E/CN.4/1998/79 page 21 VII. (a) REPLIES OF GOVERNMENTS TO THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR'S REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Cyprus 75. The Government of Cyprus informed the Special Rapporteur that Law No. 11 (III) adopted in 1992 in application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which it had ratified in 1967 (Law No. XII of 1967), made all acts of discrimination punishable; the provisions of the Convention are respected by the Government of Cyprus and have been included by the Ministry of Education and Culture in teaching materials against racism; Cyprus knew of no victims of racism who needed rehabilitation. Special Rapporteur's observations 76. The Special Rapporteur would appreciate receiving copies of the legislation and regulations in force in Cyprus. (b) Guyana 77. The Government of Guyana informed the Special Rapporteur that the Administration has financed a parliamentary body to establish a commission on interracial relations and to promulgate legislation governing such relations in Guyana. This parliamentary body will first prepare a White Paper for submission to Parliament and then present the draft law. In this White Paper the Administration assumed the firm commitment to deal with the consequences of racial discrimination and racism and to use all necessary means to do away with this socially inadmissible attitude. 78. On the administrative level, the authorities have established, within the Government itself, a service specifically responsible for dealing with allegations of racial discrimination in employment. The Government also wholeheartedly supported the decision of one of the four civil service trade unions to create its own interracial relations body. Special Rapporteur's observations 79. The Special Rapporteur welcomes these very promising measures and would appreciate receiving documentation about the legislation in question and the way it is actually being implemented. (c) Turkey 80. The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Turkey to the United Nations Office at Geneva addressed an information note to the Special Rapporteur recalling the active role played by Turkey in the preparation and adoption of resolution 1997/73 by the Commission on Human Rights. Turkey was engaged in a general analysis of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in the contemporary world; it invited the Commission to provide the Special Rapporteur with “all necessary assistance and resources to enable him to carry out his full mandate”.

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