HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONSIDERS REPORT OF CHAD

Human Rights Committee

17 July 2009


The Human Rights Committee this afternoon concluded its consideration of the initial report of Chad on measures undertaken to implement the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Presenting the report on Chad, Abderamane Djasnabaille, Minister for Human Rights and the Promotion of Fundamental Freedoms of Chad, said that Chad’s will to establish a democratic regime following a bloody dictatorship that had made many families suffer had taken on concrete form during a national conference in 1993 where precise guidelines had been formulated regarding the creation of institutions for the protection of human rights. The report described the historic, social and environmental context as well as the challenges Chad was facing today. That initial report included information on implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, especially regarding access to justice, education, to enjoyment of freedom of expression, to freedom of conscience and religion and to equality between men and women, as well as on the prevention of violence against children and women and respect for the human being.

Mr. Djasnabaille could not speak of human rights without mentioning the sad events that had taken place in the capital, N’Djamena, on 2 and 3 February 2008. After those events a commission had been established to investigate the events and their consequences. That commission was supported by the international community and was made up of mainly civil society actors who had published their findings in September 2008.

In the ensuing dialogue Experts said they took into account Chad’s difficult situation, which was due to several civil wars during the last decades. However, they also encouraged Chad to seek dialogue and collaboration with non-governmental organizations in order to remedy the situation, especially regarding corruption and the malfunctioning of the judicial system. The situation of women and children was particularly grave, as illiteracy rates, rates of violence against women and the number of child soldiers were very high. In general, Experts noted with concern that Chad did not comply with large parts of the Covenant to which it had voluntarily acceded.

Over the course of three meetings with the delegation, Experts asked questions relating to, inter alia, violence against women; the high illiteracy rate among girls; child marriage; female genital mutilation and polygamy; grave shortcomings in police investigation procedure and custody; corruption in the judiciary; torture in prisons; the lifting of the death penalty and the execution of death sentences; disappearances and abductions; endemic corruption in the Government, judiciary, military and the private sector; impunity for former torturers; and the consequences of the affair related to the non-governmental organization Zoe’s Ark.

The delegation also included Bamanga Abbas Malloum, Ambassador and Representative of the Chadian Permanent Mission to the United Nations at Geneva and other members of the Permanent Mission, as well as Djimet Arabi, Secretary General of the Ministry for Human Rights and the Promotion of Fundamental Freedoms of Chad.

When the Committee resumes its work on Monday, 20 July, at 3 p.m. it will start its review of the third periodic report of Azerbaijan (CCPR/C/AZE/3).

Report of Chad

With regard to gender discrimination, the initial report of Chad (CCPR/C/TCD/1) notes that it is true that traditional habits and customs are still firmly rooted in Chad, especially in rural areas, where they can hinder women’s full development. However, these obstacles are being denounced now that women are better educated and increasingly standing up for their rights. In rural areas, despite the important role of women in the agricultural sector, custom prohibits them from owning land. In the economic sphere, while women’s work in the informal sector accounts for more than 25 per cent of non-agricultural gross domestic product, in the formal sector they represent only 10 per cent of the 34,000 civil servants and 1.5 per cent of the 17,200 employees in the private sector. This state of affairs is fostered by the high rate of female illiteracy, which stands at 78 per cent compared to 56 per cent for men in the population aged 15 years and over. Other facts explain this discrimination, in particular traditional practices, which also affect the well-being of young girls. They often marry and bear children at a very young age: nearly 40 per cent of women aged between 15 and 19 have already had one or more children, and the proportion of women who have suffered genital mutilation is estimated at 40 per cent. Polygamy is common: 20 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women live in polygamous unions. The draft family code, which was drawn up in 2000, is designed to partially remedy this situation and will shortly be promulgated, despite anticipated objections from certain conservative circles.

The death penalty has not yet been officially abolished in Chad. The Criminal Code provides that the principal criminal penalties are execution, hard labour for life and hard labour from 5 to 20 years. The Criminal Code provides that “Persons condemned to death shall be shot.” An Article specifies that pregnant women who are condemned shall be executed only after giving birth. From 1992 to 2003, there was a de facto moratorium on the execution of condemned prisoners. In 2003, however, in order to respond forcefully to a heinous and particularly spectacular crime committed by felons in the middle of town, the Government had to execute those condemned to death on 6 and 9 November 2003, especially since some of the crimes had been committed by escaped prisoners who had already been condemned. Chad is preparing the population to accept the abolition of the death penalty, in view of the misconception that this would amount to total impunity for major crimes, in the absence of a deterrent. This situation is largely attributable to the prison crisis with the death penalty seen by many as a radical but efficient solution for reducing crime.

Introduction of the Report

ABDERAMANE DJASNABAILLE, Minister for Human Rights and the Promotion of Fundamental Freedoms of Chad, presenting the report, said that Chad had formulated no reservations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights when it had acceded to it in 1995. It had reaffirmed its commitment to human rights in its Constitution of 1996. Chad’s will to establish a democratic regime following a bloody dictatorship that had made many families suffer had taken on concrete forms during a national conference in 1993 where precise guidelines had been formulated regarding the creation of institutions for the protection of human rights. The report described the historic, social and environmental context as well as the challenges Chad was facing today. This initial report included information on implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, especially regarding access to justice, education, to enjoyment of freedom of expression, to freedom of conscience and religion and to equality between men and women, as well as on the prevention of violence against children and women and respect for the human being.

The Chadian delegation could not speak of human rights without mentioning the sad events that had taken place in the capital, N’Djamena, on 2 and 3 February 2008. After those events a commission had been established to investigate the events and their consequences. That commission was supported by the international community and was made up of mainly civil society actors who had published their findings in September 2008. It was important to note that after conflicts in Darfur and the Central African Republic since 2003, Chad was facing the influx of a huge number of refugees. Having ratified various conventions relating to refugees and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government of Chad had established a Commission on Refugees. The protection and humanitarian assistance to refugee children as well as their enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights were ensured. Over 220,000 refugees coming from Darfur were living in the East of Darfur, 60 per cent of whom were younger than 18 years old. There were also 160,000 internally displaced persons living in the East of the country. In the South, there were 40,000 refugees from the Central African Republic.

Answers by the Delegation to Written Questions by Experts Submitted in Advance

Mr. Djasnabaille said that the Darfur refugees were cared for by the Government of Chad with the support of the United Nations and international and national refugee organizations. In 2005, Chad had signed a memorandum of understanding on the monitoring of separated or unaccompanied Sudanese children with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). A total of 437 separated and 104 unaccompanied children had been identified and taken into care. A National Refugee Commission had been created by a decree dated 31 December 1991. That decree also created a Subcommission on eligibility responsible for granting refugee status to individuals, in accordance with the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (of 1951) and the Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. Children requesting refugee status were entitled to protection and humanitarian assistance under these international instruments, which had been ratified by Chad. Protection and humanitarian assistance were guaranteed to refugees and their children as part of their civil rights and economic, social and cultural rights.

Conflict between communities, Janjaweed incursions and rebel attacks had caused the internal displacement of 50,000 persons in the Dar Sila region, 1,981 of them school-aged children and 136 children separated from their parents. Protection and humanitarian assistance were provided by United Nations agencies, the Government and national human rights organizations.

The culture of violence that was the legacy of several decades of war has not spared families and there had been many cases of domestic or marital violence against women and children, Mr. Djasnabaille observed. The perpetrators were, however, always severely punished when such cases are brought before the courts. Furthermore, civil society organizations, including the Chad Association of Women Jurists and the women’s organizations’ education and information service, made a significant contribution by running legal clinics that served as women’s rights information, education and awareness centres. It should be noted that families and victims often did not reveal that type of violence for fear of breaking up the family, which made punishment difficult. No statistics on domestic violence were available.

Since independence, Chad had been caught up in a cycle of violence, civil war, armed rebellion and foreign aggression whose effects were still very present in attitudes and behaviours. The conflicts had facilitated the circulation of firearms, now in the possession of bandits who attacked the population. In order to ensure the safety of its citizens the Government had established a security zone along the border and deployed an integrated defence and security force in the areas concerned. The force was supported by the European Union-led peacekeeping force (EUFOR) and the Coordination nationale d’appui à la force internationale au Tchad (CONAFIT). In addition, the Government had just established a national disarmament commission with a view to halting the proliferation of weapons of war.

Questions by the Committee Experts

Experts noted the efforts Chad had undertaken to promote human rights, especially through the signing of international treaties, despite the various conflicts that had ravaged the country. An Expert assumed that it could be the case that traditional customs took precedence over international treaties and law enforcement officials in Chad were not at all familiar with international obligations. In that case the more powerful imposed their right on the less powerful. In some regions there was extreme poverty, which had to be faced while accepting the efforts undertaken by the Government. There was no deliberate violation of human rights, but yet they did occur. An Expert noted that if the Covenant had not yet been published, it would be less likely to be invoked in Courts and applied. Had the State done a systematic review of its domestic legislation in order to bring it in line with the Covenant?

Regarding the National Human Rights Commission, Experts asked whether it was hibernating because the mandate for its members had not been renewed. Laws were only as good as they were implemented. Experts wanted to know how the members were elected; what influence non-governmental organizations had; if the Commission issued a report; and what was the action plan of the Government regarding the budget of the Commission.

As to gender equality, several Experts were surprised that there was no woman on the delegation. There was a lack of progress in the status of women in Chad: What measures where taken to promote their access to public service? How difficult or easy was it for women to vote, especially in rural areas? Women were also not allowed to own land. Women were exploited, especially in rural areas: Was there any kind of land reform envisaged? An Expert suggested that in cases of violence against women, it could be useful to have female prosecutors leading the investigation and questioning.

The violence in Darfur had spilled over into Chad and had caused massive violations of human rights. An Expert wanted to know more about forced displacement in the East of the country. She referred to the guidelines by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on internally displaced persons and wondered whether the Government of Chad would take them into account when dealing with internally displaced persons. Experts drew attention to the obstacles that humanitarian organizations were facing when assisting refugees and internally displaced persons. What was the Government doing in that regard? There were about 70,000 persons that wanted to go back. Did the Government undertake efforts to guarantee their safe return?

As Chad had committed to the Beijing Platform of Action, an Expert wanted to know what concrete measures Chad had taken to protect women from domestic violence. Experts encouraged Chad to use non-governmental organization material to add highly detailed empirical data to their reports to Committees. As to the state of emergency, Experts wanted to know how many states of emergency there had been and what rights had been restricted.

Regarding the death penalty, Experts asked questions pertaining to the lifting of the previously existing moratorium. The Covenant said that a judge had to be able to individually consider cases, which did not seem to be the case. How many cases had there been? In 2003, nine persons were executed by shooting and four had been condemned to death. Regarding the events in June 2008, 68 people had been killed in Kounu by security forces. In February 2008, two opposition politicians had disappeared. The claim was that they had been seized by Government soldiers. An Expert also mentioned the hurried execution of the alleged murderer of a Sudanese businessman. During the trial, torture occurred and the suspects had not had access to legal counsel. An Expert wanted to know how long persons that were executed spent on death row beforehand. The list of crimes punishable by the death penalty did not seem to be exhaustive and an Expert asked for further information on the subject.

Experts also asked questions pertaining to the abduction of minors; measures taken to raise public awareness of the equality of men and women; promotion of enrolment to school for girls and free primary education for girls; measures against illiteracy; police violence in police stations; intimidation of journalists; and concerning the existence of juvenile courts and juvenile justice.

Answers by the Delegation

The delegation explained that clearly the overall situation in Chad was difficult as there was a lack of security due to the situation in the East of the country. While the conflict in the Sudan continued it would also continue to influence the situation in Chad. Chad feared an attack by Sudan and its greatest priority was to protect its borders and its citizens, especially in the East. The people active in the Army where not formally trained, they simply had a weapon and wanted to defend themselves. If Chad abandoned its Army, that would aggravate the situation which would mean more violence, more abductions and more chaos. The Government was obliged to react. Young people, above 18 years, had to be recruited into the Army.

Chad did not recruit child soldiers. In combat, young people got mixed up because they could not stand at the sidelines. It was a real problem but it was not a Government policy. Chad was restructuring the Army but that would not happen overnight. It was not possible that the Army used torture or other illegal means. As to refugees, there had to be security in the camps. Especially in the East, security had to be improved. United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations had to be protected as well.

The violence in male-dominated society meant that women did not have their correct place in society. Changing that was not easy in reality. Even in European Governments there was not parity. Now, Chad and other African countries were asked to change at high speed. But transforming things would take time. The Government had adopted the relevant legislation. There were some women in Government, but obviously that was not enough. All wanted to bring about change but that was not going to happen in Geneva or New York, that had to happen on the ground.

The delegation acknowledged what civil society was doing and it was no way hindering it. If someone was active in civil society today he might be in Government tomorrow. Sometimes there was not enough flow of information, but the Government was working towards a fruitful dialogue with non-governmental organizations.

Regarding the National Human Rights Commission, the delegation said that it existed in name only. However, it would be key in the future for human rights. Its membership posed a problem, as it should not be a minister who was heading it. Those issues would be tackled now, also with the assistance of non-governmental organizations. There would be a human rights meeting in August, which had the establishment of a national human rights commission on its agenda.

It was true that there had been abductions. However, the cases mentioned by the Experts had been resolved and the persons in questions were in good health. The member of the delegation speaking added that he himself had been in jail and beaten up several times. Someone had to accept that when going into politics. If someone was not ready to die, he should better not go into politics. Certain realities simply had to be accepted.

The Government had to divide its budget and often it was simply not enough. It was not a lack of will, the delegation emphasized.

The delegation explained that in practice most citizens were not aware of their rights. One of the Government’s priorities was to raise awareness of those rights and to harmonize legislation, which in many cases still dated back to colonial times. As to customary law, with the upcoming adoption of the Family Code, the role of chiefs in the settling of disputes would be diminished.

With regard to the events in Kounu, it was said that religious fanatics that had links with Al-Qaeda wanted to start a holy war with the people of the region. Those people thought that they were invincible – they had taken officials hostage and had to be taught a lesson. Certainly, the action taken by law enforcement might have been disproportionate, but it was important to combat Al-Qaeda. Two law enforcement agents had been killed, 20 on the side of the fanatics had been killed and some on the other side had died as well. The head of the fanatics and others were now in prison in N’Djamena. In Chad, prisons were overpopulated. Those that had been arrested in 2006 and 2008 were all put into the same prisons, together with those that had been sentenced to death.

As to the death penalty, after a moratorium of 12 years, persons sentenced had been executed in 2003. The list of offences punishable by the death penalty included the crimes of assassination, murder, patricide, poisoning, infanticide, treason and espionage. In principle, the Government was against the death penalty, but it was not easy. Even in France, it was also difficult to get rid of the death penalty. Moreover, when people saw what was going on – killings and rape – not everybody agreed to abolish the death penalty. People had to be convinced. Chad was again moving in the direction of a moratorium. It had been important to implement the death penalty in one case to restore calm. The delegation also noted that, currently, if someone wanted to leave a prison, it was easily possible; it was also not difficult to cross the borders of Chad.

Violence against women was a real problem in Chad and a national debate was needed. However, 78 per cent of the cases were brought to court and were being prosecuted. The tribal chiefs had to be included in such a debate. The factor that half of the citizens were Muslim and the other half Christians was an obstacle to progress. The trend was that the tribal chiefs were brought into the democracy. If a tribal chief wanted to be elected he had to fight for it. In the long run, Chad hoped that that was a position to which someone would be elected. It was not yet the case that a mayor was elected; so far, it the mayor was a traditional tribal chief. A mechanism would be set in place that would slowly limit the influence of the tribal chiefs. The challenge was to keep Chad’s customs but integrate them in a modern Chad.

Regarding the draft family code, the delegation said the issue of women and the role of tribal chiefs were addressed in that text. There were many reservations, since many people were attached to Sharia [Islamic law], but there were also many people who wanted a secular State. Women had to go to school, but they would not fight for that if they were not educated. Chad was clearly a male-dominated society. However, it wanted to build its national identity and people had to understand that they could not maintain certain values in today’s world. Chad had been working on the draft family code since 2000, which was a long time, but also necessary. The family code would go before Parliament next year and before the National Assembly afterwards before being implemented.

Questions by Committee Experts

In a second round of questions and comments, an Expert noted that the delegation had been surprisingly open about the problems the country was facing. This was on the one hand helpful for a constructive dialogue but on the other hand one had to ask whether Chad should have taken on voluntarily the obligations of the Covenant if it had to admit so freely that there was no way it could fulfil them.

Regarding the death penalty, an Expert clarified that the death penalty was compatible with the Covenant as long as certain criteria were fulfilled and asked questions regarding the duration a person had to wait until he got access to a lawyer and whether there was a right to appeal. An Expert wanted to have very concrete information on several executions that had happened in October 2003 where only very few days had passed between the death sentence and the execution of the sentence and there were compelling signs that due process had not been followed.

Experts also asked further questions about the legal framework to address domestic violence; the change of status for abducted minors if they were married to their abductors; and provision of food in the prisons.

Answers by the Delegation

The delegation said that, officially, legal texts such as the Covenant were published and could be enforced, but the real problem was dissemination of information.

Regarding the 48-hour limit for police custody, the delegation acknowledged that very often that time limit was not respected. Most police came from the Army and were not trained in law enforcement. They did simply not know that custody was for 48 hours. Chad was working on this issue with the help of France. Sometimes the time limit was observed, for example, when the Prosecutor came, prisoners were often released right away. It happened that people were arrested for six months or longer without having been heard. In Chad, due to ignorance and underdevelopment there were problems at every level. Prison wardens were being trained right now. Chad acknowledged that there was a problem and was making efforts.

Concerning the guarantees for fair trial, the delegation said that there was dual jurisdiction including a court of appeals and then also cassation. It was not accurate to say that in the case of a death sentence the procedure was not followed. There was a minimum guarantee level and judicial guarantees had to be in place. If a condemned person asked for a pardon, which was then not granted, the person would be executed. There were huge problems in the judiciary as citizens were afraid and did not know who they should go to if they wanted to complain. Corruption was widespread, which was even more difficult in the context of widespread poverty.

As to ties with non-governmental organizations, it was not true that the Government did not know about non-governmental organization reports. When a non-governmental organization had some kind of difficulties, the Government wanted them to be able to come to the Government as it was responsible for them. The Government had never given in but taken risks itself when it realized that flagrant violations had taken place.

Regarding disappearances and more specifically in the case of the disappeared human rights activist mentioned by an Expert, the head of the delegation said that that was a real problem. He knew the disappeared man personally, as they had fought for human rights together. His loss was a huge loss to Chad. An international commission had been set up to investigate disappearances. Police forces had now to complete those inquiries.

Concerning abduction, the delegation said that this could not be tolerated. An abductee married to her abductor could request annulment of the marriage. Someone who abducted a minor in order to marry her did that without her consent. The girls went to the market, the boy or man waited for her and abducted her. As soon as she was pregnant, the boy or man took her back to her village and said that she was now his wife. That could happen at the age of 14. Sometimes women abducted their own children to take them to school. That showed that opinions were changing and mothers refused these early marriages. That was progress and the direction Chad should be heading in.

Questions by Committee Experts

In a third round of questions, Experts expressed concern about female genital mutilation and polygamy, and asked how widespread those practices were. As to child labour, an Expert asked whether the authorities were in a position to combat that phenomenon. There were child cow herders and a number of those children had in fact been abducted. The issue of child marriage had to be addressed as well: children were married as young as 9 years old. An Expert mentioned the case of a young girl of 13 that had been married to a 70-year-old marabout (holy man) whom she had poisoned. She had been in prison for many years now, where she had been raped repeatedly by prison guards and had gotten pregnant. An Expert asked whether that case had been investigated and those that had raped her had been punished. As to other child abuses, an Expert said that the Zoe’s Ark organization was one example. The members were now in prison but the French State did not pay any money out in reparations in that connection and the Expert wanted to know whether there was new information on the subject.

Regarding the recruitment of minors, including girls, into the armed forces, an Expert said that it seemed that everything in Chad was influenced by the situation in Darfur. That was rather curious and the Expert asked whether the Government could not be more proactive and find a political solution. The population in Chad was very young – with 5 million children – and their situation had deteriorated a lot during the past two years. It was reported that children were used as drivers or bodyguards in the Army.

Experts also asked various questions regarding the judiciary and the penitentiary, specifically pertaining to the lack of independence and corruption; whether a reform of the judiciary were planned; the possibility of receiving a prison sentence because of non-compliance with contracts or debt; the specific criminalization of torture in federal legislation; the creation of a federalized system of prison visits; the practical obstacles to the separation of juveniles and adults in jails as well as the separation of women and men; measures to ensure the enforcement of the 48-hour limit for police custody; a lack of interpretation during judicial procedures; more information on the mechanisms of the Court of Appeals; details of the procedure of appointment of magistrate in the judiciary; and reports of prisoners chained the entire day.

Experts also touched upon the resistance of Chadian authorities to registering children in the Eastern region; asked for figures for school enrolment for girls; and wondered what measures had been taken after the events in February 2008.

Answers by the Delegation

Responding to these and other questions, the delegation provided further explanations regarding the case of the Sudanese businessman who had been murdered on 25 September 2003. The next day suspects had been brought to police stations to be questioned. On 25 October, they had been sentenced to death after a two-day trial during which they had access to legal counsel. The suspects had requested clemency, which had not been granted. Through that request, it was understood that they waived their right to appeal. The suspects had been publicly executed between 6 and 9 November. One had to note that there were economic and political aspects to the case: if the State had not acted quickly, there would be no interest by foreign investors in Chad.

Female genital mutilation was prohibited as well as child marriages. However, in practice, female genital mutilation would not be punished. Fortunately, a reduction of 15 per cent of such cases had been observed and the new family code included provisions against the practice. Polygamy was widespread in rural areas. A newly wedded couple could decide whether it wanted to live in polygamy or monogamy.

As to criminal law and the penitentiary system, the delegation said that torture as defined in the Convention led to conviction under the existing Criminal Code. There were no special prison for minors, but there was a special facility in N’Djamena for women. The United Nations Development Programme supported Chad in building new prisons that would allow for the separation of minors and adults. As to whether it was possible that some prisoners were in chains, that was possible, since there were sometimes no walls on prisons in Chad. Prisoners could flee easily and would then hide in the bush. It was no excuse, but during the war, prisons had not been the highest priority. It was a gigantic job, but the Government had started to improve the situation. However, progress could not be expected over night.

Child soldiers were a source of concern for the Government. Officially the Government did not recruit children. To the contrary, the Government was making an effort to withdraw them from the Army and undertook regular controls. Sometimes children wanted to join the Army because they wanted to be like their fathers and uncles. The Government had sent out very strong messages to all their military chiefs that they could not allow that. The Government had asked the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to work with other non-governmental organizations and the United Nations Refugee Agency on the subject. It was easier for non-governmental organizations to see whether there were children in the Army or not.

Concerning birth registration, the Government had implemented a programme to facilitate birth registrations. The results were encouraging. The Government understood clearly the importance of birth registration and had undertaken a large campaign to promote it.

Regarding follow-up on persons in Government services that had committed torture but still held their posts, the delegation said that that issue had been addressed during the Universal Periodic Review process in May 2009. The delegation had gone back to Chad and made the relevant suggestions to improve that situation. The involvement of civil society was particularly important in this case. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had reported that there were cases of torture in prisons. Upon the return of the delegation, they would give formal permission to the ICRC and non-governmental organizations to visit prisons. Chad did not wish to be accused of torture of prisoners of war.

Questions by Committee Experts

In a fourth round of questions, an Expert observed that it was already half a century since Chad had achieved its independence now. Yet, only a few of the collaborators with the former regime had been brought to court. What did the delegation think of that kind of impunity?

An Expert noted that on the corruption index of the non-governmental organization Transparency International Chad ranked seventh. That meant that corruption was endemic; it was almost as if every child was taught in school how to be corrupt. If recommendations to fight corruption were not implemented one wondered what penalties could be imposed. The Expert was also concerned that the law specifically provided for imprisonment for indebtedness.

Regarding the case of the marriage of the nine-year-old refugee, an Expert noted that, according to a non-governmental organization report, families arranged marriages for girls as young of 11 and 12. It could be true that sometimes refugees invented stories, but they also told true stories. This one had been corroborated by the United Nations and should receive Chad’s attention. It had to be taken into account that girls could even be married before it was possible to have sexual relations with them, instead they would simply be used for domestic services. The Expert thought that this situation would even punishable under Sharia law.

Other questions asked by Experts related to the verbal extremism that certain sects seemed to invoke when trying to convert people; the situation regarding dissemination of the Covenant among law enforcement officers and public servants; whether Chad carried out human rights education; existing restrictions of the freedom of assembly and association, especially in the context of religious groups; whether legal aid existed; what the legal provisions were in relation to conscientious objectors; and what the number of political parties in Chad was and what the procedures were for registering.

Answers by the Delegation

Responding to questions, the delegation said impunity was unacceptable and the Government wanted to fight it. An investigation would take place and then the information would be given to the courts. It was true that Chad had been independent for half a century, but it had lived through several civil wars since then. The delegation underlined that corruption did not only exist in the Government but also in the civil society; that was because everyone came from the same culture. Everything had to be explained from scratch. Many people working in the administration were very young and there was no continuity. Hissène Habré had remained unpunished so far and was supported by many African States. Chad wanted Hissène Habré to be tried, as well as Sudanese President al-Bashir. Hissène Habré had powerful backing in the political class, as well as in the military. The Ministry of Human Rights was clearly against impunity and knew that it had to act. The existing difficulties could not be resolved overnight. Hissène Habré had accomplices inside the country and outside but he had to be tried nevertheless.

Concerning refugees, the delegation had doubts about the case mentioned by one Expert in which a girl of the age of 9 had been married. The concerns seemed to be imaginary. The people in question had imagined a situation and invented the story in order to get a visa.

Corruption was a phenomenon that existed everywhere in the world. It was a local custom, a generalized phenomenon, that everyone who provided a service was corruptible. Punishment for corruption existed, but the phenomenon remained as the actors tried to resolve the problem among themselves. A reform of the Criminal Code was under way which would take better care of the issue. The Criminal Code was also being reformed in order to provide for punishment in case of interference in the private life of citizens.

Regarding impunity for the events of 2 and 3 February of 2008, the delegation emphasized that no one was untouchable. If people were suspected of having taken part in the event, they had to go to court and respond to the allegations. The problem was that there was no democratic culture and people did not want to relinquish power. Many of today’s officials had been in exile and had just come back and taken office recently. Now, people knew about political theories and other people knew that they would never be elected to any post because they had tortured or organized large-scale corruption earlier on.

As for municipalities seizing private property following the events in February, the delegation said that there had been pillaging. It was not the municipalities that had organized it, but the mayor had decided single-handedly on seizing property. He had been stopped by the President in his activities. After two weeks of such activities, the mayor had now diluted his wine with water and now there was justice. Chad could not accept a mayor who did not respect the legal system. He had wanted to forcibly recover State assets, but people could not simply be evicted. That was an issue of concern, but it was also important that there would be no impunity.

Concerning people selling their daughters for dowries, the delegation said that that question was linked to other questions and had to be discussed in a different context. The delegation also knew that there was a problem regarding refugees that simply sent their children to be used as rebels or mercenaries.

On Koranic schools, and charges that the State let them do what they wished to do, the delegation observed that in those schools some good things were taught. If the rules of the secular State were not respected in those schools, they were immediately closed down. That had happened for example after the Chadian Government had been informed in Geneva of children being put in chains in such schools. As regarded human rights training, the delegation explained that human rights were taught in police schools. There were also special programmes for human rights education in primary schools. Human rights values were for all and not just for an elite.

There were 104 political parties in Chad now, which meant that it was very easy to set up a party, even individuals could do so. Planned new guidelines concerning a charter for political parties would stipulate that in order to set up a party it had to have a nationwide reach.

Voting was important for the next election, because this time, things would be different. There were new regulations and, for example, now people could not stand for election if they had not resigned at least six months before. Earlier, the opposition had boycotted the elections as there were huge irregularities and a lack of transparency. Maybe it was not enough to be against impunity, but Chad would continue to make progress. Buying of votes could definitely not be allowed.

Questions by the Experts

In a final round of questions, Experts asked which religions were considered cults. Chad should perhaps reconsider its view that religious groups that had been formed only recently were sects. Other questions concerned who controlled Internet servers; the renewal of the good idea to save some of the revenue of the Chad’s oil pipeline for the development of national projects; measures undertaken to create legal knowledge among the general public; and the consequences of the Zoe’s Ark incident.

Answers by the Delegation

In Chad, there were Muslims and Christians, but also Mormons, Scientologists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Moonies, the delegation explained. As long as they did not disturb public order or incite against other religions, they were free to operate. Nobody controlled the Internet in the Chad; Chad did not even have the means to control the radio. There was only one Internet provider in Chad, but no one was obliged to subscribe to it. Often, people set up their website in Cameroon, for example. It had been decided officially that the access to Internet should be left as it was.

Concerning the Zoe’s Ark affair, the delegation said that Chad had not taken a close enough look at non-governmental organizations when it was authorizing them to work in the field. Moreover, it had been approved by the French Government. Their official request had included the aim of establishing schools and dispensaries in the country. But Zoe’s Ark was a black sheep. It had had hidden motives: instead of working with children they wanted to take them and bring them to France for adoption. Now, non-governmental organization demands for permission to operate were filtered more carefully. When the family code entered into force the adoption of children would be more difficult as well. There was a whole network behind the operation of Zoe’s Ark – powerful interests, including pharmaceutical companies.

The delegation emphasized that the parents of the children should be compensated. Some of the children were Sudanese and it was now know that they had been taken care of by United Nations agencies and were well. Discussions between the Chadian Government and France were still under way on this issue. The case was not over yet and the delegation hoped that the French Government would make a gesture in that regard. Chad was very vigilant that in future there were no more “Zoe’s Arks” in Chad.


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For use of the information media; not an official record