COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION STARTS ADOPTING CONCLUSIONS ON REPORT OF LITHUANIA

CERD
60th session
11 March 2002
Afternoon



Begins Consideration of Reports of Moldova,
Reviews Briefly Situation in Papua New Guinea




The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon started adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the initial report of Lithuania, expressing satisfaction on the considerable progress achieved by the State party in the field of human rights.
In the paragraphs it adopted, the Committee noted with satisfaction that since the independence of Lithuania, considerable progress had been achieved in the field of human rights. The Committee welcomed the efforts made by the State party to respect, protect and promote the realization of the cultural rights of persons belonging to national minorities. The Committee also noted that the new Law on Citizenship was more restrictive and required the applicant to pass Lithuanian language tests and an exam on the provisions of the Constitution, which might exclude from citizenship certain minorities.
Also this afternoon, the Committee started its consideration of the initial to fourth reports from Moldova. Introducing the reports, Vitalie Slonovschi, Director of the Law and International Treaties Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, said that since Moldova had declared its independence in August 1991, it had been actively engaged in the international process to affirm respect for human rights and it had aligned itself to the international standards in that field. As a result, Moldova had ratified the principal international documents in the field of human rights, particularly those dealing with the protection of persons belonging to national minorities.
With regard to the situation in Transnistria region, Mr. Slonovschi said that the region was controlled by separatist authorities of the self-proclaimed Dniester Republic. A discriminatory policy was being pursued against the native population of Moldovans and other nationalities that comprised 41 per cent of the total population of about 600,000 people inhabiting that region. He hoped that the separatist conflict would be resolved within the context of the indivisibility of the State of Moldova.
Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Moldova, said that the Government's privatization programme had led to private ownership of land previously owned by the collective farms of the Soviet era. While that could contribute to greater private sector initiation in increasing agricultural output, it had also allegedly had a discriminatory effect on the Roma minority, he said.
Also participating in the discussion were Committee Experts Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Linos Alexander Sicilianos, Regis de Gouttes, Kurt Herndl, Morten Kjaerum, Marc Bossuyt, Jose Augusto Lindgren Alves, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Ion Diaconu, Patrick Thornberry, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Tang Chengyuan and Yuri A. Reshetov.
The delegation of Moldova is also composed of Adrian Calmac, Deputy Permanent Representative and Charge d'Affaires of Moldova to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Vitalie Rusu, Head of the International Security Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Steluta Pavlov, Head of the Law Application Division of the Ministry of Justice; and Victor Maxim, Third Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Moldova in Geneva.
As one of the 161 States parties to the Convention, Moldova is expected to submit periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts in implementing the provisions of the treaty.
The situation in Papua New Guinea was also briefly reviewed, with Luis Valencia Rodriguez, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the situation in Papua New Guinea, expressing the Committee's concern that no information had been received from that country since 1984.
The Committee will continue its consideration of the reports of Moldova when it reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 12 March. The Committee is also expected to continue adopting conclusions on the report of Lithuania during the same meeting.

Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Report of Lithuania
The Committee noted with satisfaction that since the independence of Lithuania, considerable progress had been achieved in the field of human rights. It welcomed the efforts made by the State party to respect, protect and promote the realization of the cultural rights of persons belonging to national minorities. It also noted with satisfaction, among other things, that the State party had ratified a large number of international and regional instruments in the field of human rights; the new criminal code, which included a number of new articles establishing responsibility for crimes based on racial discrimination, which would shortly enter into force; and the efforts made in the field of human rights education for State officials.
Among concerns and recommendations, the Committee noted that the explanations of the authorities relating to the status of the Convention at the national level were unclear; although the delegation had stated that national courts could directly implement the Convention, it also stressed that the adoption of national legislation was necessary. The Committee called for the rapid implementation of the provisions of the Convention into the national legal system as necessary.
The Committee noted that the new Law on Citizenship was more restrictive and required the applicant to pass a Lithuanian language test and an exam on the provisions of the Constitution, which might exclude from citizenship certain minorities. In that regard, the Committee requested the State party to include detailed information on the conditions of the new system in its next periodic report.

Reports of Moldova
The initial to fourth periodic reports of Moldova (document CERD/C/372/Add. 2) provide the general measures of implementation of the Convention by enumerating the institutional and legislative frameworks. The reports say that in the last 10 years, a system of laws and regulations had been worked out in the country that provided for the exercise of the ethnic minorities of their rights. Members of a large number of ethnic minorities inhabit Moldova today. Moldovans constitute 64.5 per cent of the population. Since the Constitution guarantees all persons inhabiting Moldova the right to preserve, develop and express their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity, the issue of national education is of special importance.
The reports note that the protection of persons belonging to ethnic minorities does not differ in the Republic of Moldova from that offered to all citizens of the country; all of them enjoy and exercise equal rights and duties. The principles of equality and non-discrimination run through the entire legislative and institutional spectrum of the country, while"respect and protection of people is the foremost duty of the State". The equality of all citizens of the Republic before the law and public authorities, without distinction as to race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion, sex, political opinion, personal property or social origin, is guaranteed by the Fundamental Law of the State. Guarantees of the equal exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution are widely reflected in domestic legislation.

Introduction of Report
VITALIE SLONOVSCHI, Director of the Law and International Treaties Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, said that since the country had declared its independence in August 1991, it had been actively engaged in the international process to affirm the respect for human rights and to align itself to the international standards in that field. As a result, Moldova had ratified the principal international documents in the field of human rights, particularly those dealing with the protection of persons belonging to national minorities.
Mr. Slonovschi said that Moldova had so far acceded to 27 international conventions on human rights. The country's accession to those conventions had been backed by the continued perfection of the national legal system. In that context, the adoption of the Constitution of Moldova had been of major importance; and chapter 2 of the Constitution was entirely devoted to rights and fundamental human freedoms.
Mr. Slonovschi said that the guarantees of equality in the application of rights and freedoms provided for by the Constitution were embodied in the national Constitution. According to article 38 of the penal code, the offences of incitement to racial hatred would aggravate the circumstance of the application penalties. In addition, the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were interpreted by the provisions of the Constitution.
With regard to the situation in Transnistria region, Mr. Slonovschi said that the region was controlled by separatist authorities of the self-proclaimed Dniester Republic. A discriminatory policy was being pursued against the native population of Moldovans and other nationalities who comprised 41 per cent of the total population of about 600,000 people inhabiting that region. The separatist regime had imposed an abusive and discriminatory system concerning the language of the population. He hoped that this separatist conflict would be resolved within the context of the indivisibility of the State of Moldova.

Consideration of Report
RAGHAVAN VASUDEVAN PILLAI, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Moldova, said that ever since it had emerged as an independent nation, Moldova had had problems of consolidation and integration. The political problems arising out of the separatist actions of certain forces in the eastern part of the country had had their impact on the pluralistic composition of Moldova. As one report put it, the country had been fractured along ethnic lines.
Mr. Pillai said that besides political problems, economic issues were also bound to have an impact on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention. Though Moldova had made some progress in economic reforms, the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) annual report for 1999 had identified Moldova among the poorest countries of Europe with a per capita income of less than $ 500 and half of the population living on less than one dollar per day.
Mr. Pillai further said that the Government's privatization programme had led to private ownership of land previously owned by the collective farms of the Soviet era. While that could contribute to greater private sector initiation in increasing agricultural output, it had also allegedly had a discriminatory effect on the Roma minority.
Turning to the reports, Mr. Pillai said that they reflected the clear acceptance of the multi-ethnic character of the Moldova; with regard to the realization of fundamental rights and freedoms by the people, due recognition had been given to the harmonization of domestic legislation with international human rights principles; there was a conscious effort at amending laws and regulations that were obstacles and that "could provoke discriminatory actions and tensions in public life"; and socio-economic development plans envisaged equal development of the north, centre and south of the country which aimed at the harmonization of inter-ethnic relations, among other things.
Mr. Pillai said that the Committee would like to have specific information as to whether the Roma were recognized as a national minority. In the absence of relevant figures in the State party report, he said he only quoted unofficial figures -- from the report of the Moldovan Helsinki Committee for Human Rights -- of an estimated Roma population of 100,000 to 200,000 persons, constituting the population in several towns in northern and central Moldova. Besides the handicaps they faced in education, they reportedly suffered from lack of civil amenities in their villages; and there seemed to be a lack of public concern about their welfare.

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 situation in that country had been a concern for a long time during which the Committee had adopted a number of decisions on Papua New Guinea. The State party had presented only one report, which was considered by the Committee as an initial report in March 1984. Since then, the Government had not submitted any information requested by the Committee.
Mr. Valencia Rodriguez said that the Committee was concerned about the grave situation in the island of Bougainville, which was part of the territory of Papua New Guinea. It was inhabited by ethnically different people and the land was rich in copper. The proclamation in 1990 of a republic in the island by the armed group of Bougainville had been rejected by the national Government. The armed confrontation had been long and bloody. The armed forces of the Papua New Guinea had committed violence by assassinating the civilian population.
Mr. Valencia Rodriguez said that a cease-fire had been signed and an agreement was reached for return to peace and for the return of refugees. The parliament had failed to adopt the necessary provision that might allow the holding of referendum in the province. The Government of Papua New Guinea had to submit a report detailing the consequences of the military intervention in the province of Bourganville. The Committee should recommend that the Government avail itself of technical assistance from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Committee should also request the Government to withdraw its reservation to the Convention.
Many other Committee Experts also said that the Government of Papua New Guinea had to be obliged to report to the Committee. The Committee had used all means in order to persuade the Government to provide information and to clarify the situation in the province of Bougainville.



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