COSTA RICA PRESENTS REPORT TO ANTI-RACIAL DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE ON COMPLIANCE WITH CONVENTION

AFTERNOON


HR/CERD/99/19
11 March 1999


Committee Concludes Consideration of Situation in Czech Republic


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon started its consideration of a report presented by the Government of Costa Rica on how it was giving effect to the provisions of the International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Carlos Fernando Diaz-Paniagua, Costa Rica’s Ambassador for Special Missions, introduced his country's report, affirming that Costa Rican society was essentially a mixed one with 95 per cent of the population descended from unions between persons of Spanish origins and the indigenous people, including Africans and Asians.

Mario Jorge Yutzis, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Costa Rica, said support provided by Cost Rica to the creation of an indigenous forum in the country was a landmark in the recognition of the rights of indigenous people. Costa Rica was also a pioneer in its contribution to the good of the indigenous people.

Also this afternoon, the Committee concluded its consideration of the situation in the Czech Republic after hearing additional statements from Government officials who said that the idea of building a barrier to separate Roma families from the rest of Czech citizens in northern Bohemia was unacceptable to the Czech Government.

Ion Diaconu, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of the Czech Republic, hoped that the delegation's statement would prevail over the decision of the local authorities who had decided to build segregating fences. Another expert said that he would be satisfied by the statement of the delegation only when the decision was nullified.

The following Committee experts also participated in the discussion: Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Shanti Sadiq Ali, Régis de Gouttes, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, and Michael Parker Banton.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 12 March, it will continue its consideration of the report of Costa Rica.

Discussion on Situation in Czech Republic

In response to questions raised by Committee experts this morning, the delegation of the Czech Republic said that the Roma came to his country in the 15th and 16th centuries. Many of the Roma who lived outside the country were subjected to genocide during the Second World War, while those who remained in the Czech Republic were not affected. Only 500 Roma, who escaped the act of genocide in neighbouring countries, came to the Czech Republic after the war.

Furthermore, after the split in two of the former Czechoslovakia in 1992, some Roma were left without being citizens of either of the new two States, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the delegation went on to state. The existing law of the Czech Republic had hampered some of the Roma from becoming citizens. The Government envisaged to abrogate the law to allow those Roma to become citizens of the Czech Republic.

In addition, the Government had taken appropriate measures to deal with the phenomenon of racist activities by neo-Nazi movements like the skinheads who attacked Roma and other persons who were a little different from themselves or whose skin was darker. The Government had also launched a serious of campaigns against xenophobia and racism through the dissemination of information both in schools and to the public in general.

The decision to build a fence to separate the Roma families was not a measure to segregate them, but to physically isolate them, said the delegation. However, the idea was not acceptable to the Government of the Czech Republic and it would take action against the decision.

An expert said that he did not accept the explanation given by the delegation which had given excuses concerning the Roma who were subjected to discrimination. The expert said that it was strange to hear that because of the noise created by Roma children in the street, a barrier had to be erected to separate the families. He said that with that explanation, schools could also be divided to separate Roma children. He called upon the Government to cancel the decision and report to the Committee in its forthcoming periodic report.



ION DIACONU, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the situation in the Czech Republic, hoped that the advocacy of the delegation would prevail over the decision of the local authorities.

Report of Costa Rica

The fifteenth periodic report of Costa Rica (document CERD/C/338/Add.4) enumerates the measures undertaken by the Government to implement the provisions of the Convention. It says that the system in Costa Rica is based on equality before the law, with no discrimination whatsoever on grounds of origin, race, sex, language, religion, opinion, economic or other issues. Costa Rica has repeatedly expressed its absolute rejection of all practices of racial discrimination and its unreserved support for all initiatives aimed at the elimination of any form of discrimination in various fora, both national and international.

The report says that a National Indigenous Affairs Commission was established in response to the need to revive indigenous cultures and ensure that attention was paid to the Indians with a view to enhancing their human, cultural and economic potential. In addition, the Indigenous Act, promulgated in 1977, recognized the indigenous reservations and declared them to be the property of the indigenous communities; it defined them as being inalienable, imprescriptible, non-transferable and exclusively for the indigenous communities inhabiting them.

Presentation of Costa Rican Report

CARLOS FERNANDO DIAZ-PANIAGUA, Ambassador of Costa Rica for Special Missions and head of the delegation, said the gross domestic product (GDP) of his country had increased from 3.7 per cent in 1997 to 5.5 per cent in 1998. This had allowed the population to improve its living conditions. The trade balance had also grown in 1998 despite the devastating effects of el Nino which had affected the agricultural sector.

Mr. Diaz-Paniagua affirmed that the Costa Rican society was essentially a mixed one with 95 per cent of the population descended from unions of persons of Spanish origin and the indigenous people, including Africans and Asians. At present, 3 per cent of the population was Afro-Costa Rican. However, because of the mixture of the population, it was difficult to classify it according to racial origins.

Because of the open-door policy of Costa Rica, there were a number of migrants residing in the country, the delegation said, adding that 122,000 Nicaraguans were officially living in the country. This figure did not include the estimated half a million undocumented Nicaraguans in the country. In the aftermath of el Nino which left neighbouring countries victims of its devastating effect, the Government had declared amnesty to nationals of those countries living illegally in the country to regularize their situation. The amnesty had already entered into force on 1 February 1999 and it would remain valid for six months.

Concerning the implementation of the Convention, Mr. Diaz-Paniagua said that it had supra-constitutional ranking in domestic legislation. Other laws relating to the implementation of the Convention also provided that the ratification of the Convention derogated all laws that would have contradicted the provisions of the Convention. In addition, the country's penal code contained provisions making racial discrimination punishable by law.

MARIO JORGE YUTZIS, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Costa Rica, said that the democratic tradition of Costa Rica had to be appreciated. The simplicity of Government officials was also to be admired, he said.

Turning to the report, Mr. Yutzis said that the indigenous forum adopted in Costa Rica was a landmark in the recognition of the rights of indigenous people. Costa Rica was also a pioneer in its contribution to the good of the indigenous people. It had also ratified International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169 concerning indigenous peoples.

Concerning the situation of immigrants in Costa Rica, Mr. Yutzis said that there was a persistent problem arising from the defencelessness of the undocumented immigrants residing in the country. They were subjected to exploitation because of their situation. According to reliable sources, Cuban refugees or immigrants arriving in the country were not given either work or residence permits. In some cases, Nicaraguans were subjected to physical aggression, he said.

Regarding the indigenous peoples, Mr. Yutzis said the report had indicated that the penetration of non-indigenous persons into indigenous lands was attributed to the weakness of the indigenous populations themselves. Mr. Yutzis was not of the same view and said that the system did not enable the indigenous populations to defend themselves on their own. In addition, indigenous peoples were not involved in forming legislation concerning them, he said.

Mr. Yutzis wanted to know how the Government was facing the problem of indigenous people to gain access to credit. Traditionally, Costa Rica offered an important possibility of credit for agricultural purposes in the rural areas. The State credit banks used the tenure of land as a guarantee to the credit transaction. But the indigenous people had collective land and there was no individual ownership of land, he said.

Mr. Yutzis also said that the health care facilities in the country were absolutely insufficient. In the rural areas, health care facilities were not adequate and the indigenous people did not fully use them. The infant mortality among the indigenous people was not registered to enable the Government to undertake preventive measures in that regard, he said.