COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONSIDERS SITUATION IN MOZAMBIQUE UNDER ITS REVIEW PROCEDURE

Committee on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination

1 March 2006


Adopts Guidelines for States Parties on Follow-up to its Recommendations


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today considered the situation in Mozambique under its review procedure for seriously overdue reports, and adopted guidelines intended to assist States parties in their efforts to implement and follow-up on the concluding observations and recommendations of the Committee.

Regis de Gouttes, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur for Mozambique, said that Mozambique had ratified the Convention in 1983, but had only submitted one brief initial report, in 1984, which had been sent without any accompanying representation by the State party. Since then, no report had been forthcoming. In 1993, the Committee, noting the country's delay, called for the review procedure to be applied, and, although noting that the absence of the report was owing to the war taking place in the country, asked that a report be submitted. Mozambique was placed on the list of countries subject to review procedure at the sixty-sixth session of the Committee, in August 2005. At that time, the State party informed the Committee that the country report had been prepared and would soon be presented.

Mr. de Gouttes said he had made an initial analysis of the situation in the country, including a racial and political profile of Mozambique and its economic and social context. The most essential facts were that Mozambique was one of the poorest countries in the world, that HIV/AIDS was widespread, and that discrimination against women persisted in customary law. On a positive note, an anti-corruption law had been enacted in 2004, which represented progress in that area. With the assistance of the Secretariat, he had prepared a list of questions for the State party on implementation of the Convention. At this stage, Mr. de Gouttes said, he felt the best solution would be to send that list on to the Government, as it would facilitate the State party's completion of its report. That suggestion was adopted by the Committee.

Morten Kjaerum, the Committee’s coordinator on follow-up to its recommendations, said that a sub-regional workshop, organized by the Division for the Advancement of Women in conjunction with the Government of Egypt and the National Council for Women of Egypt, had been held in Cairo from 19 to 22 December 2005, to explore ways to enhance States' capacities to implement their obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and how to include elements of civil society in those areas. Six countries had participated - Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia - as well as a number of non-governmental organizations. The recommendations from that workshop would be circulated as soon as the workshop published its report, Mr. Kjaerum concluded.

Mr. Kjaerum presented to the Committee draft guidelines intended to assist States parties in their efforts to implement and follow-up on the concluding observations and recommendations of the Committee by various means, including dissemination of the Committee's concluding observations, coordination of implementation efforts and designation of a focal point/liaison representative, and cooperation with national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations. The guidelines, Mr. Kjaerum said, were not intended as a prescriptive list, but rather as a source of inspiration. In discussions with State parties it had been noted that they sometimes lacked ideas about how exactly to go about implementing the Committee's recommendations. He hoped that the model would be annexed to the Committee's concluding observations at the end of the session.

The guidelines, as orally amended by the Committee in the course of the meeting, were adopted (CERD/C/68/Misc.5).

When the Committee reconvenes, at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 2 March, it is scheduled to consider the case of Papua New Guinea under its review procedure and will then turn to consideration of urgent action items.


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