[WCAR] CERD 65th session: Report of Argentina

UNITED NATIONS
Press Release
11 August 2004

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered
the report of Argentina on its implementation of the provisions of the
International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
Discrimination.

Alfredo V. Chiaradia, Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United
Nations Office at Geneva, presented the report, saying that the promotion
and protection of human rights was a central objective of the State party
which also sought to bring to trial and prosecute any person who had
violated human rights. Argentina had taken several steps to combat
discrimination and had demonstrated that by its application of the Durban
Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted at the World Conference on
Combating all Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance in 2001. The Government was currently drafting a
national action plan against discrimination and had adopted a new migration
act, among other things.

Also presenting the report was Enrique Oteiza, President of the National
Institute to Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism, who drew
attention to the recent economic crisis in the region which had resulted in
the worsening of poverty and unemployment in Argentina and, in particular,
had had a deep impact on the vulnerable population. As a result of the
crisis, new forms of discrimination had resulted in terms of economic
opportunities. Concerning indigenous people, the delegate noted that the
current Government had taken a decision to obtain all the necessary
information to carry out an analysis to draw up a policy to better serve
the indigenous population and to go beyond the traditional approaches which
had taken place up to now.

In the course of the discussion, which was held over two meetings, issues
concerning the Government's plan to address the issue of indigenous people,
multiculturalism, anti-Semitism, migration matters and police reform were
raised among other subjects.

In preliminary remarks, the country Rapporteur for the report, Committee
Expert Patrick Thornberry, noted the efforts of the Government in dealing
with the question of indigenous people through its institutions which
specifically addressed the issue. When tackling problems pertaining to
Islam phobia and anti-Semitism, the State party should bear in mind the
principle of non-discrimination as well. Mr. Thornberry said the Government
had expressed its commitment to address key issues underlined by a move to
legal pluralism in the midst of the enduring effects of an economic crisis.

The Committee will present its final conclusions and recommendations on the
sixteenth to eighteenth periodic reports of Argentina, which were presented
in one document, at the end of its session, which concludes on 20 August.

The delegation of Argentina also included representatives of the National
Institute to Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism; the Ministries
of Interior, Justice and Foreign Affairs; the National Institute of
Indigenous Affairs; and the Office of the National Director for Immigration.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will begin its
consideration of the report of Tajikistan (CERD/C/463/Add.1).


REPORT OF ARGENTINA

According to the sixteenth to eighteenth periodic reports of Argentina,
presented in one document CERD/C/476/Add.2, two human rights bodies have
been created at the national level, one within the Ministry of Justice,
Security and Human Rights, and the other within the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, International Trade and Worship. Among the institutions created by
the Government are the National Commission for the Right to an Identity to
assist the search for disappeared children and determine the whereabouts of
kidnapped and disappeared children of unknown identity; the National
Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP); and the National
Institute to Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI), which
constitutes the executing agency for State policy in this field.

The report states that since 1983, the year in which a new stage in
Argentina's democracy began, an effort has been made to combat
discrimination. Nevertheless, there are still government actions to be
taken to fight discrimination in all fields. Moreover, some individual or
group manifestations of discrimination reflect the xenophobic ethics,
psychology, beliefs and ideas found in all societies, regardless of
government action. However, the chief difficulties in consolidating this
action derive from the economic limitations which have seriously affected
the struggle against discrimination. There are about 15 different ethnic
groups, each with its own culture, language and other special features.
Indigenous peoples in Argentina enjoy all the rights of the inhabitants of
the Argentine Republic by virtue of the national Constitution and the other
laws in force.

Argentina is committed to guaranteeing full respect for the human rights of
migrants and their families and, among other things, has adopted the
necessary legal measures to criminalize migrant smuggling. The problems of
discrimination are taken carefully into account in all areas of government
policy, although, among vulnerable groups, persons with different
capacities are those who have suffered least from flagrant acts of that
nature. As a result, few cases are brought to court in which the victim of
acts of discrimination is a disabled person. Among other things, the report
addresses the rights to housing, to freedom of expression, to work, to
health, and to
education. It spells out in particular the anti-discrimination measures
taken by the State party in the area of education.


PRESENTATION OF REPORT

ALFREDO V. CHIARADIA, Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United
Nations Office at Geneva, said it was the will of the Government to respect
international commitments by implementing the international agreements it
had entered into, including that of the International Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. International treaties,
including the Convention, were on an equal footing with the provisions of
the Argentine Constitution and took precedence over national and provincial
legislation. Moreover, the promotion and protection of human rights was a
central objective of the State party which also sought to bring to trial
and prosecute any person who had violated human rights. Argentina had taken
several steps to combat discrimination and had demonstrated that by its
application of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted at
the World Conference on Combating all Forms of Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001. The Government
was currently drafting a national action plan against discrimination and
had adopted a new migration act, among other things. In closing, the
Ambassador said dialogue was essential to make progress and was essential
in order to achieve goals, such as that of combating discrimination.

ENRIQUE OTEIZA, President of the National Institute to Combat
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism, said his country had embarked on
recent projects for the purpose of implementing the Durban recommendations
and the Convention itself. Argentina, as of 1983, had made a strong
commitment and had made significant progress in implementing legislation in
practically all the aspects pertaining to racial discrimination.

Drawing attention to the recent economic crisis in his region, the delegate
said the crisis had resulted in the worsening of the situation in
Argentina, in particular in the areas of poverty and unemployment, and had
had a deep impact on the vulnerable population. As a result of the crisis,
new forms of discrimination had resulted in terms of economic
opportunities; the Government had since embarked on a national policy to
overcome these problems. The Argentine economy had been described as going
through a significant increase in its debt. Consequently, Argentina
experienced a deepening of the trends in terms of the distribution of
wealth and also in the increase in unemployment. The disparity between the
rich and poor deepened; in 2001, 50 per cent of the poorest families
received only 22 per cent of the overall income and the wealthiest 10 per
cent received approximately 30 per cent. Moreover, the proportion of
persons living below the poverty level had increased to 57 per cent and
27.5 per cent were living below the threshold of extreme poverty.

In the face of this deepening crisis, the Argentine Government had set up a
food emergency programme in 2002 and a plan had been created to benefit
those who lost their jobs; in that regard, vocational training was made
available for those most severely affected to allow them to re-enter the
work force. Some 2 million people had benefited from this system throughout
the country. In the health sector, a programme was put into action to
remedy existing problems concerning the provision of medicines free of
charge, one of the largest programmes worldwide; some 6,200 primary health
centres had been set up to meet the needs of the poorest sections in
society. Concerning education, a Government campaign encouraged young
people from low-income families to enrol in school and school materials
were made free of charge. Among the social welfare measures taken were the
construction of dwellings throughout the country targeting primarily
low-income families and efforts to find gainful employment for those out of
work.

In August 2003, Mr. Oteiza said, the Argentine Congress adopted a law that
declared void laws that were related to impunity for crimes against
humanity that were committed during the years of the last military
dictatorship. This was a demonstration of the current Government's desire
to put an end to these pockets of impunity which still existed against the
most horrendous crimes against humanity, the delegate added. The Government
was strengthening its policy on human rights by way of creating a culture
of truth and justice.

In addition to several international human rights instruments, Argentina
had also ratified the Latin American Convention on Human Rights, Mr. Oteiza
said. Of significance was the replacement of the general law on immigration
adopted in 1980 with a new law in 2004 which reflected the commitment
assumed by the State party to guarantee the same rights as that of the
Convention and directly related to the relevant articles to the
Constitution of the country. The main element of this new law was that it
guaranteed all immigrants and foreign residents in Argentina the access to
justice.

In 2001, the delegate noted, the Government of Argentina, with the support
of the United Nations Development Programme and the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, set out to prepare a National Plan against
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Other Forms of Intolerance. The aim of this
plan was to implement the conclusions of the World Conference against
Racism in Durban.

In terms of indigenous people, the current Government had taken a decision
to obtain all the necessary information to carry out an analysis to draw up
a policy to better serve the indigenous population and to go beyond the
traditional approaches which had taken place up to now. Among other things,
the Government aimed to provide bi-lingual services to benefit these people
and to foster improved cooperation between indigenous people and the
Government.


DISCUSSION

PATRICK THORNBERRY, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur,
noted the effects of the economic crisis on the Argentine people and the
progress made to move forward. While noting the pre-existence of a
reference to indigenous people in the Constitution of Argentina, the
Rapporteur welcomed more information regarding the Government's policy on
indigenous people and requested updated figures on refugees and asylum
seekers.

Mr. Thornberry noted the information on legislative measures provided in
the report and welcomed the Government's decision to place international
human rights treaties on equal footing with domestic legislation. The
Rapporteur also welcomed the strengthening of the National Institute to
Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI), yet asked what
effects the cutbacks to that institution had had on its functioning on a
national level. The Rapporteur noted the prominence given to the
anti-discrimination plan and asked for more information on resources to
support the plan. Also noted were the Government's efforts to support
affirmative action and the active participation of non-governmental
organizations in society.

The Rapporteur noted the anti-Semitic prevention measures taken by the
Government. He requested additional information on the case cited in the
previous report on the attacks on the Israeli Embassy and Argentine-Jewish
Mutual Association in Buenos Aires.

Mr. Thornberry asked for additional information on the mater of freedom of
opinion and expression, as well as for education measures, in particular
schooling for indigenous people, and more specifically, what did pupils in
Argentina know about their co-national indigenous people, had there been
efforts to support minority languages in schools.

Other information was requested by the country Rapporteur on the training
of judges on human rights standards; complaints received by INADI;
religious freedoms; and land rights. On the latter point, the Rapporteur
asked whether traditional occupation gave rise to recognized land rights
and whether there were adequate provisions in Argentine law which respected
the right of indigenous land rights. Similarly, what steps had been taken
by the Government prior and subsequent to the ratification of ILO
Convention 169 concerning indigenous populations. Also noted with regard to
land rights was the statement by the Special Rapporteur on religious
intolerance, who emphasized the need to return ancestral lands to
indigenous people.

According to a non-governmental organization, Mr. Thornberry said, there
was a lack of translation services for non-Spanish speakers in the country
and a lack of information made available to personnel working at border
crossings on immigration policy. More information was sought in that regard.

The Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Mr. Thornberry said, had
focused in his report on Argentina on the negative role of the media in
relation to the Arab and Muslim population. Moreover, according to
information received there were no known indigenous or ethnic minorities in
the Cabinet or the Supreme Court of Argentina. More information was
requested on both matters.

In closing, the country Rapporteur noted that much of Argentine legislation
was in line with the International Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Racial Discrimination. Argentina was a modern country with modern
plagues and one which had been affected by changes in migration patterns
and an economic crisis.

In response to questions raised on indigenous persons living in Argentina,
a member of the delegation said in general there had been an improvement in
dealing with indigenous matters largely due the efforts of the National
Institute of Indigenous Affairs. Among other things, these groups had been
provided with welfare assistance.

Several members of the Committee asked what impact the economic crisis of
2001-2002 had had on indigenous people to which the delegation said the
crisis had had very little effect on the indigenous people since they had
already been experiencing a deep crisis previously. Most of the indigenous
people who did not participate greatly in economic life found that they had
even fewer possibilities during the crisis. The crisis did help, however,
in that it initiated the social welfare plan which targeted most vulnerable
groups, including indigenous communities, by way of a head of household
plan and various food plans, to name some examples. An indigenous
development programme was also up and running to develop the
infrastructures in indigenous communities. These programmes amounted to
over $ 3 million this year.

On a question pertaining to inter-cultural and bi-lingual education, the
delegation noted that a programme on such education was established by the
National Institute of Indigenous Affairs (INAI) under the Ministry for
Social Development in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. The first
such programme was introduced by INAI three years ago but had since been
refined for further impact; the programme was a strategy which, in addition
to promoting multicultural diversity, promoted development of other
cultures in country. Among the projects created by INAI in this regard, was
one which provided scholarships to secondary school indigenous students;
some 6,000 scholarships this year were allocated in cooperation with
indigenous leaders. The delegation said they hoped to increase the number
of scholarships distributed in the future after receiving additional
feedback from the indigenous communities.
Literacy programmes had also been created as well as workshops to generate
teaching materials to correct the curriculum content as it affected the
indigenous population. Also mentioned was the funds invested in teacher
assistance programmes targeting indigenous communities.

In response to a question on the image of indigenous people in the media,
the delegation noted the policy initiated by the President of the Republic
which focused on inclusion in society of indigenous communities; this
involved human development with a consolidated identity of the indigenous
people.

The delegation responded to questions on migration by highlighting that
this was a difficult issue given the technical shortcomings. In years past,
Argentina had legislation based on national security which thus led to an
expulsion policy; Argentina had since been moving away from that policy and
had opened its borders with far less restrictions and according to the
principles of equality. Estimated figures showed that there were between
700,000 to 1.5 million illegal, undocumented immigrants living in
Argentina. Since the 1860s, the delegation added, there had been an inflow
of people coming into Argentina and since then it had developed a very
multicultural setting. In theory, the State allowed a national from any
other country to enter its territory provided that he/she did not have a
criminal record; once in Argentina the person could benefit from the same
rights enjoyed by its citizens.

On the subject of migrant workers, the delegation said these people had the
same benefits of citizens. There was an estimate of undocumented workers
amounting to 0.06 per cent of overall employment figures. All trade unions
had always insisted on the Government bearing in mind the situation of
migrant workers. The delegation added that training courses for migration
officials in cooperation with UNHCR had also been instituted.

More specifically on human trafficking, the delegation noted that there was
a new directorate as a means of combating this crime which dictated that
the process of legalizing migration cases should take no longer than 30
days; this was initiated by the President of the Republic.

The delegation noted that yesterday Argentina signed the International
Convention on Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, and that
Article 14 of the Convention on Racial Discrimination on communication was
being prepared for adherence by the State party. Since 1994 the
Constitutional Court provided that treaties prevail over national laws and
some human rights treaties had Constitutional rank.

In response to a question, the delegation noted that in 2001 there was a
national census where a question concerning self-identification of
indigenous people was included. It was determined that three per cent of
the population was indigenous. Currently, an additional survey was being
carried out seeking a more refined diagnosis concerning the characteristics
of the indigenous people in Argentina. This additional survey was presented
to 60,000 indigenous people and involved themes such as the preservation
and use of an indigenous language, living in an indigenous community,
access to indigenous medicine, educational status, labour situation,
housing, and land ownership. Regional workshops were also set up to help
design the survey and regional indigenous representatives were also
appointed to help formulate the survey and to serve as awareness raisers to
give information by word of mouth so the people understood the purpose of
the census.

Concerning the question raised on ILO Convention 169 on indigenous land
rights, the delegation said the Government had ratified the Convention and
it entered into force in 2001; due to the economic crisis in Argentina it
had been difficult to revise the State's legislation in conformity with the
Convention. Subsequently, a decree was handed down by the President to
create a high-level committee to deal with legislation concerning the
Convention; the Committee included indigenous representatives. The
Committee was currently looking into this question. Also concerning land
ownership, the delegation noted that the Government was currently
undertaking studies to determine who held land ownership titles to help
settle pending cases involving indigenous land issues.

Concerning police matters, the delegation indicated that the Government was
working on the reform of the federal police. There were some 40,000 police
officers in Buenos Aires alone; there was no significant percentage of
police officers who had been expelled; when they were expelled they left
the police force but many joined criminal organizations already existing in
Argentina. As to discrimination against vulnerable groups by the police,
sometimes they had been far more victimized than other sectors of society,
the delegation said. The reform was underway to assure that it would lead
to considerable improvement to provide actions to dealing with incidents of
police brutality, to protect these vulnerable groups forces and to punish
those responsible.

Among the measures taken on awareness raising, INADI had a public campaign
carried out through radio broadcasts which were designed for cultural
awareness and the prevention of discrimination, particularly for those
living on the fringes of society.

Concerning people of African descent, the delegation noted that some 30 per
cent of the population was of African origin, most of whom were of slave
origin. Argentina had abolished slavery very early in its history. However,
the delegation said, around that time, there was a group in the national
army which was of African origin. This regiment was used to exterminate the
indigenous population in country and in turn they were exterminated. There
were also epidemics which eliminated many of these African groups.

In response to the question on the attacks on the Israeli Embassy and
Argentine-Jewish Mutual Association in Buenos Aires, the delegation said
the current Government was committed to expedite the procedure underway to
cope with these attacks; they were only a few months away from conclusion.
Restrictions had been removed on officers so as to provide the maximum
amount of information and the Ambassador of Israel had also cooperated with
the Argentine Government. In response to these attacks a report on
anti-Semitism was produced to highlight such acts of discrimination.

Concerning asylum and refugee status, in Argentina there was currently a
draft law being considered providing a comprehensive view of asylum. The
current laws provided for a procedure by which a person was eligible to
apply for asylum. Any person applying for asylum was offered rights by law;
the law also made it impermissible to extradite that person to a country
where they would be subject to any persecution. There were also
possibilities for an applicant to appeal any decision taken. If the person
had a record of being involved in terrorist activities they were denied
access; generally any obstacle must be considered by the justice system.

On women's issues, the delegation noted that in Buenos Aires there was a
specific programme for migrant workers to reduce discrimination against
women and support had been given to institutions for indigenous women. The
social agrarian programme had a programme for involving indigenous women.
Moreover, sexual exploitation and trafficking had been addressed by the
Government in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights to help tackle the problem. A programme was also being
launched at airports concerning child trafficking as a priority of the
Government.

Asked how indigenous people were represented in public positions, the
delegation said there were public offices in different provinces where
indigenous people were represented. In general, in the provinces where
there were the largest indigenous communities there were mayors, governors,
members of parliament, police and teachers among other indigenous persons
who were participating in civil life.


PRELIMINARY REMARKS

PATRICK THORNBERRY, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur,
thanked the delegation for the rich supply of information it had provided
during the course of the two-day meeting. Although the report was
excellent, additional information, in particular in statistics, was needed
in order to enable the State party to fine-tune certain social and
community policies effectively.

The Rapporteur noted that the census was clarified and expressed his
gratitude for that. Also noted was the National Plan on Human Rights,
freedom of expression measures, security of the person and vulnerable
groups, and education efforts. In that regard, he encouraged further
training for police and security forces in terms of anti-discrimination.
Mr. Thornberry noted with favour the stress on human rights in its policy
on migration and said the principle of non-discrimination should be noted
when pursuing that policy. Also welcomed was the ratification of the
International Convention on Migrant Workers and Members of their Families
and the ongoing efforts to implement ILO Convention 169 concerning
indigenous land rights.

The Country Rapporteur said the multicultural education process by the
Government should be complemented by the teaching of ones' own culture;
education and multiculturalism went together, he added. Also noted were the
efforts of the National Institute to Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Racism (INADI) and National Institute of Indigenous Affairs (INAI) and the
movement to a more holistic approach to dealing with the indigenous
question in general. When tackling problems pertaining to Islam phobia and
anti-Semitism, the State party should bear in mind the principle of
non-discrimination, as well. Mr. Thornberry also noted the historical
background provided on Afro-Argentines and welcomed more information in
future reports on that subject.

In conclusion, the Rapporteur said the delegation had expressed a great
deal of commitment by the Government to address key issues underlined by a
move to legal pluralism in the midst of the enduring effects of an economic
crisis. Argentina was going through a process of self-identification and
the results should be based on the implementation of the Convention.



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