UN WORKING GROUP ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT CONCLUDES VISIT TO BELGIUM

20 June 2005

The following statement was issued in Brussels by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, at the end of an official visit to Belgium from 13 to 17 June 2005. The delegation, headed by Peter Lesa Kasanda (Zambia), the Working Group’s Chairperson, included the following experts: Joe Frans (Sweden), Georges Jabbour (Syria) and Irina Zlatescu (Romania).

During its visit to Belgium, at the invitation of the Government, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent held meetings with representatives of the Federal Government and authorities of the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels-Capital Regions, representatives of the French and Flemish Communities as well as civil society organizations and associations of people of African descent, in Brussels, Mechelen, Namur and Liège. The Experts heard testimonies from people of African descent in the country.

The Working Group notes that employment, followed by housing, remains the area in which the majority of complaints of discrimination continue to be recorded and the field in which people of African descent find themselves more disadvantaged.

While a number of initiatives have been taken at the regional level, where most of the competence for employment matters lies, and at the federal level in order to combat discrimination and promote participation of foreigners and persons of immigrant background in employment, the experts encourage the authorities to continue undertaking measures to ensure that persons belonging to these groups enjoy genuinely equal opportunities in employment as the rest of the population.

The Working Group welcomes the adoption of the Principles for a Federal Plan of action against racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia in July 2004 and of the 10-points national plan of action to fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, as a follow up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

In the past years Belgium has undergone legislative changes that have contributed to improvements in the existing legal apparatus to fight against racism and discrimination. Indeed, Belgium has adopted several key legal instruments at the national level with respect to the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance: two laws adopted in 2003 strengthen the protection provided by criminal law against acts inspired by racism and xenophobia and provide for civil remedies against discrimination in various areas and on a wide range of grounds.

The Experts welcome the dialogue that the Belgian authorities have been promoting between the different social, political and economic actors involved for stimulating the adoption of new initiatives for combating discrimination in employment and acknowledge that a number of initiatives have been taken in these fields. The experts encourage the Belgian authorities to undertake further awareness-raising efforts directed in particular to private enterprises on the issues of discrimination and the need for the work environment to reflect the diversity of society.


The Working Group’s Experts wish to thank the federal, regional and local authorities for facilitating their visit. They would also like to extend their gratitude to the Centre for Equal Opportunities and the Opposition to Racism, associations of people of African descent, non governmental organisations, and individuals for the valuable information provided. Finally, they would like to thank the UNDP Liaison Office for its logistical support to the visit.

The Working Group will present a full report of its findings and recommendations to the sixty-second session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2006.