The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today concluded its consideration of the combined twenty-second to twenty-fifth periodic report of Niger, with Committee Experts welcoming the restoration of "A" status for Niger's National Human Rights Commission, and asking questions on descent-based slavery and child statelessness.
Mazalo Tebie, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur for the report of Niger, welcomed the reinstatement of "A" status for Niger's National Human Rights Commission in 2022. The budget allocated to the Commission in 2021 had fallen significantly from 2020. Were there plans to increase its budget?
Yeung Kam John Yeung Sik Yuen, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur for the report of Niger, said there were reports that slavery was still present in certain societies in Niger despite the penalties imposed. The Global Index of Slavery indicated that there were around 130,000 victims of slavery in Niger. What progress had been made in drafting a plan of action against traditional slavery? Victims of slavery were subject to stigmatisation and discrimination, including a lack of access to public services. What measures were in place to protect the descendants of slaves from discrimination and exclusion?
Ms. Tebie noted that the civil registration system did not offer all children, including those of slave descent, the opportunity to be registered, preventing them from having access to certain basic social services and excluding them in adulthood from certain economic, political and civil rights. What measures had been taken to improve the birth registration system in general and more specifically for children of slave descent?
The Nationality Code had been amended in 2014 to reduce statelessness by granting Niger nationality to any child found in the country of unknown parents, Ms. Tebie said. How many children had benefitted by the new legal provisions for the granting of nationality? The University of Djibo Hamani in Tahoua, in November 2022, reported that approximately 700,000 persons were still stateless in Niger. What international and regional cooperation mechanisms had been initiated by Niger to protect its citizens from statelessness?
Ikta Abdoulaye Mohamed, Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals of Niger and head of the delegation, said Niger had always been at the forefront of the struggle against racial discrimination. The Constitution ensured equality before the law for all without distinction as to sex, social, racial, ethnic or religious origin, and prohibited discrimination. Niger had adopted a National Justice and Human Rights Policy accompanied by a 10-year action plan for 2016 to 2025.
On the National Human Rights Commission, the delegation said Niger regretted the lacklustre budget of the Commission. However, the Commission's budget had been increased in 2023 to ensure that it had at least the bare minimum to carry out its activities.
The delegation said the State had made many efforts to combat slavery. Legislation had been introduced in 2003 to prohibit slavery, and the draft amendment to the Criminal Code included provisions defining different forms of slavery, including the purchase of wives, and introducing specific punishments for each offence. Mr. Abdoulaye Mohamed said that a national day of mobilisation against slavery and trafficking was held each year.
Statelessness did not exist in the country, but there were children who were at risk of statelessness. All children, including those born to slaves, attended public schools. There was no discrimination based on a child's heritage. Niger had used various international legal instruments to prevent slavery. Slave heritage was not noted on birth registration forms.
On measures to prevent child statelessness, the delegation said civil registration was universal, free and compulsory. There were around 15,000 registration offices in Niger, and also mobile birth registration services. Many actions were taken in collaboration with non-governmental organizations to register children who were not registered, with over 30,000 children registered annually through these actions in 2021 and 2022. The State party planned to reform the civil registry to digitise it. This would encourage an increase in birth registration.
In concluding remarks, Ms. Tebie called on the State party to take on further initiatives to address major issues such as slavery and statelessness. The dialogue, she said, had been an excellent opportunity to learn about the situation in Niger.
Mr. Abdoulaye Mohamed, in his concluding remarks, said racial discrimination was prohibited by legislation in Niger. The State party was doing its best to promote human rights, although it was facing major obstacles in this regard. He thanked the Committee for its observations, which would contribute to improving State legislation. Niger, he said, would spare no effort in implementing the Committee's recommendations.
The delegation of Niger consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Justice; Parliament; the National Reporting and Monitoring Mechanism of the Implementation of Treaty Body Recommendations and the Universal Periodic Review; the Office of the Presidency; Ministry of the Interior and Decentralisation; Monitoring Mechanism for International Agreements; and the Permanent Mission of Niger to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee will issue its concluding observations on the report of Niger after the conclusion of its one hundred and ninth session on 28 April. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here. The programme of work of the Committee's one hundred and ninth session and other documents related to the session can be found here.
The Committee will next meet in public on Monday, 17 April at 3 p.m. to consider the combined twenty-fourth to twenty-sixth periodic report of Argentina (CERD/C/ARG/24-26).
Report
The Committee has before it the combined twenty-second to twenty-fifth periodic report of Niger (CERD/C/NER/22-25).
Presentation of Report
IKTA ABDOULAYE MOHAMED, Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals of Niger and head of the delegation, said Niger had submitted its first report to the Committee in 1970, less than a year after the Convention came into force. Niger's regular cooperation with the Committee for more than 53 years testified to the importance that Niger attached to the Convention and the work of the Committee.
According to the latest projections of the National Institute of Statistics, Niger's population was estimated in 2021 at 23,591,983. The population consisted of 11 different ethnic groups. These groups were the Arabs, Buduma, Fulbe, Gurmance, Hausawa, Igdalan, Isawghan, Kanuri, Kel-Tamajaq, Sonay-Zarma and the Tubu. In additional to its official language, French, the State had 11 designated national languages: Arabic, Buduma, Fulfulbe, Gulmancema, Hausa, Kanuri, Sonay-Zarma, Taghalt, Tamajaq, Tassawaq and Tubu.
The Nigerien economy remained dominated by the primary sector, which produced 44.68 per cent of gross domestic product in 2015. This sector was highly sensitive to climate variability and shocks. Despite efforts and achievements made regarding people's access to electricity, credit, trade and investment, Niger remained among the poorest countries in the world. The poverty incidence indicator had fallen from 48.2 per cent in 2011 to 40.3 per cent in 2019.
Islam was practiced by more than 90 per cent of Niger nationals, who coexisted harmoniously with other minority religions. Niger had no religious or ethnic conflicts. Cultural practices such as festivals promoted unity and cohesion.
Sahel countries had been facing growing insecurity for several years. The area had been the scene of horrific violence by armed groups that had killed and abducted both soldiers and civilians, burned schools, looted homes and taken away livestock. More than 878 schools remained closed as of December 13, 2022, with about 74,000 students no longer participating in classes, 48 per cent of whom were girls. Despite the measures taken by the Government, including the allocation of more than 17 per cent of the national budget to the defence sector and the adoption of state of emergency measures in the areas concerned, the security situation remained worrying in the regions of Diffa, Tahoua and Tillabéri. Terrorist groups and other armed bandits continued to terrorise the population. The budget allocated to the Ministry of National Defence had increased from 112.259 billion CFA francs in 2021 to more than 201 billion in 2023.
The National Human Rights Commission and civil society organizations were involved in the preparation of the State report. The report provided information on the status of implementation of the Convention and the recommendations regarding the previous report submitted in 2015.
Niger had always been at the forefront of the struggle against racial discrimination. The Constitution ensured equality before the law for all without distinction as to sex, social, racial, ethnic or religious origin, and prohibited discrimination. Niger had adopted a National Justice and Human Rights Policy accompanied by a 10-year action plan for 2016 to 2025.
In the domestic law of Niger, there was no specific definition of racial discrimination in accordance with article one of the Convention. However, in 2022, this definition had been taken into account in the revision of articles 102 and 208 of the Penal Code. The Criminal Code punished acts of racial or ethnic discrimination, regionalist propaganda, and acts contrary to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion with one to five years' imprisonment and a ban on residence. The Electoral Code of 2019 prohibited any political party or group of political parties from basing their organization and actions on discriminatory doctrines. Regional and ethnic associations were banned.
The right to education was granted to all without distinction as to age, sex, social, racial, ethnic or religious origin. School was compulsory for all up to the age of 16. The State prioritised the education of girls. The Education and Training Sector Programme 2014 to 2024 aimed to extend educational coverage in rural areas to increase the school enrolment rate, including that of young girls.
The Labour Code prohibited discrimination in employment in Niger, in particular in hiring, conduct and distribution of work, vocational training, promotion, remuneration, granting of social benefits, discipline, or termination of the contract of employment. Niger currently hosted hundreds of thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers leaving for Europe. There had been no abuses against them, and some of them freely engaged in gainful activities. They lived for the most part in migrant reception centres with the support of partners. Niger had a national migration policy adopted in 2020 and a national action plan. A national day of mobilisation against slavery and trafficking was held each year.
Some customs excluded women from inheritance of land. These customs were contrary to the law. There was no discrimination in the provision of the right to health. As part of the improvement of the health of populations, pregnant women, women with cancer, and children under five years old benefited from free care. More than 3 billion CFA francs were invested per year in health facilities by the State.
Multifaceted actions were being undertaken to promote harmony and understanding among the various components of society by encouraging cultural and ethnic mixing, ensuring representation at all levels of all populations, and improving the general standard of living of the population. Niger was aware of the challenges it faced and was committed to promoting the exercise of the various collective and individual rights in accordance with values of peace, tolerance, fraternity and unity.
Questions by Committee Experts
MAZALO TEBIE, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur for the report of Niger, said the Committee had taken note of the legislative and regulatory reforms initiated after Niger's last dialogue to give effect to the international conventions to which it was a party and to take into account the evolution of Nigerien society. What measures were in place to protect indigenous minorities from terrorism and insecurity? How was the National Human Rights Commission involved in these measures? The Committee congratulated Niger on its measures to implement the Committee's previous concluding observations.
The report did not provide detailed information on the spread of ethnic groups in different areas of the country. How did the State intend to improve data on ethnicity? What were the outcomes of the census planned for 2022? What were the representations of different ethnic groups in public institutions? Were ethnic languages taught in public preschools and schools? There seemed to be both prohibition and promotion on the use of ethnic languages. What measures were in place to remove the prohibitions?
Niger had made efforts to promote the Convention. Were there examples in which the provisions of the Convention had been directly applied by national courts? The State party had not yet mainstreamed the definition of racial discrimination in national legislation. What progress had been made in this regard? Legislation also did not explicitly prohibit racial hate or incitement to it. There were cases of electoral campaigns inciting racial hatred. How was the State party addressing such discrimination?
The Committee welcomed that Niger had recognised the competence of certain treaty bodies to receive complaints. What was the process of recognising a treaty body's competence? Had there been any complaints lodged with the State party regarding racial discrimination, and what remedies and redress had been provided in such cases? How was Niger facilitating access to justice for vulnerable populations? Were victims of slavery and irregular migrants able to access legal aid? What measures were in place to train lawyers, judges and other members of the judiciary in the provisions of the Convention?
The Committee welcomed the reinstatement of "A" status for Niger's National Human Rights Commission in 2022. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions had called for improved gender representation within the organization. Had measures been taken to promote equal gender representation? The budget allocated to the Commission in 2021 had fallen significantly from 2020. Were there plans to increase its budget? How many complaints had been registered with the Commission, and what follow-up measures were taken?
The report did not address discrimination against women based on descent. Had measures been taken to address such discrimination? When would the State party adopt the draft Family Code to prohibit discrimination against women? Young girls were reportedly sold as wives to rich men. There was one case where a woman had reportedly lived in slavery for more than 30 years. What measures were in place to prevent this practice, which was prohibited by law? Were campaigns targeting traditional leaders, who often promoted such practices, being carried out? Was there a surveillance mechanism for this phenomenon?
YEUNG KAM JOHN YEUNG SIK YUEN, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur for the report of Niger, said the Committee had previously recommended that Niger adopt special measures to promote the rights of ethnic minorities. What special measures had been implemented to promote access to work, housing and health care, and what were the results of such measures? Did ethnic minorities live mainly in rural areas?
Legislative and institutional measures had been taken to combat racism and slavery based on descent. However, there were reports that slavery was still present in certain societies in Niger despite the penalties imposed. The Global Index of Slavery indicated that there were around 130,000 victims of slavery in Niger. Had the State party conducted a census on victims of slavery? Thirty people had been convicted of trafficking and slavery in 2016. There had been 114 complaints of slavery between 2014 and 2022, which had led to six convictions, but four sentences had been suspended. Why was this?
Articles of the Criminal Code addressed "removal of the freedom of a person" as well as "slavery" specifically. It was possible for the prosecution to lighten the offence of slavery by classifying it as "removal of the freedom of a person". Had there been any prosecutions for the crime of slavery, and what were the harshest sentences handed down for that crime? What awareness raising campaigns had been carried out on the negative impact of slavery, and what had the impact of these campaigns been? The Committee had previously recommended that Niger work with civil society organizations to combat slavery and to provide information on such efforts in the State report, however, this had not been done. Could the delegation provide information on such efforts?
What progress had been made in drafting a plan of action against traditional slavery? Victims of slavery were subject to stigmatisation and discrimination, including a lack of access to public services. What measures were in place to resolve this issue and to protect the descendants of slaves from discrimination and exclusion? Why did victims of slavery not benefit from legal assistance and other benefits for vulnerable people? The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions had issued recommendations to the National Human Rights Commission to address the issue of slavery. Had these recommendations been implemented?
