COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION URGES PAPUA NEW GUINEA TO SUBMIT A REPORT

CERD
60th session
14 March 2002
Afternoon




Starts Consideration of Reports of Jamaica;
Considers Situation in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon adopted a decision on the situation in Papua New Guinea in which it once again urged the State party to submit a report and to supply specific information on the present situation in Bourgainville.

The Committee said that despite its repeated requests, Papua New Guinea had not resumed its dialogue with the Committee since 1984; it had submitted neither its periodic reports nor the additional information requested about the situation in Bourgainville; thus the State party had not fulfilled its obligation under article 9 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination concerning submission of periodic reports.

The Committee also started its consideration of the eighth to fifteenth periodic reports of Jamaica by hearing a Government delegation say that Jamaica was continuing to build a multi-racial society based on racial tolerance and harmony.

Introducing his country's reports, Ransford Smith, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations Office at Geneva, also said that there was an absence of ethnic tension and strife and other indications of racial disharmony in Jamaica. He said that despite a lengthy period of economic difficulty, the cohesive racial fabric of the society had remained intact, giving reinforcement to the national motto "out of many one people".

Yuri A. Reshetov, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the reports of Jamaica, said that Jamaica had revoked its membership to the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which recognized the competence of the Human Rights Committee to receive and consider individual communications; in 1997, that Committee had deplored the step taken by Jamaica to withdraw from the Protocol. He stressed that a State's efforts to fight racial discrimination without international cooperation was unrealistic.

Other Committee members also commented on the contents of the reports by raising questions on such issues as the high rate of unemployment; the disproportionate number of criminals, prisoners and prostitutes compared to the population; the absence of specific legislation to prevent the phenomenon of racial discrimination from emerging; and the absence of information on concrete cases in connection with the violation of rights based on racial discrimination, among other things. An Expert asked about the percentage of land owned by the 0.2 per cent white population of Jamaica vis-a-vis the 90.5 per cent black population.

Also contributing to the debate were Committee members Linos Alexander Sicilianos, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Nourredine Amir, Regis de Gouttes, Patrick Thornberry, Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill and Kurt Herndl.

Included in the Jamaican delegation was Symone Betton, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Jamaica in Geneva.

Jamaica is among the 161 States parties to the Convention and as such it must submit periodic reports on how it is implementing the provisions of the treaty.

The Committee also briefly discussed the situation in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines under is review procedure which is designed for States parties whose reports are seriously overdue. Patrick Thornberry, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the situation in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, said that information on that State party was scarce and the only document available to the Committee was a one paragraph initial report submitted in 1983 and considered by the Committee in 1984.

Also this afternoon, the Committee exchanged views on its previous decision that it adopted to hold a meeting in New York to enable States that had no representation in Geneva to present their reports without the extra cost of travelling from New York to Geneva.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 15 March, it will continue its consideration of the reports of Jamaica.

Decision on Situation in Papua New Guinea

The Committee said that despite its repeated requests, Papua New Guinea had not resumed its dialogue with the Committee since 1984; it had submitted neither its periodic reports nor the additional information requested about the situation in Bourgainville; thus the State party had not fulfilled its obligation under article 9 of the Convention concerning submission of periodic reports.

The Committee once again urged the State party to submit its report under article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention, as well as to supply information specifically on the present situation in Bourgainville. In particular, the report should provide information on the demographic composition of the population, as well as the economic, social and cultural situation of the different ethnic groups. In that connection, the Committee wished again to draw the State party's attention to the possibility of availing itself of the technical assistance offered under the advisory services and technical assistance programme of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Committee drew the attention of the State party to the provisions of the Declaration and the Programme of Action of the World Conference against Racism, according to which the Committee was the principal international instrument for the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and States were urged to cooperate with the Committee in order to promote the effective implementation of the Convention.

The Committee decided that, in the absence of any indication on the part of the State party that it will comply with its obligation under article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention, it will consider the implementation of the Convention in Papua Guinea in March 2003.

Reports of Jamaica

The eighth to fifteenth periodic reports, contained in document CERD/C/383/Add.1, provide general information on the land and people, and on the political structure and general legal framework within which human rights are protected. The reports also enumerate the various legislative and administrative measures undertaken by the State with the view to implementing the provisions of the Convention. They say that the Constitution provides for the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals without distinction as to race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, creed or sex. The Constitution is compatible with the provisions of the Convention to which Jamaica became a party in June 1971.

The reports note that racial discrimination is illegal in Jamaica and provisions against such practices are provided for in the Constitution and the Common Law. There are no institutional policies or laws in Jamaica that serve to encourage racial discrimination and there are no racial groups in the country for which specific legislation guaranteeing them the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms are required. The different racial groups in Jamaica all enjoy equal status and opportunities under the Constitution and the laws of the country. With regard to the status of women, there is no occurrence of racial discrimination; and there exists no evidence that Jamaican women are disadvantaged on the basis of race.

The reports say that there is no specific legislation in place which prohibits violence against any race or group of persons; the Constitution entrenches and guarantees to every person in the country the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual irrespective of his race or place of origin. In Jamaica's recent history, no cases have been brought before the courts with regard to violations of rights through racial discrimination.

The reports further note that music is another channel through which understanding and tolerance for different cultures is promoted; and in this regard, reggae, which is a popular form of music originated in Jamaica, has gained popularity internationally. In addition, the Jamaican media, in particular the press, has been instrumental in bringing an awareness of human rights issues to the public.

Introduction of Reports

RANSFORD SMITH, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that his country recognized the importance of the Committee and its role in ensuring that States parties to the Convention promoted and protected human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction.

Mr. Smith said that his country had actively participated in the recently concluded World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Jamaica had taken part in the consensus that emerged in Durban, and that was reflected in the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the World Conference.

The Ambassador said that Jamaica was continuing to build a multi-racial society based on racial tolerance and harmony. There was an absence of ethnic tension and strife and other indications of racial disharmony in the country. Despite a lengthy period of economic difficulty, the cohesive racial fabric of the society had remained intact, giving reinforcement to the national motto "out of many one people".

The constitutional review process, about which the Committee was informed when Jamaica's report was last taken up, had not been concluded, Mr. Smith said, adding that he was not in a position to inform the Committee that the reservation on article 4 of the International Convention had been withdrawn.

One pertinent piece of legislation that had been enacted under the constitutional review process was the Public Defenders law of 1999 which had created the office of the Public Defender and which had vested it with investigatory powers to protect and enforce the rights of citizens, Mr. Smith said.

Responding to the previous request of the Committee about its concern that there was no data reflecting the ethnic composition of Jamaica's unemployed or prison population, Mr. Smith said that he could only reiterate that data on ethnic or racial lines was not compiled and therefore was regrettably not available.

Consideration of Reports

YURI A. RESHETOV, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the reports of Jamaica, said that the Committee had previously recommended that Jamaica withdraw its reservation to article 4 of the Convention, however, there was no news of such a measure. During the last consideration of the report of Jamaica, the delegation had also been asked to provide information on how the State was implementing article 5 of the Convention.

Mr. Reshetov said that in March 1993, when the members of the Committee last considered the report of Jamaica, they had asked for more detailed information with respect to the implementation of article 5 of the Convention and had deplored the absence of information about the poorest population groups in Jamaica.

Jamaica had been investigated by a number of international organizations, including Amnesty International, which, in its report of 2001, had said that citizens were mistreated by the law-enforcement agents; and that persons on death row did not have access to international recourse to their cases, he said.

Mr. Reshetov said that Jamaica had revoked its membership to the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which recognized the competence of the Human Rights Committee to receive and consider individual communications. In 1997, that Committee had deplored the step taken by Jamaica to withdraw from the Protocol.

The country rapporteur said that in September 2000, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had written a letter to the Prime of Jamaica regretting the State's intention to withdraw from the American Commission of Human Rights, saying that the withdrawal would deprive those on death row of the right to seek international redress. In his response addressed to the High Commissioner in October 2000, the Prime Minister said that "each State was free to determine the kind of penalty against those who committed grave crimes".

Mr. Reshetov stressed that a State's efforts to fight racial discrimination without international cooperation was unrealistic. He wanted to know if there were national provisions which guaranteed that violence prompted by racial discrimination was fully dealt with.

Mr. Reshetov asked the delegation to provide the Committee with additional information on the activities of the office of the Public Defender, which was established under the law on public defenders.

Other Committee Experts also raised a number of questions on issues pertaining to the maintenance of Jamaica's reservation to article 4 of the International Convention, which requires States parties to condemn all propaganda and all organizations that are based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons of one colour or ethnic origin; and the absence of information on the enjoyment of rights under article 5.

The Committee members welcomed the resumption of dialogue with the delegation of Jamaica after a break of several years; the last time the Committee had considered a report of Jamaica was in March 1993. Questions were also raised on the high rate of unemployment; the disproportionate number of criminals, prisoners and prostitutes compared to the general population; the absence of specific legislation to prevent the phenomenon of racial discrimination from emerging; and the absence of information on concrete cases in connection with the violation of rights based on racial discrimination, among other things.

An Expert asked the delegation to provide information on land tenure indicating how many of the 0.2 per cent white population owned land vis-a-vis the 90.5 per cent black population. He also asked about the proportion of industry, hotels and other tourist activities owned by white people.

Review of Situation in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

PATRICK THORNBERRY, the Committee Expert who acted as country rapporteur to the situation in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, said that information on that State party was scarce and the only document available to the Committee was the initial report submitted in 1983 and considered by the Committee in 1984.

The one-paragraph report had said that no form of racial discrimination was practised in the country, that the cultural and socio-economic fabric of the Vincentian society was not conducive to any such practice, and that protection from the practice was one of the fundamental rights and freedoms of Vincentians, and was part of the Basic Clauses of the Constitution.

According to his sources, the State had a population of 30,000 composed of descendants of former slaves brought to the Island. There were also white people from the United Kingdom.

Mr. Thornberry said that the State had been requested to avail itself of the technical and advisory assistance provided by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the preparation of its periodic reports.

Mr. Thornberry was entrusted to prepare a concluding observation or statement concerning the situation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.