MORNING

HR/CERD/99/50
13 August 1999



The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded consideration this morning of a report of Uruguay, with a Committee Expert voicing concern over what she said was discrimination in the country, particularly discrimination against Blacks.

The Expert, Deci Zou, who served as the Committee’s rapporteur for the report of Uruguay, also lauded the efforts of the Government to raise living standards.

The Committee will issue its formal, written observations and recommendations on the report of Uruguay towards the end of its four-week session, which concludes 27 August. Uruguay is one of 155 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and must provide periodic reports to the Committee on measures taken to implement the treaty.

The following Committee Experts also took part in the discussion: Shanti Sadiq Ali, Eduardo Ferrero Costa, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Ion Diaconu, Mario Jorge Yutsis, Regis de Gouttes, Theodoor van Boven, Ivan Garvalov, Agha Shahi and Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will review situations in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo under its early warning and urgent action procedures, respectively.

Discussion

Committee Experts raised further questions and comments on the report of Uruguay. One said he had the impression that under Uruguayan law, international human-rights treaties had a lower status than the Constitution. The Expert said most other States parties gave such treaties a higher status than domestic law.

Another Expert questioned whether article 149 of Uruguayan penal code complied with article 4 of the Convention, even though the State party had asserted that it was in the vanguard of countries that had enacted legislation to combat racial discrimination. In addition, an Expert said that the Uruguayan Black community lived in conditions of complete marginalization and faced many difficulties. It also was stressed that the Government, which claimed to be among the richest in Latin America, should have a policy for housing.

Several Experts referred to paragraph 62 of the report which stated that "..as a gesture of cooperation towards the victims of the Second World War, a special commission consisting of representatives of the Central Bank and Bank of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay has been set up at national level to investigate the existence of Nazi funds in the international financial system. This commission has in particular been instructed by the Government to keep in permanent touch with the Comite Central Israelita del Uruguay so that the Jewish community can be informed of the progress of the investigations initiated". Other Experts asked the delegation if the Government had contacts with Mundo Afro, a Black organization, and with indigenous associations. The Experts remarked that no specific policy or legal provisions on indigenous or Black residents appeared to exist.

Responding to a number of questions raised by Committee Experts yesterday and this morning, members of the Uruguayan delegation said, among other things, that what the report’s demographic breakdown of the population categorized as “oriental” included Chinese, Koreans and Japanese and not people from the Middle East. Arabs from Lebanon, particularly Maronite Christians, fell under the category of “Whites”.

A question was asked about the consequence of acts of racial discrimination. The delegation said that in a situation where individuals were found guilty of public incitement to racial hatred, prison sentences of from 3 to 8 months could be imposed. If acts of serious racial discrimination were committed, prison sentences could be up to 24 months. In the case of organizations which promoted racial contempt, the punishment of persons involved could amount to as much as five years in prison.

The delegation said the Comite Central Israelita had filed a lawsuit and was conducting proceedings against a small organization that had engaged in hostile activities against the Jewish community -- a matter also mentioned by some Committee Experts. The report said that "such acts are only very sporadic and reflect the motivations of individuals or very small groups. The measures taken in such cases by the authorities, on their side, are fully in accord with their obligations to ensure respect and provide guarantees for human rights". The delegation said the case was already closed.

Answering a question on representation of the Jewish community in the country's Parliament while Blacks and indigenous peoples had no deputies, the delegation said that the presence of Jewish members of Parliament was due to Jewish membership in political parties and as members of their Jewish communities. As regards Black representation in trade unions, the delegation refuted an allegation that Blacks were not represented in the country's trade union, which was an independent organization.

The delegation said Blacks and Mestizos had served as ambassadors in the country's foreign missions. Blacks also worked in the Government administration and as national television announcers, contrary to the complaints of Mundo Afro. The country's national dance, the "Tango", had considerable black influences, said the delegation.

The delegation said that only 4 per cent of the Uruguayan population lived below the poverty line. Among Blacks, 33 per cent benefited from Government policy on housing and electricity. The allegation that Black workers were paid 60 per cent less than Whites was wrong -- the policy of equal pay for equal work was applied in all spheres of employment, the delegation said. In addition, domestic employees were protected from exploitation, including any forms of slavery, the delegation said.

Asked why Blacks reportedly had been evicted from the capital city Montevideo, the delegation said that some Blacks had been displaced from quarters of the city and had had to go elsewhere. The allegation that they were replaced by Whites was wrong; those parts of the city had not yet been rebuilt, and no one lived there.

DECI ZOU, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur for the report of Uruguay, thanked the delegation for its dialogue with the Committee, which she said had resulted in a better understanding of the Convention. The Government had done a great deal to raise living standards, she noted. Nevertheless, there remained concerns about racial discrimination in the country, particularly discrimination against Blacks. She hoped that in its next report, the Government would show progress in implementing the requirements of the Convention, particularly article 4, which prohibited organizations based on racially biased ideas.