Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Press releases Treaty bodies
Default title
12 March 2001
Share
CERD
58th session
12 March 2001
Afernoon
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon started its consideration of the ninth periodic report of Portugal on how that country is complying with the provisions enshrined in the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
A Government delegation told the Committee that Portuguese society had become more developed in recent years and more foreigners had become legal residents. There were new policies to ensure that foreigners were integrated properly and efforts were being made to eradicate all forms of racial discrimination in society.
Jose Leitao, the High Commissioner of Immigration and Ethnic Minorities of Portugal, said the Convention was directly applicable in Portuguese legislation. There were punishments for racial discrimination in the criminal code. And last year, while president of the European Union, Portugal had added an anti-discrimination article to the treaty that established the European Union. Portugal was working to combat racial discrimination internally as well as at the European level.
Other members of the delegation spoke about a 1999 law that established new rights for immigrants, ranging from the right to take part in drawing up public policy to participating in legislative efforts when immigration was affected, and the right to public broadcasting. In addition, the Government had ended labour quotas for foreigners. Enterprises could now be made up entirely of foreign workers.
As one of the 157 States parties to the Convention, Portugal has to submit reports to the Committee describing the status of the document in its society, and has to send a Government panel before the Committee to answer questions about the reports.
Joining Mr. Leitao on the delegation were Paulo Marrecas Ferreira of the Ministry of Justice; Romualda Fernandes of the Office of the High Commissioner of Immigration and Ethnic Minorities; Ana Bela Dias Nobre of the Foreigner and Border Service; Maria Camila Cardoso Ferreira of the Secretariat for the Coordination of Educational Programmes for Multiculturalism; Jose Pereira Gomes of the Mission of Portugal in Geneva; Luis Faro Ramos of the Mission of Portugal in Geneva; and Pedro Alves of the Mission of Portugal in Geneva.
Committee Experts posing questions to the delegation were Mario Jorge Yutzis, the Committee's Rapporteur on the report; Luis Valencia Rodriguez; Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr; Ion Diaconu; Carlos Lechuga Hevia; Patrick Thornberry; Tang Chengyuan; and Marc Bossuyt.
The Committee also continued its discussions this afternoon about the upcoming World Conference against Racism, as various Experts spoke about the preparatory regional conferences.
The Portuguese delegation opted to take time to prepare its responses, and will return with answers to the questions raised by the Committee Experts at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 13 March.
Ninth Periodic Report of Portugal
The ninth periodic report of Portugal (CERD/C/357/Add.1) details on an article-by-article basis how that country complies with the tenets and mandates enshrined within the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. The report begins with statistics analysing the demographic composition of the Portuguese population. Further sections discuss Government efforts made to implement the Convention, developments in jurisprudence relating to racism and racial discrimination and recent legislation on racism and racial discrimination.
Portugal's report states that the population is homogeneous in the sense that no distinction is made between races, which have mixed and crossbred for centuries. Historically, there has been a Celtic, Iberian, Roman, Carthaginian, Visigoth and Arab presence in Portugal, as well as a strong Sefardic Jewish presence. These groups have mixed with the rest of the population. Because of the maritime expansion of the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries and overseas colonization, communities of all origins have also mixed in with the Portuguese. Recent problems of racism and xenophobia have no effect on this situation. The problems arose out of movements which are on the fringes of society and are associated with extreme ideologies.
According to the report, the Government has begun the process of acceding to the article 14 mechanism and the process of ratifying the amendment to article 8 of the International Convention following the recommendations of the Committee. Although these processes have not yet been completed, there is every reason to believe that the country will be able to follow the Experts' recommendations. To disseminate the report, the Office of the High Commissioner for Immigration and Ethnic Minorities has posted it to a web site. Further, the Bureau of Documentation and Comparative Law of the Office of the Procurator-General of the Republic has also disseminated the combined texts of earlier reports on its web site. The Bureau's site also contains many texts -- relating to doctrine, legislation, international instruments and jurisprudence, for example -- relating to human rights.
The report describes the situation of the Gypsy dwellings in Vila Verde, a case which was referred to the Ombudsman and which is currently before the courts. Detailing recent legislation on racism and racial discrimination, the report describes a new law on asylum and refugees that guarantees a residence permit to foreigners and stateless persons who are prevented from returning to the State of their nationality or habitual residence.
Presentation of Report of Portugal
JOSE LEITAO, the High Commissioner of Immigration and Ethnic Minorities of Portugal, said that in recent years Portuguese society had become more developed and more foreigners had become legal residents. There were new policies to ensure that foreigners were integrated properly and efforts were being made to eradicate all forms of racial discrimination in society. The Convention was directly applicable in legislation. There were punishments for racial discrimination in the criminal code. Last year, while president of the European Union, Portugal had added an anti-discrimination article to the treaty that established the European Union. Portugal was working to combat racial discrimination internally as well as at the European level.
Mr. Leitao and other members of the delegation said a 1999 law had established new rights for immigrants, including the right to take part in drawing up policy, the right to participate in legislative efforts that affected immigration, the right to public broadcasting, and the right to be free of legal costs. The integration of Gypsies was going ahead, and their communities were enjoying education and other public programmes.
The delegation said the State had created a prevention mechanism. Concerning recent legislation, Portugal had ended limitations and quotas. An enterprise may be made up for foreigners entirely. There was also the extension of residents permits -- foreigners could remain within the national territory and work within their chosen field. Foreign workers had access to training courses, just like citizens.
Discussion
MARIO JORGE YUTZIS, the Rapporteur on the report, said Portugal in its report had stated that it had put an end to foreign quotas and this was a welcome initiative. The statement by the delegation had addressed several points that were going to be raised. There were questions to be asked, however. The report said the country had a homogenous population and there were no distinctions between races. Yet there were xenophobic incidents which the report said were sporadic, isolated cases. There was another report which claimed that Portuguese society was as racist as any other society in Europe.
He asked about the number of Gypsies and foreigners in Portugal. According to the report, there seemed to be 177,000 foreigners. But the High Commissioner for Immigration, in a document about employment for migrant workers, had said there were 200,000 foreigners. It was important to have an up-to-date figure. It was also important to see in which areas workers from abroad could find employment. According to some reports, foreigners could not enter university, and could not get into professional training courses. Were these reports accurate?
Mr. Yutzis asked what kind of consequences globalization was having on migrant workers in Portugal. In hotels and catering businesses, salaries were low, and that had discouraged young people. Many building and construction companies were illegal, and that affected the remuneration of migrant workers. Positively, trade unions were putting pressure and trying to change this situation. And it should be stressed that this was positive for migrant workers as well.
Reading from a report, he asked about Gypsies, saying that legal action had reportedly been taken against a terrorist association. Were such associations still in existence? As long as they existed, they would continue to create unrest.
Other Committee Experts asked the delegation, among other things, about the destruction of Gypsy dwellings; if compensation was paid for people whose homes were destroyed; sanctions against the Mayor of Vila Verde; how Gypsies were distinguished from the Portuguese population as a whole; if the population as a whole accepted the Gypsies with tolerance; if Gypsies was how the group wanted to be known by; if there was any Gypsy participation in public life; the rate of unemployment among Gypsies; the elimination of labour quotas; if foreigners who were returned to their own countries left of their own free will; immigration from Northern Africa; Portugal’s efforts to combat racial discrimination with every means at its disposal; sanctions on discrimination in public places; the opportunity for individuals to self-identify; if there were any laws about the nationality of children of foreigners born in Portugal; and the government structure of the Office of the High Commissioner of Immigration and Ethnic Minorities.
* *** *
58th session
12 March 2001
Afernoon
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon started its consideration of the ninth periodic report of Portugal on how that country is complying with the provisions enshrined in the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
A Government delegation told the Committee that Portuguese society had become more developed in recent years and more foreigners had become legal residents. There were new policies to ensure that foreigners were integrated properly and efforts were being made to eradicate all forms of racial discrimination in society.
Jose Leitao, the High Commissioner of Immigration and Ethnic Minorities of Portugal, said the Convention was directly applicable in Portuguese legislation. There were punishments for racial discrimination in the criminal code. And last year, while president of the European Union, Portugal had added an anti-discrimination article to the treaty that established the European Union. Portugal was working to combat racial discrimination internally as well as at the European level.
Other members of the delegation spoke about a 1999 law that established new rights for immigrants, ranging from the right to take part in drawing up public policy to participating in legislative efforts when immigration was affected, and the right to public broadcasting. In addition, the Government had ended labour quotas for foreigners. Enterprises could now be made up entirely of foreign workers.
As one of the 157 States parties to the Convention, Portugal has to submit reports to the Committee describing the status of the document in its society, and has to send a Government panel before the Committee to answer questions about the reports.
Joining Mr. Leitao on the delegation were Paulo Marrecas Ferreira of the Ministry of Justice; Romualda Fernandes of the Office of the High Commissioner of Immigration and Ethnic Minorities; Ana Bela Dias Nobre of the Foreigner and Border Service; Maria Camila Cardoso Ferreira of the Secretariat for the Coordination of Educational Programmes for Multiculturalism; Jose Pereira Gomes of the Mission of Portugal in Geneva; Luis Faro Ramos of the Mission of Portugal in Geneva; and Pedro Alves of the Mission of Portugal in Geneva.
Committee Experts posing questions to the delegation were Mario Jorge Yutzis, the Committee's Rapporteur on the report; Luis Valencia Rodriguez; Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr; Ion Diaconu; Carlos Lechuga Hevia; Patrick Thornberry; Tang Chengyuan; and Marc Bossuyt.
The Committee also continued its discussions this afternoon about the upcoming World Conference against Racism, as various Experts spoke about the preparatory regional conferences.
The Portuguese delegation opted to take time to prepare its responses, and will return with answers to the questions raised by the Committee Experts at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 13 March.
Ninth Periodic Report of Portugal
The ninth periodic report of Portugal (CERD/C/357/Add.1) details on an article-by-article basis how that country complies with the tenets and mandates enshrined within the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. The report begins with statistics analysing the demographic composition of the Portuguese population. Further sections discuss Government efforts made to implement the Convention, developments in jurisprudence relating to racism and racial discrimination and recent legislation on racism and racial discrimination.
Portugal's report states that the population is homogeneous in the sense that no distinction is made between races, which have mixed and crossbred for centuries. Historically, there has been a Celtic, Iberian, Roman, Carthaginian, Visigoth and Arab presence in Portugal, as well as a strong Sefardic Jewish presence. These groups have mixed with the rest of the population. Because of the maritime expansion of the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries and overseas colonization, communities of all origins have also mixed in with the Portuguese. Recent problems of racism and xenophobia have no effect on this situation. The problems arose out of movements which are on the fringes of society and are associated with extreme ideologies.
According to the report, the Government has begun the process of acceding to the article 14 mechanism and the process of ratifying the amendment to article 8 of the International Convention following the recommendations of the Committee. Although these processes have not yet been completed, there is every reason to believe that the country will be able to follow the Experts' recommendations. To disseminate the report, the Office of the High Commissioner for Immigration and Ethnic Minorities has posted it to a web site. Further, the Bureau of Documentation and Comparative Law of the Office of the Procurator-General of the Republic has also disseminated the combined texts of earlier reports on its web site. The Bureau's site also contains many texts -- relating to doctrine, legislation, international instruments and jurisprudence, for example -- relating to human rights.
The report describes the situation of the Gypsy dwellings in Vila Verde, a case which was referred to the Ombudsman and which is currently before the courts. Detailing recent legislation on racism and racial discrimination, the report describes a new law on asylum and refugees that guarantees a residence permit to foreigners and stateless persons who are prevented from returning to the State of their nationality or habitual residence.
Presentation of Report of Portugal
JOSE LEITAO, the High Commissioner of Immigration and Ethnic Minorities of Portugal, said that in recent years Portuguese society had become more developed and more foreigners had become legal residents. There were new policies to ensure that foreigners were integrated properly and efforts were being made to eradicate all forms of racial discrimination in society. The Convention was directly applicable in legislation. There were punishments for racial discrimination in the criminal code. Last year, while president of the European Union, Portugal had added an anti-discrimination article to the treaty that established the European Union. Portugal was working to combat racial discrimination internally as well as at the European level.
Mr. Leitao and other members of the delegation said a 1999 law had established new rights for immigrants, including the right to take part in drawing up policy, the right to participate in legislative efforts that affected immigration, the right to public broadcasting, and the right to be free of legal costs. The integration of Gypsies was going ahead, and their communities were enjoying education and other public programmes.
The delegation said the State had created a prevention mechanism. Concerning recent legislation, Portugal had ended limitations and quotas. An enterprise may be made up for foreigners entirely. There was also the extension of residents permits -- foreigners could remain within the national territory and work within their chosen field. Foreign workers had access to training courses, just like citizens.
Discussion
MARIO JORGE YUTZIS, the Rapporteur on the report, said Portugal in its report had stated that it had put an end to foreign quotas and this was a welcome initiative. The statement by the delegation had addressed several points that were going to be raised. There were questions to be asked, however. The report said the country had a homogenous population and there were no distinctions between races. Yet there were xenophobic incidents which the report said were sporadic, isolated cases. There was another report which claimed that Portuguese society was as racist as any other society in Europe.
He asked about the number of Gypsies and foreigners in Portugal. According to the report, there seemed to be 177,000 foreigners. But the High Commissioner for Immigration, in a document about employment for migrant workers, had said there were 200,000 foreigners. It was important to have an up-to-date figure. It was also important to see in which areas workers from abroad could find employment. According to some reports, foreigners could not enter university, and could not get into professional training courses. Were these reports accurate?
Mr. Yutzis asked what kind of consequences globalization was having on migrant workers in Portugal. In hotels and catering businesses, salaries were low, and that had discouraged young people. Many building and construction companies were illegal, and that affected the remuneration of migrant workers. Positively, trade unions were putting pressure and trying to change this situation. And it should be stressed that this was positive for migrant workers as well.
Reading from a report, he asked about Gypsies, saying that legal action had reportedly been taken against a terrorist association. Were such associations still in existence? As long as they existed, they would continue to create unrest.
Other Committee Experts asked the delegation, among other things, about the destruction of Gypsy dwellings; if compensation was paid for people whose homes were destroyed; sanctions against the Mayor of Vila Verde; how Gypsies were distinguished from the Portuguese population as a whole; if the population as a whole accepted the Gypsies with tolerance; if Gypsies was how the group wanted to be known by; if there was any Gypsy participation in public life; the rate of unemployment among Gypsies; the elimination of labour quotas; if foreigners who were returned to their own countries left of their own free will; immigration from Northern Africa; Portugal’s efforts to combat racial discrimination with every means at its disposal; sanctions on discrimination in public places; the opportunity for individuals to self-identify; if there were any laws about the nationality of children of foreigners born in Portugal; and the government structure of the Office of the High Commissioner of Immigration and Ethnic Minorities.
* *** *