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Portugal - Eleventh Periodic Reports of States Parties due in 2003 - Addendum to Reports submitted by States Parties under Article 9 of the Convention [2004] UNCERDSPR 7; CERD/C/447/Add.1 (6 May 2004)

UNITED NATIONS		CERD
	International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination	Distr. GENERAL CERD/C/447/Add.1 6 May 2004 ENGLISH Original: FRENCH

COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION
Eleventh periodic reports of States parties due in 2003
Addendum

PORTUGAL*

[3 February 2004]

* This document contains the tenth and eleventh periodic reports of Portugal, which were due on 23 September 2001 and 2003, combined in one document. For the ninth periodic report of Portugal, and the summary records of the Committee meetings at which the report was considered, see documents CERD/C/357/Add.1 and CERD/C/SR.1447, 1448 and 1461.

GE.04-41342 (E) 240604 290604

CONTENTS

Paragraphs Page

Introduction 1 - 3 5

Part One
General information

I. DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION 4 - 46 6

A. General 4 - 18 6

B. Aliens resident in Portugal in 2001 19 - 23 8

C. Aliens resident in Portugal in 2002 24 - 25 20

D. Issuance of residence permits in 2002 26 - 27 31

E. Naturalizations in 2000, 2001 and 2002 28 - 30 32

F. Gypsy population 31 - 32 39

G. Measures taken by the Government 33 - 39 40

H. Local authority measures 40 - 44 41

I. Civil society measures 45 - 46 42

II. MAJOR CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS AGAINST

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION 47 - 50 42

III. CONSIDERATION OF THE GENERAL SITUATION

WITH REGARD TO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION 51 - 56 43

IV. INCIDENTS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION 57 - 78 44

A. Announcement in a daily newspaper 58 44

B. Murder of a gypsy 59 - 61 44

C. Noteworthy behaviour 62 45

D. Racism and car hire 63 45

E. Some positive developments 64 - 78 45

CONTENTS (continued)

Paragraphs Page

V. RECENT DOMESTIC MEASURES TO COMBAT

RACISM AND INTOLERANCE 79 - 84 48

VI. PARTICIPATION BY PORTUGAL IN ACTIVITIES OF

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 85 - 87 50

Part Two
Information in connection with articles 2-7 of the Convention

I. ARTICLE 2 - Anti-racism policy 88 50

II. ARTICLE 3 - Racial segregation 89 50

III. ARTICLE 4 - Racist organizations 90 51

IV. ARTICLE 5 - Equal rights of all before the tribunals 91 51

V. ARTICLE 6 - Effective remedies 92 51

VI. ARTICLE 7 - Education and information 93 - 113 51

Part Three
Supplementary information

I. PRECEDENT 114 - 122 55

A. Administrative precedent 114 - 118 55

B. Judicial precedent 119 - 122 61

II. SPECIFIC NATIONAL PROVISIONS 123 62

III. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS 124 - 134 62

A. Housing 125 - 129 62

B. Examples of improvements in living conditions for

minority populations 130 - 134 63

General conclusion 135 - 137 64

ANNEXES*

Statistical tables

1. Resident alien population of Portugal, by nationality and district of residence (2001 final data)

2. Resident alien population of Portugal, by nationality and sex (2001 final data)

3. Resident alien population of Portugal, by nationality and district of residence (2002 provisional data, processed on 14 May 2003)

4. Resident alien population of Portugal, by nationality and sex (2002 provisional data, processed on 14 May 2003)

5. Issuance of residence permits, by nationality (2001)

6. Issuance of residence permits, by nationality (2002)

7. Residence permits granted, by nationality (2001 and 2002)

* These statistical annexes for 2001 and 2002 may be consulted in the files of the secretariat of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Introduction

1. Portugal introduced its ninth periodic report (CERD/C/357/Add.1) on 12 and 13 March 2001. As updated information was also provided at that time, the present report covers 2001, 2002 and the first half of 2003, since the tenth and eleventh reports are to be introduced on 23 September 2003, according to the schedule provided by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

2. In its concluding observations (CERD/C/304/Add.117, 27 April 2001), the Committee requested additional information on the following points:

(a) Incidents of racial discrimination and xenophobia;

(b) The number of complaints brought before the courts;

(c) The number of complaints admitted to the Commission on Equality and NonDiscrimination;

(d) The number of complaints settled by the Commission, and the outcome;

(e) Effective enjoyment by ethnic groups, including refugees, gypsies and citizens from the former colonies, of the rights set forth in article 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, namely equality and non-discriminatory treatment;

(f) The socio-economic situation of these groups and the implementation of general recommendation No. XX (equality and non-discriminatory treatment);

(g) The existence of information campaigns concerning complaints, the situation in terms of discrimination and means of combating discrimination; and

(h) The publicity given to the Committee’s reports and its general recommendations.

These questions would by themselves justify a report; they are at the heart of the report now being submitted by the Government.

3. The general structure of the report is as follows: part one deals, in chapter I, with the demographic status of the Portuguese population (number of aliens, residence by aliens, residence permits, naturalization, gypsies, etc.); there follows a fairly detailed analysis of the major constitutional provisions against discrimination (chap. II), the general situation with regard to discrimination (chap. III), some incidents of racial discrimination (chap. IV), recent domestic measures to combat racism and intolerance (chap. V), and, lastly, Portugal’s participation in the activities of international organizations (chap. VI). As customary, part two of the report is devoted to information in connection with articles 2 to 7 of the Convention. This year the report contains a third part comprising three chapters on precedent (chap. I), specific national provisions (chap. II) and economic, social and cultural rights (chap. III).

Part One
General information

I. DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION

A. General

4. Reference to the demographic composition of the population means necessarily analysing the situation of aliens. This is essentially governed by legislation on aliens, which seeks to regulate their situation in the country.

5. The Government that emerged from the legislative elections of 2002 changed the legal regime governing the entry into, stay in and removal from the national territory of aliens, relying on the legislative authority granted by Parliament under Act No. 22/2002, of 21 August. The new regime introduced under Decree Law No. 4/2001 of 10 January, led to a significant increase in the number of legal aliens, namely 346,000 at the end of 2001. The figures submitted in the report, provided by the Aliens and Border Service, relate to 2001-2002. The increase in the number of aliens legally present in Portugal led to a change in the law.

6. Decree Law No. 34/2003, of 25 February, stipulates that entry into and exit from Portuguese territory must be through authorized border posts during their hours of operation. Under article 26, aliens who enter the country via a crossing which is not controlled and who arrive from another Schengen country must report their entry within three working days of their arrival.

7. Entry is refused to aliens who do not meet all the conditions provided for by law or who constitute a danger or serious threat to public order, national security or international relations, relations between member States of the European Union, or relations between States governed by the Convention of Schengen. Entry and travel documents are regulated by articles 12 and 13.

8. Only aliens with sufficient means of subsistence for the period of their stay or who are in a position to legally acquire such means may enter the country. A document pledging responsibility for the alien’s stay must be produced by a foreign national or alien.

9. Authority to refuse entry rests with the Director-General of the Aliens and Border Service, the carrier being responsible for return of the alien if entry is refused. Appeal to the courts is possible, but without suspensory effect.

10. The visa regime is regulated under articles 27 et seq., with particular focus on work visas: a work visa allows its holder to enter Portugal with the intention of temporarily exercising a professional activity, whether as an employee or otherwise (art. 36).

11. The Government, in a notification from the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), produces a biennial report with a forecast of employment opportunities and

sectors in which they exist and establishing an absolute maximum annual limit for aliens arriving from third States to exercise a professional activity. The report is drafted taking account of the following factors:

(i) The needs of the market in general;

(ii) The need for labour in sectors of fundamental importance to the national economy; and

(iii) Geographical weighting of employment opportunities for foreign citizens in accordance with the absorption capacity of each district.

12. An employment visa allows its holder to engage in an ongoing professional activity. The holder must inform the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training of any change in the exercise of a professional activity, so as to ensure that it is in conformity with the above report. An employment visa is valid for multiple entries into Portuguese territory and may be granted for up to one year.

13. The right to family reunification is provided for in articles 56 et seq. A citizen resident for at least one year has the right to family reunification with members of the family who are outside the national territory and who lived with him in another country or who are his dependants. The beneficiaries of this right are the spouse, minor children or children lacking capacity in the charge of a couple or one spouse, adopted children, direct ascendants in the first degree of the resident or his spouse provided that they are dependent, minor siblings under the guardianship of the resident pursuant to a decision by a competent authority in the country of origin, provided that the decision is recognized by Portugal.

14. Article 101 provides for an accessory penalty of expulsion. This may be applied to any foreign citizen not resident in the country sentenced in connection with an intentional offence to a term of imprisonment greater than six months or an equivalent fine. This penalty may also be applied to a foreign citizen resident in Portugal sentenced in connection with an intentional offence to a term of imprisonment greater than one year. In such circumstances it is, however, necessary to take into account the gravity of the offence, the character of the person involved, the likelihood of reoffending, the degree of integration in society, special prevention and the length of residence in Portugal.

15. The accessory penalty of expulsion is not applied to resident aliens when they have dependent children who are resident in Portuguese territory, over whom they were effectively exercising parental authority at the time of the events that resulted in application of the penalty, and for whose maintenance and education they are responsible, provided that the child remains a minor during the anticipated term of the penalty. The penalty is also not applied when the children have been present in Portugal from before the age of 10 and are ordinarily resident in Portugal.

16. Expulsion is determined by the courts when it is an accessory penalty or when the alien has entered Portugal irregularly (art. 109). Expulsion is determined by the administrative authorities in the case of a citizen in illegal status.

17. Lastly, enterprises committing the violations addressed in this legislative instrument have criminal and civil liability. In particular, anyone assisting illegal immigration is liable to a prison term of up to three years.

18. The following information relates to 2001. For updated data for the second half of 2003, the reader is referred to the various statistical tables in the annex which are available for consultation with the Committee secretariat.

B. Aliens resident in Portugal in 2001

19. In 2001 the resident alien population of Portugal was 224,913, comprising 126,449 men and 98,464 women, according to provisional data for 2001 (processed by the Aliens and Border Service in January 2003).

20. There are 61,795 resident aliens from the other 14 European Union countries, with United Kingdom citizens being the most numerous (14,961). Nationals of other countries, nonmember States of the European Union, number 5,430.

21. Almost half the resident aliens - 107,946 - are from African countries: most are from the former Portuguese colonies; nationals of other African countries number only 5,906.

22. There is also a large number of aliens from the Americas: 10,212 aliens are nationals of Canada or the United States of America; 28,992 are from Central or South America, including 23,555 from Brazil. There are 9,721 Asians, including a significant number of Chinese (3,955) and Indians (1,374) as well as Pakistanis (1,039).

23. These figures give the following order:

Africans - 107,946, mostly from the former Portuguese colonies; European Union nationals - 67,225; Brazilians - 23,555; and Asians - 9,721.

Table 1
Resident alien population of Portugal, by nationality and sex (2001)

Table 1 (continued)

Table 1 (continued)

Table 1 (continued)

Table 1 (continued)

Source: Aliens and Border Service. Final data for 2001 (processed on 6 May 2003) are given in table 2 of the annex (available for consultation in the secretariat).

Note: Provisional data for 2001 (processed in January 2003).

Table 2
Resident alien population of Portugal, by nationality and district of residence

Table 2 (continued)

Table 2 (continued)

Table 2 (continued)