Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reviews the report of Togo

GENEVA (29 November 2016) - The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today concluded its consideration of the combined eighteenth and nineteenth periodic report of Togo on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Introducing the report, Kokouvi Agbetomey, Minister of Justice and Relations with Institutions of the Republic of Togo, said that the Criminal Code of 2015 defined racial discrimination in line with the Convention and provided for custodial or financial sanctions for the crime.  The Chart of Political Parties prohibited incitement to violence and hatred, and all forms of regionalism, xenophobia, and religious intolerance.  The programme for the modernisation of justice 2005-2012 aimed to improve access to justice though improvements in the normative framework, adoption of the law on legal aid, and the publication of a judicial guide to facilitate access to justice for citizens.  The Office of the High Commissioner for Reconciliation and Strengthening of National Unity was created in 2014; its mandate was to implement the recommendations of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission dealing with human rights violations committed in 2005.  The Commission had an important role in the elimination of discrimination, particularly ethnic discrimination, as it was mandated with drafting a law to criminalize ethnic discrimination.

In the ensuing discussion, Committee Experts noted the ethnically diverse make-up of the population and inquired about measures taken to ensure that disadvantaged and under-represented ethnic groups did not suffer from discrimination.  Togo lacked a definition of racial discrimination in line with the Convention, and it also lacked the criterion of “national origin” in the current definition.  The draft Criminal Code prohibited discrimination on racial grounds, but it did not cover all the acts in conformity with Article 4 of the Convention, said Experts, and asked about concrete policies adopted to fight ethnic and racial discrimination, and about measures taken to address complaints for ethnic and racial discrimination.  Togo had experienced socio-political unrest in 2005, following which the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission had been established to shed light on acts of violence of a political nature committed at that time - what had been done to investigate and prosecute politicians and journalists suspected of inciting hatred in 2005?  Experts asked about actions to strengthen the independence and impartiality of the National Commission for Human Rights, and to achieve greater representation of all ethnic groups in the civil service and in the army.  Other issues raised in the discussion included low school enrolment, female genital mutilation, measures to fight corruption and cronyism, equal treatment of history of ethnic groups in school curricula, and the nationality of children.

In her concluding remarks, Yemhelhe Mint Mohamed, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Togo, said that the situation of women, particularly women-headed households, and education, especially of children with disabilities, needed further attention.  The Rapporteur urged Togo to raise awareness about the scourge of female genital mutilation throughout the country, particularly in rural and remote areas.
 
In his closing remarks, Mr. Agbetomey said that Togo was a country built on the rule of law, and it was trying to breathe life and vigour into its institutions.  The dialogue was an opportunity to learn about best practices to eliminate all instances of racial discrimination from the society.

Anastasia Crickley, Committee Chairperson, in her concluding remarks thanked the delegation and all those who had supported the review by providing reports and information, and welcomed the future engagement of Togo with the follow-up procedure.

The delegation of Togo included representatives of the Secretary of State Office for Human Rights, Ministry for Social Action, the Promotion of Women and Literacy; Ministry of Security and Civil Protection; and the Permanent Mission of Togo to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The next public meeting of the Committee will be at 3 p.m. today, 29 November, when it is scheduled to start the consideration of the combined fifteenth to seventeenth periodic report of Portugal (CERD/C/PRT/15-17).

Report

The combined eighteenth and nineteenth report of Togo can be read here: CERD/C/TGO/18-19.

Presentation of the Report

KOKOUVI AGBETOMEY, Minister of Justice and Relations with Institutions of the Republic of Togo, reiterated the great importance that Togo attached to eradicating all forms of racial discrimination.  The Constitution guaranteed the principle of equality of all before the law, and also provided that any act or manifestation of racist, xenophobic or regionalist manifestation would be punished by law.  On 14 September 2016, Togo had become a State party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and it had been a party to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Convention on the fight against discrimination in education since 2012.  Legislative measures had been undertaken in several areas to tackle racial discrimination, including the 2015 law on the Criminal Code which provided custodial or financial sanctions for this crime.  The law defined racial discrimination in line with the Convention.  Togo was a very hospitable country in which many non-nationals lived in harmony and enjoyed all rights on an equal footing with nationals, with the exception of political rights linked to citizenship.  Currently, there were 3,692 refugees from 18 nationalities in the country, said Mr. Agbetomey, noting that the legislation on the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers was founded on the principle of equality and non-discrimination between nationals and non-nationals.  The new law on the status of refugees was adopted in 2016 and it harmonized the national asylum procedure with national standards. 

As foreseen by the 2008 National Human Rights Action Plan, Togo had amended its 2012 Code on Persons and Family to ensure that divorce had no impact on nationality and did not carry a loss of nationality.  The Chart of Political Parties prohibited incitement to violence and hatred, and all forms of regionalism, xenophobia, and religious intolerance.  The programme for the modernisation of justice 2005-2012 had aimed to improve access to justice through improvements in the normative framework, adoption of a law on legal aid, and the publication of a judicial guide to facilitate access to justice for citizens.  The fight against poverty was a priority and several policies and strategies had been adopted to reduce inequalities and disparities which were a source of exclusion, discrimination and ethnic tensions, including the Strategy for Accelerated Growth and the Promotion of Employment (SCAPE 2013-2017), national funds for inclusive finance, emergency programmes for community development, national cash transfer programmes and others, which reduced poverty from 61.7 per cent in 2006 to 55.1 per cent in 2015.  Thanks to those remarkable results, Togo had been chosen as a pilot country for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

According to the commitments made in the inter-Togolese dialogue which gave rise to the 2006 Global Political Accord, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission had been created in 2009; it had made 68 recommendations in its report submitted in 2012, which aimed to create a new Togo and inspire its women and men.  Togo had decided to apply transitional justice to address human rights violations based on hatred and ethnic discrimination.  It had opted for a reconciliation policy which emphasized reparative and restorative justice in order to strengthen the rule of law and allow victims to use the criminal justice system.  The Office of the High Commissioner for Reconciliation and Strengthening of National Unity had been created in 2014 to implement the recommendations made by the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and so played an important role in the elimination of discrimination, particularly ethnic.  This would be achieved through drafting a law to criminalize ethnic discrimination, strengthening the feeling of national belonging by popularizing history of Togo though seminars, conferences, films and the re-writing of the history in the curriculum on the basis of national sentiments and common values.

Questions by Rapporteurs
 
YEMHELHE MINT MOHAMED, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Togo, noted that Togolese society was very ethnically diverse, with more than 36 ethnicities which belonged to six larger ethnic groups, with Tem, Kabye, and Losso being dominant in the army, while Houssa, Peuls and others were under-represented in all State institutions.   What measures would be taken to ensure that disadvantaged ethnic groups did not suffer from discrimination any longer? 

The official language was French, and two languages – the évé and the Kabiyé had been adopted as national languages in 1980.  Those were written languages, also taught in school.  Vernacular languages were largely oral, the Gur, spoken in the North and the Kwa spoken in the South – what would be the future of vernacular languages in Togo?

Togo guaranteed fundamental human rights and this included the right to health; the Law on Public Health of 2009 guaranteed access to health to all without distinction.  Praiseworthy efforts had been taken in the health domain, but in a country where only 61 per cent of the population had access to healthcare, concerns about health coverage and the low number of health professionals remained.  What strategy was being envisaged to deal with this deficit and to ensure that the most vulnerable had access to health?

Despite all the efforts, almost one third of all children did not go to primary school; the percentage of children completing primary education was very low, particularly among girls.  What was the real school enrolment rate, what was being done to ensure that children in rural areas were enrolled, and which measures were in place to enrol girls in school and help them stay in school? 

What initiatives were in place to gain the cooperation of imams, traditional leaders and customary chiefs, and to ensure their support for the schooling of girls and the protection of girls from sexual violence in school?

What was the legal arsenal available to protect women from violence and harmful traditional practices, including early marriage, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation?

One of key problems that impaired the application of the principle of equality of chances for all citizens was the high level of corruption.  What practical measures to fight corruption had been undertaken and what had been their impact?

Turning to the legislation, Ms. Mohamed noted that Togo lacked a definition of racial discrimination in line with the Convention, and that it also lacked the criteria of “national origin” in the current definition.  The draft Criminal Code prohibited discrimination on racial grounds, but it did not cover all the acts in conformity with Article 4 of the Convention.  Which concrete policies were in place to fight ethnic and racial discrimination?  How many complaints for ethnic and racial discrimination had been received, and what measures had been taken to address them?

The Rapporteur welcomed the adoption of the Peace Infrastructure and the Civic Education Month, and asked about other initiatives to promote reconciliation, dialogue, and goodwill between different ethnic groups?  What was the impact of those initiatives?

Togo had experienced socio-political unrest in 2005, following which the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission had been established to shed light on acts of violence of a political nature committed at that time.  What had been done to investigate and prosecute politicians and journalists suspected of inciting hatred in 2005?

What had been done to strengthen the independence and impartiality of the National Commission for Human Rights, and also to achieve greater representation of all ethnic groups in the civil service and in the army?

GUN KUT, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Follow-Up, commended Togo for providing information on follow-up articles that the Committee had identified, and asked for additional information on measures taken to address the Committee’s recommendation to take the necessary measures to combat any tendency by politicians or media personalities to stigmatise persons on the basis of race, colour, ethnicity, religion, or other grounds.  The delegation was also asked to provide additional information about the functioning in practice of quotas on equality in public service.

Questions by Experts

Other Experts asked about the timeline for the completion of the drafting process of the Action Plan for Combatting Racial Discrimination, and about the situation of women and public education to address key obstacles to achieving gender equality, particularly in political participation.

With regard to discrimination in education, the delegation was asked how the equal treatment of the history of ethnic groups in school curricula was achieved.

What data was available to illustrate Togo’s compliance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment?

Was the definition of racial discrimination fully in conformity with Article 1 of the Convention?  The nationality of children had previously been granted only through paternal lineage – what was the situation now and could women transmit nationality to their children without any discrimination?

Referring to some of the tasks of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, an Expert asked about the success of measures taken to ensure the equal representation of under-represented groups, particularly in the army and civil service.

The National Human Rights Commission enjoyed status A under the Paris Principles, which meant that it should have met with the Committee in the context of the review, which was not the case.  What was the reason for its absence?

The Criminal Code now clearly criminalized racial discrimination, which would give rise to jurisprudence, and in turn enable the collection of statistics to facilitate better understanding of the situation by the Committee.  Did the Criminal Code clearly criminalize hate speech and incitement to discrimination?

Was the Convention a part of the domestic law?

An Expert remarked that it was not very clear how a language of education was chosen, and asked how its choice was made, and if ethnic minority groups were taught in their language?

How could Togolese citizenship be acquired?

The report explained that girls were under-represented in schools because of domestic labour and early pregnancies – what measures were in place to address those causes?

What were the root causes of the 2005 unrest?

There were no statistics on complaints of racial discrimination as the Criminal Code was still awaiting adoption, noted an Expert, and asked about any complaints filed for racially or ethnically motivated insults which were criminalized in the previous Criminal Code.

The delegation was asked to provide employment rates for the country and for each ethnic group, and to inform about measures taken to reduce the vulnerability of under-represented ethnic groups; actions taken to tackle the root causes of gender inequality, including lack of self-confidence among women, and the reluctance of men to share in power and decision-making; and data on the prison population and the capacity of prisons.

Could the delegation explain whether the Criminal Code was a draft, or was it already a law?

The Committee was very concerned about the situation of education in Togo, from the low enrolment rate in primary school, to the high number of students repeating a year, to a very consequential rate of drop out at 23 per cent.  This could be due to a very high student/teacher ratio, with 85 students per classroom in lower secondary and maybe even higher in primary.  The Government had declared some of the areas of the country priority education areas (ZED: zonnes d’education prioritaire), where it was providing school meals and free textbooks as incentives to increase school enrolment and attendance rates.

The delegation was asked to explain the relationship between judges and the Office of the Prosecutor, how was a “minority” defined, which problems related to ethnic discrimination that Togo was dealing with at the moment, and whether a women had the right to pass on her name to her child, in addition to her husband’s.

What data was available on the make-up of non-nationals: how many among them were refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, and could they access basic social services and the judiciary?

ANASTASIA CRICKLEY, Committee Chairperson, noted the wide-ranging questions asked by the Experts and said that the particular concern of the Committee was the implementation of the Convention.

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation reassured the Committee that the Togolese authorities did not discriminate against any ethnic group, including in recruitment in the army and security forces.  This was pursuant to the prohibition of discrimination in the Constitution.  In order to ensure equitable representation of all ethnic groups in the army and security forces, an inclusive recruitment process had been set up, recruitment commissions had been established at a local level, while ethnic recruitment quotas had been adopted.

In the health care domain, the priorities had been set up in the National Health Strategy and included the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria, and strengthening of pharmaceutical production.  An observatory had been established in 2012 to monitor discrimination and stigmatization against people living with HIV/AIDS, and efforts had been extended to provide adequate care to pregnant women, which had resulted in a significant decline in maternal mortality rates.

Togo was one of the countries with the highest rate of school enrolment in the region, with the real net rate of 84.5 per cent in 2015: 83 per cent for girls and 86.3 per cent for boys.  Some of the measures taken to encourage the enrolment of girls and their retention in school included setting up of school cantinas, elimination of school fees for pre-school and primary school, provision of scholarships, elimination of secondary school fees for girls, and setting up excellence awards. 

The Education Plan 2010-2020 was being implemented, and a feasibility study would be undertaken at its end in 2020.  The State monitored private education institutions, which delivered high-quality education and thus played an important role in the education system, including in the area of higher education, as there were eight private universities in the country.

The new Criminal Code, the Code of the Family and the Code of Children, as well as the Constitution contained principles of gender equality.  Various initiatives were in place to empower women, such as the National Fund for Inclusive Financing.

Togo was striving to implement the adopted laws to ensure that the social and economic sectors were adequately reformed.

In terms of practical measures to fight corruption, significant progress had been made in the reform of the law sector.  Togo had ratified international and regional instruments to fight corruption, and had set up a major body to fight corruption in 2015.

The Criminal Procedures Law provided for access to a lawyer by the accused in criminal proceedings, and there was a law on legal aid which provided a defence lawyer to all those persons who could not afford one.  Defendants in criminal proceedings were provided automatically with a lawyer when they were heard in court.  Legal aid was not currently available to those in police custody.

There were no laws which guaranteed compensation to persons who had been arbitrarily detained.

Regarding the definition of racial discrimination in the law, the delegation explained that the definition contained in the new Code was aligned with Article 1 of the Convention.  Even though discrimination on the basis of national origin was not specifically referred to in the law, Togo was taking efforts to fulfil all the obligations from the Convention in this regard.
 
Initiatives had been taken to eliminate racial discrimination, including awareness raising campaigns and the plan for the implementation of treaty bodies’ recommendations, which would include recommendations made by this Committee.  The programme for the protection and promotion of human rights encompassed racial discrimination, and there was human rights education which covered the topic of eliminating racial discrimination.

The budget of the National Human Rights Commission had been increased by 12 per cent in 2015, and its staff would be increased as well, said a delegate.

Persons wishing to obtain Togolese nationality had to renounce their original nationality, be in good physical and mental health, and be registered in Togo.

Stateless persons could not enjoy certain rights, notably access to employment, as they did not have identity documents.

The new Criminal Code defined and punished human trafficking.  An early warning mechanism was in place which helped in the identification of cases of trafficking in children.  Human trafficking occurred when people lived in poverty, and actions were being taken to alleviate the difficult situation of families, including cash transfers, school feeding, and the national inclusive fund.

In response to a question concerning the tendency of public authorities to stigmatise persons on the basis of their ethnic origin, the delegation explained that the Criminal Code and the Press Code punished incitement to ethnic and tribal hatred.

Apart from quotas in the recruitment of army and security forces, there were no other quotas on access to public employment for ethnicities.

There were three kinds of remedies for human rights violations: legal, quasi-legal, and administrative remedies.  For the time being, there were no statistics available on complaints filed.

Following the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a new organic law had been adopted which entrusted the role of the national preventive mechanism to the National Human Rights Commission; this organic law was now being revised to bring it in line with the Paris Principles.

Each child born to a Togolese father or mother had the right to nationality.

Courts did not automatically investigate instances of racial discrimination, it was up to the victims to bring complaints.

Torture was codified in the new Criminal Code and was not subject to a statute of limitations, said the delegation.

Togo had a very low unemployment rate, only six per cent, and this could be explained by a number of initiatives that the Government had undertaken to ensure employment, particularly of the youth.  Many people worked in the informal sector, like in many other African countries.

Independence of judges was enshrined in the Constitution and was upheld in practice by the Supreme Council of Magistrates which was the body responsible for proposing the appointment of new magistrates.  Prosecutors were nominated on the basis of proposals made by the Office of the Public Prosecutor.  Currently, 250 magistrates operated in Togo.

Prison overcrowding was a reality and Togo was building new prisons to address the problem.

Concerning the composition of non-nationals, the delegation said that there were 13,004 refugees, 627 asylum-seekers, while the statistics on migrants were not available at the moment.  Non-citizens lived in harmony with the local population and were fully integrated in the society.

As for the results of the Ombudsman’s work, the delegation explained that the Chairperson had just been appointed, and that the process for the new institution was underway.

Questions by Experts
 
YEMHELHE MINT MOHAMED, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Togo, stressed that female genital mutilation was a violation of women’s rights.  Was there a strategy in place to combat the scourge, and did the laws prohibit the practice?  The Rapporteur asked who could obtain nationality in Togo, and whether there were any refugees who had obtained it. She also asked about any measures adopted to mitigate the effects of cronyism.

Another Expert stressed the importance of the efforts of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and noting that Togo favoured the reconciliatory approach, asked about the right of victims to instigate criminal proceedings if they were not satisfied with the results of the reconciliation efforts.

Responses by the Delegation

Responding, the delegation said that the reconciliatory approach prevailed over judicial remedies in all complaints filed by victims of racial discrimination.  Judicial remedies were the last resort, only when reconciliation did not work.  Criminal proceedings were initiated automatically only in some special circumstances.

The current Ombudsman had been appointed in 2015, but it was important to note that the Cabinet had only approved the decree with the organizational structure for the Office of the Ombudsman two months ago. 

Togo had adopted a law in 1998 which punished the practice of female genital mutilation.  Prior to the adoption of the law, the rate of female genital mutilation was 12 per cent, and it had since considerably gone down to six per cent in 2012, and to three per cent recently.  The law was fully operational, and awareness raising activities were ongoing in partnership with civil society organizations.  Initiatives were in place to ensure that those women who practiced female genital mutilation were provided with other income-generation activities.  At the moment, female genital mutilation was practiced in very small communities, usually foreign.

The delegation confirmed that there had been refugees who obtained nationality, and Togo did not hesitate to extend nationality to all eligible refugees.

Follow-up Questions by Experts and Responses

In their follow-up questions, Committee Experts raised the issue of the absence of the National Human Rights Commission in this review; and how Togo dealt with the lack of documents by some applicants for Togolese nationality and whether the procedure in place ensured the equality of women and men.

Responding, the delegation reiterated that they were not aware of reasons which would explain the absence of the National Human Rights Commission.  This body was independent, but it was subsidized by the State, it had its own budget and could set its own priorities.  It was not likely that the Commission was absent because of the lack of financial resources.

In terms of acquiring nationality, a delegate explained that the process required the applicant to renounce their original nationality, and it was up to the applicant to provide the necessary documentation.  The delegate recognized the risk of statelessness in the process, as it was possible that the certificate of nationality was issued a long time after the applicant renounced their nationality at birth.

Further Questions by Experts

In the next round of questions, an Expert asked the delegation to explain the situation of the Senate, whether it was in session or suspended, and what reasons could explain the lack of its full functionality. 

Could the delegation comment on the right of women to a legal personality, and the right to pass on their name to their children?

Responses by the Delegation

In response to the issues raised by the Experts, the delegation said that in some African countries the position of women before the law was not an issue, and in those countries matriarchal societies were the norm.  This was not as yet the case in Togo.  Only if the father was unknown was the mother’s name used to identify the child.

The Senate had been established by the 2002 Constitutional reform, but it had not yet been convened. The most important reason could be that the make-up of the Senate meant that one part of its members must be nominated by local authorities, which required that those authorities were directly elected themselves.  Yet, since the Constitutional review, local authorities had been appointed by special nomination, so Togo had not yet completed the process for electing local authorities; until then, it would not be possible to proceed with the nomination of Senators.  This was the most objective technical reason to explain why the Senate had not yet been convened.

During the last elections, male Presidential candidates had had to deposit a fee of 100,000 CFA francs, while female candidate were obliged to deposit only half of that sum.

Concluding Remarks

YEMHELHE MINT MOHAMED, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Togo, said that Togo should look carefully where discrimination existed - in the field of women’s rights, education and housing.  The situation of women, particularly women-headed households, needed special attention, and a lot remained to be done in education, with particular attention to children with disabilities.  Togo must raise awareness about the scourge of female genital mutilation throughout the country, particularly in rural and remote areas.  It was very regrettable that the National Human Rights Commission had not participated in the debate, and that the decree on the organizational structure of the Office of the Ombudsman had been adopted only recently.  The Rapporteur acknowledged that the situation of Ghanaian refugees was a political issue and stressed that those persons should be recognized as refugees.

KOKOUVI AGBETOMEY, Minister of Justice and Relations with Institutions of the Republic of Togo, explained that the Ombudsman had been adopted in 2012, in order to operationalize the structure of the institution.  Togo was a country built on the rule of law and the expertise of all was needed in order to progress and achieve the highest peaks of democracy.  Togo was trying to breathe life and vigour into its institutions and this dialogue was an opportunity to learn about best practices to eliminate all instances of racial discrimination from the society.

ANASTASIA CRICKLEY, Committee Chairperson, thanked the delegation and all those who had supported the review by providing reports and information.  The dialogue was wide ranging and a lot more remained to be said about racial discrimination, said the Chairperson, who recognized the intersectionality of issues raised by the Experts, for example women and discrimination.  The Committee looked forward to continuing the process, including through the engagement of Togo with the follow-up process.

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