A
UNITED
NATIONS
General Assembly
Distr.
GENERAL
A/49/18
19 September 1994
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Forty-ninth session
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION
OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION*
________________________
* The present document is a mimeographed version of the report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The final report will be issued as Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 18 (A/49/18).
94-36630 (E) 081094 /...
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Letter of transmittal .................................................. 6
I. ORGANIZATIONAL AND RELATED MATTERS ................... 1 - 16 8
A. States parties to the International Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination ................................... 1 - 2 8
B. Sessions and agenda .............................. 3 - 4 8
C. Membership and attendance ........................ 5 - 7 8
D. Solemn declaration ............................... 8 9
E. Election of officers ............................. 9 9
F. Cooperation with the International Labour
Organization and the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization ............. 10 - 11 10
G. Other matters .................................... 12 - 15 10
H. Adoption of the report ........................... 16 11
II. PREVENTION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, INCLUDING EARLY
WARNING AND URGENT PROCEDURES ........................ 17 - 111 12
A. Action taken by the Committee .................... 21 - 106 13
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and
Montenegro) ...................................... 21 - 25 13
Croatia .......................................... 26 - 29 14
Burundi .......................................... 30 - 52 15
Rwanda ........................................... 53 - 72 18
Israel ........................................... 73 - 91 21
Papua New Guinea ................................. 92 - 105 23
Other action ..................................... 106 24
B. Decisions adopted by the Committee ............... 107 - 109 25
The human rights situation in Rwanda ............. 107 25
The situation in Burundi ......................... 108 25
Racist acts of terrorism ......................... 109 25
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
C. General recommendations adopted by the Committee . 110 26
Establishment of an international tribunal to
prosecute the perpetrators of crimes against
humanity ......................................... 110 26
D. Working methods under the prevention procedures .. 111 26
III. CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS, COMMENTS AND INFORMATION
SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE
CONVENTION ........................................... 112 - 572 27
France ............................................... 116 - 159 27
Tunisia .............................................. 160 - 180 33
Sweden ............................................... 181 - 208 37
Morocco .............................................. 209 - 231 42
Norway ............................................... 232 - 267 45
Mauritius ............................................ 268 - 274 50
Mali ................................................. 275 - 283 51
Barbados ............................................. 284 - 291 52
United Arab Emirates ................................. 292 - 297 53
Canada ............................................... 298 - 331 54
Senegal .............................................. 332 - 361 60
Egypt ................................................ 362 - 387 65
Iceland .............................................. 388 - 410 69
Luxembourg ........................................... 411 - 443 72
Sudan ................................................ 444 - 478 76
Spain ................................................ 479 - 511 81
Australia ............................................ 512 - 551 87
Chad ................................................. 552 - 565 94
Afghanistan .......................................... 566 - 572 95
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
IV. CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 14 OF
THE CONVENTION ....................................... 573 - 583 97
V. CONSIDERATION OF COPIES OF PETITIONS, COPIES OF
REPORTS AND OTHER INFORMATION RELATING TO TRUST AND
NON-SELF-GOVERNING TERRITORIES AND TO ALL OTHER
TERRITORIES TO WHICH GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION
1514 (XV) APPLIES, IN CONFORMITY WITH ARTICLE 15
OF THE CONVENTION .................................... 584 - 587 99
VI. ACTION BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT ITS FORTY-EIGHTH
SESSION .............................................. 588 - 593 100
A. Annual report submitted by the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination under
article 9, paragraph 2, of the Convention ........ 589 - 591 100
B. Effective implementation of international
instruments on human rights, including reporting
obligations under international instruments on
human rights ..................................... 592 - 593 101
VII. STATUS OF SUBMISSION OF REPORTS BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 9, PARAGRAPH 1, OF THE CONVENTION ...... 594 - 605 102
A. Reports received by the Committee ................ 594 - 599 102
B. Reports not yet received by the Committee ........ 600 103
C. Action taken by the Committee to ensure submission
of reports by States parties ..................... 601 - 605 113
VIII. THIRD DECADE TO COMBAT RACISM AND RACIAL
DISCRIMINATION ....................................... 606 - 611 115
Annexes
I. A. States parties to the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (139), as at 19 August 1994 ................... 117
B. States parties that have made the declaration under
article 14, paragraph 1, of the Convention (20) .............. 121
II. Agendas of the forty-fourth and forty-fifth sessions ............. 122
A. Forty-fourth session ..................................... 122
B. Forty-fifth session ...................................... 122
CONTENTS (continued)
Page
III. Decisions and general recommendations adopted by the Committee at
its forty-fourth and forty-fifth sessions ....................... 124
IV. Opinion of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination .................................................. 128
V. Letter from the Chairman of the Committee on the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination to the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan ......................... 137
VI. List of documents issued for the forty-fourth and forty-fifth
sessions of the Committee ....................................... 138
VII. Documents received by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination at its forty-fourth and forty-fifth sessions in
conformity with article 15 of the Convention .................... 140
VIII. Country rapporteurs for reports considered by the Committee at
its forty-fourth and forty-fifth sessions ....................... 141
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
19 August 1994
Sir,
The Committee's report for 1993 detailed the action it had taken in response to the invitation to consider ways to bring to your attention massive violations of human rights (A/48/18, annex III). During 1994, the Committee has utilized its new procedures to send good offices missions to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and Croatia, to conduct reviews of the situations in Burundi and Rwanda, and to request additional information from Israel and, in different terms, from Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These actions are described in chapter II.
In our review of the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Rwanda, conducted on 9 March 1994, the Committee took note of the findings of a group of non-governmental organizations in the Rapport de la Commission internationale d'enquête sur les violations des droits de l'homme au Rwanda depuis le 1er octobre 1990 [Report of the International Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations in Rwanda since 1 October 1990], published 12 months earlier. Subsequent events have proved the accuracy of that report's diagnosis of the threats to peace in Rwanda. The Commission's recommendations were well-judged, but they received too little support from the international community - with results that have been only too tragic. Subsequent events in Rwanda have also demonstrated that it would be more effective to take preventive action before open hostilities break out. Procedures for early warning and urgent action desperately need improvement.
The World Conference on Human Rights recommended that treaty bodies and other organs review reporting procedures in order, by better coordination, to improve their efficiency and effectiveness (Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (A/CONF.157/24 (Part I)), chap. III, sect. II.E, paras. 87-89). The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination regularly reviews its working methods with these objectives in mind. It plans its timetable so as to respond expeditiously to the periodic reports submitted by States parties. During 1994, it considered 32 reports submitted by 14 States parties. The Committee uses its powers to call for additional information when it is concerned about current developments, as described above. The Committee was the pioneer in devising a procedure to review implementation of the Convention in States, the submission of whose reports was seriously overdue; this year it has conducted such reviews in respect of six States. There is currently no backlog of reports still awaiting consideration because of any delay for which the Committee is responsible.
Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Secretary-General
United Nations Headquarters
New York
As part of the review of its procedures, the Committee has this year modified the structure of its report to the General Assembly. Since we believe that the prevention of racial discrimination should receive priority in our work, we have brought this section forward to chapter II. We have changed the sequence of certain chapters so that matters of substance come before matters of a formal nature.
The Committee has discussed the question of succession to treaty obligations arising from the dissolution of States, and has written to those States of the former Soviet Union that have not so far declared their adherence to the Convention (see annex V).
In 1991 the Committee decided that it would in future adopt "concluding observations" expressing the collective view reached as a result of the examination of a State party's report. Circumstances differ very much from one State to another, but the Committee has nevertheless to treat all States equally. This has made the drafting of concluding observations a very time-consuming process. Originally, the concluding observations were seen as conclusions to the summaries of the dialogues with State parties which appeared in the Committee's annual report published each October. However, since interest in the concluding observations is greatest immediately following the examination of a State party's report, the Committee has agreed that its concluding observations should be made available at the end of each session. The Committee also agreed that those concluding observations must be comprehensible to readers who do not have before them the summaries that will precede those observations in the annual report. The Committee therefore decided at its forty-fourth session that these concluding observations should have two main sections: "principal subjects of concern" will reflect members' questions and comments; while "suggestions and recommendations" will express only collective views.
In response to an individual communication which raised the question of possible bias on the part of a juror, the Committee adopted an opinion which is reproduced in annex IV.
Finally, Sir, I take pleasure in mentioning one of the most hopeful events of the past year, the installation of a new and democratic government in South Africa. The general revulsion from segregationist policies in southern Africa was one of the forces that led in 1965 to the adoption of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The ending of apartheid does not mean that the Convention's goals have been attained. Racial discrimination as defined in the Convention can occur anywhere in the world. Events referred to earlier in this letter, and at greater length in the body of the report, show that action against racial discrimination needs to remain one of the priorities of the United Nations.
Accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.
(Signed) Ivan GARVALOV
Chairman
Committee on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
I. ORGANIZATIONAL AND RELATED MATTERS
A. States parties to the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1. As at 19 August 1994, the closing date of the forty-fifth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, there were 139 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which was adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 2106 A (XX) of 21 December 1965 and opened for signature and ratification in New York on 7 March 1966. The Convention entered into force on 4 January 1969 in accordance with the provisions of its article 19.
2. By the closing date of the forty-fifth session, 20 of the 139 States parties to the Convention had made the declaration envisaged in article 14, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Article 14 of the Convention entered into force on 3 December 1982, following the deposit with the Secretary-General of the tenth declaration recognizing the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from individuals or groups of individuals who claim to be victims of a violation by the State party concerned of any of the rights set forth in the Convention. The lists of States parties to the Convention and of those which have made the declaration under article 14 are contained in annex I to the present report.
B. Sessions and agenda
3. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination held two regular sessions in 1994. The forty-fourth (1013th-1040th meetings) and forty-fifth (1041st-1069th meetings) sessions were held at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 28 February to 18 March and from 1 to 19 August 1994 respectively.
4. The agendas of the forty-fourth and forty-fifth sessions, as adopted by the Committee, are reproduced in annex II.
C. Membership and attendance
5. In accordance with the provisions of article 8 of the Convention, the States parties held their fifteenth meeting at United Nations Headquarters on 17 January 1994 1/ and elected nine members of the Committee from among the candidates nominated to replace those whose term of office was due to expire on 19 January 1994.
6. The list of members of the Committee for 1994-1996, including those elected or re-elected on 17 January 1994, is as follows:
Country of Term expires
Name nationality on 19 January
Mr. Mamoud ABOUL-NASR** Egypt 1998
Mr. Hamzat AHMADU** Nigeria 1998
Mr. Michael Parker BANTON** United Kingdom of 1998
Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
Mr. Theodoor van BOVEN Netherlands 1996
Mr. Andrew CHIGOVERA* Zimbabwe 1998
Mr. Ion DIACONU Romania 1996
Mr. Eduardo FERRERO COSTA Peru 1996
Mr. Ivan GARVALOV Bulgaria 1996
Mr. Régis de GOUTTES** France 1998
Mr. Carlos LECHUGA HEVIA** Cuba 1998
Mr. Yuri A. RECHETOV Russian Federation 1996
Mrs. Shanti SADIQ ALI India 1996
Mr. Agha SHAHI** Pakistan 1998
Mr. Michael E. SHERIFIS** Cyprus 1998
Mr. SONG Shuhua China 1996
Mr. Luis VALENCIA RODRIGUEZ Ecuador 1996
Mr. Rüdiger WOLFRUM** Germany 1998
Mr. Mario Jorge YUTZIS Argentina 1996
7. All members of the Committee attended the forty-fourth and forty-fifth sessions.
D. Solemn declaration
8. During early meetings of the forty-fourth session, those members of the Committee who were elected or re-elected at the fifteenth meeting of States parties made a solemn declaration in accordance with rule 14 of the rules of procedure of the Committee.
E. Election of officers
9. At its 1013th meeting, on 28 February, the Committee elected the following officers for a term of two years (1994-1996), in accordance with article 10, paragraph 2, of the Convention:
Chairman: Mr. Ivan GARVALOV
Vice-Chairmen: Mr. Hamzat AHMADU
Mr. Carlos LECHUGA HEVIA
Mr. Michael SHERIFIS
Rapporteur: Mr. Michael Parker BANTON
________________________
* Elected on 17 January 1994.
** Re-elected on 17 January 1994.
F. Cooperation with the International Labour Organization
and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
10. In accordance with Committee decision 2 (VI) of 21 August 1972 concerning cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2/ both organizations were invited to attend the sessions of the Committee.
11. At the forty-fifth session, the report of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, submitted to the International Labour Conference at its eighty-first session, was made available to the members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in accordance with arrangements for cooperation between the two Committees. The Committee took note with appreciation of the report of the Committee of Experts, in particular of those sections that dealt with the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) and the Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107), as well as other information in the report relevant to its activities.
G. Other matters
12. At its 1039th meeting (forty-fourth session), on 17 March 1994, the Committee discussed the fact that eight new States in the territory of the former Soviet Union (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) still had not announced their intention of adhering to the Convention. Whereas the former Soviet Union had been a State party to the Convention, there was now a significant part of that territory where the population was no longer covered by the protection of the Convention. Members agreed that this was a matter of great concern and, as a result, the Committee decided to request its chairman to address urge