COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL ELIMINATION CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF GUINEA

MORNING


HR/CERD/99/65
25 August 1999




Adopts Concluding Observations on Situation in Maldives


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded consideration this morning of a report of Guinea, urging the Government, among other things, to take measures to alleviate the effects of a structural-adjustment regime on the most vulnerable segments of its population.

Committee Expert Mario Jorge Yutsis, who served as country rapporteur for the report of Guinea, noted that the structural-adjustment programme undertaken had had a severe impact on vulnerable inhabitants, as such measures did in other developing countries. He said he was of the opinion that it was the State, rather than private enterprises, that should deal with those vulnerable sectors of the population and take action to improve their living conditions.

A three-person Guinean Government delegation was on hand Tuesday afternoon and this morning to answer the Committee's questions. The Committee will issue its formal, written observations on the report of Guinea towards the end of its four-week session, which concludes Friday.

As one of 155 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Guinea is required to submit periodic reports to the Committee outlining Government efforts to implement the treaty.

Also taking part in the discussion were Committee Experts Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr and Agha Shahi.

The Committee also adopted concluding observations this morning on the situation in the Maldives, a subject considered earlier in the panel’s four-week summer session. Among other things, the Committee regretted that the Maldives had not responded to its invitation to participate in that meeting and to furnish relevant information. The situation in the Maldives was considered under the Committee's review procedure for States parties whose reports were seriously overdue.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will continue its adoption of concluding observations on country reports.

Discussion of report of Guinea

In response to a number of queries put by Committee Experts, members of the Guinean delegation said, among other things, that the country had been for three decades under a centralized socialist system with the Government as the sole employer. Since the introduction of a new regime, and particularly under structural changes fostering a market economy, private enterprises had become employers. Nevertheless, many civil servants had been affected by structural-adjustment programmes and had been dismissed from their posts.

Concerning the application of article 4 of the Convention, which stipulated that States parties should condemn all propaganda and all organizations which were based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race, or which attempted to justify racial hatred and discrimination, the delegation said the Government had taken appropriate steps to avert that kind of situation. Recently, a leader of a political party was sentenced to one year in prison for his part in inciting some regional ethnic groups to raise arms against other ethnic groups.

The delegation said Guinean legislation was humane and did not discriminate against anyone on ethnic grounds. Persons implicated in criminal acts were from various ethnic groups and not from any particular group. In addition, legislation had been passed aimed at promoting and protecting the human rights of all citizens.

With regard to radio transmissions, the delegation said announcers were from different ethnic groups and radio stations transmitted in French and all other ethnic languages. No one ethnic language dominated society, and it was wrong to compare these radio transmissions, as had been done by one of the Committee's Experts, to that of the "mille collines" of Rwanda, whose racial hatred propagation had led to the massacre of millions. Teaching of human rights was not incorporated into school curricula, the delegation said. However, the value of human rights was understood by the majority of the population through the implementation of programmes and media coverage to that end. Seminars and other conferences on human-rights issues had been organized by non-governmental organizations.

Concerning Guinean returnees, the Government had created a State Secretariat to deal with them so that they could be resettled and reinserted into society, the delegation said. Government had also opened all possibilities to returnees so that they could contribute to national reconstruction efforts through their participation according their talents.

The delegation said the Government had maintained contacts with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights by availing itself of technical assistance from that source, and that the Government was considering technical assistance for training Guineans in human-rights education. With regard to the dissemination of the report and the provisions of the Convention, the delegation promised that it would do all it could to disseminate those documents throughout the country, including to people living in remote areas.

Taking the floor in his personal capacity, the Committee Chairperson welcomed the presence of African non-governmental organizations in the meeting room and said he appreciated their participation in providing the Committee with valuable information. Concerning Article 14 of the Convention, which was the recognition of the competence of the Committee to receive and examine individual complaints, the Expert made known to the delegation that the Committee was not putting pressure on the State party. He said the article was optional and the Government could declare its acceptance if it wished to. The Chairperson, saying that he was the only African Expert on the Committee, urged the Guinean delegation to participate in next year's meeting in New York designed to elect members to the Committee.

MARIO JORGE YUTSIS, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur for the report of Guinea, expressed pleasure at the presentation of the report of Guinea and at the presence of a Government delegation to answer questions raised by Committee Experts. He also expressed pleasure over the presence of African non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Turning to the report, Mr. Yutsis noted that Guinea had borne the burden of hosting refugees from the war-ravaged neighbouring States of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau. He also noted that the structural-adjustment regime undertaken in the country had had a severe impact on the vulnerable segments of the population, as such programmes had in other developing countries. He said he was of the opinion that it was the State that should deal with those sectors, and not private enterprises. Mr. Yutsis requested further information concerning the reported destruction of 100,000 houses belonging to the Pelle ethnic group and their eviction from their traditional living sites. He expressed the hope that the Convention and the concluding observations of the Committee on the report of Guinea would be disseminated widely in the country.

Concluding observations on situation in the Maldives

In concluding observations following its consideration of the situation of the Maldives in the absence of a report and a Government delegation from the country, the Committee regretted that no report had been submitted to the Committee from the Maldives since 1992. It also regretted that the Maldives had not responded to the Committee’s invitation to participate in the meeting and to furnish relevant information. The Committee decided that a communication should be sent to the Government of Maldives setting out its reporting obligations under the Convention and urging that a dialogue with the Committee should be resumed as soon as possible.

The Committee said it appreciated the efforts of the Government in the field of education, which had resulted in a literacy rate of 93.2 per cent, making the Maldives one of the first countries in Asia in that respect. Referring to previous reports submitted by the State party in which it was asserted that "no form of racial discrimination exists in the Maldives based on race, therefore, no specific legislation was required to implement the provisions of the Convention", the Committee requested further information on the issue. It also requested information on the situation of migrant workers and foreigners in the Maldives, and asked if they enjoyed the protection of the Convention.

The Committee suggested that the Government of Maldives avail itself of technical assistance offered under the advisory services and technical assistance programme of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, so that the country could draw up and submit a comprehensive periodic report, in accordance with Committee guidelines, without delay.