COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONSIDERS REPORT OF CHAD

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

Presenting the report, Abderaman Djasnabaille, Minister for Human Rights and Promotion of Liberties of Chad, said that the Republic of Chad had celebrated, last 11 August, the forty-ninth anniversary of its independence. In all these years Chad had suffered a series of civil wars and they now had had three relatively calm years but there was still in a state of confusion. Chad also had to cope with the conflict in neighbouring Sudan. They had numerous refugees coming to Chad from Darfur. This situation had recently worsened. It was not very easy for them to uphold the freedoms and rights in the country. Chad was trying to cope with the arising problems but human rights were always victims of such conflicts. Other problems came from the fact that Chad was a male focused society and women did not occupy their proper place in the society. Chadian children where also being recruited by neighbouring countries and were involved in conflicts.

In preliminary concluding observations, Kokou Mawuena Ika Kana Ewomsan, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur for the report of Chad, said that he had followed with great interest all the discussion and he very much welcomed the self-criticism by the State. The Committee had looked at several issues and the progress made to harmonize the national law with the Convention. During their discussion with the delegation, they had criticized the continued rebellions and the ethnic conflict. A dialogue had to take place for national reconciliation to continue. The Committee had noted, among others, the implementation of reforms in the military; the efforts made to ensure freedom of expression and to strengthen the protection of these freedoms and the training and education efforts that were necessary so that the people of Chad could promote and protect human rights.

Other Committee Experts raised questions and asked for further information on subjects pertaining to, among other things, the recurring violence in the country; the number of different ethnic groups in Chad; the recent arrests of journalists and closing of newspapers; the reform of the army and the justice system; the fight against impunity; the bringing in line of the national human rights commission with the Paris Principles; the role of traditional and religious chiefs; the caste system; the criminalization of rape; the right of equal access to education; legislation with regard to refugees; the fight against discrimination of HIV/AIDS affected persons; and the eradication of female genital mutilation.

The delegation of Chad also included members of the Permanent Mission of Chad to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Ministry of Social Action, National Solidarity and Family and the Ministry of Justice.

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

The Committee will next reconvene in public on Friday, 28 August 2009 when it will adopt its concluding observations on the country reports it has considered during its current session and its annual report to the General Assembly before closing the session.

Report of Chad

The combined tenth to fifteenth periodic report of Chad, submitted in one document (CERD/C/TCD/15), says that the intention of the Government of Chad to fight discrimination is clearly expressed in the Constitution, which establishes as a principle the prohibition of discrimination in all its forms. Although the definition of discrimination as set out in article 1 of the Convention is not reproduced in any specific legal text, discrimination is prohibited in several national laws. The absence of a definition should not be construed as a failure to apply this international instrument for combating discrimination. In fact, there are several laws and regulations that accord all citizens, without discrimination, the enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms under conditions of equality in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres and all other areas of public life.

The April 1993 census shows that Chad has more than 100 ethnic communities. For analytical purposes and because they are so numerous and diverse, these communities have been grouped on the basis of linguistic and geographical criteria, way of life, and practices and customs. This process has yielded 14 main ethnic groups, including foreigners and those of indeterminate ethnicity. Some of Chad’s main ethnic groups are larger than others. Most numerous are the Sara (12.3 per cent) and the Mayo-Kebbi (11.5 per cent), while the following groups represent between 5 per cent and 10 per cent of the total population: Kanem-Bornou, Ouaddaï, Hadjaraï, Tandjilé and Gourane. The following main groups, each with less than 5 per cent of the total population, are classified as minorities: Fitri Batha, Peul, Baguirmien, Lac Iro. The « others » and « miscellaneous » categories together account for 1.2 per cent of the total population. The foreign population and that of indeterminate ethnicity represent about 1 per cent of the total population. The religious affiliation of the population varies with the ethnic group. According to declared religion, the ethnic groups can be divided into three categories, namely: predominantly Christian ethnic groups, predominantly Muslim ethnic groups and ethnic groups that practice the traditional religions.

The report further states that there is no law or regulation that discriminates against women. The factors preventing women from fully enjoying their rights under the Convention are of a customary or cultural nature. Even though it is clearly stated that customs contrary to public policy and those which promote inequality between citizens are prohibited, it is widely believed and accepted in customary law that women are not the equals of men. For their part, religions reinforce this belief that women are not the equals of men. This discrimination is tending to fade away in the big cities where increasing numbers of women and children are going to court to assert their right to inherit.

Presentation of Report

ABDERAMAN DJASNABAILLE, Minister of Human Rights and Promotion of Freedoms of Chad, said that because of events at home and because of visa issues they had not been able to be present on the planned date for the presentation of their report on 17 August 2009. Several members of the delegation, mainly women, had still not been able to join them. The delegation expressed regret that they were not present as they could have enlightened the Committee as to what Chad has been doing on the gender front.


Turning to the presentation of the report, Mr. Djasnabaille said that Chad had now succeeded in coming before all the Committees for which they had a backlog. The Government was anxious to cooperate with all the Committees and the United Nations in general.

The Republic of Chad had celebrated, last 11 August, the forty-ninth anniversary of its independence. For some this meant a mature age, not far from retirement. But Chad was still a very young country with underdeveloped infrastructure. In all these years Chad had suffered a series of civil wars; they now had had three relatively calm years, said Mr. Djasnabaille. They had also been through a period of single party rule. At the time the thought was that the State had to be strong and this had resulted in people being unhappy. The fact that the North of Chad was Islamic and the South Christian also led to tensions, said Mr. Djasnabaille.

Chad had still not fully emerged from the civil wars of 1963 and 1979. In 1979 the country had fallen apart. After 1979 there had been no real State during a period and a Government of national unity had subsequently been set up. This was then followed in the 1990’s with the military dictatorship which had claimed that it would resolve all the problems, but nothing had been solved either. Chad was again in a state of absolute confusion, said Mr. Djasnabaille. An order had been imposed by colonization and it had had to be challenged. All these events had had a socio-economic impact. Chad had also had to cope with the conflict in neighbouring Sudan. They had numerous refugees coming to Chad from Darfur. This situation had recently worsened. Some 800,000 Chadian had also been displaced as a result of the conflict.

It was not very easy for them to uphold the freedoms and rights in the country. Chad was trying to cope with the arising problems but human rights were always victims of such conflicts, said Mr. Djasnabaille.

Other problems came from the fact that Chad was a male focused society and women did not occupy their proper place in the society, said Mr. Djasnabaille. People who had been to Chad knew that Chadian children were being recruited by neighbouring countries and were involved in conflicts which had nothing to do with them. The United Nations Children's Fund was helping Chad in this regard.

Further, the implementation of the Convention was difficult due to the general ignorance of these texts by the population, said the delegation. The army was not regular and people were not recruited on a normal and healthy basis with an appropriate military hierarchy. Many had landed in the army by default and were not career soldiers. As members of the Government, they had to tackle all of these issues, said Mr. Djasnabaille. On the other hand, they had to guarantee the security of their people and the territorial integrity of the country. Thus, if the Government took decisions against the army, it might lead to a situation where individuals in the regular army would leave and join the forces of the other side.

On the question of State administration, Mr. Djasnabaille said that for elections to take place they had to deal with the special environment of the country and had to deal with the army and the traditional chiefs. All these were colossal tasks.

Further, forced marriage and female genital mutilation were part of everyday life, said Mr. Djasnabaille. The question of women and girls had been under their attention for nine years now. The President of Chad and the members of the Government and of the Assembly were all involved in these issues and civil society was also involved in the debates. The Government was conscious of all the problems it needed to tackle.

Turning to the judiciary, Mr. Djasnabaille said that it was a relatively young system and that it did not have all the necessary tools at its disposal to conduct its work properly. Chad was one of the most corrupt countries in the world. A number of steps had been taken to combat corruption, but there remained many big problems. In addition, Chad needed better institutions to train the judiciary. They had a school for magistracy and it had been decided that there needed to be a more specialized school. They were trying to build capacity so that the judiciary would be able to play its appropriate role.

Some communities in Chad felt that they were the best and were better than the other communities. There was also a problem of leadership and the role of religious leaders. Some thought that Muslims were better than Christians. Diversity was a key issue.

Among other problems were those affecting girls like excisions and early marriage. Many believed that girls should get married and not go to school. There was also discrimination against children. Some parents sent their children to work. The Government had to be in a position where it could sanction parents, said Mr. Djasnabaille. There were also kidnappings for ransoms taking place at the border with Cameroon. This was a rather new and surprising trend.

There was also the problem of women and domestic violence. There were organizations that helped women to lodge complaints and bring their husbands to justice. Complaints had started to be lodged against men, said Mr. Djasnabaille, and the Government had taken steps to ensure that domestic violence was punished.

Mr. Djasnabaille said that Chad had a human rights commission in place but that it had not yet been able to carry out its mandate properly. The Government had also invited the civil society to work and cooperate with the Government. Chad had invited the High Commissioner for Human Rights to take part in a planned forum on these issues. After the forum it was planned to adopt a follow-up action programme. Its implementation would start in 2010.

Mr. Djasnabaille said that they wanted Chad to be a positive example in the region. They wanted to tackle these issues head on and to ensure that their society was protected even in the most remote rural areas. It was an arduous task. They also had to bring their legislation inline with the Convention and there was still much that remained to be done to ensure that the Convention and the commitments they had signed were recognized by the legislation.

Mr. Djasnabaille said that another problem was that they were effaced with the aggression of Sudan. The Darfur situation had to be resolved by the international community. Darfur had to see peace in order to end the influx of refugees and rapes of women. President Al-Bashir was besetting the international community by travelling despite the International Court of Justice’s issuance of an arrest warrant. There was a climate of impunity. How could Chad fight against impunity at home if it was already that difficult at the international level?

Chad counted on the Committee to look at these issues and its recommendations would be closely looked at, said Mr. Djasnabaille. They would try to implement the recommendations. But there were practical limitations.

Oral Questions Raised by the Rapporteur and Experts

KOKU MAWUENA IKA KANA EWOMSAN, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Chad, thanked Chad for having set up a national human rights commission. It looked like Chad had renewed its faith in institutional bodies and the Committee welcomed this. He noted that since the 1993 democratic change the situation remained volatile. There were recurring conflicts and violence between the north and the south, between Muslims and Christians, between nomads and settlers, and between Arabs and Africans. Had the tradition of armed rebellions become entrenched in the society as a means of political expression?

Mr. Ewomsan noted that according to the latest census in the country there were 100 ethnic groups in Chad and that these were grouped according to customs and linguistics, amongst others. On the other hand, the report mentioned 14 ethnic groups in one place and 16 in another. Other sources had even mentioned more than 200 groups. Why were these figures so disparate? Did the State plan another census?

Chad had ratified most of the human rights instruments and Mr. Ewomsan urged it to sign the remaining ones, especially the Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

Turning to the recent arrests of journalists and closing of newspapers, Mr. Ewomsan said that this seemed to be used as a way of muzzling. The Government was said to have adopted a ruling providing for longer prison sentences for press offences. What was the Ministry doing to address this situation?

On the army, Mr. Ewomsan noted the reform of the army and the intention to include human rights law in their training. Turning to the events of 2008, when rebel attacks had taken place and the fact that the fact-finding commission of the events had talked of rapes and summary executions, he wondered what Chad was doing to ensure that offenders were brought to justice.

On the national human rights institution, Mr. Ewomsan said that it needed a reform to bring it in line with the Paris Principles. What about the reform of the Ombudsman? Its power had to be reinforced.

Mr. Ewomsan noted that people in Chad could have recourse to traditional and customary law and that traditional chiefs were recognized. Could the delegation provide information on the caste system prevailing in the country?

As the delegation had noted it, women had no property rights in Chad, what measures was the country carrying out to ensure that women could fully enjoy their rights, asked Mr. Ewomsan.

What was being done to ensure that cases of rape were treated as a crime in Chad? The Committee against Torture had expressed its concerns over the fact that rapes were settled through mutual agreement, noted Mr. Ewomsan.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child had also talked about discrimination, said Mr. Ewomsan. What was the Government doing to ensure that the right of equal access to education was being implemented?

On refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had reported security problems due to the violence in the country, noted Mr. Ewomsan. Human Rights Watch had reported 140 attacks on humanitarian officials between 2005 and 2008, of which 84 had been acts of piracy on the road. What was Chad doing to ensure the security of humanitarian staff on the ground? What was the Government planning to improve the situation?

To ensure that everyone was equal before the law in Chad, Mr. Ewomsan stressed the need to reinforce the judiciary. Other treaty bodies had also underlined shortcomings with regard to the judiciary. The State party was urged to undertake reforms in the field of the judiciary. He also highlighted the problems of corruption, the lack of independence of the judiciary vis-à-vis the executive, and impunity. These were problems that needed to be tackled.

Also, Chad needed to make racial discrimination an offence. What did the State intend to do to compensate victims of human rights violations, asked Mr. Ewomsan.

Other Committee Experts raised questions, among others, on whether the various ethnic groups agreed with the ethnic groupings that had been defined by the Government? Questions were also asked on discrimination against the albino population.

One Expert noted that 7 per cent of the population was affected by HIV/AIDS. Did the State believe that there were cultural causes underlying this very serious situation? Also, the report was not very positive when looking at a possible eradication of female genital mutilation, while other African countries had made great steps forward and innovative measure had been put in place with successful experience.

Another Expert wondered whether the Berbers were considered as Arabs. Also, there had been a bill prohibiting traditional practices in Chad which had been launched in 1996 and which had then been abandoned. Such a law would be very important for the country and the Government should resume negotiations on it.

The lack of texts clearly defining discrimination was noted by an Expert. What was the result of the debates which had taken place on the reform of the justice system?

Another Expert was struck by the fact that the problems of the country were so enormous and that people had made the effort to come to speak about something that was apparently not as important as basic survival and human security. But by engaging with the international community, the international community was sensitized to the problems of the country.

Several Experts noted the honest self-assessment that was given by the head of the delegation in his presentation of the report. The delegation had made no effort to conceal the gravity of the situation.

One Expert wondered what the highest priority was for the country right now. Something was needed to unlock the situation and bring peace and prosperity to the country.

On refugees, one Expert said that what was missing was a law to deal with refugees internally. Were there any plans to pass such a law?

Turning to the stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS, one Expert wondered what role the religious bodies and leaders played in this. It was known that many refused the use of condoms. Was there any support from their part in the fight against HIV/AIDS?

Response by Delegation to Oral Questions

Addressing concerns expressed by the Experts, the delegation said that many of the remarks made by the Experts had been recommendations rather than questions; they had taken good note of these. Further they had nothing to hide concerning the situation in their country.

On ethnic groups, the delegation said they had conducted a general population census in 1993. They had just finished a new census and the Committee would be kept informed on the new results. It had to be recognized that Chad had more than 200 ethnic groups and the Government was regrouping them together according to their language.

It was true that in the troubled period of February 2008, the Government had adopted a number of measures, and that it had also modified the law on the freedom of the press. This measure had been contested. There was a draft bill currently discussed to counter this legislation. The reform of the army was also under way, said the delegation.

The delegation indicated that there was no discrimination against the Ouaddaï group. This was particularly shown by the fact that several Ouaddaï occupied high-level positions in the Government. In a fragile State an ethnic balance was necessary for its stability.

On the question of caste, the delegation said that this was a customary traditional practice, which existed in the rest of Africa. It did not involve Chad alone. There were no criteria or privileges in access to public or political posts. The law even provided to eliminate these sorts of things.

On rape, the delegation indicated that it was a criminal offence and that it was punishable.

On internally displaced persons from Darfur, the delegation said that measures had been taken to help them. The Sudanese Government had established the Janjaweed militia which repressed one specific nomadic group in the region. The Government had established a voluntary return programme with the support of the European Union Force in Chad.

There was no racial segregation in the country, but it was true that there should be a law that would criminalize this and that could be invoked by any victims, noted the delegation.

There were no Berbers in Chad, but there were other Arab nomadic groups in the country, said the delegation. Arabic was the second official language of Chad and it was also taught in school.

On the family code, the delegation indicated that there was a small deadlock because of concerns by Muslim representatives concerning inheritance and equality of girls and boys. A certain numbers of points had been debated. The Government had also sent experts to look at other similar legislation in other Muslim African countries to draft a law that would be fair and balanced with regard to all major religions of Chad.

Regional justice office had been set up to help people that did not understand how the public system worked. These offices were staffed with young law students who advised people and helped those that appeared in courts with the various procedures.

A country in a state of instability such as Chad needed the support of the international community to ensure that the conventions it had acceded to could be respected, underscored the delegation.

On a possible law of refugees, the delegation said that there was already a draft national law on refugees, which included everything that was included in the Geneva Conventions. It would soon be sent to the different relevant ministries for consultation. Refugees in Chad mainly came from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.

On the fight against HIV/AIDS, the delegation indicated that Muslim leaders and imams supported this fight. There had been difficulties as they said that speaking about sexual practices were taboo. But the Government’s obligation was to protect its people. Now imams were beginning to talk about abstinence and fidelity.

In Chad there were 300,000 refugees from Darfur which all belonged to a same ethnic group which was also present in Chad. But it was already difficult for Chadians to live in a desert region and humanitarian aid could not continue forever. Chad had asked experts for an assessment of the impact of the presence of the refugees in this region and on the sharing of resources in order to avoid that any conflict would develop, even though the people there were all part of the same ethnic group. The issue of Darfur was seriously affecting Chad, said the delegation.

Concerning discrimination, the delegation said that there was none at the official State level. But in practice, people at various levels in the public sector were recruiting the relatives or people from their own ethnic groups; the cult of community was prevailing in the country. This was mainly due to ignorance and the State was combating this.

Turning to geopolitics, the delegation said that the civil war between the north and the south had been a war between Muslims and Christians. Traditionally, the Christian community had accepted the French school system but Muslims had not wanted to send their children to French schools and when autonomy came, the people who had taken the power were the persons that had been educated. But for quota reasons they had had to recruit people out of every community. This had led to the recruitment of people that had never been to school and that were thus not in a position to do the work for which they had been recruited. The Government was now catching up with this problem by having everyone go to school.

After the conflict between the north and the south, Chad had seen conflicts between regions and later between communities. The Government had had to re-launch a national reconstruction that could take into account all the differences of the people, said the delegation.

The delegation said that it was true that the national human rights commission was not in line with the Paris Principles. The Government was working on that issue to give the Commission its full power, but it needed financial resources. A workshop on this issue would soon be held with the participation of various human rights associations.

On impunity, it was true that there was no zero impunity in Chad. But the Government was making efforts to take administrative sanctions in such cases.

Concerning the top priority in Chad today, the delegation said that it was security and how to neutralize those who had weapons. They would also have to militarily stabilize the border. Then they had to have peace with Sudan and those who had taken up arms. Further, all the sons of Chad should then return to the country where free and democratic elections should take place.

Further Oral Questions Posed by Experts

Experts then said that the delegation was made up of people from the field and they had helped the construction of a new Chad. The Committee noted the courage of the head of the delegation who had fought for national reconciliation. Very few politicians were taking risks and the preparedness to take risks showed by the head of the delegation was highlighted by the Committee. The Experts also noted that the answers of the delegation were convincing and straight to the point.

On the national human rights commission, one Expert said that he did not see it as a problem that there were civil servants in it. It was good if a commission was a mix between civil society and the State. The role of the civil servants was to establish a dialogue between the Government and the commission.

One Expert hoped that next time the delegation appeared before the Committee the laws on refugees would have been enacted. A welcome development was the fact that the civil society was considered as a partner and not an enemy of the Government.

Replies by the Delegation

Responding to those questions and others, the delegation said that the President and the Prime Minster had actively supported the delegation. With regard to the reform of the judiciary, the delegation said that the Government had established reforms and they had asked for advice from several stakeholders. They were planning to establish a national school for magistrates. These reforms had the support of the European Union, France and the United Nations Development Programme. The Government had also established contacts with magistrates’ schools in Paris and Bordeaux. The Government was further seeking to strengthen its Supreme Court.

Concerning the national human rights commission, the delegation indicated that it had been established before the Paris Principles. The current Chair of the Commission was the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice. This was a problem. Human rights associations had deserted the Commission as they saw it as a Governmental body. This situation had to be resolved.

On the laws on HIV/AIDS and discrimination against HIV/AIDS infected people, the delegation noted that the implementation of these laws required awareness of them by the people. Enormous work had to be done at the community level. The Government had a lot of work to do in the field with their citizens to bring them to accept those that had been infected.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

In preliminary concluding observations, KOKOU MAWUENA IKA KANA EWOMSAN, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur for the report of Chad, said that he had followed with great interest all the discussion and he very much welcomed the self-criticism by the State. The head of the delegation had been very honest and the replies by the delegation had been very frank.

The Committee had looked at several issues and the progress made to harmonize the national laws with the Convention. During their discussion with the delegation, they had criticized the continued rebellions and the ethnic conflict. A dialogue had to take place for national reconciliation to continue, said Mr. Ewomsan.

The Committee had also noted the implementation of reforms in the military. The Committee had noted the efforts made to ensure freedom of expression and to strengthen the protection of these freedoms. They had also noted the training and education efforts that were necessary so that the people of Chad could promote and protect their human rights, said Mr. Ewomsan.

Mr. Ewomsan said that the Committee could only encourage Chad in establishing a policy that would combat discrimination. The Committee’s role was to help Chad to implement the Convention.



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