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COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONSIDERS REPORT OF MADAGASCAR
03 August 2004
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3 August 2004
MORNING
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the report of Madagascar on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Presenting the report was Lucien Rakotoniaina, Director of Studies at the Ministry of Justice of Madagascar, who said the Malagasy Constitution of 1992 provided guarantees as per the Convention. Positive discrimination for targeted social and racial groups had been implemented and any citizen of Madagascar had the right to run for political or public office without any discrimination. He echoed the Government’s belief that the full realization of human rights could only be reached with the achievement of economic development
In the course of the discussion, which was held over two meetings, the issues of women and children, refugees and minorities, health and education, traditional values and labour matters were addressed, among other subjects.
In preliminary remarks, the country Rapporteur for the report, Committee Expert Nourredine Amir, said the Malagasy delegation had been totally satisfactory in the way in which it responded to questions raised by the Committee. He noted that there were positive laws in Madagascar to deal with social inequalities, adding that it was the responsibility of the Government to deal with problems which arose as a result of past acts of slavery and ethnic tensions.
The Committee will present its final recommendations on the tenth to eighteenth periodic reports of Madagascar, which were presented in one document, at the end of its session which concludes on 20 August.
The delegation of Madagascar also included representatives of the Permanent Mission of Madagascar to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Population and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, the National Institute of Statistics and the State Department for Public Security.
During the course of the morning session, the Committee also briefly discussed the holding of a thematic discussion on the definition of genocide. Committee Expert Agha Shahi explained that the importance of holding such a discussion was all the more germane given the Secretary-General’s appointment of a Special Adviser on genocide and the holding of an international conference on the subject in Stockholm earlier this year. Several Committee Experts expressed interest in pursuing the concept of early warning prevention measures to duly inform governments. A Committee Expert recommended that the Committee discuss the situation in the Darfur region of the Sudan, in particular, under its early warning and urgent action mechanism.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will discuss the issue of reservations by States parties to human rights treaties.
Report of Madagascar
According to the report of Madagascar, which encompasses the tenth to eighteenth periodic reports, (CERD/C/476/Add.1) the rights of such minorities as migrants, refugees and persons of different national origin enjoy the same protection as those of citizens. The report draws attention to the new legislation enacted in 2003 relating to access to land ownership by aliens and to specific measures taken to address racial discrimination, among them the enactment of the appendix to the Criminal Code relating to enjoyment of civic rights without discrimination. Madagascar firmly condemns all forms of racial segregation and the crime of apartheid and is currently working on a revision to its Labour Code for the private sector, with the same aim of combating discriminatory practices in all their forms. Moreover, the report states that there are no displaced persons in Madagascar and that the State party has signed the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees but has not ratified it. However, it does not refuse to accept refugees in its territory.
Although there is no racial or ethnic discrimination in Madagascar, certain individuals or social groups are still stigmatized because of superstitions or ignorance of the pathology of diseases such as AIDS. The report mentions that there are inequalities to be found in education and vocational training in Madagascar which have to do with access for urban and rural populations; there is no inequality between racial groups.
In the economic domain, some members of the Indian community have been subjected to acts of vandalism, but the representatives of the Indian/Pakistani community say that they have not been subjected to discrimination as defined in the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, the report states. The report also draws attention to the principle of fihavanana, a traditional value recognized throughout the country which encompassed tolerance, social harmony, mutual respect and solidarity, and which was one of the foundations of human relations in Madagascar.
Moreover, through its legislation, Madagascar as a State party to the Convention assures protection to everyone who claims to be the victim of racial or ethnic discrimination or of other violations and provides full remedies to parties in proceedings who are dissatisfied with the judgments delivered by the courts and recognizes the right of those parties to reparation for harm suffered.
Presentation of Report
LUCIEN RAKOTONIAINA, Director of Studies at the Ministry of Justice of Madagascar, said the presentation of the report was an indication of Madagascar’s determination to meet its international commitments. In general terms, the elimination of racial discrimination would make it possible to avoid the mistakes made in the past which had led to the tragedy of man’s history as it pertained to genocide which had killed millions of innocent people, he said. He provided geographic and demographic information and elaborated on various principles in-country, including the principles of the Government, the Constitution and the Judiciary.
With regards to the protection of human rights in the legal system, Mr. Rakotoniaina mentioned that any violation of human rights could be appealed in the courts. In a recent decree, the Malagasy Supreme Court decided that clauses flowing from international conventions ratified by Madagascar were to be applied instantly in its national laws.
Concerning economic, social and cultural indicators, Mr. Rakotoniaina said some 80 per cent of the population was employed in the work force and the economic growth in 2001 was 6 per cent up from the previous year. He added that due to three hurricanes last year the economy had suffered significantly.
A measure had been taken to ban political parties which preached segregation or were based on a tribal or ethnic basis. Moreover, the Constitution of 1992 provided guarantees as per the Convention. Positive discrimination for targeted social and racial groups had been implemented. In Madagascar there was no discrimination in social and cultural fields but it did exist in terms of economic inequalities.
Recalling that Madagascar had adhered to the International Convention against Apartheid and had participated in the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Mr. Rakotoniaina noted that Madagascar had no relations with the South African Government during the period when it was practicing apartheid.
Among other things, the Constitution of Madagascar declared that any citizen of Madagascar had the right to run for political or public office without any discrimination. At present there were several people of foreign origin represented in Parliament. There were currently 40 people with refugee status in the territory of Madagascar.
In terms of legal rights, Mr. Rakotoniaina indicated that according to the Civil Procedure Code all residents in Madagascar were afforded equal access to the judicial system and legal assistance. In terms of violations of human rights, in view of the nature of the offences, the victims could bring their complaints before the competent court and reparations could be obtained after the conviction.
There had been major efforts made by the State party, with support from the United Nations Development Programme, to strengthen its national capacity in human rights training in terms of education for police officers, judges and lawyers.
Among other things, Madagascar had adopted a national health policy based on primary health for all. Concerning the situation of AIDS in Madagascar, the State party had established the National Council to Combat AIDS presided over by the Head of State.
In the area of education, the Constitution stated that every person had the right to intellectual development; education was free and mandatory throughout primary and secondary school. There was a problem with school attendance. The Government’s goal was to achieve 100 per cent school enrolment by the year 2015. Moreover, efforts had been made by the State party to sensitize the public to overcome the inequalities which existed between boys and girls and human rights education had been included in all levels of education with an emphasis on racial discrimination issues.
In conclusion, Mr. Rakotoniaina said his delegation believed that the full realization of human rights could only be reached with the achievement of economic development. As far as the drafting of the report under review, he said the Malagasy Government had set up a Committee to draft the report which was made up of government bodies, non-governmental organizations and civil society.
Discussion
NOURREDINE AMIR, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur to the Report of Madagascar, drew attention to the State party’s affirmation that nationals and foreigners had always lived together peacefully in the country. The Committee had expressed in its concluding observations to the last report submitted by Madagascar in 1994 concerns, in particular for the lack of statistics, for the absence of reference in the Constitution to women, about the practice of prostitution and other social evils, about maternal and infant mortality and about polygamy. Previously, in 1989, the Committee had noted that the situation of children in Madagascar had not improved, that the income per capita had fallen by 50 per cent in the last 20 years and that the economic regression was a risk to the political situation overall. The Committee later expressed serious concerns on the continual deterioration of the economic, social and cultural conditions, the dysfunction of social services, and the existing tensions between various groups of the population which could lead to racial or ethnic discrimination.
Mr. Amir noted that more than 40 per cent of the population was living below the poverty threshold and asked what had been done to address this problem. The Rapporteur expressed concern about the increasing number of street children not attending school, over the general impoverishment of the country, and the existence of tension between groups in the population. He asked what could be done to remedy these difficulties. Over the course of the reporting period, some 20,000 persons had been held in detention without being brought to court, the Rapporteur noted.
The Special Rapporteur asked for clarification on the definition of minorities and their rights in general and for information on the steps taken by Madagascar to allow for compensation to victims. Noting that legislation concerning children and women had to be strengthened, Mr. Amir asked what steps had been taken in that regard.
Among other things, the Rapporteur noted that the minimum age for marriage for boys was 17 whereas the minimum age for girls was 14 and asked why there was an inequality in this regard. The Rapporteur indicated that significant measures must be taken by the State party in order for it to meet its obligations of eliminating all forms of racial discrimination. Madagascar had proposed sustainable solutions to deal with the problems it had encountered as a result of natural disasters because of its disadvantaged geographical situation and due to its economic vulnerability which had resulted in large scale social exclusions.
Concerning the rights of women, the delegation mentioned that measures had been taken by the Government to guarantee equality between men and women in terms of inheritance rights and labour and social services. A national programme of action for gender equality had been put into effect this year and the State had been carrying out gender mainstreaming at various levels within society. Financial support for women’s development activities had been afforded and sexual education and reproductive health education had also been made available. A programme for gender rights and decision-making and workshops geared towards women in the area of human rights were also part of the State’s policy. As a positive development several women had been elected as mayors, the delegation noted.
In response to questions posed on children’s rights, the delegation said the Government of Madagascar launched a campaign last June at the Presidential Palace to give birth certificates to Malagasy children which set the goal of targeting 30,000 children. In support of this launch, the Government had produced many films to raise awareness and also to help eliminate the problems of paedophilia and child labour. A national plan to eliminate child labour had been put into practice. Moreover, centres for mistreated children were installed and there was currently a joint project with the World Bank, the World Food Programme and the Japanese Government to provide better nourishment for children as an attempt to entice young people to go back to school. Recently a centre was set up to deal with the problem of street children as well as a joint programme with the Ministry of Population and several United Nations agencies to make sure they could be integrated into society. The delegation added that there had been a re-organization of the Ministry of National Education which began this year to bring together four former ministries. This had led to an increase of 15.5 per cent in attendance for primary education and 3 per cent of attendance for secondary school.
A Committee Expert asked specifically why the State party had not yet ratified the International Convention on the Status of Refugees, to which the delegation said that the level of economic development in Madagascar did not allow it to settle an abundance of refugees and therefore it had not ratified the Convention.
The delegation noted that a major vaccination campaign had been launched in Madagascar to provide better health care for children; as a result some 90 per cent of Malagasy children had been vaccinated. Concerning HIV/AIDS, the delegation noted that the President himself had been leading various campaigns launched in the country; regional and local advisers had been deployed throughout the country to deal with this problem.
Several Committee Experts asked for more information regarding the principle of fihavanana to which the delegation said the principle was a moral or traditional value recognized throughout the country which allowed for mutual respect and solidarity. According to this concept, each Malagasy consider the other to be a relative and they helped one another in times of need, as was the case in recent natural disasters. Ethnic hatred had often been avoided due to fihavanana which had enabled the population to avoid physical and ethnic confrontations.
In response to a comment made by a Committee member that there were some 20,000 people in Malagasy prisons without being tried, the delegation stated that for the year 2003, there were 18,901 persons in prisons; 6,429 had been tried and 12,472 were pre-detained without trial thus far. To address this problem a reform was underway of the criminal justice system aimed at reducing pre-trial detention terms.
Concerning the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), the delegation said the Commission was created in December 1996 to ensure that every citizen was aware of his or her rights and duties, to change attitudes on behaviour, and to better respect the rights of women and children. The NCHR had an advisory function to examine the State’s human rights policy and to provide human rights training. In practice, the NCHR did not have any decision-making powers. As for the Office of the Ombudsman, the delegation noted that the Office was created by a decree in1992 and was charged with defending the rights of individuals in conflict with institutions. Political and social mediation were also part of the Ombudsman’s role however, like the NCHR, it had no decision-making power. Moreover, these two institutions were not intended to replace legal institutions. They were independent and did not have the powers of investigation.
On a question dealing with minorities, the delegation noted that the population of foreigners in Madagascar was between 60,000 to 80,000 in 2003; this accounted for all non-nationals living in the country. As for persons of foreign origin who had been naturalized, these people were not classified as minorities and enjoyed the same rights as all Malagasy citizens.
Concerning seasonal labourers of Betsileo ethnic origin, the delegation said these workers emigrated from their villages to areas where they harvested either cotton or rice, adding that these areas were approximately 1,000 kilometres away from their respective villages. These workers were remunerated for their work partly in fees and in part by contributions in kind. The person who recruited them was responsible for medical and travel costs. The system had been in place for decades.
On the subject of torture, the delegation said although the term had not been indicated specifically in Malagasy laws, the Government’s legislation did prevent mistreatment of such kind. Moreover, a person claiming to be a victim of torture could complain to the competent authorities.
Concerning the matter of acquiring citizenship, the delegation said the law on Malagasy nationality dated back to 1960 when Madagascar gained independence. The delegation agreed with the Committee that the law needed revision. However, due to a high level of unemployment in Madagascar, an influx of new nationals could increase this problem.
In terms of strengthening the national capacity for human rights, the delegation said people responsible for applying the law were aware of human rights standards and had been trained accordingly.
In response to a question, the delegation indicated that there were no specialized courts in Madagascar to deal specifically with cases of human rights abuses largely due to economic restrictions.
Preliminary Remarks
NOURREDINE AMIR, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur, said the Committee noted that the delegation had provided “real replies to real questions” which were difficult in nature. The answers were comprehensive and answered the concerns raised by the Committee covering the past 20 years. Madagascar was a country which was working for national reconciliation which involved regrouping groups in society to provide basic rights to each person in its territory. This called for legislative and judicial measures.
Noting that there were positive laws in Madagascar to deal with social inequalities, the Rapporteur said it was the responsibility of the Government to deal with the problems which arose as a result of past acts of slavery and ethnic tensions. The Committee welcomed the substantial financial support provided to Madagascar to allow it to address urgent economic problems in-country.
In conclusion, the Rapporteur said the Malagasy delegation was totally satisfactory in the way in which it had responded to questions raised by the Committee and noted with satisfaction the renewed dialogue between the Committee and the State party so that the international community could support the efforts taken and to be taken by the State party.
MORNING
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the report of Madagascar on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Presenting the report was Lucien Rakotoniaina, Director of Studies at the Ministry of Justice of Madagascar, who said the Malagasy Constitution of 1992 provided guarantees as per the Convention. Positive discrimination for targeted social and racial groups had been implemented and any citizen of Madagascar had the right to run for political or public office without any discrimination. He echoed the Government’s belief that the full realization of human rights could only be reached with the achievement of economic development
In the course of the discussion, which was held over two meetings, the issues of women and children, refugees and minorities, health and education, traditional values and labour matters were addressed, among other subjects.
In preliminary remarks, the country Rapporteur for the report, Committee Expert Nourredine Amir, said the Malagasy delegation had been totally satisfactory in the way in which it responded to questions raised by the Committee. He noted that there were positive laws in Madagascar to deal with social inequalities, adding that it was the responsibility of the Government to deal with problems which arose as a result of past acts of slavery and ethnic tensions.
The Committee will present its final recommendations on the tenth to eighteenth periodic reports of Madagascar, which were presented in one document, at the end of its session which concludes on 20 August.
The delegation of Madagascar also included representatives of the Permanent Mission of Madagascar to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Population and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, the National Institute of Statistics and the State Department for Public Security.
During the course of the morning session, the Committee also briefly discussed the holding of a thematic discussion on the definition of genocide. Committee Expert Agha Shahi explained that the importance of holding such a discussion was all the more germane given the Secretary-General’s appointment of a Special Adviser on genocide and the holding of an international conference on the subject in Stockholm earlier this year. Several Committee Experts expressed interest in pursuing the concept of early warning prevention measures to duly inform governments. A Committee Expert recommended that the Committee discuss the situation in the Darfur region of the Sudan, in particular, under its early warning and urgent action mechanism.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will discuss the issue of reservations by States parties to human rights treaties.
Report of Madagascar
According to the report of Madagascar, which encompasses the tenth to eighteenth periodic reports, (CERD/C/476/Add.1) the rights of such minorities as migrants, refugees and persons of different national origin enjoy the same protection as those of citizens. The report draws attention to the new legislation enacted in 2003 relating to access to land ownership by aliens and to specific measures taken to address racial discrimination, among them the enactment of the appendix to the Criminal Code relating to enjoyment of civic rights without discrimination. Madagascar firmly condemns all forms of racial segregation and the crime of apartheid and is currently working on a revision to its Labour Code for the private sector, with the same aim of combating discriminatory practices in all their forms. Moreover, the report states that there are no displaced persons in Madagascar and that the State party has signed the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees but has not ratified it. However, it does not refuse to accept refugees in its territory.
Although there is no racial or ethnic discrimination in Madagascar, certain individuals or social groups are still stigmatized because of superstitions or ignorance of the pathology of diseases such as AIDS. The report mentions that there are inequalities to be found in education and vocational training in Madagascar which have to do with access for urban and rural populations; there is no inequality between racial groups.
In the economic domain, some members of the Indian community have been subjected to acts of vandalism, but the representatives of the Indian/Pakistani community say that they have not been subjected to discrimination as defined in the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, the report states. The report also draws attention to the principle of fihavanana, a traditional value recognized throughout the country which encompassed tolerance, social harmony, mutual respect and solidarity, and which was one of the foundations of human relations in Madagascar.
Moreover, through its legislation, Madagascar as a State party to the Convention assures protection to everyone who claims to be the victim of racial or ethnic discrimination or of other violations and provides full remedies to parties in proceedings who are dissatisfied with the judgments delivered by the courts and recognizes the right of those parties to reparation for harm suffered.
Presentation of Report
LUCIEN RAKOTONIAINA, Director of Studies at the Ministry of Justice of Madagascar, said the presentation of the report was an indication of Madagascar’s determination to meet its international commitments. In general terms, the elimination of racial discrimination would make it possible to avoid the mistakes made in the past which had led to the tragedy of man’s history as it pertained to genocide which had killed millions of innocent people, he said. He provided geographic and demographic information and elaborated on various principles in-country, including the principles of the Government, the Constitution and the Judiciary.
With regards to the protection of human rights in the legal system, Mr. Rakotoniaina mentioned that any violation of human rights could be appealed in the courts. In a recent decree, the Malagasy Supreme Court decided that clauses flowing from international conventions ratified by Madagascar were to be applied instantly in its national laws.
Concerning economic, social and cultural indicators, Mr. Rakotoniaina said some 80 per cent of the population was employed in the work force and the economic growth in 2001 was 6 per cent up from the previous year. He added that due to three hurricanes last year the economy had suffered significantly.
A measure had been taken to ban political parties which preached segregation or were based on a tribal or ethnic basis. Moreover, the Constitution of 1992 provided guarantees as per the Convention. Positive discrimination for targeted social and racial groups had been implemented. In Madagascar there was no discrimination in social and cultural fields but it did exist in terms of economic inequalities.
Recalling that Madagascar had adhered to the International Convention against Apartheid and had participated in the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Mr. Rakotoniaina noted that Madagascar had no relations with the South African Government during the period when it was practicing apartheid.
Among other things, the Constitution of Madagascar declared that any citizen of Madagascar had the right to run for political or public office without any discrimination. At present there were several people of foreign origin represented in Parliament. There were currently 40 people with refugee status in the territory of Madagascar.
In terms of legal rights, Mr. Rakotoniaina indicated that according to the Civil Procedure Code all residents in Madagascar were afforded equal access to the judicial system and legal assistance. In terms of violations of human rights, in view of the nature of the offences, the victims could bring their complaints before the competent court and reparations could be obtained after the conviction.
There had been major efforts made by the State party, with support from the United Nations Development Programme, to strengthen its national capacity in human rights training in terms of education for police officers, judges and lawyers.
Among other things, Madagascar had adopted a national health policy based on primary health for all. Concerning the situation of AIDS in Madagascar, the State party had established the National Council to Combat AIDS presided over by the Head of State.
In the area of education, the Constitution stated that every person had the right to intellectual development; education was free and mandatory throughout primary and secondary school. There was a problem with school attendance. The Government’s goal was to achieve 100 per cent school enrolment by the year 2015. Moreover, efforts had been made by the State party to sensitize the public to overcome the inequalities which existed between boys and girls and human rights education had been included in all levels of education with an emphasis on racial discrimination issues.
In conclusion, Mr. Rakotoniaina said his delegation believed that the full realization of human rights could only be reached with the achievement of economic development. As far as the drafting of the report under review, he said the Malagasy Government had set up a Committee to draft the report which was made up of government bodies, non-governmental organizations and civil society.
Discussion
NOURREDINE AMIR, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur to the Report of Madagascar, drew attention to the State party’s affirmation that nationals and foreigners had always lived together peacefully in the country. The Committee had expressed in its concluding observations to the last report submitted by Madagascar in 1994 concerns, in particular for the lack of statistics, for the absence of reference in the Constitution to women, about the practice of prostitution and other social evils, about maternal and infant mortality and about polygamy. Previously, in 1989, the Committee had noted that the situation of children in Madagascar had not improved, that the income per capita had fallen by 50 per cent in the last 20 years and that the economic regression was a risk to the political situation overall. The Committee later expressed serious concerns on the continual deterioration of the economic, social and cultural conditions, the dysfunction of social services, and the existing tensions between various groups of the population which could lead to racial or ethnic discrimination.
Mr. Amir noted that more than 40 per cent of the population was living below the poverty threshold and asked what had been done to address this problem. The Rapporteur expressed concern about the increasing number of street children not attending school, over the general impoverishment of the country, and the existence of tension between groups in the population. He asked what could be done to remedy these difficulties. Over the course of the reporting period, some 20,000 persons had been held in detention without being brought to court, the Rapporteur noted.
The Special Rapporteur asked for clarification on the definition of minorities and their rights in general and for information on the steps taken by Madagascar to allow for compensation to victims. Noting that legislation concerning children and women had to be strengthened, Mr. Amir asked what steps had been taken in that regard.
Among other things, the Rapporteur noted that the minimum age for marriage for boys was 17 whereas the minimum age for girls was 14 and asked why there was an inequality in this regard. The Rapporteur indicated that significant measures must be taken by the State party in order for it to meet its obligations of eliminating all forms of racial discrimination. Madagascar had proposed sustainable solutions to deal with the problems it had encountered as a result of natural disasters because of its disadvantaged geographical situation and due to its economic vulnerability which had resulted in large scale social exclusions.
Concerning the rights of women, the delegation mentioned that measures had been taken by the Government to guarantee equality between men and women in terms of inheritance rights and labour and social services. A national programme of action for gender equality had been put into effect this year and the State had been carrying out gender mainstreaming at various levels within society. Financial support for women’s development activities had been afforded and sexual education and reproductive health education had also been made available. A programme for gender rights and decision-making and workshops geared towards women in the area of human rights were also part of the State’s policy. As a positive development several women had been elected as mayors, the delegation noted.
In response to questions posed on children’s rights, the delegation said the Government of Madagascar launched a campaign last June at the Presidential Palace to give birth certificates to Malagasy children which set the goal of targeting 30,000 children. In support of this launch, the Government had produced many films to raise awareness and also to help eliminate the problems of paedophilia and child labour. A national plan to eliminate child labour had been put into practice. Moreover, centres for mistreated children were installed and there was currently a joint project with the World Bank, the World Food Programme and the Japanese Government to provide better nourishment for children as an attempt to entice young people to go back to school. Recently a centre was set up to deal with the problem of street children as well as a joint programme with the Ministry of Population and several United Nations agencies to make sure they could be integrated into society. The delegation added that there had been a re-organization of the Ministry of National Education which began this year to bring together four former ministries. This had led to an increase of 15.5 per cent in attendance for primary education and 3 per cent of attendance for secondary school.
A Committee Expert asked specifically why the State party had not yet ratified the International Convention on the Status of Refugees, to which the delegation said that the level of economic development in Madagascar did not allow it to settle an abundance of refugees and therefore it had not ratified the Convention.
The delegation noted that a major vaccination campaign had been launched in Madagascar to provide better health care for children; as a result some 90 per cent of Malagasy children had been vaccinated. Concerning HIV/AIDS, the delegation noted that the President himself had been leading various campaigns launched in the country; regional and local advisers had been deployed throughout the country to deal with this problem.
Several Committee Experts asked for more information regarding the principle of fihavanana to which the delegation said the principle was a moral or traditional value recognized throughout the country which allowed for mutual respect and solidarity. According to this concept, each Malagasy consider the other to be a relative and they helped one another in times of need, as was the case in recent natural disasters. Ethnic hatred had often been avoided due to fihavanana which had enabled the population to avoid physical and ethnic confrontations.
In response to a comment made by a Committee member that there were some 20,000 people in Malagasy prisons without being tried, the delegation stated that for the year 2003, there were 18,901 persons in prisons; 6,429 had been tried and 12,472 were pre-detained without trial thus far. To address this problem a reform was underway of the criminal justice system aimed at reducing pre-trial detention terms.
Concerning the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), the delegation said the Commission was created in December 1996 to ensure that every citizen was aware of his or her rights and duties, to change attitudes on behaviour, and to better respect the rights of women and children. The NCHR had an advisory function to examine the State’s human rights policy and to provide human rights training. In practice, the NCHR did not have any decision-making powers. As for the Office of the Ombudsman, the delegation noted that the Office was created by a decree in1992 and was charged with defending the rights of individuals in conflict with institutions. Political and social mediation were also part of the Ombudsman’s role however, like the NCHR, it had no decision-making power. Moreover, these two institutions were not intended to replace legal institutions. They were independent and did not have the powers of investigation.
On a question dealing with minorities, the delegation noted that the population of foreigners in Madagascar was between 60,000 to 80,000 in 2003; this accounted for all non-nationals living in the country. As for persons of foreign origin who had been naturalized, these people were not classified as minorities and enjoyed the same rights as all Malagasy citizens.
Concerning seasonal labourers of Betsileo ethnic origin, the delegation said these workers emigrated from their villages to areas where they harvested either cotton or rice, adding that these areas were approximately 1,000 kilometres away from their respective villages. These workers were remunerated for their work partly in fees and in part by contributions in kind. The person who recruited them was responsible for medical and travel costs. The system had been in place for decades.
On the subject of torture, the delegation said although the term had not been indicated specifically in Malagasy laws, the Government’s legislation did prevent mistreatment of such kind. Moreover, a person claiming to be a victim of torture could complain to the competent authorities.
Concerning the matter of acquiring citizenship, the delegation said the law on Malagasy nationality dated back to 1960 when Madagascar gained independence. The delegation agreed with the Committee that the law needed revision. However, due to a high level of unemployment in Madagascar, an influx of new nationals could increase this problem.
In terms of strengthening the national capacity for human rights, the delegation said people responsible for applying the law were aware of human rights standards and had been trained accordingly.
In response to a question, the delegation indicated that there were no specialized courts in Madagascar to deal specifically with cases of human rights abuses largely due to economic restrictions.
Preliminary Remarks
NOURREDINE AMIR, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur, said the Committee noted that the delegation had provided “real replies to real questions” which were difficult in nature. The answers were comprehensive and answered the concerns raised by the Committee covering the past 20 years. Madagascar was a country which was working for national reconciliation which involved regrouping groups in society to provide basic rights to each person in its territory. This called for legislative and judicial measures.
Noting that there were positive laws in Madagascar to deal with social inequalities, the Rapporteur said it was the responsibility of the Government to deal with the problems which arose as a result of past acts of slavery and ethnic tensions. The Committee welcomed the substantial financial support provided to Madagascar to allow it to address urgent economic problems in-country.
In conclusion, the Rapporteur said the Malagasy delegation was totally satisfactory in the way in which it had responded to questions raised by the Committee and noted with satisfaction the renewed dialogue between the Committee and the State party so that the international community could support the efforts taken and to be taken by the State party.
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