Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

List of issues prior to submission of the sixth periodic report of Seychelles *

1.The State party is requested to submit in writing the information requested below (21,200 words maximum) by 13 December 2025. The State party’s replies to the list of issues prior to reporting will constitute its sixth periodic report under article 9 of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

General information

2.Please outline any significant developments of a legislative, institutional or policy nature that have taken place in the State party since the previous review and that have contributed to the promotion and protection of human rights, in particular those rights covered by the Convention.

3.Please provide disaggregated statistics on the ethnic composition of the State party’s population, including on ethnic minorities and on non-citizens such as asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons, migrants and detainees, taking into account the Committee’s general recommendations No. 8 (1990) and No. 24 (1999) and paragraphs 10 and 12 of its revised reporting guidelines.

4.Please indicate the status of the Convention in the domestic legal order and whether it has been or can be directly invoked in domestic courts, providing any relevant examples.

5.Please provide details of any action that the State party has taken or plans to take in order to make the declaration provided for in article 14 of the Convention.

Article 1

6.While article 27 (1) of the Constitution of the State party provides that every person has a right to equal protection of the law without discrimination on any grounds, except as it is necessary in a democratic society, there is no definition of “racial discrimination” in the Constitution that is in line with the Convention. Please indicate whether additional legislation will be adopted that expressly prohibits racial discrimination, encompassing discrimination based on race, colour, descent, and national and ethnic origin, as well as direct, indirect and intersectional forms of discrimination, taking into account the Committee’s general recommendations No. 1 (1972), No. 7 (1985) and No. 15 (1993) on the preventive value of such legislation.

7.Please provide information on whether the legal system of the State party provides for differential treatment based on citizenship and migration status and comment on the compliance of any such differentiation with article 1 (2) and (3) of the Convention.

8.Please provide information on whether the State party’s legal system allows for the adoption of special measures to ensure the adequate advancement of individuals and groups protected by the Convention, including migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers.

Article 2

9.Please outline the legal framework, policies, strategies and other measures in place to eliminate racial discrimination and to give effect to the provisions of article 2 (1) and (2) of the Convention. Please also provide information on steps taken to enact comprehensive anti‑discrimination legislation, including prohibiting and penalizing acts prohibited under the Convention.

10.Please detail cases in which the Convention has been applied or evoked before courts, tribunals or other relevant bodies in the State party. Please include details of the number and nature of cases brought, of investigations, of convictions and of sentences imposed, and information on any reparation or other remedies provided to victims.

11.Please outline legislation, policies and other measures in place to protect the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees, migrants and stateless persons. Please indicate steps taken to bring national legislation, in particular the Immigration Decree of 1981, into conformity with international standards, the obligations of the State party and the Convention. Please comment on the Immigration Decree, as amended, with regard to its definition of a “prohibited immigrant” and on the custodial sentences associated with prohibited entry into the State party. Please provide information on the implementation of the Decree, including its compliance with the Convention, and updated information on the implementation of the National Labour Migration Policy.

12.Please provide details of applicable provisions and procedures for the processing of asylum applications in domestic law and details of the relevant criteria on which the State party bases its decision to grant or deny asylum status, in the light of applicable international agreements.

13.Please provide information on any consideration given to ratifying the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Please outline the steps taken to proceed with domestication of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

14.With respect to the Citizenship Act, please indicate what measures have been taken to prevent and eliminate statelessness and to repeal the legal provisions that discriminate against persons born to a Seychellois mother outside the State party between 1976 and 1979, owing to the gender discrimination against persons born outside the country between the entry into force of the Seychelles Independence Order 1976 and the Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles Decree 1979.

15.Please provide information on measures, including legislative measures, taken to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, both with regard to forced labour and sexual exploitation, in particular of children, women and migrant workers. Please comment on the effectiveness of the implementation of the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2014, and on the resources allocated for its implementation. Please indicate whether there is a national action plan on trafficking in persons. Please provide updated information on the work of the National Coordinating Committee on Trafficking in Persons.

16.Please indicate whether there are proposals to develop a national action plan on racism to support the State party in addressing racism and related intolerance. Please provide information on the implementation of the National Gender Plan of Action and efforts to fully resource that implementation.

17.Please provide information on the Seychelles Human Rights Commission, including its mandate, independence and financial and human resources, and on the status of the request for its accreditation by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. Please provide information on the steps taken to bring the Commission into full compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). Please indicate whether the Commission is mandated to combat racial discrimination, including through the consideration of individual complaints of racial discrimination. Please also indicate what measures have been taken to inform the public of the work of the Commission, in English, French and Creole.

18.Please explain how national policies and programmes on climate change, disaster response and disaster risk reduction integrate ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, climate displaced persons and non-citizens, such as migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons. Please provide information on the Disaster Risk Management Act, 2014, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategic Plan for the period 2021–2030 and the National Integrated Emergency Management Plan.

Article 4

19.Please provide information on whether the criminal legislation is fully in accordance with the provisions of article 4 of the Convention, on all the grounds outlined in article 1 (1) of the Convention, in particular with regard to the criminalization of:

(a)All dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, and incitement to racial discrimination;

(b)All acts of violence or incitement to such acts against any group of persons on the grounds of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin;

(c)The provision of any assistance to racist activities, including the financing thereof;

(d)Organizations that carry out organized propaganda activities or spread any other type of propaganda to promote or incite racial discrimination, and the recognition of participation in such organizations or activities as an offence punishable by law;

(e)Incitement to or encouragement of racial discrimination by public authorities or public institutions, whether national or local.

20.Please indicate what steps have been taken to ensure that racial motives, including all grounds outlined in article 1 (1) of the Convention, are considered an aggravating circumstance under domestic criminal legislation.

21.Please provide detailed statistics on complaints filed, investigations carried out, prosecutions undertaken, decisions taken and sentences passed by national tribunals and other State institutions regarding acts of racial discrimination, in particular offences under article 4 of the Convention. Please provide information on any reparation or other remedies provided to victims of such acts.

22.Please indicate which mechanisms have been established for monitoring and collecting data on racist incidents, including acts of racist violence and hate speech, including online, in the State party, and information on the data collected through such mechanisms.

Article 5

23.Please provide information on the enjoyment of the rights enshrined in article 5 of the Convention by non-citizens residing in the territory of the State party, including migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons.

24.Concerning migrants, please provide the following information:

(a)Statistics, disaggregated by age, sex and nationality, on the number of migrants who have been detained or deported for violations of immigration laws;

(b)The measures in place to strengthen inspection of the working conditions of non-citizens, in particular measures aimed at guaranteeing that migrant workers, especially women, are not subjected to physical abuse, confiscation of passports, lower wages, non‑payment of salaries and wage theft, which reportedly occur, especially in the construction, tourism and commercial fishing sectors. Please describe the steps taken to inform foreign workers of their rights and the remedies available in cases of discrimination and exploitation in employment;

(c)Details of the effective investigations carried out before a migrant worker is classified as a prohibited immigrant;

(d)Steps taken to integrate migrant workers, to improve their living conditions and to prevent and address discrimination against them.

25.Please provide details of efforts made to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, in particular:

(a)Measures to establish shelters or long-term accommodation and to provide support for victims of trafficking with rehabilitation, access to care and reintegration or repatriation. Please comment on reports of a lack of shelter available to victims of trafficking and a lack of adequate resources for the one such shelter, the Centre d’Accueil de La Rosière;

(b)Education and awareness-raising campaigns on the risks and the criminal nature of trafficking, aimed at migrant workers, among others, and trafficking-specific training provided to law enforcement officials, border guards, judges, prosecutors, labour inspectors, teachers, healthcare providers and social services personnel;

(c)Remedies provided and protection measures offered to victims of trafficking, including legal, medical and psychosocial assistance, and protection from retaliation, in particular, information on the Trafficking in Persons Fund;

(d)Statistics on cases of trafficking that have been addressed by national or local authorities, including investigations, prosecutions, convictions and sentences pronounced against those responsible, including officials complicit in trafficking crimes, and the remedies and protection offered to the victims.

26.Regarding asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons, please provide information on:

(a)Steps taken to ensure respect for the right to seek asylum by enabling effective and unhindered access to the State party’s territory and full compliance with the principle of non-refoulement. Please confirm that refugee status has not been granted to date;

(b)Measures taken to integrate and grant citizenship to stateless persons who are entitled to it, including due to extended residence in the State party. In particular, please provide information on effective measures adopted to guarantee the rights and equality of Chagossians living in the territory of the State party, including to ensure their full and equal right to citizenship, in the light of reports of Chagossians who remain stateless, despite having resided in the State party for an extensive period of time.

27.Concerning ethnic minorities, especially Chagossians, please provide information on:

(a)Effective measures in place to ensure that they have access to economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to housing, health and education;

(b)Efforts to address the lack of access of Chagossian children to their rights, especially the right to education;

(c)Measures in place to address reports of instances of torture in places of detention;

(d)The inclusion of ethnic minorities in the Independent Electoral Commission to ensure that it is comprised of several persons, rather than a single person serving as an electoral commissioner.

28.Please provide information on multiple or intersectional forms of racial discrimination with respect to discrimination based on gender or on sexual orientation.

Article 6

29.Please outline the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures that give effect to the provisions of article 6 of the Convention in the State party. Please provide information on the steps taken by the State party to educate and inform the public about their rights under the Convention, about the laws prohibiting acts of racism and racial discrimination and about the availability of redress mechanisms and remedies in relation to such acts.

30.Please provide detailed information on any complaints of racial discrimination received, investigations conducted and recommendations made under the auspices of legislative, judicial and administrative bodies, including the Office of the Ombudsman and the Seychelles Human Rights Commission. Please also provide information on the burden of proof required in civil proceedings in cases involving racial discrimination.

31.Please provide information on the measures that have been taken to provide adequate capacity-building for law enforcement, immigration and judicial officials to ensure respect and protection of human dignity without discrimination on the grounds of race, colour or national or ethnic origin in their work.

32.Please outline the training provided for members of the judiciary and law enforcement personnel on investigation and prosecution of cases of discrimination and violence, especially against minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, women, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers.

Article 7

33.Please provide information on measures that have been taken to implement article 7 of the Convention, in particular on steps to disseminate information to promote mutual understanding, tolerance, dialogue and friendship among the ethnic groups in the country.

34.Please provide details of the action taken to preserve minority cultures and languages and to promote access to and participation in cultural heritage and creative expressions, including by minorities, Indigenous Peoples, migrants and refugees.

35.Please provide information on measures taken to encourage organizations working on the elimination of racial discrimination and to support the activities organized by those associations.

36.Please provide information on human rights education in the State party, including in relation to the rights contained in the Convention, both in school curricula and for the population in general.

37.Please provide information on action taken to raise awareness among media professionals of their particular responsibility to avoid prejudiced, racial, discriminatory or biased language and to avoid reporting incidents involving members of groups protected by the Convention in a way that blames such groups as a whole.