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14 March 2001
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CERD
58th session
14 March 2001
Morning
Committee Concludes Public Review of Germany's
Fifteenth Periodic Report
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson this morning discussed preparations for the upcoming World Conference against Racism with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, telling the Experts that the work was encouraging States to sign the International Convention on the Elimination all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Mrs. Robinson, who is the Secretary-General of the World Conference which will be held from 31 August to 7 September in Durban, South Africa, said that since the Millennium Summit was held last September, five new countries had signed the Convention, bringing the total to 157. Further, three new countries had made the declaration under Article 14 of the Convention which recognizes the Committee's competence to receive and review complaints from individuals about alleged violations of their rights under the Convention. She said she had also sent letters to all heads of State that had not ratified the Convention or made the Article 14 declaration, urging them to do so.
Answering questions posed by Committee Experts, Mrs. Robinson said national human rights commissions played a significant role in the preparatory stage of the World Conference. Further, she said it was important to develop coordination between the national commissions so that the good practices of established institutions would be shared. She said she would like to see reference in the declaration and programme of action to follow-up conferences to the World Conference.
The Committee this morning also completed its review of the fifteenth periodic report of Germany on how that country complies with the tenets and mandates enshrined in the Convention.
The delegation, answering questions asked by Committee Experts during Tuesday's meeting, said the German Constitutional Court had banned the National Democratic Party of Germany (NDP) because its goals aimed at undermining the freedom and order of the country. NDP materials seized by the Government proved that it was an anti-Semitic and racist party which pursued its goals in a very violent manner.
The delegation also told the Experts that the German Government and German industry were working together to make reparations for the forced labour during World War II. Ten million DM, five million each from the Government and from industry, would soon be appropriated to provide financial compensation for the victims.
Committee Expert Marc Bossuyt, the Rapporteur on the report, summed up the dialogue by stating that the delegation of Germany had talked about a recent resurgence of racism in the country, adding that this was shameful and unacceptable. Considerable efforts had been made in the field of education, campaigns and training courses. Despite these efforts, unfortunately, it could not be said that incidents of racial discrimination were taken care of, or had even declined.
The Committee will offer its conclusions and recommendations about the report of Germany toward the end of its three-week session, which concludes on 23 March.
Committee Experts participating in the discussion were Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Marc Bossuyt, Ion Diaconu, Regis De Gouttes, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Yuri Rechetov, Agha Shahi, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Patrick Thornberry, and Tang Chengyuan.
The Committee will resume its meeting at 3 p.m. to consider the ninth, tenth and eleventh periodic reports of Sudan.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
MARY ROBINSON, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary-General of the World Conference against Racism, said it was important to have an opportunity to continue her dialogue with the Committee, especially this year. So much focus had been directed toward the World Conference against Racism in Durban, but in six months it would be over. The preparations for Durban had had an impact on the encouragement of States to sign the Convention or remove reservations. The Millennium Summit had also helped with the ratification of human rights instruments. The ratification by Ireland last December brought the total number of States parties to the Convention to 157. Since the Millennium Summit, five countries had signed the Convention, and three countries had made the declaration under Article 14. Letters had been sent to heads of Government who had not ratified the Convention or made the Article 14 declaration, urging them to do so.
Mrs. Robinson said the Committee members had made significant contributions in the preparatory work for the World Conference. Preparing the first elements of the programme of actions was not an easy task. It was thought that a number of elements should have come from the regional meetings. There was some disappointment in the seeking of consensus. But that was the nature of preparing such a complex draft. The deadline for having the draft ready was met, and it was translated in all six UN languages so that it was ready for the intersessional working group. The second intersessional working group will be meeting in early May, before the preparatory conference at the end of May. It was important for the procedure of the open-ended working group to be set out clearly, so that as much work as possible could be accomplished. It was hoped that the Committee would also have a focused input in the working group.
Responding to a question, Mrs. Robinson said she would welcome an amendment referencing Article 14 in the introduction of programme of action. It would also be preferable if the Petitions Team became a permanent standing body, and it was hoped that additional posts could be added in the next several months.
Responding to questions posed by Committee Experts, Mrs. Robinson said she was confident that six members of the Committee could be accommodated in Durban during the World Conference.
Questioned about aiding the coordination of national human rights commissions, Mrs. Robinson said the role played by national human rights commissions in the World Conference preparatory stage had been significant, and more of that would be seen during the Commission on Human Rights. It was valuable to develop further interaction. As new national institutions were established, the good practices of other institutions should be shared, and it should be linked with the work of the Committee.
Asked about the lack of stronger references to the Committee in the preparatory work, she said the process now would allow stronger language to be included. Others had made the same point, and it was being considered.
Mrs. Robinson also said it was important that the final declaration and programme of action referred to follow-up conferences. It was important to have a review five years after the World Conference, and in five-year intervals thereafter.
Discussion on the fifteenth periodic report of Germany
Answering questions raised by Committee Experts on Tuesday, the delegation of Germany said there was no definition of national minorities under European Union treaties, but Danes and members of the Sorbian people who had German citizenship were considered national minorities. There had been talks with the Jewish community about whether it wanted to become a national minority, but it refused, maintaining it was a religion.
The delegation said the Government wanted to raise the human rights standards for foreigners in general, whether or not they were a minority. It wanted to combat all racism and xenophobia and intolerance. It respected cultural identity. This was something that Germany wanted to do above the international standards.
The delegation said that in 1996, the Government undertook to establish the European Centre for Minority Issues. It was opened in an area where there was a significant Danish minority. Its mission was to help solve problems of minority peoples.
Asked about teaching Islam in German schools, the delegation said that for years, there had been diverse attempts to offer Islamic education in schools. The difficulty was that there was no central body on content. Islam did not have a central hierarchy the way Christianity did.
In response to a question about forced labour, the delegation said millions of labourers were forced to work in horrendous conditions during World War II. German industry wanted to take responsibility for what had happened. It aimed to provide financial compensation for the victims. Last year, it was decided that 10 billion German marks would be appropriated for this, half from the German government and half from German industry. Just yesterday, German industry claimed to have raised its share.
On police aggression, the delegation said there were reports that German police were xenophobic. Such accusations, especially following a 1995 Amnesty International report, created huge pressure on the police force. Police pledged to safeguard human rights, human dignity and to uphold the law. The use of force against police officers had also increased. Last year, eight police officers were killed in the line of duty. Generally, police aimed to resolve conflicts without the use of force. That was why training concepts had been instituted at all levels. They were continually upgraded. German police officers did not learn only about the rule of law, but of the importance of respecting human rights.
The delegation said the Amnesty International report referred to the excessive use of force. There were many reasons for excessive use of force, from the personality of the individual officers to the structure of the police environment. Police had two coping mechanisms for dealing with stress: one was aggression, and the other was resignation, where the increased pressure led to apathy. These mechanisms did not apply solely to the police force. They were within everybody. Police officers were no more or less xenophobic than the public at large. But it had to live up to its role model function. It was important that police officers get help in dealing with that pressure.
The delegation said police did have to improve their dealings with foreigners in Germany. To do that, foreigners should be integrated into the German police force. In the mid-1990s, there were 234 foreigners in the German police. Unfortunately, there were no more recent statistics available. But it should be noted that many other police officers were of foreign origin.
The delegation said there was new legislation on nationality, which facilitated naturalisation of migrants living in Germany. Children born in Germany acquired with their birth German nationality. Foreigners had a right after eight years to naturalisation. That was a signal to people that they were welcome in German society, and in fact, were a part of German society. The number of cases of naturalisation had risen by about one-third from 1998 to 1999. The reform had shown a positive effect.
Asked about the law on asylum, the delegation said those coming to Germany from safe third countries could no longer claim the need for asylum. The safe third country regulation was confirmed by the European Union. It was designed to thwart people coming to Germany for asylum when they were already in a safe State. The regulation passed in 1993 after Germany received 438,000 applications for asylum in 1992, which was 78 per cent of all asylum applications for the entire European Union. Most countries of the world were safe third countries.
There were centres for ethnic minorities, the delegation said, to help them integrate into the communities they lived in.
Questioned about de facto segregation, the delegation said that according to the studies, most foreigners were very satisfied with their housing, and only 4 per cent were very unsatisfied. In the cities, foreigners living in segregation generally chose to live close to people of the same origin. The German Government kept the options of the choice of housing open. One measure to improve the situation was a programme called Social City. It focused on those areas in which social, economic and urban problems overlapped. Better integration would be achieved by using all possible and necessary resources. It used all players: the economy, the Government, the churches, and most importantly, the people. It had an initial budget of 300 million DM.
Answering a question about compensation to foreign victims of violence, the delegation said any victim had a right to claim compensation from the perpetrator, regardless of whether the victim was foreign or not. For the current year, a budget of 10 million DM had been allocated for compensation of violence from the extreme right.
About the anti-discrimination law, the delegation said it complements other legislation, so one addressed civil law and the other addressed labour law.
Regarding right-wing extremism, the delegation said 85 per cent of the total number of acts registered by the police were propaganda cases, and used illegal criminals. The number of criminal acts rose by 55 per cent last year, and the rise in right-wing extremist violent acts was 34 per cent. Figures from last November and December showed there was a clear drop in such violent acts from August and September figures. It was thought that perhaps some of the late summer acts brought on emulation which challenged perpetrators to commit similar crimes. The federal government would continue to fight the causes of right-wing extremism, and a report would be released on it soon.
About the ban on the NPD, the delegation said only the German Constitutional Court could ban a party. A party could only be banned if its goals aimed at undermining the freedom and order of the country, or if it endangered the principles of Germany. That was why an aggressive stance was needed. A banned party would be immediately dissolved. Any activity after a party was banned would constitute a criminal offense. Assets of banned parties could be seized by the Government and donated to a charity. The German Constitutional Court made its decisions on submissions by Parliament. Since democracy had to be alert, it was hoped that all extreme right-wing parties would be banned. The materials seized proved the NPD wanted to undermine the freedom and rule of order in Germany. It was anti-Semitic and racist. It pursued its goals in a very violent matter.
Any pronouncement on the reasons for xenophobia needed scientific research, the delegation said, and it was being done. The results would be forthcoming. The Government looked forward to the data because it wanted know the best measures to take to prevent it.
Answering another question, the delegation said immigrants had played a crucial role in the development of Germany following World War II. Globalization had shown a symbiosis was needed with foreigners. An open mind was needed. The Government, in July 2000, established an independent commission on immigration. Concrete recommendations were expected later this year.
About drugs used to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the delegation said there was one German company that was being marketed. It was able to prevent mother/child infection, and the company had declared its willingness to give out the drug free of charge to all developing countries. Other countries had shown willingness to lower the price of AIDS-fighting drugs by 85 to 90 per cent.
Concerning land mines, the delegation said maps were handed over in 1982 and 1989 that showed the location of mines. Today, up-to-date mine detecting devices had been provided.
The delegation said Germany chose to establish a Human Rights Commission because it did not feel an ombudsman could handle all the duties. There were several instruments to fight xenophobia and deal with human rights issues.
MARC BOSSUYT, the Rapporteur on the report, said the delegation had provided a comprehensive document and had also updated the Committee about new developments. The replies to the questions were competent and frank. The delegation should be commended for doing such a good job. The delegation had admitted the existence of problems, and had even said even that there had been a recent resurgence of the problem of racial discrimination. It said it was shameful and unacceptable. Considerable efforts had been made in the field of education, campaigns and training courses. Despite these efforts, unfortunately, it could not be said that incidents of racial discrimination were now taken care of, or had even declined. It was said that unemployment was a factor, but now unemployment was dropping and the problems still persisted. This dialogue was useful and helpful to the Committee.
* *** *
58th session
14 March 2001
Morning
Committee Concludes Public Review of Germany's
Fifteenth Periodic Report
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson this morning discussed preparations for the upcoming World Conference against Racism with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, telling the Experts that the work was encouraging States to sign the International Convention on the Elimination all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Mrs. Robinson, who is the Secretary-General of the World Conference which will be held from 31 August to 7 September in Durban, South Africa, said that since the Millennium Summit was held last September, five new countries had signed the Convention, bringing the total to 157. Further, three new countries had made the declaration under Article 14 of the Convention which recognizes the Committee's competence to receive and review complaints from individuals about alleged violations of their rights under the Convention. She said she had also sent letters to all heads of State that had not ratified the Convention or made the Article 14 declaration, urging them to do so.
Answering questions posed by Committee Experts, Mrs. Robinson said national human rights commissions played a significant role in the preparatory stage of the World Conference. Further, she said it was important to develop coordination between the national commissions so that the good practices of established institutions would be shared. She said she would like to see reference in the declaration and programme of action to follow-up conferences to the World Conference.
The Committee this morning also completed its review of the fifteenth periodic report of Germany on how that country complies with the tenets and mandates enshrined in the Convention.
The delegation, answering questions asked by Committee Experts during Tuesday's meeting, said the German Constitutional Court had banned the National Democratic Party of Germany (NDP) because its goals aimed at undermining the freedom and order of the country. NDP materials seized by the Government proved that it was an anti-Semitic and racist party which pursued its goals in a very violent manner.
The delegation also told the Experts that the German Government and German industry were working together to make reparations for the forced labour during World War II. Ten million DM, five million each from the Government and from industry, would soon be appropriated to provide financial compensation for the victims.
Committee Expert Marc Bossuyt, the Rapporteur on the report, summed up the dialogue by stating that the delegation of Germany had talked about a recent resurgence of racism in the country, adding that this was shameful and unacceptable. Considerable efforts had been made in the field of education, campaigns and training courses. Despite these efforts, unfortunately, it could not be said that incidents of racial discrimination were taken care of, or had even declined.
The Committee will offer its conclusions and recommendations about the report of Germany toward the end of its three-week session, which concludes on 23 March.
Committee Experts participating in the discussion were Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Marc Bossuyt, Ion Diaconu, Regis De Gouttes, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Yuri Rechetov, Agha Shahi, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Patrick Thornberry, and Tang Chengyuan.
The Committee will resume its meeting at 3 p.m. to consider the ninth, tenth and eleventh periodic reports of Sudan.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
MARY ROBINSON, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary-General of the World Conference against Racism, said it was important to have an opportunity to continue her dialogue with the Committee, especially this year. So much focus had been directed toward the World Conference against Racism in Durban, but in six months it would be over. The preparations for Durban had had an impact on the encouragement of States to sign the Convention or remove reservations. The Millennium Summit had also helped with the ratification of human rights instruments. The ratification by Ireland last December brought the total number of States parties to the Convention to 157. Since the Millennium Summit, five countries had signed the Convention, and three countries had made the declaration under Article 14. Letters had been sent to heads of Government who had not ratified the Convention or made the Article 14 declaration, urging them to do so.
Mrs. Robinson said the Committee members had made significant contributions in the preparatory work for the World Conference. Preparing the first elements of the programme of actions was not an easy task. It was thought that a number of elements should have come from the regional meetings. There was some disappointment in the seeking of consensus. But that was the nature of preparing such a complex draft. The deadline for having the draft ready was met, and it was translated in all six UN languages so that it was ready for the intersessional working group. The second intersessional working group will be meeting in early May, before the preparatory conference at the end of May. It was important for the procedure of the open-ended working group to be set out clearly, so that as much work as possible could be accomplished. It was hoped that the Committee would also have a focused input in the working group.
Responding to a question, Mrs. Robinson said she would welcome an amendment referencing Article 14 in the introduction of programme of action. It would also be preferable if the Petitions Team became a permanent standing body, and it was hoped that additional posts could be added in the next several months.
Responding to questions posed by Committee Experts, Mrs. Robinson said she was confident that six members of the Committee could be accommodated in Durban during the World Conference.
Questioned about aiding the coordination of national human rights commissions, Mrs. Robinson said the role played by national human rights commissions in the World Conference preparatory stage had been significant, and more of that would be seen during the Commission on Human Rights. It was valuable to develop further interaction. As new national institutions were established, the good practices of other institutions should be shared, and it should be linked with the work of the Committee.
Asked about the lack of stronger references to the Committee in the preparatory work, she said the process now would allow stronger language to be included. Others had made the same point, and it was being considered.
Mrs. Robinson also said it was important that the final declaration and programme of action referred to follow-up conferences. It was important to have a review five years after the World Conference, and in five-year intervals thereafter.
Discussion on the fifteenth periodic report of Germany
Answering questions raised by Committee Experts on Tuesday, the delegation of Germany said there was no definition of national minorities under European Union treaties, but Danes and members of the Sorbian people who had German citizenship were considered national minorities. There had been talks with the Jewish community about whether it wanted to become a national minority, but it refused, maintaining it was a religion.
The delegation said the Government wanted to raise the human rights standards for foreigners in general, whether or not they were a minority. It wanted to combat all racism and xenophobia and intolerance. It respected cultural identity. This was something that Germany wanted to do above the international standards.
The delegation said that in 1996, the Government undertook to establish the European Centre for Minority Issues. It was opened in an area where there was a significant Danish minority. Its mission was to help solve problems of minority peoples.
Asked about teaching Islam in German schools, the delegation said that for years, there had been diverse attempts to offer Islamic education in schools. The difficulty was that there was no central body on content. Islam did not have a central hierarchy the way Christianity did.
In response to a question about forced labour, the delegation said millions of labourers were forced to work in horrendous conditions during World War II. German industry wanted to take responsibility for what had happened. It aimed to provide financial compensation for the victims. Last year, it was decided that 10 billion German marks would be appropriated for this, half from the German government and half from German industry. Just yesterday, German industry claimed to have raised its share.
On police aggression, the delegation said there were reports that German police were xenophobic. Such accusations, especially following a 1995 Amnesty International report, created huge pressure on the police force. Police pledged to safeguard human rights, human dignity and to uphold the law. The use of force against police officers had also increased. Last year, eight police officers were killed in the line of duty. Generally, police aimed to resolve conflicts without the use of force. That was why training concepts had been instituted at all levels. They were continually upgraded. German police officers did not learn only about the rule of law, but of the importance of respecting human rights.
The delegation said the Amnesty International report referred to the excessive use of force. There were many reasons for excessive use of force, from the personality of the individual officers to the structure of the police environment. Police had two coping mechanisms for dealing with stress: one was aggression, and the other was resignation, where the increased pressure led to apathy. These mechanisms did not apply solely to the police force. They were within everybody. Police officers were no more or less xenophobic than the public at large. But it had to live up to its role model function. It was important that police officers get help in dealing with that pressure.
The delegation said police did have to improve their dealings with foreigners in Germany. To do that, foreigners should be integrated into the German police force. In the mid-1990s, there were 234 foreigners in the German police. Unfortunately, there were no more recent statistics available. But it should be noted that many other police officers were of foreign origin.
The delegation said there was new legislation on nationality, which facilitated naturalisation of migrants living in Germany. Children born in Germany acquired with their birth German nationality. Foreigners had a right after eight years to naturalisation. That was a signal to people that they were welcome in German society, and in fact, were a part of German society. The number of cases of naturalisation had risen by about one-third from 1998 to 1999. The reform had shown a positive effect.
Asked about the law on asylum, the delegation said those coming to Germany from safe third countries could no longer claim the need for asylum. The safe third country regulation was confirmed by the European Union. It was designed to thwart people coming to Germany for asylum when they were already in a safe State. The regulation passed in 1993 after Germany received 438,000 applications for asylum in 1992, which was 78 per cent of all asylum applications for the entire European Union. Most countries of the world were safe third countries.
There were centres for ethnic minorities, the delegation said, to help them integrate into the communities they lived in.
Questioned about de facto segregation, the delegation said that according to the studies, most foreigners were very satisfied with their housing, and only 4 per cent were very unsatisfied. In the cities, foreigners living in segregation generally chose to live close to people of the same origin. The German Government kept the options of the choice of housing open. One measure to improve the situation was a programme called Social City. It focused on those areas in which social, economic and urban problems overlapped. Better integration would be achieved by using all possible and necessary resources. It used all players: the economy, the Government, the churches, and most importantly, the people. It had an initial budget of 300 million DM.
Answering a question about compensation to foreign victims of violence, the delegation said any victim had a right to claim compensation from the perpetrator, regardless of whether the victim was foreign or not. For the current year, a budget of 10 million DM had been allocated for compensation of violence from the extreme right.
About the anti-discrimination law, the delegation said it complements other legislation, so one addressed civil law and the other addressed labour law.
Regarding right-wing extremism, the delegation said 85 per cent of the total number of acts registered by the police were propaganda cases, and used illegal criminals. The number of criminal acts rose by 55 per cent last year, and the rise in right-wing extremist violent acts was 34 per cent. Figures from last November and December showed there was a clear drop in such violent acts from August and September figures. It was thought that perhaps some of the late summer acts brought on emulation which challenged perpetrators to commit similar crimes. The federal government would continue to fight the causes of right-wing extremism, and a report would be released on it soon.
About the ban on the NPD, the delegation said only the German Constitutional Court could ban a party. A party could only be banned if its goals aimed at undermining the freedom and order of the country, or if it endangered the principles of Germany. That was why an aggressive stance was needed. A banned party would be immediately dissolved. Any activity after a party was banned would constitute a criminal offense. Assets of banned parties could be seized by the Government and donated to a charity. The German Constitutional Court made its decisions on submissions by Parliament. Since democracy had to be alert, it was hoped that all extreme right-wing parties would be banned. The materials seized proved the NPD wanted to undermine the freedom and rule of order in Germany. It was anti-Semitic and racist. It pursued its goals in a very violent matter.
Any pronouncement on the reasons for xenophobia needed scientific research, the delegation said, and it was being done. The results would be forthcoming. The Government looked forward to the data because it wanted know the best measures to take to prevent it.
Answering another question, the delegation said immigrants had played a crucial role in the development of Germany following World War II. Globalization had shown a symbiosis was needed with foreigners. An open mind was needed. The Government, in July 2000, established an independent commission on immigration. Concrete recommendations were expected later this year.
About drugs used to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the delegation said there was one German company that was being marketed. It was able to prevent mother/child infection, and the company had declared its willingness to give out the drug free of charge to all developing countries. Other countries had shown willingness to lower the price of AIDS-fighting drugs by 85 to 90 per cent.
Concerning land mines, the delegation said maps were handed over in 1982 and 1989 that showed the location of mines. Today, up-to-date mine detecting devices had been provided.
The delegation said Germany chose to establish a Human Rights Commission because it did not feel an ombudsman could handle all the duties. There were several instruments to fight xenophobia and deal with human rights issues.
MARC BOSSUYT, the Rapporteur on the report, said the delegation had provided a comprehensive document and had also updated the Committee about new developments. The replies to the questions were competent and frank. The delegation should be commended for doing such a good job. The delegation had admitted the existence of problems, and had even said even that there had been a recent resurgence of the problem of racial discrimination. It said it was shameful and unacceptable. Considerable efforts had been made in the field of education, campaigns and training courses. Despite these efforts, unfortunately, it could not be said that incidents of racial discrimination were now taken care of, or had even declined. It was said that unemployment was a factor, but now unemployment was dropping and the problems still persisted. This dialogue was useful and helpful to the Committee.
* *** *