Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

112th session

8–26 April 2024

Item 6 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted

by States parties under article 9 of the Convention

List of themes in relation to the combined twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth periodic reports of Mauritius

Note by the Country Rapporteur

1.The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination decided at its seventy‑sixth session that the Country Rapporteur would send to the State party concerned a short list of themes with a view to guiding and focusing the dialogue between the State party’s delegation and the Committee during the consideration of the State party’s report. The present document contains a list of such themes. It is not an exhaustive list; other issues may also be raised in the course of the dialogue. No written replies are required.

Statistics

2.Statistics on the demographic composition of the population based on self‑identification, disaggregated by ethnic or national origin, including Creoles, Chagossians and the Ilois people, and languages spoken, as well as on the prison population, migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons. Economic and social indicators relating to the various groups living in the territory of the State party, disaggregated by sex, age and ethnic or national origin.

The Convention in domestic law and the institutional and policy framework for its implementation (arts. 1, 2, 4 and 6)

3.Measures taken to incorporate the Convention into the domestic legal order. Information on measures taken or envisaged to review the classification of the population in the domestic legal order, including the Constitution, and to introduce and implement the principle of self-identification.

4.Updated information on the human rights action plan for the period 2024–2030. Measures to adopt and implement a comprehensive strategy and national action plan to combat racism, racial discrimination, intolerance and any manifestation of racial or caste‑based superiority.

5.Updated information on the implementation of the Equal Opportunities Act. Information on measures taken to ensure that the provisions of the Criminal Code and other relevant legislation prohibit and punish racist hate speech, incitement to racial hatred or to racial discrimination, racist hate crimes and participation in organizations that promote and incite racial discrimination, in line with article 4 of the Convention.

6.Information on measures taken or envisaged: (a) to combat racist hate speech, including in political discourse, in the media and over the Internet; and (b) to ensure that police and other law enforcement officers do not engage in racial discrimination, including racially motivated violence and practices that amount to racial profiling.

7.Updated statistics and detailed information on complaints registered with the courts or any other national institution for acts of racial discrimination, racist hate speech and racist hate crimes, including over the Internet and through the media, and on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators.

8.Updated information on measures taken to implement the recommendations of the Truth and Justice Commission, in particular to address all land dispossession and ownership claims.

9.Information on the mandate of and activities carried out by the National Human Rights Commission to combat racial discrimination and to evaluate progress in the implementation of the Convention, as well as on the allocation of adequate human, financial and technical resources to the Commission to enable it to discharge its mandate fully and effectively.

Situation of ethnic minority groups (arts. 2, 5 and 6)

10.Updated information on measures taken to combat stereotypes and structural discrimination against ethnic minority groups, in particular Creoles, Chagossians and the Ilois people, and to guarantee their full and equal enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, while ensuring consultation and participation of members of those ethnic minority groups in the design and implementation of such measures.

11.Measures to ensure the effective participation and representation of members of ethnic minorities in public and political life, in particular in State institutions, law enforcement and the judiciary, including through the adoption and implementation of special measures. Information on measures taken to assess the effectiveness of special measures currently in place, in particular the “best loser” system, and on the process of electoral reform. Information on measures taken or envisaged to confer the status of national language on the Creole language, to guarantee the access of Creole persons to education and to ensure their access to justice.

12.Information on the impact of climate change, tourism and development projects on marginalized communities, particularly ethnic minority groups, as well as on measures to mitigate their impact and ensure the access of victims to justice and remedies. Information on the national plan on business and human rights.

Situation of migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons (arts. 2 and 5)

13.Information on the legislative and policy frameworks on migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons, in particular in relation to the Immigration Act of 2022, and measures to ensure their access to justice, education, employment and health services without discrimination. Measures to prevent and protect people from statelessness, including updated statistics on stateless persons and those at risk of statelessness.

14.Updated information on measures to prevent and combat the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, including domestic workers, by their employers and to facilitate the lodging of complaints by victims, as well as statistics on registered complaints and on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators.

15.Updated information on the implementation of the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act and other measures to prevent and combat incidents of trafficking in persons, including the development and adoption of a policy framework to tackle the commercialization of sexual exploitation and to protect women working in prostitution, in relation to ethnic or national discrimination. Updated information on trafficking cases reported and prosecuted and convictions secured.

Human rights education to combat prejudice and intolerance (art. 7)

16.Information on measures to promote human rights education, including on ways to combat racial discrimination, in school curricula, university programmes and teacher training programmes. Updated information on measures to raise awareness among the general public, civil servants, law enforcement and judicial authorities of the importance of cultural diversity, tolerance and inter-ethnic education.