COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION STARTS ADOPTING CONCLUSIONS ON REPORT OF CHINA Begins Consideration of Report of Viet Nam

CERD
59th session
8 August 2001
Afternoon



Begins Consideration of Report of Viet Nam


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon started adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the report of China, acknowledging the difficulties inherent in the policy-making and administration of a territory as vast as China with more than 1.2 billion inhabitants, including 55 minority nationalities.

In the part of the concluding observations and recommendations which were adopted, the Committee requested the State party to provide further information on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by all nationalities of China and regarding steps taken to ensure that the minority populations benefited from the general economic growth. In that context, the State party was requested to take all appropriate measures to ensure that local and regional cultures and traditions were also promoted and the rights of the populations fully respected.

Also this afternoon, the Committee started its consideration of a report from Viet Nam on how that country was fulfilling its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Introducing his country's ninth periodic report, Nguyen Quy Binh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office at Geneva, reiterated his country's commitment to respecting human rights and democratic principles which were of great importance for the fight against racial hatred and discrimination. Viet Nam condemned and rejected all forms of racist violence or racial discrimination as well as the incitement to it.

Mr. Nguyen said that the achievements in economic and social reforms in the last few years had enabled Viet Nam to integrate successfully into the world, and to further consolidate its people's rights and equality. Racial discrimination was in reality not a big problem in the country; however, the Government had been paying due attention to the issue so as to promote sustainable development, national unity and social cohesion.

Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill, the Committee member who served as country rapporteur to the report of Viet Nam, said that there were reports of religious suppression in the country, and while some concessions had been made to accommodate the beliefs and worshipping practices of some groups, others were prevented from worshipping freely. There were complaints too that the Committee on Ethnic Affairs and Mountainous People was not altogether impartial or effective in the way it represented the interests of minority communities.

The following Committee members also participated in the discussion: Michael E. Sherifis, Regis de Gouttes, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Tang Chengyuan, Gabriele Britz, Ion Diaconu, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Patrick Thornberry, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Yuri A. Reshetov, Marc Boussuyt, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Agha Shahi and Francois Lonseny Fall.

The Vietnamese delegation also included Duong Chi Dung, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Hoang Bich Lien, Senior Expert, Department of the International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Nguyen Thi Thu Quynh, Attache at the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam.

Viet Nam is among the 157 States parties to the Convention and as such it should file periodic summaries on its efforts to give effect to the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 9 August, it will continue its consideration of the report of Viet Nam, as well as its adoption of its conclusions on the report of China.

Report of Viet Nam

The report of Viet Nam (document CERD/C/357/Add.2) gives a detailed account of the State party’s efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention. It says that since 1986, the country has been undergoing a process of comprehensive reform and renewal with an overall objective of shifting its centrally planned economy to a multi-sectoral socialist-oriented and market economy driven by State regulations. The reform process had recorded many important achievements, bringing the country out of the socio-economic crisis. Viet Nam had now entered a new stage of development, implementing industrialization and modernization.

The report says that the Communist Party of Viet Nam is the vanguard of the Vietnamese working class, and the leading force of the society. All the party's organizations operated within the Constitution and laws. The State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is of the people, by the people and for the people. All the State power belongs to the people.

Further, the report notes that the 1992 Constitution devotes a separate chapter to the fundamental rights and obligations of citizens. It stipulates that in the country, human rights in all aspects, political, civil, cultural and social are respected; and they are embodied in the rights of citizens and are provided for by the Constitution and the law.

The policies and measures that the State has undertaken over the last years towards ethnic groups, particularly those living in the most disadvantaged areas, have recorded considerable achievements, the report says. Significant and steady progress has been made in the social and cultural development of ethnic and mountain people over the last decade. Impressive and steady
improvements have also been recorded in the overall cultural, material and spiritual life of the people. However, the social and economic life of the ethnic people still faces many difficulties which need urgent solutions. Those difficulties lie in slow economic growth rates, poor infrastructure, high poverty and high birth rates, and environmental degradation.

The report reaffirms that Viet Nam is resolutely determined to refute all forms of racial discrimination including ethnic discrimination, apartheid and xenophobia. The laws guarantee and respect the equality of the different groups living within the Vietnamese territory in all fields, from political to economic, cultural and social, and strictly prohibits any practices of racial and ethnic discrimination and division. The State also creates conditions for ethnic people to develop themselves and improve their material and spiritual life.

Presentation of Report of Viet Nam

NGUYEN QU BINH, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that his country continued to pursue the reform process within its open-door policies and had gained significant achievements in moving from chronic food insufficiency to exporting 3 to 4 million tons of rice per year. The economy had witnessed a continuous and stable growth, at an up to 10 per cent growth rate average for the last 10 years.

Mr. Nguyen said that the achievements in economic and social reforms in the last few years had enabled Viet Nam to integrate successfully into the world, and to further consolidate its people's rights and equality. Racial discrimination was in reality not a big problem in the country; however, the Government had been paying due attention to the issue so as to promote sustainable development, national unity and social cohesion.

Ethnic communities in Viet Nam consisted of more than 50 different minority groups, with a total number of 9.6 million people, representing over 13 per cent of the country's population, Mr. Nguyen said. Vietnamese ethnic groups had a good tradition of peaceful coexistence, free from hatred and racial antagonism which unfortunately occurred in many other parts of the world.

Mr. Nguyen continued to say that ethnic communities were well represented in different State organs and Government institutions. Of 450 deputies of the National Assembly, 78 were ethnic deputies, accounting for 15.6 per cent of the total. At the local levels, the number of ethnic delegates in the People's Councils in mountainous regions accounted for 45 to 55 per cent. Among the total 1.4 million civil servants, people of ethnic origin occupied a large part and were given favourable conditions in recruitment, training, and promotion.

In his conclusion, Mr. Nguyen reiterated his country's commitment to respect for human rights and democratic principles which were of great importance for the fight against racial hatred and discrimination. Viet Nam condemned and rejected all forms of racist violence or racial discrimination as well as the incitement to it.

Consideration of Report

PATRICIA NOZIPHO JANUARY-BARDILL, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Viet Nam, said that the Committee was pleased that the contents of the report had improved and that some of the suggestions made to the delegation during the last submission had been noted. She said that the Committee was pleased to learn that the reform process had made important achievements. However, it was regrettable that the natural disasters
and the regional financial crisis in Asia had interfered with the progress. Despite those obstacles, the report had claimed that the Government had made encouraging social changes and had achieved results in job creation, hunger and poverty reduction, education, health, population and family planning.

Ms. January-Bardill said the Committee welcomed the ratification by Viet Nam of the eight important United Nations human rights conventions as well as the acceptance of the principle of interpreting those conventions into national legal norms. In addition, the report offered useful information on mechanisms used to disseminate legal information to the people of Viet Nam. That process was indeed very important because it made the law accessible to the people.

Mr. January-Bardill observed that the report had affirmed the non-existence of racial discrimination in the country and that the groups co-existed without racial conflicts and discrimination. If there were "Racial" categories, was there discrimination based on what was largely termed "ethnic" differences? The Committee would appreciate it if the Government reconsidered such a claim of non-existence of racial discrimination. In that regard, the Committee would also like to see more information on the 54 ethnic communities in the country.

The Committee had asked the Vietnamese Government to clarify whether the inhabitants of the South who had been involved in the armed struggle enjoyed the same rights as those who had supported the struggle in the North, Ms. January-Bardill recalled. Similarly, the Committee had asked what steps had been taken to bridge the gap between ethnic minority groups, often seen as second rate "mountain people". The delegation was asked to highlight the obstacles and challenges faced by the Government in closing the gap. The Committee would also like to hear more about the American-Vietnamese and French-Vietnamese children, as requested in the previous report.

Quoting non-governmental organization sources, Ms. January-Bardill said that there were reports of religious suppression in the country, and while some concessions had been made to accommodate the beliefs and worshipping practices of some groups, others were prevented from worshipping freely. There were complaints too that the Committee on Ethnic Affairs and Mountainous People was not altogether impartial or effective in the way it represented the interests of minority communities. Moreover, allegations of corruption had also been made. The Committee would appreciate information on the composition and representativeness of the Committee and also whether it consulted with the communities whose interests it was supposed to protect.

There were also complaints that refugees repatriated from Cambodia were not treated well, Ms. January-Bardill said. She said that she was told that ethnic Vietnamese in opposition to the Government in Hanoi had faced problems in Cambodia and when they were deported back to Viet Nam, they were often imprisoned.

Ms. January-Bardill said that forced sterilization of women had been widely reported on by the NGOs that represented their interests. The delegation was asked to provide further information on the matter which was of concern to the Committee, especially within the context of reproduction and sexual health rights, as well as human rights.

Other Committee members also made comments on the contents of the report by referring to their own sources of information, and they addressed a number of questions to the delegation. Several Experts focused on discrimination against and ill-treatment of mountainous minority groups, and requested that the delegation provide further information on measures to prevent such acts. An Expert said that mountainous ethnic groups were required to produce travel certificates from police and that they were ill-treated if they did not possess such documents. Cases of corruption by some Government authorities and detention of religious believers were mentioned. Discrimination against women and children belonging to minority groups was also highlighted; women and children were used as prostitutes and were victims of trafficking, as well as forced labour, the Experts said.

Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Report of China

In the part of the concluding observations and recommendations on the ninth periodic report of China that the Experts adopted, the Committee acknowledged the difficulties inherent in the policy-making and administration, including the standardization of essential services, of a territory as vast as China with more than 1.2 billion inhabitants, including 55 minority natalities.

The Committee said that in view of the dialogue held, it wished to emphasize that based on the relationship between the central authorities and the special administrative regions, and on the principle of "one country, two systems", China alone had, as the State party to the Convention, the responsibility to ensure the implementation of the provisions on its entire territory.

The Committee welcomed the efforts made by the State party to promote economic and social development in economically backward regions inhabited by minority population; and it noted with interest the existence and functions of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission in charge of ethnic affairs. The Committee noted the creation of poverty alleviation projects financing the construction of primary schools in western China.

With regard to the interpretation of the definition of racial discrimination, the Committee noted that according to article 4 of the Constitution, which stipulated that all nationalities in China were equal; the State protected the lawful rights and interests of the minority nationalities. In view of that, the Committee sought clarification with regard to existing guarantees against discrimination on all grounds as defined in the Convention.

With regard to the implementation of articles 2 and 4 of the Convention, the Committee noted the prohibition of the incitement of national enmity or discrimination by any organization or individual provided for in articles 149 and 250 of the 1997 criminal law of China. However, the Committee recalled that the stipulated requisites of serious or flagrant circumstances were not in accordance with the Convention. Regarding the prohibition of racial discrimination in general, the Committee recommended that the State party consider giving full effect to the provisions of the Convention in its domestic legal order and that it ensure the penalization of racial discrimination; and also, access to effective protection and remedies through the competent national tribunals or other State institutions, against all acts of racial discrimination.

The State party was requested to provide further information on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by all nationalities of China and regarding steps taken to ensure that the minority populations benefited from the general economic growth. In that context, the State party was requested to take all appropriate measures to ensure that local and regional cultures and traditions were also promoted and the rights of the populations fully respected.

While noting the State party's information in that regard, some members of the Committee remained concerned with regard to the actual enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion by people belonging to national minorities in the State party, particularly in the Muslim part of Xinjiang and in Tibet. The Committee recalled that a distinctive religion was integral to the identity of several minorities and urged the State party to review legislation and practices that might restrict the right of persons belonging to minorities to freedom of religion.



* *** *