United Nations A/HRC/21/60/Add.1 General Assembly Distr.: General 13 August 2012 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-first session Agenda item 9 Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its eleventh session Addendum Mission to Portugal* Summary At the invitation of the Government of Portugal, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent undertook an official visit to Portugal from 16 to 20 May 2011. The Working Group members appreciated the comprehensive and frank discussions they had with Government and civil society representatives during the visit and also the opportunity to meet with members of the Afro-Portuguese community. In the present report, the Working Group summarizes information received during its visit regarding the general situation of people of African descent in Portugal and the situations that expose them to discrimination and outlines the action taken at various levels for their well-being. It concludes with recommendations that the Working Group believes will, if implemented, make tangible improvements in the situation of people of African descent in Portugal. During their visit, the Working Group found that the challenges faced by people of African descent in Portugal related mainly to their lack of recognition as a specific group in the national policy and legal framework; the lack of recognition of their positive contribution throughout history to the construction and development of the country; the lack of qualitative and quantitative disaggregated data by racial or ethnic origin; the existence of a circle of poverty, unequal access to education, public services, employment, as well as discrimination in the administration and functioning of the justice system; existence of racial profiling and police violence; underrepresentation in political and institutional decision-making processes, as well as the lack of special measures or affirmative action policies in Portugal for people of African descent or other minorities. * The summary of the present report is circulated in all official languages. The report itself, which is annexed to the summary, is circulated in the language of submission only. Its appendix is not edited. GE.12-15885 A/HRC/21/60/Add.1 The concrete measures recommended by the Working Group include the implementation of specific national policies and programmes addressing racial discrimination faced by people of African descent, including immigrants of African descent living in Portugal and people of African descent with Portuguese citizenship; the revision and harmonization of relevant national legislation with international human rights norms; the revision of the Government policy that impedes the collection of information disaggregated by ethnic or racial origin; the adoption of special measures to alleviate and remedy structural discrimination; and the revision of school curriculums. It also recommends the effective protection of the rights of children of African descent as contained within the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the right to citizenship and full recognition by the State. 2 A/HRC/21/60/Add.1 Annex [English only] Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its mission to Portugal (16 to 20 May 2011) Contents Paragraphs Page I. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1–4 4 II. Context of people of African descent in Portugal ................................................... 5–19 4 A. General situation ............................................................................................ 5–8 4 B. Framework for the protection of the human rights of people of African descent ............................................................................................... 9–19 5 III. People of African descent in Portugal: general comments ...................................... 20–62 8 A. Participation of people of African descent in all political, economic, social and cultural aspects of society and in the advancement and economic development of the country ............................................................ 20–49 8 B. Policies for the integration of people of African descent ................................ 50–60 13 C. Gender perspective ......................................................................................... 61–62 15 IV. Conclusions and recommendations ......................................................................... 63–84 16 A. Conclusions .................................................................................................... 63–76 16 B. Recommendations ........................................................................................... 77 18 Appendix Submission by Portugal of information regarding the report on the visit to Portugal of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (16 to 20 May 2011) ................... 19 3 A/HRC/21/60/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. Bearing in mind its status as a special procedure of the then Commission on Human Rights, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent decided at its fourth session to undertake country visits as a means of effectively discharging its mandate. The Working Group recognized that such visits could contribute to in-depth understanding of the situation of people of African descent in various regions of the world (E/CN.4/2005/21, para. 98). 2. At the invitation of the Government of Portugal, the Working Group undertook a visit to this country from 16 to 20 May 2011. The delegation, headed by Mirjana Najcevska, the Chairperson of the Working Group, also included the experts Verene Shepherd and Monorama Biswas. During their visit, the experts held meetings with Government representatives, the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa, CPLP) and civil society organizations and visited two communities of African descent in Lisbon. 3. The Working Group members met with various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and held meetings with the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers; the High Commissioner for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue; the Secretary of State for European Affairs and President of the National Commission for Human Rights; the Deputy Attorney General; the Acting Portuguese Ombudsman, the Deputy Mayor of Lisbon and representatives of the Office of International Relations and Human Rights; the Department of Associations and Intercultural Dialogue Support; the Support Programme for Immigrants’ Entrepreneurship; the Technical Assistance Office for Immigrant Associations; the Central Office of the Civil Registry; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Social Security and Labour; the Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment; the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality and the Ministry of Health. The experts also met with the Executive Secretary and staff of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, United Nations agencies and members of the Afro- descendant community in the neighbourhoods of Almada and Alto da Cova da Moura. 4. The experts wish to thank the Government for its invitation and for its valuable assistance before, during and after their visit to the country. They would also like to thank the NGOs and people of African descent with whom they met during their visit. In the present report the experts describe the information received by the members of the Working Group during their visit to Portugal, identify good practices and make recommendations for actions that may assist in remedying challenges that were identified. II. Context of people of African descent in Portugal A. General situation 5. Between 1975 and 1980, there was a wave of immigration from Africa to Portugal, with people coming or returning from the ex-colonies after decolonization. Amid this wave came Africans, especially from Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tomé and Principe. Since the 1990s there has been a constant increase in the number of immigrants in the country, including from Brazil and Portuguese-speaking African countries. There are today approximately 450,000 immigrants in Portugal, i.e. about 4.2 per 4 A/HRC/21/60/Add.1 cent of the total population of 10.7 million.1 Immigrants living in Portugal are not acknowledged as ethnic minorities but rather as foreigners. 6. Despite the holistic approach taken by Portugal to deal with racial discrimination, the generality of the approach to dealing with racial discrimination may not allow sufficient attention to the concerns of groups of citizens as well as immigrants and foreigners who may be susceptible to direct and indirect discrimination. Notwithstanding innovative measures by Portugal to promote integration, prevent and address racial discrimination of immigrants and ethnic minorities, racial stereotypes and prejudices against immigrants, foreigners and some citizens prevails.2 Studies on immigrants and ethnic minorities reveal cases where members of these groups have complained of racial discrimination in a number of situations. Discrimination of this kind has occurred in matters relating to access to employment, housing and health care.3 Some of these cases have been reported to the High Commission for Immigration and Ethnic Minorities (ACIME). 7.