COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES REVIEW OF TUNISIA'S PERIODIC REPORT

CERD
62nd session
7 March 2003
Morning



The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning concluded its consideration of the thirteenth to seventeenth periodic reports of Tunisia on how that country was implementing the United Nations anti-discrimination treaty.
At the end of the discussion, Jose A. Lindgren Alves, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the reports of Tunisia, said that like other countries in the world, Tunisia was not immune to problems. He said that the issue of the Amazigh should be addressed in the same manner used for similar groups living in other countries. It might be useful for Tunisia to recognize the existence of Berbers as an indigenous minority, he added.
Over the course of their response to the questions raised by the Committee Experts, the members of the Tunisian delegation said, among other things, that the reference to "Amazigh", as if there was a problem, was wrong. There were only Berbers, whose traditions had prevailed over many years, as the first inhabitants of the territory.
Also taking part in the debate were Regis de Gouttes, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Tang Chengyuan and Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr.
The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Tunisia towards the end of its three-week session, which concludes on 21 March.
As one of the 167 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Tunisia must present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the treaty. The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Tunisia towards the end of its three-week session which concludes on 21 March.
Also this morning the Committee was briefed on the situation in Papua New Guinea by Luis Valencia Rodriguez, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the situation in that country. The situation in Papua New Guinea was taken up under the Committee's review procedure because that country's periodic reports are seriously overdue.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it is scheduled to take up the second to tenth periodic reports of Uganda (CERD/C/358/Add.1).

Response of Tunisia
The members of the Tunisian delegation responded to the numerous questions raised by Committee Experts during yesterday's meeting. They said, among other things, that the reference to "Amazigh", as if there was a problem, was wrong. There were only Berbers, whose traditions had prevailed over many years. Tunisia had no problem with the question of Berbers, who were the first inhabitants of Tunisia.
The Government had opened its doors to Amnesty International and was responding to some of its queries, the delegation said. However, the manner with which Amnesty International was dealing with some of the allegations was not acceptable. Despite this, the Government had continued its cooperation with the organization.
Tunisian society was open and a number of non-governmental organizations were working there, the delegation said. It was essential, however, to have mutual understanding and respect in order to construct a fruitful dialogue. The dialogue was essential to foster human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The reforms that started in 1987 had continued, and people were fully participating in these reforms, the delegation said. The reform of the Constitution had allowed the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law. It had also permitted the opening of a second chamber to ensure that all sectors of the population were duly represented.
Concerning human rights defenders, the delegation said that the law applied to all without distinction, and these defenders were not immune to the obligations that the law imposed. They had to respect the law of the nation. Some of the so-called human rights defenders attempted to be over the law through their activities.
Tunisia had no political prisoners per se, the delegation said. Those who were serving prison terms were convicted in common law courts. The individuals received their sentences in accordance with the crimes they committed under the criminal code.
With regard to the follow-up to the Durban World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Other Intolerance, the delegation said that the different ministries and State agencies were engaged in the elaboration of programmes and projects to implement the outcome of the World Conference.
The Government had incorporated in its Penal Code (article 52 bis of 1993) a provision concerning terrorism and religious extremism in order to protect the political, economic, social and cultural rights of its citizens. In the 1990s, Tunisia had been faced with an upsurge of religious extremists who attempted to damage the country's economy.
Article 44 of the Press Code provided prison sentences for individuals or group of persons disseminating ideas of racial discrimination and hatred, the delegation said. That provision was in line with article 4 of the Convention, which required States parties to condemn all propaganda and all organizations which were based on ideas of superiority of one race to justify racial hatred.
Tunisian law did not discriminate between believers and non-believers, the delegation said, adding that only citizenship counted for accession to any public service posts. However, article 38 of the Constitution made an exception saying that the President of the country should be a Muslim; and to run for presidency, the candidates should adhere to the Islamic confession.
The Supreme Council of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was established in the 1980s to monitor human rights respect in Tunisia, the delegation said. The Council was created by decree and also served as an advisory body to the President to whom it submitted annual reports on its activities. It was also mandated to carry out visits to various prisons.
The Tunisian Ombudsman had received 7,025 complaints from citizens in 2000, seeking remedies concerning their treatment by the State authorities, the delegation said. The main task of the Ombudsman was to mediate situations of complaints arising between Government officials and citizens. The mandate of that institution had been further strengthened by a law introduced in February 2002.
The law on inheritance provided equal rights for men and women, the delegation said. The introduction of the Personal Status Code had allowed women to receive an equal share of inheritance. Islamic law stipulated that a man receive double the inheritance of a woman.
There was no segregation with regard to foreign workers in Tunisia, the delegation said. Those who arrived in the country had their working contracts and they were provided with the necessary material needs.
The National Solidarity Fund was initially created to assist people living in remote areas of the country, the delegation said. Established primarily to provide assistance to the most disadvantaged areas, the Fund provided basic community facilities and services. The Fund had enabled people to lead decent lives through its development of economic structures in their areas. A number of development programmes had been implemented to alleviate poverty. In 2002, 2 million Tunisians had contributed to the Fund. During the period 1993-2000, the Fund had benefited some 216,597 families.
The delegation said that the law on political rights stipulated that any party should avoid following any trend leading to racial discrimination. After the foundation of a party, if it was found that the party was preaching racial hatred, the judicial authorities could intervene. The law on association also required a prior statement of intent by the founders together with the application. Associations inciting racism or hatred, departing from their initial objectives, could be banned. At present, there were a number of associations working peacefully.
A Tunisian nationality could not be withdrawn once it was accorded, the delegation said. Only a person who obtained Tunisian nationality through naturalization could be deprived of it if he or she was found of guilty of an offence, among others, concerning the internal and external security of the country. The Code on Nationality provided for foreigners to acquire Tunisian nationality once they satisfied the requirements.

Experts' Comments
An Expert asked the delegation to provide further information on the consequences of article 52 bis of the Penal Code and the Press Law. He asked for cases of convictions and the number of persons involved in the offences against those provisions.
Another Expert said that according to article 4 of the Convention, States parties were required to design legislative provisions to combat racial hatred. Did Tunisia comply with that provision through the adoption of legislation? Was there legislation banning racist organizations?
Referring to the Berber or Amazigh culture, an Expert asked what efforts were being made by the Tunisian authorities to research the culture and language of the Amazigh people? The Government should preserve the identity and the language of that people.
Subscribing to the previous speaker, another Expert said that the Government, in its next report, should give further information on the Amazigh people. On the issue of the Ombudsman, the delegation should provide further information on its functions and achievements.
An Expert said that Tunisia had been at the forefront in the application of laws for centuries. It had also been instrumental in the transition of Islamic beliefs to Europe. Turning to inheritance, the Expert said that a wife should be independent financially before and after her marriage, and could keep her property and assets separately from that of her husband.
JOSE A. LINDGREN ALVES, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the reports of Tunisia, said that like other countries in the world, Tunisia was not immune to problems. However, efforts should be continued to bring solutions.
Mr. Lindgren said that the issue of the Amazigh should be discussed in the same manner used for similar groups living in other countries. It might be useful for Tunisia to recognize the existence of Berbers as an indigenous minority. If there was a tendency to prohibit the use of the Berber language, the situation would be grave.
Mr. Lindgren said Tunisia should be appreciated for its performance in promoting the right to freedom of expression. The fact that the President should be from the Islamic confession did not affect the freedom of expression.
Tunisia had also made great efforts to improve the life standards of the population through establishment of the National Solidarity Fund from which many citizens benefited, the Expert said.

Situation in Papua New Guinea
LUIS VALENCIA RODRIGUEZ, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the situation in Papua New Guinea, said that the violence and discrimination against women in Papua New Guinea had been aggravated due to the armed conflict in the country. The country was composed of 1,000 tribes who spoke 800 dialects, with a total population of 5 million.
Mr. Rodriguez said that the Committee had examined the situation in Papua New Guinea in 1993 and had expressed its concern over the grave events taking place in Bourgainville, where a huge copper deposit was discovered.
The armed conflict between the Government and the Revolutionary Army of Bourgainville had resulted in the deaths of 20,000 civilians. In August 2001, a peace agreement had been signed between the two parties to hold a referendum on the future of the island.
The Expert said that in 1984, the Government had received 12,000 refugees from Indonesia, particularly from the Irian Jaya, where fighting took place. In March 2002, the Government army had destroyed the refugee camps
Mr. Rodriguez said that the Committee should address a list of questions to the Government requesting it to provide information on its demographic composition; about the situation in Bourgainville; how it was implementing article 4 of the Convention; whether it had designed a national plan of action following the Durban Conference; and if it had requested technical and advisory assistance from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, among other things.



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