Distr. GENERAL CERD/C/SR.1473 17 August 2001 Original: ENGLISH

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS, COMMENTS AND INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION (continued)

Fifteenth and sixteenth reports of Cyprus (continued)

THIRD DECADE TO COMBAT RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION;

THIRD WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE (continued)

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS, COMMENTS AND INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION (agenda item 5) (continued)

Fifteenth and sixteenth periodic reports of Cyprus (CERD/C/384/Add.4; HRI/CORE/1/Add.28/Rev.1; supplementary report, document without a symbol, circulated during the meeting)

1. At the invitation of the Chairman, the members of the delegation of Cyprus resumed their places at the Committee table.

2. Mr. MARKIDES (Cyprus), referring to the cases of Egmez v. Cyprus and Denizci and others v. Cyprus, which had been heard by the European Court of Human Rights, explained that all applicants were Turkish Cypriots who had contended that they had been tortured by the police. The Court had found that they had been ill-treated, but not tortured. Egmez had not complained immediately of maltreatment to the authorities of the Republic yet, a few days before his trial had been due to begin, the Attorney-General had received a report from the United Nations alleging the possible ill-treatment of Egmez. Thereupon the Attorney-General had decided to drop the charges immediately and order the release of the prisoner, who had then lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman, but had returned to the occupied part of Cyprus, whence he had refused to cooperate in inquiries. The Ombudsman had decided that, although the complaint was justified, no practical purpose would be served by initiating a criminal investigation when Egmez was unwilling to give a statement. The European Court of Human Rights had, however, maintained that such an investigation should have been commenced and had examined Egmez's application even though, strictly speaking, the applicant had not exhausted domestic remedies.

3. The Government had ordered an investigation into the Denizci case early in 1994. In the absence of evidence from the complainants, the conclusion had been reached that the reports of police brutality could not be substantiated. The applicant had not filed any complaint with the authorities, preferring instead to turn to the human rights organs in Strasbourg. The European Court of Human Rights had determined that, since the Cypriot authorities had not ordered an investigation, it could deal with the merits of the case, notwithstanding the applicants' failure to exhaust domestic remedies. The Court had held that in cases where there was published information that police had ill-treated persons in custody, the proper reaction was to appoint a criminal investigator, irrespective of whether the alleged victims had filed complaints, or whether the investigation was doomed to failure because the alleged victims had declared that they did not intend to cooperate with the authorities.

4. In the light of the judgments in the two cases, the Council of Ministers had decided to extend the power of the Attorney-General to appoint investigators into police behaviour, so that it was no longer a prerequisite that a written complaint must be addressed to him by the alleged victim. That new power had already been exercised. The Republic had paid compensation and costs to all the applicants in the Denizci case. At a very late stage in proceedings, counsel for the applicants had disclosed that four of his clients were gypsies. That was the first the authorities had heard of that fact. It was, perhaps, worth noting that two of the applicants had voluntarily returned to the government-controlled area of Cyprus.

5. The Country Rapporteur had mentioned the situation of the Roma community in the occupied area of Cyprus. In proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights, the Republic of Cyprus had complained of pervasive discrimination against and degrading treatment of the Gypsy community by Turkey. In the opinion of both the Commission and the Court, the allegations of mistreatment had been made out of time and could not therefore be examined. Moreover, the Court considered that those allegations had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt. Notwithstanding the Court's findings that the Turkish-Cypriot Gypsy community had suffered hardship, it had concluded that the human rights of the Roma community had not been violated.

6. Turning to the outcome of the inquiry ordered in respect of the incident reported by Amnesty International, he explained that as soon as he had received a written complaint, he had appointed independent criminal investigators to expedite proceedings. According to their report, the police had intervened following a violent revolt by the detainees. The force used to suppress the revolt had been reasonable. Nevertheless, it appeared that some of the members of the unit had ill-treated the detainees as they were leaving their cells to surrender. Many of the members of the police had not participated in the incident and had not even been present, yet all the members of the unit had availed themselves of their right to remain silent and so it had proved impossible to identify the culprits. The head of the unit had been prosecuted, but had been acquitted after a lengthy trial. That case had led the Law Commissioner and the Attorney-General to extend the criminal liability of the police. Henceforth police officers would have to prove that all appropriate measures had been taken to prevent injury to persons in custody.

7. He did not subscribe to the view that parts of the Constitution were immutable. He himself would have worded the report differently in that respect. He agreed with what the Country Rapporteur had said on the subject the day before. A country's constitution could be amended by democratic means with the approval of the President and the people. In any event, it was a matter concerning the exercise of sovereignty. No other State was entitled to complain. The people of Cyprus had not be consulted when the Constitution had been drafted and consequently many of the questions raised the previous day concerned provisions which the Government had to apply nolens volens.

8. The situation regarding citizenship was highly complex. Persons who were neither Greek nor Turkish were obliged to opt for one of those communities if they acquired Cypriot nationality. If they belonged to a religious group, they had to abide by the collective choice of their group, unless they had expressed their disagreement with that choice within one month of it being made. A religious group was defined as a group of persons normally resident in Cyprus professing the same religion as set forth in paragraph 2 (3) of the Constitution. Only Maronites, Armenians and Latins had qualified for recognition as a religious group.

9. There were fewer than 500 Turkish Cypriots living in the free area of the Republic. It was therefore inconceivable that they should exercise the rights of the Turkish-Cypriot community to elect a Vice-President, who would have power over foreign and defence policy, or to elect 24 members of the House of Representatives with power to determine taxation. The only democratic solution would therefore have been to grant them the right to participate in all elections, to vote or be elected on the principle of one person, one vote, but they had not been given those rights, because the political leadership had feared that such action would have been used as a pretext by Mr. Denktash and Turkey to abandon efforts to solve the Cyprus dilemma. Personally, he hoped that the matter would soon be resolved by virtue of a new Constitution.

10. Marriage between Greek and Turkish Cypriots had been prohibited by Turkish family law, which the Republic had inherited from colonial times. Civil marriage had been introduced in Cyprus in1989. Power to change Turkish family law had been vested in the Turkish Communal Chamber, which had ceased to exist, so it had been impossible to enact new legislation. Marriage between the two communities would, however, become possible in the near future as a bill to that effect had been submitted to the House of Representatives, but its adoption had been delayed by elections.

11. Electoral law stipulated that a citizen was obliged to go to a polling station and cast a vote. The ballot paper could, however, be left blank. While the representatives of the Armenians, the Maronites and the Latins in the House of Representatives were not entitled to vote in the House, they could speak in debates on matters concerning their community. Members of those groups were entitled to vote in elections at all levels. In his opinion, there was therefore no discrimination against members of those religious communities.

12. Turning to the effectiveness and ambit of Law 11 of 1992, as amended by Law 28 of 1999, making incitement to discriminate an offence, he said that the word "person" also covered corporations and associations. Any members of an association disseminating racial propaganda could be charged with conspiracy.

13. Since the Convention was not self-executory, the Government of his country was going to examine each of its provisions with a view to adopting the necessary domestic legislation to give effect to their contents. That action would be accompanied by publicity to familiarize the population with the Convention.

14. In response to the concern expressed about the cumbersome nature of the system for obtaining compensation for injury resulting from an administrative act, he explained that such an act was deemed lawful unless it was annulled by the Supreme Court, at which point the aggrieved person acquired the right to compensation through action before the civil courts. Article 172 of the Constitution stated that, in the event of a tortious act by an official, the injured party could sue for punitive damages. Furthermore, case law had established the principle that private persons could even obtain damages for the unconstitutional behaviour of another private citizen.

15. Clarification had been requested of the statement in paragraph 16 of the supplementary report that some complaints which, although offending against certain rights safeguarded by treaties, were neither criminal nor civil wrongs in nature. The delegation itself doubted the validity of the statement and had explained its reasons in the sentence in brackets in the same paragraph. The case in question had concerned the tapping by the manager of a municipal council of an employee's telephone, which the Court had considered to be unjustified interference in the victim's private life. The manager had been prosecuted and convicted of abuse of authority and the victim had successfully sued him for damages.

16. By the end of the year, the statute book would contain a new law on the principle of the equal treatment of men and women in respect of access to employment, vocational training and working conditions in the private and public sectors. It would include provisions on sexual harassment. The burden of proof would be shifted from the plaintiff to the defendant. The Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance would be responsible for informing employers, employees and trade unions about the provisions of the new law, which expressly provided that it did not affect any more favourable provisions in other legislation and had been drawn up in order to comply with the country's obligations as a prospective member of the European Union.

17. Confidence-building measures were being obstructed by Mr. Denktash and Turkey. For example, the Turkish authorities had prevented the leader of a Turkish political party from attending a seminar in Cyprus and had not allowed Turkish Cypriots to take part in a bicommunal cultural event in a village in the buffer zone. Nevertheless the Government took many unilateral steps to assist the Turkish-Cypriot population through the supply of health care, education and utilities and had recently proposed several measures to enhance the quality of life of both communities. To date there had been no response from the other side.

18. With regard to the comment by Mr. Aboul-Nasr about the display of flags in Cyprus, the situation could perhaps be traced back to the early struggle aimed not at independence but self-determination, which would have fostered union with Greece and had led to a demand by Turkish Cypriots for partition. Independence had finally been achieved, but in circumstances so complex that many people had failed to grasp the real issues and accept the situation. Now, however, Cypriots realized the value of the independence of the Republic of Cyprus - hence the change in attitude towards the flags - but in the occupied part of the country the Turkish authorities did not allow the expression of those feelings, including the display of the flag of the Republic and had gone so far as to portray a huge Turkish flag on a mountain range neighbouring Nicosia, in full view of the inhabitants. With regard to the question about foreign occupation, United Kingdom troops occupied two sovereign bases, under the Treaty of Establishment, where they had sophisticated weaponry as well as powerful radar and communication systems. A 950-strong Greek contingent had been stationed in Cyprus since 1960 under the Treaty of Alliance, under which, in addition, some 650 Turkish troops were ostensibly stationed on the island, although the current number was nearer 30,000, together with over 300 tanks and support from the Turkish air force. There was also the United Nations Force in Cyprus, now considerably reduced but nevertheless a welcome presence which helped in humanitarian affairs and provided psychological support.

19. His delegation appreciated Mr. Aboul-Nasr's proposal, supported by Mr. Reshetov, to recommend that the General Assembly should call for full implementation of human rights in Cyprus and that country's liberation from a foreign yoke. While he realized that the proposal was addressed to the Committee itself, not his delegation, he hoped he would be permitted to state that the only hope for Cyprus against a powerful neighbour was the upholding of international legality and human rights.

20. Ms. LOIZIDOU (Cyprus) said that she had arranged for copies of the official statistics on immigrants and foreign workers to be circulated to members of the Committee. Replying to further questions, she said that attendance at a school of choice was allowed to children of foreign workers. Generally, English-language schools were preferred, but the Government authorized attendance at schools teaching in other languages. Children of foreign workers could also attend Greek-language public schools free of charge at primary and secondary levels on the same terms as children of Cypriot citizenship. Turkish was also taught to those wishing to study it, in the context of State education, and foreign workers could attend classes in Greek free of charge. At the University of Cyprus, Greek and Turkish were official languages and there was a department of Turkish studies. The number of foreign residents with valid permits enrolled in secondary education up to the age of 18 years was 2,689, and in tertiary education (18 years and above) 5,519.

21. For the moment, no legislation existed on racial discrimination similar to the draft law relating to gender equality, but the planned introduction of specific measures, referred to by the Attorney-General, to incorporate the Convention's provisions into domestic legislation would remedy that situation.

22. A demographic report issued at the end of 1999 showed that, out of a total population of 754,800, the estimated ethnic breakdown (excluding residents of the occupied part of the island) had been: Cypriots 634,700 (84.1 per cent); Armenians 2,500 (0.6 per cent); Maronites 2,600 (0.6 per cent); Latins 900 (0.1 per cent); Turkish Cypriots 88,000 (11.7 per cent); foreign residents 24,100 (3.2 per cent). The number of Turkish Cypriots had continued to decline sharply since the 1974 invasion. Those figures, and others, were included in the statistics circulated to the Committee members.

23. The Government had taken note of the Committee's General Recommendation XXV on gender-related dimensions of racial discrimination; detailed information would be provided in the next periodic report. A number of legislative and other measures, including action by the immigration authorities and the police, had been taken to monitor the situation of women of foreign origin, particularly in the entertainment industry, including spot checks at places of employment, during which women could lodge complaints in confidence. The Combating of Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Exploitation of Children Law of 2000 provided, inter alia, for the post of guardian, mandated to hear complaints and take steps towards the prosecution of offenders.

24. Official statistics relating to the countries of origin or foreign workers in Cyprus, including the ratio of women to men, had been circulated to the Committee members, and further figures would be handed to the secretariat shortly. A committee had been established to monitor compliance with terms of employment of foreign workers, who were aware of that Committee's existence and had recourse to it. There had been problems on account of difficulties in completing examination of cases within the 15 days allowed; however, following an approach by the Ombudsman, the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance had decided to increase the number of inquiry officers.

25. Ms. NICOLAOU (Cyprus) speaking as Ombudsman, said that the office was independent, empowered to investigate human rights violations and, pursuant to a recent amendment to the Ombudsman Act, able to take initiatives ex officio. The number of complaints lodged by foreigners had risen from 31 in 1998 to 102 in 2000. In hearing such cases, special attention was given to the protection of human rights, particularly under the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the Constitution and the country's relevant laws and regulations. Some of the cases had been deemed to involve racial discrimination; in one of them, in which a person had been deported, she had concluded that the action had been based on such discrimination, and had secured that person's readmission at the country's expense.

26. A number of complaints by foreign women were from domestic workers, usually relating to conditions of employment. At her suggestion, such cases were now dealt with by the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, not the police, and measures were being taken to reduce the time taken in dealing with them. In November 2000 she had investigated the arrival of 35 illegal immigrants and had reported their conditions of detention as falling short of required standards, drawing attention to the need to abide by the 1951 Geneva Convention and to enable the persons concerned to apply to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for refugee status. The police and immigration authorities had complied fully with her suggestions. The experience of illegal immigration, doubtless a result of the country's geographical position, was raising issues new to Cypriot society and was receiving special attention, including the adoption of policies and procedures designed, inter alia, to promote a more positive attitude towards foreigners. Experience hitherto suggested that existing laws and regulations were generally adequate for identifying and remedying the problems, but the rights of foreigners would doubtless be further safeguarded by the expected new legislation, which all main political parties had acknowledged as requiring priority attention.

27. Mr. STAVRINAKIS (Cyprus), referring to a question by Mr. de Gouttes as to why no use had been made of the remedy under article 14 of the Convention, said that, in all probability, domestic remedies had not been exhausted in any relevant cases. In that regard, the availability of remedies was published in the Official Gazette and mentioned in various reports circulated to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Bar Council and others. He assured the Committee that every effort would be made to improve dissemination of information, concerning the procedure's availability. The National Institution for the Protection of Human Rights would doubtless be made more effective as a result of a new law currently being drafted and mentioned in the supplementary report before the Committee. The participation of NGOs, and of minority groups, would be encouraged in measures to implement the Convention's provisions - an activity more useful, he felt, than their involvement in the already complex work of drafting the periodic reports. The office of the presidential Commissioner for Minorities was already actively involved in the latter task.

28. The National Institution for the Protection of Human Rights had no powers to award compensation - that was the exclusive prerogative of the courts. The Institution did not have power to enforce its findings or to compel attendance at hearings either, but its powers would be enhanced, it was hoped, under the planned restructuring. As stated in the supplementary report, the Law Commissioner had tabled a bill aimed at recognizing racial discrimination as an aggravating circumstance in criminal offences and civil wrongs.

29. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, though ratified by Cyprus, had not yet been given effect because there had been an unfortunate delay in receiving the views of certain relevant agencies, but efforts were being made to speed up the procedure.

30. The criteria for ascertaining labour shortages in various sectors were determined after consultation between employers and trade union representatives in the sectors concerned. Renewal of work permits was, in any case, rare. In recent years Cyprus had changed from a country of population outflow to one of influx, with an expansion of problems far beyond what had been foreseen, but the need to revise certain criteria and procedures was being addressed as quickly as possible.

31. Referring members to the supplementary report, which updated the periodic report and corrected certain errors, he agreed about the value of the media in raising public awareness; its potential would be exploited in order to provide more widespread knowledge of the Convention, the periodic reports and the Committee's observations.

32. Mr. ABOUL-NASR said he had difficulty in accepting the argument that the Constitution's provisions could be adduced in preventing non-Turkish and non-Greek nationals from asserting a separate identity - a clear violation of the Convention. If the Constitution, in any case a legacy of the former colonial Power, was the obstacle, he wondered what was preventing its amendment.

33. Mr. MARKIDES (Cyprus) said the first attempt to amend the Constitution since the creation of the Republic of Cyprus had occurred in 1989 when the House of Representatives had sought to introduce civil marriage and remove the Church's rights in the area of marriage. The Church had appealed to the Supreme Constitutional Court on the grounds that the House of Representatives did not have the power to amend the Constitution. The Court had been divided five to five on that issue and as a result of that split decision, since the Church had failed to prove its case, the amendment had passed. Controversy had continued into the 1990s and the Court had finally ruled 10 to 3 that the House of Representatives did have the power to amend the Constitution if the amendment was supported by a two-thirds majority of the House. The position of the current Government was that the Constitution must be further amended in order to meet the Republic's international obligations, in particular in the context of its eventual membership of the European Union. However, rather than make piecemeal amendments, his Government preferred to prepare a comprehensive reform which, if approved by a majority of the House, would be presented to the people in the context of the treaty of accession to the European Union. It was hoped that both Greek and Turkish Cypriots would participate in those consultations.

34. The Republic of Cyprus had the exclusive and sovereign right to amend its Constitution and he pointed out that, although the Treaty of Guarantee preserved the state of affairs which had existed at the time of the creation of the Republic, all three guarantors, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, had violated that treaty - Greece by the coup d'état in July 1974, Turkey by its subsequent invasion and declaration of independence for the Turkish sector and the United Kingdom for failing to intervene to prevent the violations by Greece and by Turkey. Those States, which were themselves guilty of violating the Treaty of Guarantee, certainly had no grounds for questioning the Republic's right to amend its Constitution by citing the Treaty of Guarantee.

35. Mr. SHAHI asked what was the current status of the Zurich Agreement in law.

36. Mr. MARKIDES (Cyprus) recalled that the Zurich Agreement was a bilateral treaty between Greece and Turkey which had provided the basis for the creation of the independent State of Cyprus. It pre-dated the General Assembly's Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (A/Res/1514(XV)), which currently enjoyed the status of jus cogens under international law, by two years. The United Kingdom had retained sovereignty over two military bases and Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom had subsequently signed the Treaty concerning the Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus. Under the Treaty of Guarantee, the guarantor powers recognized the state of affairs and Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus at the moment of its creation. Under the Treaty of Alliance between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus on the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey were allowed to station 950 and 650 soldiers respectively on the island. It seemed to him that the Zurich Agreement had been superseded by the cataclysmic events of 1974, as a result of which Turkey had declared the independence of and recognized the Turkish Cypriot State, although the latter was not recognized by the international community. Turkey also refused to comply with Security Council resolutions 541 and 550 condemning its actions. Attempts to create a confederation of both communities on the island had failed and Turkey continued to refuse to recognize the decisions of various international bodies as well as the international community as a whole with regard to the situation in Cyprus.

37. Mr. THORNBERRY (Country Rapporteur) recalled the importance of resolving the political issues involved in the situation in Cyprus and noted its strategic position in the Mediterranean with regard to migratory flows. It faced longstanding as well as new challenges. He welcomed the fruitful dialogue between the Committee and the delegation and expressed satisfaction with the latter's serious and purposeful approach towards meeting its international obligations.

38. Mr. SHAHI asked whether the Cyprus Government considered the Treaty of Guarantee still valid.

39. Mr. MARKIDES (Cyprus) said that the Republic had never repudiated the Treaty of Guarantee and had no plans to do so now, even though one of the other Parties had violated it. Under that Treaty, it was the obligation of all Parties to maintain the state of affairs of 1960: therefore Turkey must withdraw its 30,000 troops from the Republic and allow the Turkish-Cypriot citizens to participate in elections, thereby electing a Vice-President and members of the Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus. By the same token, the Party which was in breach of the Treaty was stopped from invoking it in order to object to any changes in the Constitution.

40. The CHAIRMAN, supported by Mr. YUTZIS recalled Mr. Aboul-Nasr's proposal, supported by Mr. Reshetov, that the Committee should take a decision on aspects of the Cyprus question. He suggested that Mr. Thornberry, as Country Rapporteur, should draft a text, in consultation with other members, for the consideration of the Committee.

41. Mr. THORNBERRY (Country Rapporteur) said that he agreed to do so with the assistance of other members, in particular the Rapporteur of the Committee.

42. Mr. MARKIDES (Cyprus) thanked the Country Rapporteur for his well-balanced comments and all members for their often enlightening questions. He assured them that the Government would take them into consideration in further promoting human rights in the country and ensuring Cyprus's compliance with the Convention.

43. The CHAIRMAN thanked the delegation for the valuable comments and information they had provided in introducing the report.

44. The delegation of Cyprus withdrew.

THIRD DECADE TO COMBAT RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION; THIRD WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE (agenda item 10) (continued)

45. Ms. JANUARY-BARDILL, speaking as convenor of the Committee's contact group to the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference, reported that the progress in the three smaller working groups was still slow, although the group working on the draft Programme of Action was proceeding somewhat faster than the others. The contentious issues referred to at the Committee's 1471st meeting were not being dealt with in plenary meeting but had also been delegated to smaller groups.

46. At the 1471st meeting, Committee members had made three suggestions: to try to influence the language rather than the content of the draft Declaration and the draft Programme of Action; to try to influence the handling of specific contentious issues; and to focus only on matters relating to the Committee and to Convention principles, because the Committee had no voice in political questions and the time allotted to it was limited.

47. It appeared that the Committee wished the contact group to act generally as its lobby to the Preparatory Committee, and to approach the regional delegations to try to influence any language relating to the Committee or the Convention. The contact group would, however, first like to know whether there was a consensus on the specific language changes proposed the previous day by Mr. de Gouttes, Mr. Pillai and others. It needed guidance on how it was to lobby in the coming week also on other issues being considered in plenary meeting, such as the listing of specific groups of victims of racial discrimination in an even-handed manner and in accordance with either the language of the Convention or that of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the latter of which included religious groups as well.

48. Mr. SHAHI suggested that, in addition to having the contact group get in touch with the regional groups, each member of the Committee should contact his or her own respective delegation to argue the Committee's positions, of course observing Committee consensus on how to project its viewpoints and on the points that should be included in the texts. Members should argue that all references to the Committee in the draft Declaration and draft Programme of Action should reflect the language it wanted and they should urge the removal of any brackets. He supported the elegant amendment to the preamble of the draft Declaration suggested by Mr. Diaconu in order to meet the concerns of State parties with reservations to the Convention. He also supported Mr. Yutzis' observation the previous day that some reference should be made in the draft Declaration to emergency situations involving massive violations of human rights and, in the draft Programme of Action, that the Committee's role should be strengthened so that it would be able to act in that connection under article 4. He personally supported the idea of compensation for slavery, but that contentious issue was one for the intergovernmental Conference to decide.

49. Mr. de GOUTTES agreed that each member should work with his or her own delegation to convey the Committee's positions and also supported Mr. Diaconu's proposal. He noted that, at a meeting the previous day, the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights had also debated the question of compensation for slavery, some members arguing that compensation could be made via debt cancellation. The Sub-Commission was studying the possibility of drafting a resolution for submission to the World Conference regarding the moral responsibility of former colonial Powers. The Committee's contact group should be in touch with the President of the Sub-Commission to keep abreast of developments there.

50. The CHAIRMAN said that he believed the contact group had the necessary guidance to proceed with its work.