Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Eighty-first session

Summary record of the 2180th meeting

Held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva, on Wednesday, 15 August 2012, at 10 a.m.

Chairperson:Mr. Avtonomov

Contents

Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention (continued)

Sixteenth to eighteenth periodic reports of Senegal (continued)

The meeting was called to order at 10.05 a.m.

Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention (continued)

Sixteenth to eighteenth periodic reports of Senegal (continued) (CERD/C/SEN/16-18; CERD/C/SEN/Q/16-18)

At the invitation of the Chairperson, the delegation of Senegal took places at the Committee table.

Mr. Fodé Seck (Senegal) said that his country had practised democracy and respect for human rights even before gaining independence from France. Senegalese society was characterized by ethnic and religious harmony. Both Christian and Muslim festivals were celebrated as public holidays, despite the fact that the population of Senegal was 95 per cent Muslim, and presidents of both faiths had been elected to lead the country. When Pope John Paul II had visited Senegal, he had commended the generosity of its people and the ethnic and religious harmony of its society. The country was the first in West Africa to have built a cathedral and elected a bishop. There was no discrimination in Senegal, since the very spirit of its people had been shaped by a combination of Islam, Christianity and traditional beliefs.

Mr. Seye (Senegal) said that, in March 2012, Macky Sall had been elected as President of Senegal, following an unprecedented wave of pre-election violence. Senegal was a country subject to the rule of law. It was based on democracy, which had not been easy to attain; as Nelson Mandela had said, the path to freedom was difficult throughout the world. Senegal was committed to upholding the principles of freedom, peace and democracy, and to respecting human rights; it should be encouraged and assisted in that regard since it was not a wealthy country.

In response to a question about the Senegalese Human Rights Committee, he said that it had been given new premises, which would improve its functioning, and that the Government would double its budget from $35 million to $70 million by the end of the year. In August 2010, an education initiative had been launched by that committee to raise awareness of the promotion and protection of human rights.

Ms. Ba Faye (Senegal), referring to human rights awareness-raising in Senegal, said that various media networks and new technologies had been used to conduct dissemination campaigns, for example on the issue of female genital mutilation. Traditional leaders were fully involved in those efforts, as was civil society and the population as a whole. Through the “marraine de quartier” initiative, women were put in charge of reproductive and maternal health care at the local level. Advertisements and public messages on community-based justice had been broadcast on television in local languages. A programme had been put in place to inform the public of legal procedures and modalities, and centres established to offer guidance to persons subject to trial. Publications had been distributed in various languages, explaining in simple terms the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Further efforts were required to raise awareness of other international conventions.

Ms. Diouf (Senegal), responding to a question about the number of women in public office, said that there were six female ministers in the Government and one female minister in the General Secretariat of the President’s Office. The proportion of government officials who were women was 19.09 per cent. The overall percentage of women in the judiciary was 17.29 per cent, while the figures for particular judicial functions were: magistrates, 17.22 per cent; chief registrars, 18.51 per cent; court clerks, 16.44 per cent; registrar and prosecutor secretaries, 38.46 per cent; interpreters, 26.41 per cent.

Mr. FodéSeck (Senegal), referring to a question raised about the suspension of fishing agreements with Russia, said that it was fishing licences, rather than agreements, that had been suspended. Furthermore, the measure applied to the European fleet in general and not exclusively the Russian fleet. The Government had taken that decision in 2006 in response to appeals by Senegalese fishermen to halt the depletion of Senegal’s fish resources and the continued impoverishment of its plankton, and to allow for the repopulation of Senegal’s waters.

Mr. Thiaw (Senegal), responding to a question about paragraph 31 of the report by the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, following her mission to Senegal from 21 to 30 October 2009 (A/HRC/16/57/Add.3), said that, as Senegal had explained during the interactive dialogue at the seventeenth session of the Human Rights Council, while there was an apparent contradiction between the two provisions of domestic law mentioned in paragraphs 30 and 31 of that report, the combination of both established the prohibition of begging by children.

Regarding the Committee’s concerns about the significance of the absence of racial discrimination complaints, he drew attention to the fact that article 14 of the Convention stipulated that the admissibility of communications to the Committee depended on the exhaustion of other available local remedies. The fact that the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which did not establish that criterion, had likewise received no complaints of racial discrimination in Senegal was a reflection of the country’s harmonious society. Since the country was not affected by racism, its efforts were focused on prevention and on the maintenance of peace and harmony, through hospitality, friendly banter and an openness to foreigners.

Regarding Mr. de Gouttes’ enquiry about the nature of friendly banter in Senegal, he said that it was a common but harmless practice within West African societies involving poking fun at the names and physical characteristics of others, among other aspects. It was not deemed necessary to regulate that practice by law, since it served to reinforce rather than undermine social cohesion and inter-ethnic harmony. The principle of the universality of human rights should be tempered with a relativity and a respect for regional specificities. Africa had a lot to share with the world with regard to inter-ethnic harmony.

In response to Ms. January-Bardill’s question about the “merits” system, he said that the National School of Administration offered students career opportunities in public office based on a rigorous, open and transparent system. The school had contributed to democratizing access to positions in public office at the national and subregional levels.

Regarding a question raised about the link between slavery in Mauritania and the Senegalese law of 2010, he said that the latter was a memorial law, adopted to mark the fiftieth year of independence and to build on the country’s collective memory, which criminalized slavery. The events in Mauritania were the result of later developments and were likely fuelled by doctrine and legal practitioners.

Mr. Haidara (Senegal), referring to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, reminded the Committee of the fact that Senegal had hosted meetings in Geneva and Dakar in preparation for the 2001 World Conference against Racism and had been a member of the Bureau for the Durban Review Conference in 2009, showing the importance it attached to the matter. At the 2001 Conference, Senegal had called for the effective recognition of the dignity and rich cultural heritage of persons of African descent. In follow-up to that appeal, it had raised the issue of the diaspora before the African Union and organized the third Festival of Negro Arts in December 2010.

Mr. Thioune (Senegal) said that Senegal had endorsed the slogan for World Refugee Day 2012: “One refugee without hope is too many.” It was a signatory to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. A National Committee to Manage the Situation of Repatriated Refugees and Displaced Persons had been established in the President’s Office in 2003. Senegal had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the creation of identity cards for refugees. Ten thousand biometric cards, signed by the Minister of the Interior, had been produced; 2,000 had already been distributed. They offered the same security as national identity cards.

Pursuant to the tripartite agreement between Senegal, Mauritania and UNHCR, all Mauritanian refugees who so wished could return home in full security. As repatriation was voluntary, those who wished to remain were required to attend a local integration programme. Some refugees had asked to be transferred to a third country, but Senegal had no authority to request third countries to admit them. A bill was being drafted to improve the circumstances of refugees within the country. Presidential and legislative elections had recently taken place, but elections to the Senate were still pending. As soon as they were held, the bill would presumably be enacted.

Migrant workers were protected by law. Foreign nationals were entitled to join trade unions and could stand for election to senior trade union positions if they had been resident in Senegal for five years, provided that their country of origin accorded the same rights to Senegalese nationals. Their families also benefited from the Senegalese social security system. Foreign nationals were not allowed to set up a political party. They could, however, create an association.

Mr. Assane Seck (Senegal) said that Senegalese human rights institutions had been restructured in recent years. Some had been removed and replaced by other institutions. For example, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights established in 2004 had first been replaced by a Minister-Delegate for Human Rights and subsequently by the Directorate for Human Rights in the Ministry of Justice. The Senegalese Human Rights Committee was the national human rights institution. As an independent and pluralist body, it complied with the Paris Principles. The State consulted the Committee on all bills to be submitted to Parliament.

The Institute of Human Rights and Peace was a university-level establishment which engaged in research and also acted in partnership with civil society institutions to generate awareness of human rights.

Under the existing legislation, Senegalese women could not transmit their nationality to a foreign husband or to any children born to the couple. The husband could, however, make an application for citizenship which generally received a favourable response. A bill to amend the Nationality Code to allow Senegalese women to transmit their nationality to both their husband and children was being drafted.

Ms. Ba Faye (Senegal) said that all periodic reports submitted by Senegal to the treaty bodies were examined and approved by ministerial commissions and non-State actors. The report currently before the Committee had been drafted with the assistance of the Senegalese Human Rights Committee and representative non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Senegalese section of Amnesty International. Civil society organizations expressed their views on the various draft reports and the State approved the final version, which incorporated any proposed amendments.

Mr. Thiaw (Senegal) said that the Senate was composed of 100 members, of whom 45 were elected and 55 designated by the President, bearing in mind the composition of professional and social groups.

Mr. Haidara (Senegal) said that the procedure for ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had been launched. He confirmed that Senegal had ratified the International Convention against Apartheid in Sports. The competent authorities would be requested to consider the possible ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. He pointed out, however, that only eight States had ratified the latter Optional Protocol and that the group did not include the major advanced countries which had been involved in the negotiations.

Ms. Diouf (Senegal) said that female genital mutilation had been prohibited by Act No. 99-05 of 29 January 1999 and also by the 2001 Constitution. A five-year national action plan to eliminate the practice had been adopted in 2000, but some shortcomings had come to light during its implementation. As the practice was based on tradition, a new strategy based on a gradual approach had been developed. In 2010 the Government had adopted a second five-year plan of action and had undertaken an assessment of the effectiveness of Act No. 99-05. The assessment had been approved in June 2011 by State and non-State actors, and a public awareness campaign had been launched in January 2012. A holistic approach had been adopted and a cross-border dimension had been included in the implementation of the plan of action. Senegal had hosted a subregional seminar on the issue, which had been attended by representatives from the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Mauritania. An interparliamentary conference held in May 2010 had brought together 28 African countries with a view to raising awareness among parliamentarians and encouraging them to enact laws prohibiting female genital mutilation.

Of the 5,000 communities practising female genital mutilation in 1997, 4,452 had publicly announced their abandonment of the practice. The rate of abandonment had been estimated at 71 per cent in 2010. The United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations Population Fund had developed a joint project in support of the second national plan of action, and a whole range of ministries and civil society organizations were also involved. Regional committees chaired by governors, prefects and other officials involved in community health and other services had been established to support capacity-building and awareness-raising activities. Women who had performed female genital mutilation had been encouraged financially and by means of training courses to obtain alternative employment.

With a view to supplementing the provisions of the Criminal Code, Parliament had adopted Act No. 2005-06 of 10 May 2005 against trafficking in persons and related practices. A three-year strategy (2008–2010) to eradicate the worst forms of child labour had produced encouraging results. In late 2009, 43 microprojects had been funded for regions, including frontier areas, that faced a high risk of trafficking, and a national plan of action against trafficking in persons, especially women and children, was being implemented. The projects focused on prevention, awareness-raising, punishment of offenders and rehabilitation of victims. As girls who did not attend school were deemed to be particularly at risk, special action was being taken on their behalf in cooperation with the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. A literacy and apprenticeship programme in high-risk areas was supported by the Islamic Development Bank. State officials were trained to promote the rehabilitation of child trafficking victims. Ten child victims from Guinea-Bissau had been returned to their country and escorted back home by Senegalese officials. A total of 431 children had been rescued from vulnerable situations such as trafficking and sexual exploitation; 376 children had been reintegrated into their families; and 188 families had been granted allowances for the purpose of protecting their children and keeping them at school.

Talibé children, who attended Koranic schools, were forced to beg and were subjected to economic exploitation, also by foreign intermediaries. Senegal made no distinction between nationals and foreigners in its action against begging. Over 2,200 talibé children had been protected from begging through a sponsorship scheme in suburban areas. Adults in the neighbourhood offered the children shelter. In addition, 101 talibé had been reintegrated into their villages with their Koranic teachers. A communication and media strategy was being implemented in the form of thematic workshops which were designed to raise awareness of the phenomenon without harming children’s interests. Families were granted financial benefits to enable them to keep their children in their home communities. A project for education on family life was designed to prevent talibé children from being economically exploited. Koranic teachers were given incentives to adhere, inter alia, to minimum standards of hygiene and to respect the physical integrity of the children. A very large number of Koranic teachers had joined the modernization programmes.

Many women occupied decision-making positions in Senegal. A woman had first been elected to the National Assembly in 1963 and to the Senate in 2000. In 2001 a woman had been nominated for the office of Prime Minister. There were now 65 women in the National Assembly and 40 women in the Senate. There were also 50 women members of the Economic and Social Council.

Mr. Seye (Senegal) said that most Senegalese migrant workers were not employed in wage- or salary-earning posts in the host country. Even when they were, they rarely benefited from a social security system, especially when their families remained in Senegal. In response to the increase in migratory flows between countries, many States had concluded bilateral or multilateral agreements concerning social security. Senegal had signed five such agreements, with Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Mali and Mauritania. It had also signed an agreement with France and that was in fact the only agreement that was strictly applied. The agreements with Mali and Mauritania were limited to mutual administrative assistance in the event of work-related accidents. Cameroon and Gabon had not yet ratified their agreements. Agreements had recently been drafted with Italy and Spain.

Ms. Ba Faye (Senegal) said that Senegal relied on audiovisual technology for generating awareness of human rights among the general public. Interactive programmes on human rights were broadcast on Senegalese television. The Government also looked to religious and traditional leaders to spread awareness among their communities. The Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Justice ran a training and capacity-building project on behalf of judges, prison staff and other public officials.

The Chairperson, referring to the matter of racial discrimination complaints, said it should be recognized that there could be barriers to individuals seeking redress; if such existed, it was important that Governments took the necessary measures to remove them. In that connection, he referred the delegation to general recommendation No. 31 on the prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system.

Mr. Ewomsan (Country Rapporteur) said that suspending the fishing licences of large European trawlers had been a commendable decision, as their overfishing practices were discriminatory to Senegalese fishermen. He said that the existence of castes was a form of structural discrimination, for example in the context of elections, and that the State party should do more in the way of education to dismantle the hierarchy of castes. He reminded the delegation that the lack of complaints brought before the courts did not signify that discrimination did not occur in the country. He suggested that a full-fledged Ministry of Human Rights would be in a better position to coordinate the relevant activities of various ministries than the current Directorate for Human Rights.

Mr. Fodé Seck(Senegal) said that the fishermen themselves had requested the suspension of licences for European trawlers due to the depletion of plankton stocks. The policy would also benefit small-scale fishermen from neighbouring countries. The key concern was not the type of human rights institution but whether human rights were adequately protected and promoted, which the Directorate was successfully addressing.

Mr. Haidara(Senegal) said that dispensing with the Office of the Minister-Delegate for Human Rights had not entailed a loss of coordination. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs played a crucial coordinating role, as demonstrated by the interministerial consultations it had spearheaded in the lead-up to the universal periodic review, and the Permanent Mission of Senegal to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva had been instrumental in the preparation of the report.

Mr. Assane Seck (Senegal) said that there were no institutional barriers to complaints reaching the courts. Owing to omnipresent intermingling, ethnicity was not perceived as a problem in Senegal. He drew the Committee’s attention to the work of an eminent Senegalese academic for a comprehensive study of Senegalese society.

Ms. Crickley asked how the State party planned to engage more fully with civil society. She requested additional information on the nature of human rights education, specifically whether awareness-raising campaigns were conducted on an ongoing basis and whether the topic was a part of core training provided to Government employees. She reminded the State party of the need and usefulness of disaggregated data. Turning to the situation of women, she enquired about the status of plans to amend legislation that discriminated against Senegalese women married to foreign men in respect of transmitting nationality; future plans regarding the eradication of female genital mutilation; any gains in the situation of women who were particularly vulnerable to discrimination; and any results and assessment of the national strategy for gender equity and equality 2005–2015. Although she understood the rationale for the strategic approach taken to child beggars, namely finding alternate livelihoods, she wished to know what medium-term solutions the State party was considering. She also asked how poverty-reduction schemes reached the most vulnerable groups. Referring to paragraph 83 of the report, she did not think caste issues could be confined to social relationships. She suggested that the lack of formal complaints might be a matter of the population being ill-informed of its rights or distrustful of the justice system, and that the State party should therefore envision ways to address any deficiencies.

Mr. Fodé Seck (Senegal) suggested that budgetary concerns might have impeded NGOs from attending the current session, but said that the Government had financed the involvement of the Senegalese Human Rights Committee in the Human Rights Council. Senegal strove to mainstream human rights throughout the government, and the establishment in Dakar of a regional presence of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration had contributed to disseminating human rights in the country. He noted that only a few ethnic groups practised female genital mutilation and that Senegal would continue to build on current success in that area. It was difficult to give an ethnic breakdown of women in positions of authority because ethnicity was not a consideration or issue in Senegal. He assured the Committee that the requisite legal remedies were available should a complaint for discrimination be filed.

Mr. Haidara (Senegal) said that it was the practice in Senegal for delegations, on their return from reporting missions, to hold briefings at which follow-up tasks were entrusted to the various ministries. The lack of NGO representation before the Committee should not be seen as neglect on the part of the Government. In fact, it was thanks to coordination by Senegal that the African Group had supported the recent resolution of the Human Rights Council on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights. As to poverty reduction measures, there were many microcredit projects geared to low-income women. In 2003–2005, 1.3 billion CFA francs (CFAF) had been allocated to marginalized and vulnerable groups, such as women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.

Ms. Diouf (Senegal) said the fact that female genital mutilation was a traditional practice and that not having been circumcised was seen as a sign of impurity by some ethnic groups should not be ignored when addressing the issue. Suppression and punishment alone would not compel those groups to abandon the practice, and therefore Senegal had taken a more holistic approach. However, cases had been brought before the courts and those who performed excisions had been duly penalized. A unit charged with following up on anti-poverty programmes had been set up, with branches in the most underprivileged regions, and the economic and social policy document contained a specific focus on social protection for vulnerable groups. As to the status of women, the national strategy for gender equity and equality 2005–2015 underwent annual review, in cooperation with civil society partners, in order to assess gains, identify limitations and set new courses of action. The Ministry of the Armed Forces had implemented a wide-ranging plan to increase the presence of women within the Ministry, which might be extended to the Ministries of Health and Agriculture. Ethnicity was not a consideration in the recruitment of women to positions of authority or in the selection of candidates for public office.

Ms. Ba Faye (Senegal) said that, while all Government departments and ministries shared responsibility for human rights education, the Directorate for Human Rights in the Ministry of Justice played a major role in raising awareness about human rights. In addition, civil society made a significant contribution, as exemplified by the work of the Association of Women Jurists, which conducted training and awareness-raising seminars on human rights. It also organized workshops and provided consultations nationwide, free of charge, giving advice and judicial follow-up to victims of human rights violations, especially female victims of violence. The Government provided support to that and other associations working in the field of human rights education.

Mr. Thiaw (Senegal) added that, at the international level, his country had been a strong proponent of human rights education and training. It had been a member of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, which had been adopted by the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly in 2011. The Government was currently taking steps to ensure that it implemented all the provisions of the Declaration, which required States to provide human rights education and training to law enforcement officials and military personnel, among others.

Mr. de Gouttes welcomed the delegation’s replies, particularly the explanation of the tradition of friendly banter; humour was indeed preferable to aggressive behaviour, and the cathartic nature of that practice appeared to be effective. The lack of complaints concerning racial discrimination that were brought before the State party’s judicial system was said to explain the absence of individual communications submitted to the Committee from Senegal, given that domestic remedies had to be exhausted before individuals could lodge complaints with the Committee. Given the complex multi-ethnic composition of the State party’s population and the problems in Casamance, however, the absence of complaints was rather surprising. He welcomed the explanation about the culture of social harmony and the desire to prevent problems rather than bring people before the judicial system, and requested clarification of whether the tradition of friendly banter was used as a legal means of conflict resolution. The interesting discussion on the merits of finding amicable solutions rather than referring cases to the courts was already taking place within many judicial systems. Indeed, both civil and criminal cases were increasingly settled through alternative forms of conflict resolution, such as mediation and conciliation, and alternative forms of punishment such as community service and compensation for damage were taking the place of prison sentences and fines. Given that the spirit of social peace and harmony was also infiltrating judicial systems, there was no contradiction between having recourse to justice and the desire for social peace.

Mr. Amir drew the State party’s attention to article 5, paragraph d (i), of the Convention concerning the right to freedom of movement. He would welcome the delegation’s comments on the enjoyment of that right in the State party, particularly in the light of reports that there were some areas of the country where it was not respected. In addition, it would appear that the level of bureaucracy involved in obtaining a visa for Senegal severely restricted and even prevented some foreigners from travelling there, including diplomats wishing to attend international conferences.

Given that the State party was an excellent role model for other African countries and was often considered to be the voice of Africa by the international community, it would be interesting to hear how it saw its role in the fight to eliminate racial discrimination and promote the image of people of African descent worldwide.

Mr. Murillo Martínez said that the data that had been provided on the measures the State party was implementing to halt the practice of female genital mutilation suggested that good progress had been made. Given that access to basic education was not yet enjoyed by all children in the State party, he urged the authorities to ensure that the next periodic report contained statistics on developments at all levels of education, including higher education.

Mr. Fodé Seck (Senegal) said that the conflict in Casamance had been going on since 1982. It was, however, an eminently political conflict that had nothing to do with racial or religious tensions. The President had established a new system of decentralized meetings of the Council of Ministers, which met alternately in the capital and the regions. The third Council of Ministers under the new president had taken place in Ziguinchor on 27 June 2012, and had been attended by most members of the Government and all prominent members of Casamance society. Given that the root of the conflict was a lack of development, some 360 billion CFAF had been invested in development projects. Moreover, the African Development Bank had recently announced that the Gambian authorities had finally agreed to a project to build a bridge over the Gambia River, which would help to open up the Casamance region. Funds were already available and construction was due to begin. In response to one of the questions from Mr. Amir, he said that many eminent Senegalese figures had been successful in promoting the African continent and, by extension, people of African descent.

Mr. Thioune (Senegal) said that the visa requirement was waived for citizens of member States of the West African Economic and Monetary Union and ECOWAS and citizens of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Mauritania, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Visas were not expensive: the cost was 2,000 CFAF for citizens of African States and 10,000 CFAF for others.

Mr. Thiaw (Senegal) said that alternative methods of conflict resolution were appropriate in many fields, and were to be found in trade law, civil law and criminal law. The African Union had agreed that the African diaspora constituted the sixth region of the African continent, which demonstrated the strong ties between Africa and people of African descent. The Government had supported the idea of a Decade for People of African Descent, building on the achievements of the International Year for People of African Descent in 2011. It now remained to promote the idea of the Decade among the entire international community.

Mr. Ewomsan said that the Committee’s concluding observations would include its concerns about the situation of migrants, refugees and talibé children in the State party, and about the daaras, the caste system and the Casamance conflict. The State party had excellent legislation and mechanisms in place, particularly the Senegalese Human Rights Committee, to combat racial discrimination.

Mr. Fodé Seck (Senegal) thanked the Committee for its constructive questions and comments, which would assist the Government in its efforts to improve implementation of the Convention. The world had witnessed the efforts required to combat new forms of racial and religious discrimination in the measures adopted by the International Olympic Committee at the recent London Games. The 2012 Union of European Football Associations European Football Championship had provided ample examples of manifestations of racial discrimination, and the current economic crisis was exacerbating racial tensions. In those circumstances, the work of the Committee was more relevant than ever.

The meeting rose at 1.05 p.m.