 1998 after the explicit exclusion of the provision to identify the number of minorities. Since the draft was before the Senate, the expert asked the delegation for more explanation on the issue.

Mr. Diaconu said that according to several reports of non-governmental organizations, the phenomenon of racism and xenophobia had been apparent, particularly in the northern cities of Italy. The Italian party, Allianza Nazionale, was openly against a multicultural and pluralistic society. In addition, the organization known for its racist tendencies, the Movimento Sociale Italiano, had been engaged in acts against persons of African descent, he added.