COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONSIDERS REPORT OF COLOMBIA

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the combined tenth to fourteenth periodic report of Colombia on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Presenting the report, Rosa Garcia, Director of the Department of Communities of Afro-Descent at the Ministry of Interior and Justice, said that Colombia’s society was one of the most diverse in South America; it even included Romas and gypsies. Some 3.4 per cent of the population was made up of indigenous people. More than 10 million were people of Afro-descendants, out of which 4 per cent identified themselves as Afro-Colombians, Palenqueros or Raizals. Colombia recognised that these communities were victims of diverse forms of racial discrimination and the Government would spare no effort to put in place public policies to prevent such discrimination. Colombia had had to face violent activities by illegal armed groups which had affected the rights of all citizens, especially the rights of women and of ethnic groups. The terrorist and illegal activities of criminal organizations had for many years affected the most vulnerable groups. These organizations had been chiefly responsible for various crimes and this problem was one of the greatest challenges for the current Government.

In preliminary concluding observations, Ion Diaconu, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur for the report of Colombia, said that the delegation had recognised many measures that the country would need to take to respond to all the problems. Among the major set of problems and issues were the elimination of violence; protection against violence; internally displaced persons; reparations; return of the displaced to their lands; the rights of indigenous people and Afro-Colombians, especially concerning the lands that had belonged to them before the conflict; measures to prevent discrimination in the social and economic fields; and bilingual and intercultural education. The situation was a complex one but the country had shown the political will to solve the issues. He also referred to the importance of a dialogue with civil society in the country on these issues. It was an important method for the country to solve the major problems. All groups within the country had to work together.

Other Committee Experts made comments and asked for further information on subjects pertaining to, among other things, the effects of the conflict in the country on the vulnerable parts of the population and the fact that measures of protection had to be adopted without delay. The number of complaints of extra judicial executions remained high. Cases of torture and inhuman treatment continued to be reported. The indigenous and Afro-American communities remained high among the list of victims in the conflict. What was the Government doing to find a balance between the need to meet the economic needs of the people and the destruction of illegal crops by the army? Did members of the different ethnic communities self-define themselves as members of a community? Did the English and Creole speaking communities do so because they wanted to do so or because they had no opportunity to learn Spanish? What had been done to include the traditions of indigenous people in the field of justice? Was the country contemplating the establishment of a national human rights institution based on the Paris Principles?

The delegation of Colombia also included members of the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and Justice, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, the Ministry of Defence, the Human Rights Unit and a member of the Presidential Agency for Social Action.

The Committee will present its written observations and recommendations on the combined tenth to fourteenth periodic report of Colombia, which was presented in one document, at the end of its session, which concludes on 28 August 2009.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it is scheduled to take up the combined fifteenth to eighteenth periodic report of Chile (CERD/C/CHL/18).

Report of Colombia

The combined tenth to fourteenth periodic report of Colombia, submitted in one document (CERD/C/COL/14), says that the people of Colombia are predominantly of mixed race. There are four main ethnic and social groups that stand apart from the majority of the population both geographically and culturally: the Afro-Colombian communities and the native islanders (Raizales) – accounting for 10.62 per cent of the population; the indigenous peoples – accounting for 3.3 per cent of the population; and the Roma or gypsies. Unlawfully organized armed groups represent a threat to the stability of Colombian society, consisting as they do of agents that generate violence, owing to the structure of a war economy, based on abductions, extortion and drug production and trafficking. This situation has generated huge social, economic and political costs for the nation. Civilians, particularly from ethnic groups, were affected by the practice of restrictions on the transport of food, medicines and people, sexual violence against women and girls, and recruitment of children. This situation poses an unequivocal challenge for the Colombian State and requires the provision of both human and economic resources for effectively confronting these illegal groups with a view to achieving peace and all citizens’ full enjoyment of rights.

The report further states that it must be recognized that the Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities are still victims of various forms of racial discrimination in the country. The problem is not one of discriminatory acts permitted by law or deliberately perpetrated by the State institutions. It is, rather, a complex cultural problem with its roots in the history of Colombia and Latin America, which has engendered a scenario in which the indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities have been traditionally subject to marginalization, poverty and vulnerability to violence. The legislative framework of the 1991 Constitution establishes that members of indigenous communities are not required to do military service and establishes the mechanisms for the award of uncultivated lands to the Afro-Colombian communities; and the mechanism for the award of royalties for the exploitation of natural resources located in indigenous territories. It also regulates the special indigenous jurisdiction and the administration of justice by the indigenous population and creates the Ministry of Culture as the highest authority for devising public policies for the proper appreciation, protection and dissemination of the cultural identities of Colombians.

Presentation of Report

ANGELINO GARZON, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in Geneva, said that Colombia had recently been visited by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people and that the Government had also extended an invitation to the Independent Expert on minority issues. He assured the Committee of Colombia’s full collaboration.

ROSA GARCIA, Director of the Department of Communities of Afro-Descent at the Ministry of Interior and Justice, said that Colombia’s society was one of the most diverse in South America, it even included Roma and gypsies. Some 3.4 per cent of the population was made up of indigenous people. More than 10 million were Afro-descendants, out of which 4 per cent identified themselves as Afro-Colombians, Palenqueros or Raizals.

Colombia recognised that these communities were victims of different forms of racial discrimination and the Government would not spare a single effort to put in place public policies to prevent discrimination. Today indigenous people and communities had special seats in Parliament and possessed their own slots of collective lands, said Ms. Garcia. They also benefited from affirmative actions in the fields of healthcare, education and culture.

Ms. Garcia said that Colombia recognized the importance of the human rights system of the United Nations and reiterated their commitment to the various conventions and treaties. The presence of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia had given a new impetus to the country. Colombia had also participated with great interest in the Durban Review Conference. The Government had further given its unilateral support to the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the United Nations.

The Colombian State had taken on board the commitment to ensure the fundamentals rights of all Colombians, said Ms. Garcia. This had been the basis of the Constitution of 1991. The Constitution included the concept of equality of opportunity, equity, and organized affirmative actions on behalf of groups that were discriminated against or marginalized.

A transitional provision of the Constitution had also established a law which had recognised the Black communities of African descent which had been occupying rural areas around the Pacific Coast and whose members were using their traditional agricultural practises, said Ms. Garcia.

There was also an Office for Indigenous Affairs, Romas and Black communities within the Ministry of Interior and Justice. The Vice-President of the country was responsible for human rights policies.

Ms. Garcia underscored that Colombia had had to face violent activities by illegal armed groups which had affected the rights of all citizens, especially the rights of women and of ethnic groups. The terrorist and illegal activities of criminal organizations had for many years affected the most vulnerable groups. These organizations had been chiefly responsible for various crimes and this problem was one of the greatest challenges for the current Government.

Ms. Garcia noted however that there had been significant progress. Every year there had been thousands of homicides but between 2002 and 2008 the number of homicides had seen a reduction of 44 per cent.

Ms. Garcia then gave a long list of affirmative actions that had been taken by Colombia in favour of ethnic groups. A commission to assess the risks affecting indigenous people and Colombians of African descent had been established to look at protection measures for these communities. There had been joint work and activities with ethnic groups in order to implement protection and promotion measures that were more effective.

In 2008, the Ministry of Defence had established a comprehensive policy in humanitarian law to ensure that human rights courses were included in the training of the armed forces. Efforts had been made to ensure that the individual and collective rights of indigenous and Black communities would be guaranteed by the army and the police, said Ms. Garcia.

In the context of the violence in Colombia for the last decade, many people had been forcefully displaced and many of their fundamental rights had been violated, said Ms. Garcia. Colombia had put in place a national comprehensive system of care for the displaced and had established a national registry.

Although there were still many challenges, there had been a great deal of progress thanks to the affirmative action programmes, said Ms. Garcia. An ethnic variable had also been introduced in the national census. In the health field, a generalized social security system provided support to members of indigenous communities; they did not have to make any payments.

In 2004 the Government had carried out activities with the participation of ethnic communities in order to examine the present situation of healthcare and to characterize and identify health problems, said Ms. Garcia.

She also presented a long list of affirmative actions that the Government had undertaken in the field of education. The State was taking action to strengthen education in reproduction rights, human rights and environmental education, among others.

Ms. Garcia said that indigenous and Black communities were provided representation in Congress but that ethnic groups could also access Congress via ordinary ballot.

Concluding, Ms. Garcia said that Colombia had made considerable efforts in combating racial discrimination, however much remained to be done and the Government was committed to take decisive steps to adopt affirmative actions and to design programmes that would contribute to combating discrimination.

MOISES MEDRANO, Director of Publications of the Ministry of Culture, giving a PowerPoint presentation on the results of an exercise undertaken by the Colombian State on the advancement of the Afro-Colombian, Palenquero and Raizal populations of Colombia, said that the main barriers affecting their advancement were racial discrimination and racism; low participation and representation; and the difficulty to access education, among others.

Mr. Medrano said that the recommendations of the commission tasked with this study included the need to make progress in eliminating racism and promoting diversity; to strengthen quality and access to education; to improve access to jobs; and to strengthen the information system and make it more inclusive, among other measures.

Oral Questions Raised by the Rapporteur and Committee Experts

ION DIACONU, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Colombia, said that the report of the State party was very substantial. Colombia, a country of 42 million habitants, was the third most populous State of Latin America and was made up of various communities. For more than 30 years Colombia had been facing an internal conflict. This had led to between 1 to 3 million persons who had been forcefully displaced. In spite of the agreements reached by the Government for the demobilisation of paramilitary groups, illegal armed groups continued to exist. Human rights defenders, indigenous and Afro-American communities were still being targeted by these groups.

Taking into account all these realities, it was important to see how the country ensured that the provisions of the Convention were respected. The Colombian Constitution contained many specific provisions in this regard, noted Mr. Diaconu. Another aspect was the affirmative actions for various ethnic groups.

Mr. Diaconu said that the next census of the population should contain as much qualitative disaggregated data and ethnic variables as possible, so that the Government would be able to design better policies. The Government had declared its intent to combat discrimination but it did not seem that this was being fully implemented.

In terms of legislation, Mr. Diaconu noted that there were no provisions incriminating discrimination on grounds of race. Violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by armed groups and the Colombian army involved in the conflict continued to limit the enjoyment of human rights in the region.

Measures of protection had to be adopted without delay, said Mr. Diaconu. The number of complaints of extra judicial executions remained high. Cases of torture and inhuman treatment continued to be reported. The indigenous and Afro American communities remained high among the list of victims. Civilian authorities remained absent and did not protect citizens as soon as the military took up an area. Women deserved special protection against acts of violence and the Government had to take resolute measures to protect them.

Mr. Diaconu further noted that the definition of internally displaced persons was only linked to those that had been displaced by armed group, but not those that had been displaced by paramilitary groups, or organized crime groups. This was not consistent with the definition of internally displaced persons that had been provided by the former Human Rights Commission.

Indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups had also been largely affected by major projects. This had already been noted by several treaty bodies, including the Human Rights Committee. Mining operations and other projects were allegedly taking place where indigenous people were residing and this was happening without their prior consent. The problem consisted in the duty of the State to consult with such communities, underscored Mr. Diaconu.

As for the eradication of illegal crops by the army without prior information and consultation with those affected, Mr. Diaconu wondered what the Government was doing to find a balance between the need to meet the economical needs of the people and the destruction of illegal crops?

Mr. Diaconu also noted that Special Rapporteur on the protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people had noted that some indigenous communities in the country were on the brink of extinction due to several factors. The State Party had to find a political solution to protect these communities.

On collective demobilization, Mr. Diaconu said that paramilitary armed groups continued to exist and that past efforts to eradicate them had failed. Several treaty bodies had urged the Government to end the prevailing impunity and to bring perpetrators to justice. This should happen before civilian courts, not military courts. What did the State party intend to do in this regard?

Other Committee Experts raised questions and asked for further information on subjects pertaining to, among other things, the fact that there was no legislation on racial discrimination in Colombia; whether members of the different ethnic communities self-defined themselves as members of a community or not; and which Colombians defined themselves as “white”.

Another Expert noted that in the western part of the country there were Indians who used English as a language and Afro-Colombians who spoke Creole. Did these communities do so because they wanted to do so or because they had no opportunity to learn Spanish?

An Expert noted that quotas could provoke racial tensions and that better education and social policies might be better than special measures. Also, those two goals were not incompatible.

Other Experts wondered what was meant by “reservations”. Also, as the State Party had defined Romas as being a century old community, could Colombia also define the indigenous communities that had been living for much longer on the continent in similar terms? At what level of education was bilingual education provided for? What had been done to include the tradition of indigenous people in the field of justice? What was the delegation’s view on the concept of the responsibility to protect? How did schoolbooks describe the country’s history and the history of the various communities?

Experts noted that Colombia had the highest number of Afro-descendants after Brazil. The State should conduct a detailed census of the population and put in place a system to regularly measure the impact of affirmative actions on the different communities. Indigenous people and Roma people were also experiencing defamation and were heavily affected by the conflict and the resulting forced displacement. The problem of large agro-industries taking over land to produce agro-fuel was also raised. The first step out of all these problems was the State’s obligations to reduce discrimination.

One Expert noted that there was an Ombudsman in Colombia but no national human rights institution in the country. He did not think that the Ombudsman alone was able to deal with all the human rights problems of the country and wondered whether the State party was contemplating the establishment of such a national human rights institution based on the Paris Principles.

Another Expert wondered whether there was any strengthening of the autonomy and territorial rights recognized by the State party for Afro-Colombians. Also, genetic contamination was a danger. Corn and maize were essential for indigenous people and genetic contamination of local seeds by genetically modified seeds was invisible and irreversible as there was no technology currently available to eliminate inserted trans-seeds.

What exactly was the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), wondered one Expert. Was it an armed group that could be considered as a national liberation army? In terms of geography, in what space within the country were these armed groups operating? It was known that the FARC occupied a considerable part of the country, but what was the share of the country occupied by them and was it mainly forest and jungle areas? What about the populations living in the areas occupied by these armed groups, were they under the rule of the armed groups?

Response by Delegation to Oral Questions

Addressing concerns expressed, the delegation said that although discrimination was forbidden in the country there were practices that unfortunately continued and sought to discriminate and exclude different sectors of the society. These practices also included action taken by civil servants.

The violence in the country had not started during the current administration but had been ongoing for the last 40 years. Public servants, of all levels, had also been sometimes involved in violence. Drastic measures had been taken against civil servants who had violated the Constitution. In parallel to the fight against armed groups and drug traffickers there was a constant fight to ensure that civil servants, including the armed forces and the police, respected human rights and humanitarian law. There was no policy of State terrorism and the State was not in favour of armed groups, but the delegation acknowledged that State servants had done so on a personal basis. These State servants had even included members of the police and parliament.

In the effort to fight against these practices, Colombia had attempted to show the world that the existence of these armed groups had in no way eliminated the country’s democratic system. All governors and mayors were still elected by popular vote. Illegal armed groups had no territorial control but they had a presence on the territory which affected communities of indigenous people and Afro-descendants. The police and the national army were doing everything to combat these illegal armed groups. The violence, be it from the paramilitary, guerrilla or drug trafficking groups, affected the most vulnerable groups, said the delegation.

The delegation noted that in order for the country to implement as many of the recommendations that would be issued by the Committee as possible, these needed to be realizable. The best approach was recommendations which, the State as a whole, the Government and the various communities, could put into practice. The delegation was also happy to see civil society present in the room as it would also help the State to implement the recommendations.

On justice and peace, the delegation said that a justice and peace law had been adopted which recognised the rights of victims and included a judicial process. There was also a victims and witness protection system. This programme had some $ 15 million allocated to implement effective protection measures for witnesses and victims.

The delegation said that illegal armed groups had no support in Colombia and they did not represent anyone. Drug trafficking had a very close relationship with the human rights problem in Colombia. The money made out of drug trafficking was flowing back to these armed groups. They kidnapped and recruited children and carried out terror attacks against the civil population, especially against Afro-descendants, indigenous communities, poor farmers and children. Colombia needed the help of the international community in the fight against drug traffickers.

Regarding institutions, in the three branches of power, the delegation said there were a number of institutions working on human rights. In the executive, the Vice-President of the Republic was entrusted with dealing with human rights issues. There was also a presidential human rights programme and a high-level human rights commission which coordinated action in the field of human rights. In the judiciary, the Constitutional Court was entrusted with safeguarding the rights of individuals. The Ombudsman’s office also had an important role related to human rights, it had to promote them as well as human rights education. He was present throughout the national territory and even had community representatives.

On the early-warning system of the Ombudsman, the delegation indicated that it had been set up administratively to prevent forced displacement and protect communities that could be affected by it. An inter-institutional working group was looking at cases and if an imminent risk was identified it could decree an early warning. Such an early warning was then communicated to the local and municipal authorities. Thus, the local civil authorities played an important role in dealing with the early warning system. Once the national army had recovered a territory and, implemented a policy of democratic security which provided for the full presence of the State, the military then stayed in the area to provide security to the public forces.

Turning to demobilisation, the delegation said that it had begun in 2006. To date the drug trafficking groups and FARC were the main groups responsible for massacres and attacks on indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. The police alone could not deal with super-organized crime groups. This could only be dealt with by the army. The State was resolved to combat all these groups. The Organization of American States had also supported Colombia’s demobilisation efforts. The State was further working hard to dismantle newly formed armed groups.

One of the reasons why indigenous and Afro-descendant communities were the main targets of attacks was that the collective lands of these communities were located in strategic areas connected with drug trafficking in the Caribbean and coastal areas. The FARC, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and other new groups were also present in these areas. The Government had a legitimate right to reinstate law and order in these areas. The Government’s policy was of zero tolerance for human rights violations.

On extra judicial executions or homicide of protected persons and concerning such complaints against member of the armed forces, the delegation said that guidelines had been issued which recalled the armed forces’ responsibility to protect. In October 2008, 27 army personnel had been withdrawn from active duty as a result of administrative measures. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Red Cross, the Attorney General, the Prosecutor’s Office and the army had formed a committee to lead the investigations. There was currently a planned reform of the military that would ensure that all human rights violations were investigated by the judiciary. This draft had been presented before Congress as it needed a Constitutional reform. However, the draft had to be tabled once again as it had not passed at the last session. The President had also asked for a further opinion on the draft to include the fact that any acts that might amount to a human rights violation be investigated by the judiciary and not only forced disappearances, torture and genocide, as was currently included in the draft.

On special measures, the delegation said that Colombia guaranteed free education to children of poor indigenous and Afro-descendant families. There had been no change in education policy between 2002 and 2009. Some 36 education policy projects had taken place in this timeframe, including ethnic education programmes. There were 290 indigenous teachers on the teachers’ roll. The official language was Spanish but there was a constitutional recognition of native languages and Colombia sought to give these languages visibility. The State was working on recovering and strengthening indigenous languages. There was no unified curriculum and no unified textbooks in Colombia; the Ministry of Education established quality standards and a framework of basic competencies. Human rights were one the main pillars of this framework.

Concerning the registration of displaced people, the delegation indicated that it was carried out by the Office for Social Action. There were currently 3 million displaced people, which amounted to more than 780,000 families. Some $ 2.2 billion had been allocated to help them. There were clearly challenges in terms of housing and land. The delegation also mentioned that there were no discriminatory practices in the registration process of the displaced.

On the land protection programme, which had been launched some five years ago with the partnership of the World Bank, the delegation said that it had been successful, as proved by the ongoing support of the programme by several cooperation agencies, such as the European Union, the Spanish Cooperation agency, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Some 76,000 persons had benefited from this programme.

Addressing the measures taken for the protection of indigenous people living in the Amazon, the delegation said that they had identified several nomadic, semi-nomadic and non-nomadic communities living in the area. The State was providing protection to the most vulnerable communities. Measures included food security; health education; improving housing; drinking water; sanitation; environmental control; disease control; strengthening organization of infrastructure; building roads, bridges and schools; and protecting and strengthening family structures, among other measures.

On self-recognition and which members of society called themselves whites and mestizo (mixed Indian and white), the delegation said that Colombia recognised three major ethnic groups: indigenous, Black and gypsy. Each of these groups defined themselves through self-recognition. The 2005 census had recorded members of these three ethnic groups, including the subgroups of Afro-descendants. The reminder included mestizos and whites.

Regarding equal opportunity, there was currently an equal opportunity bill in the consultation process. Turning to the issue of what they called “reservations”, the delegation said that these dated to colonial times. Before defining and granting any new territory that would be allocated to indigenous people, the State conducted economic and land tenure studies. In areas where there was a presence of indigenous people there was a special jurisdiction where their own laws were recognized.

Further Oral Questions Posed by Experts

Other Experts then asked further questions, including on the fact that there were so-called “indigenous people” and “indigenous communities” and that the people had been identified as having a common identity and culture, did this not apply to communities as well?

One Expert wondered what was meant under “emerging” armed groups, as for him “emerging” was a very positive word in Portuguese. Had the State party included the mestizo’s category in the latest census in order for people to classify themselves as mestizos and not as whites, blacks or Romas if they did not wish to do so. Was there any problem with the Roma in Colombia?

Another Expert said that institutional violence had a direct influence on the population and the various ethnic groups in the country. The army was often called to intervene in areas where indigenous or Afro-descendant communities resided and sometimes had to use force. Did the delegation have any information on cases whereby the police or armed forces had caused demolition or death to these communities?

Replies by the Delegation

Responding to those questions and others, the delegation said that, on special indigenous justice, it was protected and respected by the State in its entirety. All civil servants, including the judiciary, had to respect this. At the same time, work had been done towards a harmonization of the Colombian judicial system and the indigenous system, as some cultural practises in the indigenous system sometimes ran counter to human rights. For example, a punishment used by indigenous people was to tie someone to a tree, but this amounted to torture in the Colombian justice system.

On the combat against violence and the fight against illegal armed groups, the delegation said that there was no institutional violence but that there was endemic violence, which not only affected the people but also Colombia’s institutionnality.

In situations where the army was needed to operate in areas where Afro-descendants or indigenous people lived, the delegation said that everything was done to protect them. Both communities had been very firm in condemning the violence perpetrated by illegal armed groups.

On maize crops and genetically modified crops, the delegation said that the Government respected the traditions of the indigenous people. Any changes made to the crops had to be respectful of these traditions. Any improvement in the seeds, to allow greater productivity, needed of course to avoid any genetically modified crops.

On the respect by the military of sacred sites, the delegation said that there were army guidelines which said that when the army entered an indigenous area it had to contact the indigenous authority to identify the customs of the community but also to recognize them as a public authority. Troops had to be extremely careful and respect sacred sites in these areas. A liaison officer was appointed to make sure that the guidelines were being respected. When damage was done due to the use of arms by the army, there was a speedy administrative measure of conciliation in these cases to compensate any damages.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

In preliminary concluding observations, ION DIACONU, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur for the report of Colombia, said that the dialogue had been frank and extensive. The delegation had recognised many measures that the country would need to take to respond to all the problems. The country was fully implicated within activities in international cooperation for human rights. Civil society was very well prepared to defend human rights in the country. This was an asset that one should make use of.

Mr. Diaconu also noted the fact that had been underscored by the delegation that the State had tried to keep democratic order in the areas where there was violence. Among the major set of problems and issues were the elimination of violence; protection against violence; internally displaced persons; reparations; return of the displaced to their lands; the rights of indigenous people and Afro-Colombians, especially to the lands that had belonged to them before the conflict; measures to prevent discrimination in the social and economic fields; and bilingual and intercultural education.

The situation was a complex one but the country had shown the political will to solve the issues, said Mr. Diaconu. Some were more urgent than others and several pending laws had to be rapidly adopted. He also referred to the importance of a dialogue with civil society in the country on these issues. It was an important method for the country to solve the major problems. All groups within the country had to work together.


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